Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew performed the annual Divine Liturgy at the historical Sumela monastery, in the northern Turkish province of Trabzon, on the occasion of the Dormition of the Theotokos. During the service, the patriarch prayed for an end to the violence and bloodshed that is currently plaguing Turkey.
“It is our biggest and primary wish that no more blood is shed, no more young people die and no more mothers, fathers, spouses and children come to grief,” Patriarch Bartholomew said after the service.
Over the last months violence has increased dramatically in Turkey, which launched strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq, the Levant (ISIL) targets in Syria and terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets in Turkey and northern Iraq as part of the country’s war against these terrorist groups.
The conflict has led to the death of numerous police officers and soldiers.
This is the sixth time that a religious service has been held at the Sümela Monastery in the history of the Turkish Republic. In 2010, the Turkish government allowed for one Greek-Orthodox liturgy to take place each year, in order to show a gradual loosening of restrictions on religious expression.