Patriarch Celebrates Historic Liturgy in Ancient Monastery

Orthodox Christians held the first Divine Liturgy in almost 90 years at an ancient monastery on the side of a Turkish mountain Sunday, after the government allowed worship there in a gesture toward religious minorities. At least 1,500 pilgrims, including from Greece and Russia, traveled to the Byzantine-era monastery of Sumela for the service led by Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians. The Islamic-oriented government, which is aiming to expand freedoms as part of its bid to join  [Read more...]