Ahead of Pope Leo's visit to Turkiye, Al Jazeera meets members of the Christian community who say they feel optimistic about the future.

Istanbul

Türkiye's minority Christian communities have experienced decades of restrictive laws that led to the loss of churches, schools, and other properties. Since 2003, government reforms have returned over 1,250 properties to these groups, fostering a sense of cautious hope and improved recognition.

The upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV is seen as a potential turning point in relations between the state and its Christian citizens. While memories of past injustices persist, recent developments—including the construction of new churches and improved safety—have begun to rebuild trust and encourage some diaspora Christians to reconnect with their heritage.

Hope rises among Turkiye’s Christians as Pope prepares for visit

Turkey's minority Christian communities are also familiar with laws of people, property and identity. From the 1940s onwards, their churches, schools and foundations were stripped of their assets under legislation that stated minority groups couldn't own anything acquired after 1936. It drove decades of seizures. But since 2003, a series of reforms has led to the return of more than 1,250 properties. And as Pope Leo XIV visits Turkey, there is hope this fragile progress marks a turning point in the state's relationship with its Christian citizens. Manoli Kostadits speaks for the Greek Orthodox community, which used to be 150,000 strong but now numbers just 1,500. We now feel recognized as full citizens, but the memory is negative. People still say, don't buy property, you never know what might happen. Opened in 2023, the Syriac Orthodox Church is the first built in modern-day Turkey. Can Ustabaşı represents Christian and Jewish minority groups. He says Turkey is moving in a positive direction. Many Syriac Christians who moved to Europe still long for their villages in eastern Turkey. Now they are building homes there and staying longer. Better services, new roads and above all, safety. Property restitution gained momentum when Turkey pushed for EU membership and EU reforms forced a reckoning in early 2000s. With political will, a landmark legal change finally followed. If you cut a community's cultural, educational and religious ties, you erase it. And history shows how much these lands have already lost, shaped by migrations, displacement and the anti-democratic forces of the societies living here. For years these communities lived with loss. The return of their properties is a relief and cautious hope that their religion, culture and identity finally be protected. Reconstruction cannot erase decades of trauma, but it has begun to rebuild trust.

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