Turkish authorities give permission for service at Sumela Monastery

The Ecumenical Patriarchate has announced that Turkish authorities have granted permission for a divine liturgy to be held at the former Orthodox Christian Sumela Monastery, located in the mountainous Trabzon region known to Greeks as Trapezounta, on August 15, feast day of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.

Initially, the Turkish authorities had refused permission to the Istanbul-based Patriarchate to hold the ceremony.

Founded in the 4th century, Sumela is a monastic complex built into a sheer cliff above the Black Sea forest in eastern Turkey. It was long ago stripped of its official religious status and operates as a museum administered by the Turkish Culture Ministry.

Thousands of tourists and Orthodox Christian worshippers journey to the monastery annually.

In 2010, Turkish authorities allowed the first Orthodox liturgy since ethnic Greeks were...