Turkish authorities refuse to allow service at Sumela Monastery on Aug 15
Turkish authorities have apparently refused to permit a religious service to take place to mark the Dormition of the Virgin on August 15 at the former Orthodox Christian Sumela Monastery but say it may take place eight days later, on August 23.
“Following a decision by the Turkish authorities, this year permission was granted to perform a Divine Liturgy in the Church of Monastery of Panagia Sumela on Friday, August 23,” the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate said, without giving any reason why the August 15 ceremony will not go ahead.
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 expelled in 1923 as part of a population exchange between Greece and Turkey. In 2015, the Sumela monastery was shut for restoration and reopened to tourists in 2019.
A liturgy to mark the feast day of the Dormition of the Virgin was allowed in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Last year, after the Turkish authorities initially refused permission, the liturgy also went ahead.
