“After an interruption of a few years, the grace of God, through the intercessions of all the Cappadocian Saints, grants us the blessing to come to this sacred land, the center of our pious traditions in the East, and to celebrate the Paschal Divine Liturgy in our deserted holy places. To proclaim ‘Christ is Risen!’ over the bones of our ancestors resting here, to offer incense for their souls, to light a vigil lamp of faith and a candle of hope from the unwaning light of the Risen Christ! To honor the countless Cappadocian Saints — Hierarchs, Teachers, Martyrs, and Holy Ascetics! To experience and bear witness that our Faith, despite the storms of history, ‘continues to flourish and bear even more fruit!’”
This is what Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said at the beginning of his address during the concelebration with Archbishop Ioannis of Albania, held on the Sunday of the Blind Man, May 17, 2026, at the ancient Church of Saint Theodore in Malakopi (Derinkuyu), in Cappadocia.
In another part of his address, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized the sacred and spiritual character of Cappadocia, describing it as a land sanctified by the teachings of the Great Fathers of the Church, the blood of the Martyrs, the prayers of the faithful, monasteries, cave chapels, icons, and centuries of Christian tradition. He said that every aspect of the region, its soil, mountains, valleys, villages, and even the pages of its history, bears witness to the living presence of God.
The Ecumenical Patriarch stressed that celebrating the Divine Eucharist in these ancient and deserted holy places is not simply the fulfillment of a religious duty, but a mystical participation in the eternal communion of the Saints of Cappadocia who glorify God before His heavenly throne. He noted that these humble and abandoned shrines reflect the humility and suffering of Christ Himself, recalling His Passion, Crucifixion, and Descent into Hades.
At the same time, he underlined that the sorrow and poverty symbolized by these sacred places are ultimately transformed by the glory of the Resurrection. “Christ is our Life and Resurrection,” he declared, adding that after Golgotha came the empty tomb and the triumph of life over death.
Present at the Divine Liturgy were Metropolitan Gregory of Ankara and Bishop Ignatios of Amantia.
Following the Dismissal, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew celebrated a Trisagion memorial service for those who repose in the region of Cappadocia, “both those who fell asleep in peace and those who were perfected through martyrdom.”
Among those attending the service were Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, as well as the Archons of the Ecumenical Throne, Gregory Hadjieleftheriadis and George Papaliaris.
Later that same afternoon, the Ecumenical Patriarch attended in prayer the Vespers service presided over by Archbishop Ioannis of Albania at the magnificent Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Neapolis (Nevşehir), which today functions as an art venue.
Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
Photos: Nikos Papachristou
