Turkey Bans Dormition Liturgy at Panagia Sumela Monastery for the Second Time

For the second year in a row, Turkish authorities have refused to allow the Divine Liturgy to be held on August 15 at the Panagia Sumela Monastery in Trabzon, disrupting the traditional celebration of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. The ban affects one of the main pilgrimage sites for Pontic Greeks and Orthodox Christians worldwide, Orthodoxia News Agency reports.

The refusal coincides with the anniversary of the fall of Trebizond in 1461, which official Turkish historical rhetoric describes as an “Ottoman victory.” Local observers believe that the rise of nationalist sentiment since 2023 has become the key factor preventing services from being held at this holy site.

According to the newspaper Günebakış, the Ecumenical Patriarchate appealed to Turkey’s Ministry of the Interior to move the liturgy to August 23 — the Feast of the Nine Days of the Most Holy Theotokos. Even if permission is granted, Patriarch Bartholomew will not attend the service, missing it for the third consecutive year.

Last year, the Dormition service at Panagia Sumela also did not take place, and the celebration was limited to the Nine Days feast. The number of pilgrims then did not exceed 100 — the lowest figure since 2010, when liturgies resumed at the monastery after a long break. In the early years after their resumption, thousands of worshippers would attend the feast.

Earlier, we reported that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew announced the visit of Pope Leo XIV to the Phanar for the joint celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council. The head of the Phanar noted that the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Vatican are working together to restore unity.