Human rights groups highlighted Turkiye’s violence against Christians in a report coinciding with Pope Leo IV’s visit to commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea.
The European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ) noted the irony of Turkish authorities welcoming the pope from November 27-30, saying the ECLJ report documented the country’s “endemic hatred” of Christians.
The 52-page report, titled “Persecution of Christians in Turkey,” states that “direct violence against Christians remains a reality in Turkey, characterized by armed attacks, targeted assaults, and outright intimidation.”
Recent violence includes an attack on a church on New Year’s Eve in Istanbul last year. A gunman opened fire on the grounds of the Kurtuls Protestant Church in Istanbul’s Çekmakoy district.
“We will not allow you to brainwash our Muslim youth!” the assailant reportedly shouted. “You infidels will be defeated and driven to hell!”
On January 28, 2024, two masked Islamic State (IS) gunmen opened fire during Sunday Mass at the Santa Maria Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul, killing one visitor. According to reports, the victim was identified as Tanser Cihan, 52, a Turkish national with a mental disorder and no political affiliation.
“The attack on Santa Maria church in January 2024, repeated attacks on Çekmekoy Protestant church, and the killing of members of the Syrian community indicate a worrying security situation,” the report said. “Pastors are being physically attacked in places of worship, and hostile graffiti regularly targets churches. These incidents are rarely recognized as hate crimes, reinforcing the sense of vulnerability of Christian communities.”
Other concerns included the prevalence of hate speech against Christians, compared to Turkey’s school system, which combines Islam and Turkish identity.
The report said Christians who converted from Islam were particularly exposed to violence within their families.
Turkish authorities have announced that they continue to officially deny the 1915 Armenian genocide, which is also recognized by the European Parliament, France and the United States.
The report described the historical and legal framework that has marginalized Christians in Turkey over the past century and said the situation has been steadily worsening.
“A deliberate and multi-layered policy of exclusion, carried out through violence, forced migration, legal exclusion and institutional repression, is the result of the dramatic demographic collapse of Turkey’s Christian population over the past century,” the report said.
According to the report, Christians in Turkey have declined from 20 percent of the population at the beginning of the 20th century to just 0.3 percent, or 257,000 Christians, today.
“Communities that were once integral to Anatolia’s cultural, religious and historical fabric have been reduced to fragile remnants,” the report said. “Their disappearances are not the product of a single event, but are the cumulative result of restrictive laws, administrative obstruction, confiscation of property, denial of legal personality, and, more recently, arbitrary expulsion of clergy, missionaries, and converts.”
ECLJ argued that in Turkiye, Sunni Islam overshadowed Christianity as the “main indicator” of national identity, and that this was a “narrow interpretation” of the modern state formed by the Treaty of Lausanne on July 24, 1923.
“Today, Christianity in Turkey continues to live in a legal and political environment shaped by a narrow interpretation of the Treaty of Lausanne, a model of state supervision over religious life, and a national narrative that makes Sunni Islam the primary marker of Turkish identity,” the report said. “This framework continues to marginalize all Christian communities, whether recognized under Lausanne or not, by denying them the institutional, demographic and legal conditions necessary for their continuation.”
Turkiye is ranked 45th on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of countries where it is most difficult to become a Christian.
ECLJ highlighted its concerns about Mr. Turkiye at the Warsaw Human Dimensions Conference held by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on October 16. Thibault van den Bossche, ECLJ’s head of advocacy, issued a wide-ranging oral statement in which he said Christians of all denominations were “living in a hostile climate” in the country.
“Political, media and social narratives often portray Christians as foreigners, suspects or destabilizers – a threat to national security,” Van den Bossche said. “Such rhetoric incites direct violence, including attacks on churches and cemeteries, and threats against clergy and the faithful.”
Van den Bossche added that Protestants and Christians who converted from Islam formed a “particularly vulnerable and closely monitored group.”
He said 132 foreign Christians were subject to entry bans from 2019 to 2024, affecting 303 people, including spouses and children. He touched on the ongoing effects of the Armenian Genocide.
“Denial of the Armenian Genocide continues to shape public discourse and stigmatizes the ancient Christian community,” van den Bossche said.
ECLJ called on Turkey to recognize the legal status of Christian communities and organizations and protect their property rights. A recent example of anti-Christian discrimination regarding property is the refusal by the authorities of Istanbul’s Uskudar district to register the land ownership of the historic Holy Savior Armenian Hospital Foundation.
The law firm also called on Turkiye to guarantee free and regular elections to the Christian Foundation board and to fully implement the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment.
