Pope Leo XIV prays at Armenian cathedral in Istanbul as Turkey and Armenia attempt reconciliation

ISTANBUL (AP) – Pope Leo XIV held prayers at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul on Sunday in a gesture of support for Christian unity and Christian minorities in Turkey.

Beyond its ecumenical symbolism, the visit signals quiet support of ongoing efforts to heal century-old wounds between Turkey and Armenia, long scarred by mass killings and decades of mistrust, observers note.

An estimated 1.5 million Armenians died in massacres, deportations and forced marches that began in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey. Historians widely view the event as genocide.

Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of civil war and unrest. It has lobbied to prevent countries from officially recognizing the massacres as genocide.

Pope Francis did not visit any Armenian sites during his visit to Turkey in 2014, but on his way to the airport before departing, he made an unscripted stop at a hospital where the ailing Armenian Patriarch Mesrob II was being treated.

A year later, Francis drew Ankara’s ire by referring to the slaughter of Armenians during the Ottoman era as “the first genocide of the 20th century.” He later visited Armenia, where he again used the term genocide.

Leo has steered clear of controversy during his first six months as pope and on Sunday only made a subtle reference to the sufferings.

“This visit provides me with the opportunity to thank God for the courageous Christian witness of the Armenian people throughout history, often amid tragic circumstances,” he said.

Leo’s visit comes as Turkey and Armenia appear to be moving closer toward a normalization of their ties and the pontiff’s visit is likely to lend support to those efforts, said Richard Giragosian, the founding director of the Regional Studies Center based in Yerevan, Armenia.

“More than just the symbolic importance of bringing the Vatican closer to the Armenian Church in terms of the eastern religion outreach, (the visit) is also, in some ways, promoting Armenia-Turkish normalization,” Giragosian said.

Leo arrived in Turkey on Thursday on his first foreign visit to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, now the town of Iznik, where the united Christian Church agreed on a shared creed of faith. He was then scheduled to continue to Lebanon.

Turkey and Armenia have no formal diplomatic ties and their border has remained closed since the 1990s. In 2021, the countries agreed to work toward normalization, appointing special envoys to explore steps toward reconciliation and reopening the frontier.

Those talks have progressed in parallel with efforts to ease tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a close Turkish ally. Turkey supported Azerbaijan during its 2020 conflict with Armenia for control of the Karabakh region, known internationally as Nagorno-Karabakh, a conflict that had lasted nearly four decades.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited Turkey in June for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He later told a group of Turkish journalists in Yerevan that pursuing international recognition of the genocide is not among his government’s priorities, while emphasizing the genocide is an “indisputable fact” for Armenians.

Leo was not expected to press for the formal recognition of genocide.

“That’s not part of the normalization engagement. So it’s pretty clear that he will avoid either the word or the reference,” Giragosian said.

“It is not important today to (say) genocide or not,” said Mardik Evadian, an Armenian businessman attending the service. “We are living in this country and we are happy to live here.”

Leo and Istanbul-based Patriarch Sahak II Mashalian processed into the Holy Mother of God Patriarchal Church in a cloud of incense as a male choir chanted for a service steeped in the church’s traditions, with some 500 Armenian worshipers in attendance.

The service was followed by a brief dedication ceremony, where Leo unveiled a marble inscription in his honor.

Popes Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI all visited the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral during their respective visits to Istanbul.

“The Papacy has long served as a moral compass, defending the dignity of every human being, championing peace, and giving voice to those who have none,” Sahak said. “The Armenian people do not forget the Popes who raised their voice in our times of suffering, who stood with Christian communities in danger, and who upheld truth when the world hesitated.”

Leo’s visit is one of several encounters in Turkey and Lebanon with the Armenian Christian faithful in a recognition of its deep roots in the region, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

“Clearly, the Armenian presence in Istanbul is an ancient one, a deeply rooted presence, a presence that is also evident in all the meetings held over the various days,” he told reporters.

In Armenia, Armen Arshakyan, 65, said he didn’t believe the pope’s visit would alter Turkey’s policies, but was nevertheless a positive step that honors Armenians.

“It honors us and reminds the world about Armenians, who are currently in a rather difficult situation,” he said.

Another Yerevan resident, 31-year-old Maria Petrosyan, said Leo’s visit to the Armenian church “cannot be of great global importance” but said she values the pontiff maintaining dialogue with different churches.

The visit to the Armenian Cathedral in Istanbul comes during ongoing strain in the Caucasus, including between Pashinyan and the Armenian Apostolic Church. The tensions have simmered since April 2024, when thousands of protesters led by prominent clerics demanded Pashinyan’s ouster for his efforts to normalize ties with Azerbaijan.

In response, Armenian authorities arrested a number of clerics, accusing them of calling for an overthrow of the government and coercing people into taking part in rallies. Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan, who was arrested in June, was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of calling for a government overthrow.

Earlier this year, the Vatican and Azerbaijan signed a cooperation agreement on interfaith dialogue, which upset some Armenians. Bruni declined to comment on recent Armenian complaints about the Vatican’s increasingly close relations with Azerbaijan.

The agreement followed a conference at a Pontifical university in April, co-organized by the Azerbaijani government, that outraged Armenian Christian and civic groups, which accused Azerbaijan of rewriting history about the Armenian presence in the region.

The Vatican, meanwhile, is engaged in “behind-the-scenes” diplomacy to help with the release of Armenian prisoners and detainees held in Azerbaijan, Giragosian said. Armenian officials and media have reported 23 Armenian prisoners are being held in Baku.

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Fraser reported from Ankara. Associated Press writers Nicole Winfield and Patricia Thomas in Istanbul, Dasha Litvinova and Yuras Kamanau in Tallinn, Estonia, Narek Aleksanyan in Yerevan, Armenia, and Ali Sharafeddine in Beirut contributed to this report.