Turkey has blocked the Divine Liturgy at Panagia Sourmela on August 15 for the third consecutive year, the Ecumenical Pa...

Turkey has blocked the Divine Liturgy at Panagia Sourmela on August 15 for the third consecutive year, the Ecumenical Patriarchate announced. Turkish authorities granted a permit only for August 23, the Ninth Day commemoration of the Dormition of the Theotokos, instead of the feast day itself. The decision did not surprise the Patriarchate in Constantinople. The same restriction was imposed in both 2024 and 2025, effectively suspending a tradition that was only restored in 2010 after decades of silence under Turkish rule. The argument pushed by nationalist circles in Turkey is that August 15 coincides with the anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of Trebizond in 1461. Their position is that a Christian religious ceremony should not overshadow what they consider a victory of their Ottoman ancestors. The compromise of allowing only the August 23 service keeps some form of worship alive at Sourmela, but the impact has been visible. Attendance dropped sharply in both 2024 and 2025, and in both years uncertainty about whether any permit would be granted at all persisted until the last moment. Panagia Sourmela, the historic monastery in Pontus carved into the cliffs above Trabzon, holds deep significance for Pontian Greeks and Orthodox Christians worldwide. It was sealed to worship for decades after the expulsion of the Greek population from the region in the early 1920s, and the partial reopening in 2010 was seen as a significant gesture at the time. That gesture appears to be quietly eroding. #PanagiaSOURMELA #EcumenicalPatriarchate #GreeceTurkey