Panagia Soumela

The History of Panagia Soumela (The Virgin Mary of Soumela)

The Monastery of Panagia Soumela was founded in 386 AD, following a revelation from the Virgin Mary, inside a cave on Mount Mela near Trebizond (Trabzon), at an altitude of 1,063 meters.

The monastery was established by two Athenian monks, Barnabas and Sophronios. Its name originated from a common expression used by the local Pontic Greeks, who would say, “We are going up to the Virgin Mary on Mount Mela” (sou Mela tin Panagian).

According to tradition, the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary was painted on wood by the Evangelist Luke. Together with the monastery's holy spring water, believed to possess healing properties, the icon became the spiritual center of the monastery.

However, the violent actions of the Young Turks and Kemalist forces against the monasteries of Pontus led to the complete destruction of the monastery in 1922.

Shortly afterward, before the forced displacement and exodus of the Pontic Greeks in 1923, the monks concealed the sacred icon, along with a priceless cross containing a fragment of the True Cross belonging to Emperor Manuel III, and a handwritten Gospel manuscript of Saint Christopher, inside the Chapel of Saint Barbara.

The story, however, did not end there.

In 1931, following the intervention and encouragement of Greek statesman Eleftherios Venizelos, one of the two surviving monks of the historic monastery traveled from Thessaloniki to Pontus to recover the hidden sacred treasures and bring them back to Greece.

The monk successfully retrieved the relics, which remain important symbols of faith and Orthodox Christianity to this day.

A few years later, in 1951, construction began on the new Monastery of Panagia Soumela on Mount Vermio in Greece. The monastery became a major spiritual and cultural center for Pontic Greeks living in Greece.

There, the renowned miraculous icon of Panagia Soumela, together with the other sacred relics, found its new home, where it continues to be venerated by the faithful.

Every year, on August 15, the Feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, Panagia Soumela is honored with great devotion. Thousands of pilgrims, both of Pontic Greek descent and from other backgrounds, gather at the monastery to venerate the holy icon and celebrate this important religious feast.