Government gives go-ahead for second service at Sümela Monastery

5/8/2011 The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has approved a request by the İstanbul-based Fener Greek Patriarchate for a second service at the Sümela Monastery in the Black Sea coastal province of Trabzon in August, the Doğan news agency reported on Friday. The ministry reportedly told the patriarchate that a religious service can be held at Sümela in the second half of August and that the date and time would be determined by the Trabzon Governor’s Office. The monastery was abandoned after the foundation of the Turkish Republic and the subsequent population exchange between Turks and Greeks.