As Missionary Era Comes to an End in Turkey, Protestants Look to West for Protection

Shortly after pastor Brunson’s release in 2018, Turkish authorities began deporting or effectively banning foreigners connected to the Protestant church.

Pastor Andrew Brunson and his wife Norine arrive at the airport in Izmir, Turkey, on Oct. 12, 2018. Umit Bektas/Reuters

When they arrested Andrew Brunson and his wife, Norine, in 2016, Turkish officials had an order to deport the American pastor, who ran a small Protestant church in the coastal city of Izmir.

Deportations of foreign workers happened occasionally, and the process for Americans, he figured, would be relatively straightforward. Maybe it would take a day.