Annual Orthodox mass at Sümela delayed amid controversy

TRABZON

The annual Orthodox mass marking the “Assumption of Mary” at Sümela Monastery, traditionally held on Aug. 15, has been rescheduled to Aug. 23 this year due to controversy over its clash with Trabzon’s conquest celebrations.

The upcoming ceremony will be the 11th ceremony led by Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew in the northern province of Trabzon’s historic monastery, located in the Altındere Valley of Maçka district.

The postponement comes amid controversy over the ceremony overlapping with the newly established date of Trabzon’s conquest from the Empire of Trebizond by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in 1461. In order to avoid further conflict with these dates, the decision was made to reschedule the mass.

The date of the conquest, long celebrated on Oct. 26, was recently revised to Aug. 15 following meticulous research by a commission of historians.

Since the Trebizond Empire was a successor to the Byzantine Empire, political parties had called for the event's postponement last year, voicing their opposition to “keeping foreign traditions alive on the day Trabzon was captured by the Turks.”

The ceremony, observed annually by Orthodox Christians to mark the ascension of the Virgin Mary to heaven, resumed in 2010 after an 88-year hiatus.