The Ecumenical Patriarchate officially announced that the Divine Liturgy will take place normally at the Sumela Monastery on August 15.
As it is pointed out in the announcement, following a new document of the Trabzon Province and the relevant announcement of the Turkish president, the Divine Liturgy was allowed to take place at the Sumela Monastery on the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.
This festal Divine Liturgy will be performed by Metropolitans Stefanos of Kallioupolis and Madytos, Maximos of Silyvria, and Ioannis of Zambia, who is Hierarch of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.
Moreover, the Ecumenical Patriarchate announced that yesterday Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew talked over the phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and thanked him for the renovation works at the Soumela Monastery.
He also congratulated him on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Greek community in Constantinople for the forthcoming celebration of Kurban Bayramı (‘Feast of the Sacrifice’).
It is recalled that yesterday there was confusion over whether the Divine Liturgy will be allowed at the Sumela Monastery in Trabzon.
In an announcement posted on its official website, the Ecumenical Patriarchate announced that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Turkish authorities did not allow the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy to take place on August 15 at the Panagia Sumela Monastery in Trebizond in Pontus region.
However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that “this year our Orthodox citizens will be able to hold a service on August 15 at Sumela Monastery, something they could not do because of the works.”
It is noted that the Sumela Monastery opens today after five years of restoration work. The Patriarchal Divine Liturgy on August 15 was not performed last year either due to the restoration works carried out in the historic monastery of Pontus over the past five years.
