Greek Orthodox Monastery in Turkey Allowed Worship Services

Turkey allowed Christians to pray Sunday at The Sumela Greek Orthodox monastery for the first time since the country’s creation; seeking to improve the country’s record on religious tolerance and boost tourism. The three hour service at The Sumela Monastery in Turkey’s Black Sea region was the first of two sensitive Church openings the country’s government has permitted this summer.

During the service Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomeos, the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church stated: “After 88 years, the tears of the Virgin Mary have stopped flowing.”

Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou who spoke after attending mass on the Cyclades Islands off the Greek mainland, welcomed the: ”historic and important event.” It was a sign of bilateral rapprochement with Turkey and reflected “a spirit of cooperation and peace between us and our neighbour”.

The site is of particular importance to Pontian Greeks, whose ancestors fled the region around the Black Sea during fighting after World War I and dispersed in Greece and Russia. When Turkey fought Greece between 1920-22 during its War of Independence, several tens of thousands of Pontian Greeks were massacred as they went into forced exodus.

On Sunday around 500 Pontians were allowed into the 4th monastery, while about 2,000 others from Istanbul, Greece, Russia and Georgia watched the mass on a giant television screen outside.

Greek Reporter.com

8/16/2010

See also
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Patriarch Kirill said that with great joy he was fulfilling the order of his predecessor, the ever-memorable Patriarch Alexiy II who, knowing the labors and ardent faith of local residents, decided to give to the church in Acharnon the holy and precious relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Pontian Greek genocide victims commemorated in Kuban Pontian Greek genocide victims commemorated in Kuban Pontian Greek genocide victims commemorated in Kuban Pontian Greek genocide victims commemorated in Kuban
Repressions against Greeks and other Christian peoples took place systematically from 1908 to 1923. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Pontian Greeks were forced to leave their historical homeland in Asia Minor and to resettle in other regions. Many of them eventually found their new homeland in the Russian Empire and afterwards in Soviet Russia. Crypto-Christians in Pontus (Part 1) Crypto-Christians in Pontus (Part 1)
George Andreadis Crypto-Christians in Pontus (Part 1) Crypto-Christians in Pontus (Part 1)
George Andreadis
Although some Greeks remained openly Christian, burdensome taxes and discrimination caused many to convert to Islam and their children today are Turkish Muslims. Another large group said, "No, we will keep our religion, but how will we survive? How can we save our lives and the honor of our daughters?" In the end, they became secret Christians. Although denying Christ, even outwardly, is a sin for a Christian, during these times when many civic leaders, the educated, and wealthy turned to Islam, how could illiterate and primitive mountain people be held accountable? In many cases the Eastern Christian Church accepted the solution of crypto-Christianity so as to withstand the waves of voluntary and compulsory Islamization that were leaving churches empty of believers.

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