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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,...

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...

Turkey: Sumela Monastery Preparing for August 15 Celebrations

The Greek Orthodox Sumela Monastery has almost completed its preparations for the Divine Liturgy of August 15, the feast day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Sumela Monastery is located in the Macka district of the northeastern Turkish province of...

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...

Greek Orthodox Tavelers Visit The Sumela Monastery, Turkey

The Daily News states that many Orthodox tourists will visit Turkey’s Black Sea provinces of Trabzon, Ordu and Samsun. The visitors plan to attend the Virgin Mary service that will be led on August 15th by the Ecumenical Patriarchate Bartholomeos...

Armenians in Tearful Goodbye to their Own ”Sumela” Monastery

Just like the Greeks who were forced to give up their precious cultural heritage of Pontus and Asia Minor to the Turks a century ago, Armenians did the same over the weekend as they bid farewell to Dadivank Monastery. In...

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...

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,...

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...

Restored Monastery Draws Tourists Exploring Pontic Greek Heritage

A Pontic Greek monastery in Turkey's Black Sea region is open for tourism after being restored, local authorities have said. The Virgin Mary Monastery in Kayadibi village, located in the province of Giresun’s Sebinkarahisar district, is second only to the famous Sumela...

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...

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...

Patriarch Bartholomew Prays to End Violence in Sumela Service

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew performed the annual Divine Liturgy at the historical Sumela monastery, in the northern Turkish province of Trabzon, on the occasion of the Dormition of the Theotokos. During the service, the patriarch prayed for an end to...