Vatican palace hosts ceremony by Rumi followers

TRIESTE – Anadolu Agency

The Vatican's Cancelleria Palace hosted the traditional ceremony of Sufi whirling dervishes for the third time in its history on Sept. 25. AA Photo

A Mevlevi group led by Faruk Hemdem Çelebi held a ceremony at the Vatican’s Palazzo della Cancelleria on Sept. 24. Kenan Gürsoy, Turkey’s ambassador to the Vatican, delivered a farewell speech at the same event.

The sacred Catholic palace hosted the Mevlevi ceremony, a third in the Vatican’s history, organized by the International Mevlana Foundation, with the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry also contributing.

Faruk Hemdem Çelebi is a 22nd-generation descendant of Mevlana Jalal ad-Din Rumi, the 13th-century poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Curia was among the crowd that watched the ceremony.

After delivering a speech on the philosophy of Rumi at the event, which was followed by a Sema ceremony, Ambassador Gürsoy said this was his last cultural event at the seat, as he is expected to be replaced by Mehmet Paçacı in October.