New Report Reveals What Pope Leo XIV Could Not Say Publicly About Christian Persecution in Turkey

Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Turkey at the end of November marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first “ecumenical” council in Christian history. Behind the ceremonial receptions lies a harsh reality that Turkey works hard to hide: the systematic persecution of its remaining Christians.

For the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), the international affiliate of the ACLJ, the pope’s visit offered a rare opportunity to expose the truth documented in our newly published report: The Persecution of Christians in Turkey.

This publication comes at a critical moment – and it calls every defender of religious freedom to act.

Anatolia, the cradle of the early Church, was once a land filled with Christian communities: Greek, Armenian, Syriac, Chaldean, and others. Yet over the course of a century, the Christian population has collapsed from 20% in 1915 to just 0.3% today. In other words, Turkey has eliminated more than 99% of its Christians in three generations.

This is not a coincidence. It is the result of:

• genocide, pogroms, and forced deportations
• systematic discrimination
• a century-long effort to build a religiously homogeneous Sunni-Turkish state

Today, for the 257,000 Christians who remain, persecution is still part of daily life. They endure:

• Armed attacks on churches, such as the 2023 bombing of a small Protestant church in Diyarbakır that destroyed part of the building and forced the congregation to suspend services
• Anti-Christian hate speech in the media and schools
• Interference in patriarchal elections and denial of legal personality to churches, including the ongoing refusal to register Armenian and Syriac churches as legal entities, which prevents them from owning property or operating openly
• Expropriations of community foundations
• Closure of clergy seminaries
• Hundreds of expulsions of foreign pastors and Christian workers under vague “national security” codes, a threat our client Pastor Mojtaba faces – deportation back to Iran
• Pressure on Christian converts from a Muslim background.

Since 2016, Turkey has expelled or blocked hundreds of foreign Christians – pastors, missionaries, and converts – citing vague “national security” grounds and relying on opaque codes like G-87 and N-82, often without evidence and with no meaningful avenue for appeal.

We know cases such as these well. We helped secure the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson in 2018, after two years of arbitrary detention, and we intervene regularly before the European Court of Human Rights to defend persecuted Christians and minority churches.

Building on our past work, here comes the most comprehensive report available. We are making this publication available to journalists, members of the European Parliament, embassies and diplomats, the Council of Europe, and its Parliamentary Assembly.

Our message is clear: No political relationship with Turkey should ignore the plight of its Christian minorities.

We are demanding that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe address the plight of Christians in Turkey. And as required under Rule 71, the Assembly must examine our petition and decide whether to open a report and issue recommendations to Turkey.

Christians in Turkey cannot freely denounce what they endure, but we can speak for them. Together, we can ensure that Turkey is held accountable – and that its Christians are no longer forgotten.

Take action with us; sign the petition: Defend Persecuted Christians Worldwide.