World Council of Churches “dismayed” at Hagia Sophia shift

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The head of the World Council of Churches has written to Turkey’s president about the “grief and dismay” among members over the decision to convert the Hagia Sophia landmark in Istanbul into a mosque. The council’s interim general secretary, Ioan Sauca, sent the letter Saturday to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan on Friday formally converted the 6th-century structure into a mosque. Originally a cathedral, Hagia Sophia was tur