Russian Orthodox church regrets Hagia Sophia move

The Russian Orthodox Church on Friday expressed "deep regret" about Turkey's decision to convert the Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque.

The chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate said the move would hurt "a fragile inter-religious and inter-confessional balance" in the world.

Metropolitan Hilarion added that for the Orthodox faithful, the hugely symbolic UNESCO World Heritage site in Istanbul "has been and will always remain the church devoted to Christ".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday formally converted the sixth-century Hagia Sophia back into a mosque and declared it open for Muslim worship, hours after a high court annulled a 1934 decision that had made the religious landmark a museum.

Erdogan had repeatedly spoken in favour of converting the site despite widespread international criticism, including from Orthodox Christian leaders, who had urged Turkey to keep its status as a museum symbolising solidarity among faiths and cultures.