Christians make up less than 0.5% of Turkeys 84 million inhabitants. Armenians, Greeks, Syrians, Latins, or Protestants… even in tiny numbers, they represent historical Christian communities.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack on an Italian Catholic church in Istanbul last Sunday that left one person dead. Two masked assailants entered the Chiesa of Santa Maria while the congregation was celebrating Mass and opened fire, killing one of the worshipers.Turkish police subsequently apprehended the perpetrators.
This latest attack strikes one of Turkeys already heavily burdened Christian communities. The number of Christians has steadily declined since the late 19th century when they comprised between 20% to 25% of the population. Today, they make up only about 100,000 of the 84 million inhabitants of Turkey, accounting for less than 0.5% of the countrys predominantly Sunni Muslim population.
Turkey has a long and complex history with Christianity. Located at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, the region that is now modern-day Turkey was one of the earliest centers of Christianity. However, over the centuries, the Christian population in Turkey has declined dramatically. Today, around 0.2% of Turkey’s population is Christian.
The Early Spread of Christianity in Turkey
Christianity first took root in ancient Asia Minor (now Turkey) during the 1st century AD. Several important early Christian figures were based in the region, including the Apostles Paul, John, and Philip. The Seven Churches of Asia, mentioned in the Book of Revelation, were also located here.
By the 4th century AD, Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) had become the center of Orthodox Christianity and the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate The Hagia Sophia cathedral, built in 537 AD, was the largest church in the world for nearly a thousand years. Turkey was also home to several Church Fathers and saints significant in early Christianity, like St Nicholas of Myra.
Christianity Under the Ottoman Empire
When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 the conquerors allowed 3 days of looting in the formerly Christian city. The Hagia Sophia was ransacked its occupants enslaved. Despite this, the Ottoman Sultans came to recognize the importance of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches.
The Ottomans granted certain legal rights and protections to these Christian minority groups through reform edicts in the mid-19th century. However, these rights were often limited in practice. Conversions to Islam were encouraged, while missionary activity and church construction were banned.
Decline of Turkey’s Christian Population
In 1914, Christians still made up around 20% of Turkey’s population. However, this changed dramatically due to several factors in the early 20th century:
-
Armenian Genocide (1915-1917): Ottoman forces killed up to 1.5 million Christian Armenians.
-
Population Exchanges with Greece (1923): Under the Treaty of Lausanne, 1.2 million Greek Orthodox Christians left Turkey for Greece, while 400,000 Muslims moved from Greece to Turkey.
-
Emigration: Discrimination and anti-Christian violence in the late 19th/early 20th centuries led many Christians to leave Turkey.
-
Turkish War of Independence (1919-1923): Conflict between Turkish nationalists and Christian Greeks/Armenians further reduced the Christian population.
By 1927, the Christian percentage had fallen to just 2%. It continued dropping over the next decades.
Christianity in Modern Turkey
Today, Christians make up around 0.2% of Turkey’s population of 85 million. The largest denominations are Armenian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, and Syriac Orthodox. There are also small numbers of Catholic and Protestant Christians.
Christians in Turkey still report discrimination. Expressions of Christianity are banned in public, Christian clergy face restrictions, and church property disputes remain contentious. Converts from Islam to Christianity often hide their new faith to avoid backlash.
Despite Turkey’s complex history, some important early centers of Christianity like the Hagia Sophia and the cave of the Seven Sleepers still draw pilgrims. The ancient Christian heritage remains part of Turkey’s culture. Though now a predominantly Muslim nation, remnants of its past as a center of Orthodox Christianity can still be seen.
Christian communities from both East and West
Armenians comprise the largest of several diverse Christian communities in Turkey. It is estimated that around 60,000 descendants of those who survived the 1915-1916 genocide currently live in the country. Among these Armenians, there are 5,000 Catholics and 55,000 Apostolic Armenians, affiliated with the Armenian Apostolic Church (autocephalous). This Church has around thirty church building in Istanbul and its suburbs, with 45,000 faithful. The rest are settled in eastern Anatolia.
Next in line are the 25,000 Eastern Christians who belong to one or another patriarchate of the the Syriac, Chaldean, and Maronite Churches. Among the approximately 20,000 Syriacs, there are Catholics who joined Rome, as well as Orthodox or Assyrians, affiliated with their autocephalous Church. They live in Istanbul or in their original region, Tur Abdin, located on the Syrian-Iraqi border. According to Evgil Türker, leader of the Federation of Syriac Associations, there are some 2,500 churches and 300 monasteries.
In Istanbul, there are also between 2,000 and 3,000 Greeks, descendants of those who managed to stay despite massacres and forced transfers during the birth of the Turkish Republic. Additionally, there are around 10,000 Orthodox Christians, Arabs or Greeks, living in Antioch, in the former sanjak of Alexandretta. This Syrian province was annexed by Turkey in 1939 and renamed Hatay. The Christians who remained there are predominantly Arabic-speaking. Antioch was partially destroyed by earthquakes on February 6th last year.
Finally, there are numerous Latin communities, spread across Istanbul, the coast, and western Turkey, totaling approximately 20,000 faithful. There are also 2,000 Protestants living in the country. In addition to these historical communities, there are Turkish converts to Christianity. Since these individuals often hide their conversion, it is difficult to estimate their numbers. In 2007, the German newspaper Der Spiegel estimated their number at 10,000. These figures are only estimates.
Is it safe to be Christian in Turkey? | EWTN News In Depth
FAQ
What is the main religion in Turkey?
Are Christian allowed in Turkey?
Is Turkey once a Christian country?
Can I bring my Bible to Turkey?
Is Turkey a Christian country?
Turkey’s status as a place difficult to be Christian has long roots, despite the country being one of the original places where Christianity flourished. In 1915, in what has come to be known as the Armenian Genocide, Ottoman authorities began arresting Armenian intellectuals and leaders in Constantinople.
Is Christianity a minority religion in Turkey?
Christianity is a minority religion in Turkey today, though it was once the majority faith of the Ottoman Empire. The Christian population shrank immensely with the forfeiture of large territories leading up to and during WWI, and with the population transfer between Turkey and Greece that saw the loss of most of Turkey’s Greek Orthodox community.
Which country has the largest Christian population in Turkey?
The largest Christian population in Turkey is in Istanbul, which has a large community of Armenians and Greeks. Istanbul is also where the Patriarchate of Greek Orthodox Christianity is located. Antioch, located in Turkey’s Hatay province, is the original seat of the namesake Antiochian Orthodox Church, but is now the titular see.
Do Turkish Christians have religious freedom?
Despite provisions for religious freedom existing on paper in Turkey, Turkish Christians of various denominations today suffer under the weight of government bureaucracy as well as societal pressures.