Panagia Sumela: No Liturgy on August 15th – Third Year
The Panagia Sumela monastery in Pontus will be observed without Divine Liturgy on August 15th for the third consecutive year. The Ecumenical Patriarchate announced that Turkish authorities only approved an Archimandrite's liturgy on August 23rd (Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God). This continued restriction of religious freedom raises questions about the treatment of historic Christian sites.