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From World-
Turkish prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for a U.S. pastor accused of participating in the 2016 coup that attempted to oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A private Turkish media outlet reported the news Tuesday after getting a look at the indictment. Prosecutors must win approval from a court before they can pursue the case. Andrew Brunson, who has pastored a church in Turkey for 23 years, has been jailed since October 2016. The indictment reportedly charges Brunson with being a member of and leading a terror organization. Turkish government officials accuse him of having ties to the Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who now lives in Pennsylvania. U.S. officials have denied Turkish requests to extradite Gulen, who denies involvement in the failed coup.
Brunson also denies any involvement in the coup, as well as any links to Gulen. Erdogan has offered to free Brunson in exchange for Gulen. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemned the indictment, urging the Trump administration to redouble its efforts to secure Brunson’s freedom. “No stone should be left unturned in our efforts on behalf of this unjustly imprisoned American,” USCIRF Vice Chairwomen Sandra Jolley and Kristina Arriaga said in a statement. “We call again for his immediate release and, if this is not forthcoming, for the administration and Congress to impose targeted sanctions against those involved in this miscarriage of justice.”
More here-
https://world.wng.org/content/turkey_seeks_life_sentence_for_us_pastor
From The Guardian-
Turkish archaeologists have dashed the hopes of millions of children by claiming to have uncovered the likely burial place of Saint Nicholas.
Surveys have uncovered an intact temple and burial grounds below St Nicholas church in the province of Antalya, where he is believed to have been born, archaeologists told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
“We have obtained very good results but the real work starts now,” said Cemil Karabayram, the director of surveying and monuments in Antalya. “We will reach the ground and maybe we will find the untouched body of Saint Nicholas.”
Revered for his gift-giving and aid to the poor, the 4th-century saint gave rise to the legend of Santa Claus.
In recent years, the church in Demre district in Antalya, near his birthplace, has been restored and draws many visitors. Demre is built on the ruins of Myra, the city where Saint Nicholas, revered by many denominations in Christianity, is believed to have lived.
More here-
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/04/santa-claus-tomb-may-have-been-uncovered-beneath-turkish-church-saint-nicholas
From Ireland-
Concerns have been expressed by the Christian community in Turkey after it was reported that a number of Christian churches were attacked during the failed military uprising of July 15.
As people took to the streets in defiance of the army factions attempting to seize the country, it is reported that pockets of civilians damaged church windows at a number of locations across the nation.
The attacks have led to calls from the Anglican chaplaincy of the British consulate in Istanbul for the government to better secure the safety of Christian communities in Turkey.
Meanwhile, responding to the coup, Bishop RubĂ©n Tierrablanca Gonzalez, apostolic administrator of the nation’s Greek Catholics insisted the community was made safer by remaining apart from current political tribulations.
More here-
http://www.irishcatholic.ie/article/turkish-christians-nervous-after-failed-coup-attempt
From The BBC-
Syria's Christians belong to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, but chased away by the threat of violence some are heading for neighbouring Turkey, where they have been greeted with considerable enthusiasm.
Driven by a deep and humble faith, Father Joaqim is a young man with a sense of destiny. He has returned from 11 years in Holland to revive his dying community, high on a remote escarpment in eastern Turkey.
We are standing together on the terrace of his newly restored monastery, high on a remote escarpment near Nusaybin, looking south over the Mesopotamian Plain.
"Thank God our community is alive again," he says, his face radiating out from the distinctive black cap of his Syriac Orthodox habit. "On Sundays our church is full with worshippers from the village."
More here-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23614968