Nikos Deja Vu - Panagia Soumela - Patriarch Bartholomew - 15/8/2010 - PONTOS

Nikos Deja Vu - Panagia Soumela - Patriarch Bartholomew - August 15, 2010 - PONTOS (Trabzon)

First celebrations after 88 years...

Panagia Soumela - Patriarch Bartholomew and the Metropolite Pavlos of Drama city (Greece) who sings!

Pontos, 15 August, 2010 (Trabzon, Turkey)

A historical day for the Orthodox Christians and the Pontian Greeks.
And do not forget the pontian lyric:
"Η Ρωμανία κι αν επέρασεν ανθεί και φέρει κι άλλο"
(Though Hellenism has passed, it blooms and brings forth more)
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‎15 AUGUST 2010 - Historic Mass at Panagia Sumela Monastery

Driven by deep faith and memories of a painful past seven thousands pilgrims from Greece, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine and Romania attend the historical mass at Panagia Sumela Monastery in Trabzon, Turkey.

The Sunday mass, the first after 88 years at the derelict monastery, is being led by Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians worldwide.

"I am overwhelmed" said Orthodox Patriach Bartholomew upon his arrival in Trabzon, " I came here to wake up memories, I came here to join the present with the past and the future."

The spiritual leader of Greek Orthodoxy stressed the historical meaning of the mass and spoke of "a bridge for communication and trust" between religious minorities and Turkish authorities.

It is the first time a Turkish government has ever given the green light for an official liturgy, apparently in a show of loosening restrictions on religious expression of non-Muslims minorities in Turkey and in line with its bid to join the European Union. Activists say the change is too slow. A key Orthodox Christian demand is the reopening of the Halki Theological School near Istanbul.

"Turkish PM Erdogan eventually accepted Bartholomew's request to hold once-yearly celebration of the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on Aug. 15 at Sumela Monastery, in line with with its stated policy of addressing the issues of religious minorities. Security and lack of access to houses of worship are among the leading problems mentioned by minority communities in Turkey and the government has been working to extend the right to pray at sacred sites", writes TodaysZaman, leading Turkish newspaper in English.

Sumela Monastery History

The historical Greek Orthodox Panagia Sumela Monastery/Holy Virgin Monastery was founded in the year 386 AD during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Theodosius. The legend has it that two priests, Varnavas and Sofronios, undertook the founding of the monastery after having discovered a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave of the mountain.

The Monastery is built at an altitude of 1063 metres, at the cliff of the Melas mountain, in the region of Trabzon at the Black Sea Coast of Turkey.

Even after the Fall of Byzantine Empire (Fall of Constantinople, 1453) and until 1922 the majority of the population in the area were Pontus Greeks. The Pontus Greeks were expelled to Greece and the then USSR and the site was abandoned in 1923 following the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey after the Treaty of Lausanne.

All these years the Monastery was a major destination of Greek tourists, mass was very rarely held in its yard.

Strict security measures

The mass was held under strict security measures, while the area of operation is been hovering by an helicopters, as the Black Sea area is a stronghold of Turkish nationalists.

Turkish media report that last Thursday two men were summoned to police in Trabzon for organizing an online protest campaign in Facebook against the mass and calling people to take action to stop the mass. One of the men is identified as member of administrative board of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Trabzon's name has been associated with the killing of an Italian priest and an Armenian journalist.

Roman Catholic priest Andrea Santoro was murdered by a 16-year-old in the Santa Maria Church on February 2005.

Two years later , Hrant Dink, Armenian-Turkish journalist and publisher of Agos minority newspaper was fatally shot in Istanbul by a 17-year-old Trabson native and ultra-nationalist. Turkish media revealed at that time that the plot was organized by several Trabzon citizens including a police informant.
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NOW, Enjoy the Lyra my friends....
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Nikos Deja Vu
http://n1k0s.multiply.com/

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[n2010k]

☆☆☆☆☆



[n2010k]

Ζει ο Πόντον !

Όλα σκωτούμες για τεσέν, σα χώματα να κείμες.

Εσύ, πατρίδα μου, θα ζεις, εμείς πα να μην είμες.

Ζει ο Πόντον, ζει ο Πόντον, κι αν σκωτούμες όλ' εμείς.

Ίνας Πόντιος κανείτε για να παίρ' ατόν οπίς!

Ζει ο Πόντον, ζει ο Πόντον, κι όλ' α χάμες α ση γη.

Ίνας Πόντιος κανείτε να τσαΐζ' «ο Πόντον ζει»!

[MMiskos]

Amazing video Nikos. I wish i was there. Orthodoxy will never die, we have proved that already.

[wernerfrisio]

Respeito à outra religião, respeito à diversidade cultural. Obrigado pela postagem do vídeo, é esclarecedor.

[XANIOTHSN]

K A L O OOOOOOOOOOOO

[4motorz]

:)) Opou xorevne pontioi xortare de fitrone!!!