A married couple has been detained in Istanbul after allegedly reciting from the Bible inside the Hagia Sophia.
As reported by Novaya Gazeta Europe, Viktoria, 35 and Igor F. 32, were visiting Istanbul from Moscow and entered the historic house of worship on July 21. Once inside, Igor produced a Bible and began reading. The couple says that “within minutes” they were surrounded and escorted away, before being taken to a police station.
As per the couple, the police report accuses them of violating Article 216 of the Turkish Criminal Code, “inciting hatred or enmity”. They were separated and transferred to a “foreigner’s removal center” where they await deportation. As Igor has said, “They separated me from my wife. We haven’t eaten in a long time, and we feel very unwell.”
The Russian embassy is involved
The incident is rapidly becoming a diplomatic hot potato, with reports that Moscow’s consulate general is following the case and that Russian diplomats are in touch with the couple’s lawyer.
The Hagia Sophia has a long and storied history stretching over millennia. It has been a Christian place of worship since at least 360, though the current structure dates to 532 and the reign of Emperor Justinian I.
Hagia Sophia was a church until 1453, then converted to a mosque until 1935, then turned into a museum until 2020, and then (as per the ambitions of Turkish president Erdogan) converted back into a mosque and officially renamed the “Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque”.
This historic shifting from Christian to Islamic worship, particularly the recent conversion back into a mosque, has provoked sadness and anger among Christians. Pope Francis said, “My thoughts go to Istanbul. I’m thinking about Hagia Sophia. I am very distressed”, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (who is Greek Orthodox), said:
“This decision is certainly painful to us as Greek Orthodox Christians but it also hurts us as citizens of the world… This is not a Greek-Turkish issue… it is a universal issue.”
The couple’s motivations for reciting the Bible inside Hagia Sofia are unclear, and we don’t know whether it was for religious reasons, political reasons, or some combination of the two.
However, this follows a recent incident in April 2026 where two Greek nationals were arrested after unfurling a Byzantine flag inside Hagia Sophia bearing the double-headed eagle and the slogan “Orthodoxy or death!” That couple was also arrested, spent approximately two months in detention, and were later released.
Turkish authorities and the Russian Embassy in Turkey have not publicly commented on the alleged incident.
Published: Jul 24, 2026 08:25 am