Rome, Italy, Aug 19, 2010 / 17:51 pm
Last Sunday, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I presided over the first liturgical celebration at the Turkish monastery of Sumela in nearly 90 years. The celebration raises awareness to the ongoing situation concerning religious freedom in the country, according to one Vatican expert.
The celebration took place on Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the Eastern tradition, and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the West. Liturgical celebrations had been prohibited at the monastery since it passed into the hands of the Turkish government in 1922.
The Sumela monastery, with a rich and colorful history dating back to the 4th century, was mostly destroyed at the beginning of the 5th century and was eventually made into a museum and tourist attraction.
For these reasons, Sunday's celebration on the mountainside in front of the partially-rebuilt Greek Orthodox monastery was significant.