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Erdogan Reopens Turkey’s Soumela Monastery After Restoration

  Soumela Monastery, the Greek Orthodox edifice built in 385 AD which was included on UNESCO's temporary list of World Heritage Sites in 2000, was reopened on Tuesday by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a videoconference ceremony. The Turkish President,...

Panagia Soumela Monastery will Not be Open for Dormition of Virgin Mary Liturgy

The emblematic Panagia Soumela Monastery in Trabzon, Turkey will not be open for the Dormition of Virgin Mary liturgy on August 15 since restoration works are not completed yet, according to a Skai television report. The monastery, which is the most...

Historic Soumela Monastery in Pontus Reopens

The historic Panagia Soumela Monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary and located in Trabzon in the Black Sea is to reopen its doors to the public on May 25, 2019 after more than three years of restoration work. The religious...

Secret Chapel and Crypts Discovered at Panagia Soumela Monastery (photos)

Crypts and secret passages; which until now have been unexplored, came to light during restoration work at Panagia Soumela Monastery in Trebizond. According to a report in the Turkish newspaper Sabah, crews working their way through crypts have reached the...

Panagia Soumela Monastery to Remain Closed Until August 2018

The Panagia Soumela Monastery will remain closed until August 2018 due to restoration works ongoing since 2015. The annual liturgy of the Greek Orthodox Church on August 15 -- the Day of the Assumption of Virgin Mary -- conducted by...

Preparation for the re-opening of the Church of Panagia Soumela, according to “Hurriyet”

Turkish authorities are in the process of re-opening the Church of Panagia Soumela, according to information of the Turkish newspaper “Hurryiet”. The city of Trabzon (historically known as Trapezus) is preparing to re-open the Church of Panagia Soumela for pilgrims....

UN Calls on Turkey to Make Hagia Sophia an “Intercultural Space”

UN human rights experts explained on Friday, July 31, that Turkey's conversion of the significant World Heritage Site "could reflect a supremacist view of history and culture." In an officially released statement, UN Special Rapporteur Karima Bennoune, who works in...

Turkey Asks Greece to Return Relics Taken From Panagia Sumela Monastery

Academics from Turkey visited museums, private collectors and universities in Trabzon, Istanbul, Greece, Ireland, Great Britain, and the US to collect information on objects that belonged to the Panagia Sumela Monastery. According to an article by Milliyet, the scholars recorded...

Historic Sumela Monastery to Finally Reopen in May

The first section of the historic Greek Orthodox Sumela monastery, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, will re-open to the public on May 18, Turkish authorities announced this week. The monastery, a reference point and religious touchstone for all Pontian Greeks,...

Rock-Carved Greek Orthodox Monastery in Turkey Opens for Tourists

After Sumela, Turkey’s second largest monastery built out of a mountain, the Virgin Mary Monastery in the Black Sea province of Giresun is awaiting local and foreign tourists. The monastery, also known as Mary Garaseri, is situated on a hill...

Turkish Authorities Ban Christian Liturgy in Panagia Sumela Monastery

Turkish authorities notified the Ecumenical Patriarchate that the license for the yearly mass at Panagia Sumela Monastery in Trabzon is revoked. After five consecutive years during which it was allowed to have Orthodox Christian divine liturgy on August 15 at Panagia Sumela Monastery...

Ecumenical Patriarch’s Fifth Visit to Sumela Monastery

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited Sumela Monastery in Turkey for the fifth consecutive year and officiated the Divine Liturgy held in the historic monastery. Hundreds of worshipers attended the liturgy for the Dormition of Virgin Mary in an atmosphere of piety and...

Service Held At Historic Sumela Monastery

Hundreds of Greek Orthodox Christians gathered for the annual religious service at the Sumela Monastery in Turkey's Black Sea coastal province of Trabzon on Wednesday morning, marking the third religious ceremony to be held at the monastery in the...

Council of Europe Raises Question on Future of Panagia Sumela Orthodox Monastery, Pontus

The issue of intellectual, Byzantine heritage and the future of the Orthodox Panagia Sumela Monastery in historical Pontus, was raised during the last session of the Council of the Europe Parliamentary Assembly.  The meeting was led by Ivan Savvidi, member...

Ecumenical Patriach Vartholomeos’ Statement on Orthodox Services

The Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos characterized the attempt of a specific team to perform a Divine service in the cathedral of St. Sophia.  It now operates as a museum. The Ecumenical Patriarch declared the move was: “behind our back”. Speaking to pilgrims...