After 88 years, the first religious service was held at the historic Sümela Monastery in the province of Trabzon on the eastern Black Sea coast on Sunday (15 August).

The service, officiated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew, was attended by 500 Orthodox Christians from the USA, Russia, Georgia, Greece and Turkey. It began at 10.00 am on Sunday morning and lasted for more than two hours.

Because of the size of the monastery and its geographical location at the foot of a steep cliff, about a thousand attenders at church followed the service from the valley below the monastery via to large screens.

Bartholomew: Let us make live the culture of coexistence

The service was held on Assumption Day. Bartholomew emphasized, "We have no ulterior motives at all. We came to pray as we always do". He said that they gathered to commemorate the saints and the Greek Orthodox people living in the region.

Bartholomew also mentioned the Ottoman sultans who had made their contributions the monastery. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch furthermore expressed his gratitude to the Turkish government for the permission to say Mass at Sümela after 88 years. He conveyed the message of "coexistence" and said, "The culture of coexistence is a legacy bequeathed to us by our civilizations. Let us make this legacy live. Let us teach to prevent pain from happening again".

A live broadcast of the service was shown on Greek television and more than 50 journalists from abroad covered the mass. (TK/VK)