The Greek Foreign Ministry condemned on Monday the desecration of the Sumela Monastery in the Turkish province of Trabzon, where local authorities allowed holding a disco inside what is considered one of the world's oldest Orthodox Christian shrines
ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2022) The Greek Foreign Ministry condemned on Monday the desecration of the Sumela Monastery in the Turkish province of Trabzon, where local authorities allowed holding a disco inside what is considered one of the world's oldest Orthodox Christian shrines.
Earlier in February, videos and pictures emerged on social media showing a DJ and young people dancing in the monastery. The disco was reportedly organized to attract tourists.
"The recent pictures posted on social media and showing a foreign group appearing to be disco dancing on the territory of the historic Sumela Monastery are a desecration of this monument, which is a candidate for listing in the UNESCO World Heritage. It is surprising that a permission was given to the group, since the Sumela Monastery is open only for pilgrimage," the Greek foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also noted that the pictures were insulting and topped the series of actions by the Turkish authorities against World Heritage sites.
"We urge the competent Turkish authorities to act properly so that acts like this do not recur, and to respect the holy site of the monastery," the statement read.
The Russian Orthodox Church has protested the desecration of Sumela and other Orthodox churches and monasteries in Turkey. The head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion, condemned the "cynical trampling of the Christian shrine."
The Church of Constantinople and the Greek Orthodox Church have not yet reacted to the actions of the Turkish authorities.
The Panagia Sumela Monastery was built at the end of the 4th and at the beginning of the 5th century. It is carved in rocks at over 984 feet above sea level. The shrine is especially venerated by the Pontic Greeks.
