History of Sumela Monastery

The Sumela Monastery, also known as “Meryem Ana” (The Virgin Mary), stands on the foot of a steep cliff facing the Coşandere valley in the region of Maçka in Trabzon, Turkey. It is nearly 300 meters high and was built in the tradition of monasteries located in forests outside the cities, near caves and water. The monastery was built in honor of the Virgin Mary. It took the name “Sumela,” which derives from “Melas,” meaning black. Although some believe that it has taken this name from the Karadağlar (Black Mountains) on which it stands, it is also associated with the black color of the icon of the Virgin Mary. This was also the view of eminent historian J. P. Fallmerayer (1790-1861), who visited the monastery in 1840. It is known that many icons of the Virgin Mary were produced in the l2th century by Georgian artists. These icons, known as Black Madonnas, found their way into a number of monasteries.

The icon of the Virgin Mary, which is believed by many to possess miraculous properties, is the main source of income for the monastery. According to legend the icon was built by Saint Luke, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, and sent to Athens after Luke’s death. However, during the reign of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius I in the fourth century, the icon declared its desire to leave Athens and was borne to a hollow in the mountains around Trabzon by angels and placed upon a stone. It was at that time that two hermits by the name of Barnabus and Sophronius, who were then traveling from Athens to Trabzon, happened to find the icon in this deserted spot and built the Rockface Church (Anakaya). It is believed that the monastery was rebuilt in the sixth century, during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, by Commander Belisarios.

According to another legend, Alexios III, saved from death in a storm by the Virgin Mary, had the monastery rebuilt. After its restoration, Alexios endowed it with rich foundations, the conditions of which were set out in a Krysobullos, or decree. Until around 1650 there was a verse consisting of five lines inscribed on a tablet dated 1360 over the monastery gates. The verse stated “Alexios III, founder (ktetor) of this place, is emperor of East and West (Iberia).” In 1361 Alexios witnessed an eclipse of the sun at Sumela and the sun depicted on coins that Alexios minted refers to this event. In the Deed of Foundation, dated 1365 there are references to the administration, land and income of the monastery. There is also a warning about the “danger of a Turkish invasion of Trabzon” and the monks are urged to be “always on the alert.”

The monastery buildings that have survived until today suggest that the Sumela monastery was built some time after the 13th century. It could be said that Alexios III (1349-1390) from the Kommenos dynasty, which was founded in Trabzon in 1204, revitalized the importance of the monastery and maintained its monetary support. After Turkish forces invaded the eastern Black Sea region, Ottoman Sultan Selim I (1512-1520) presented two candlesticks to the monastery, earlier Sultan Mehmet II, conqueror of Trabzon (and of Constantinople), acknowledged the rights of the monastery with legal decrees. Similarly the decrees of sultans Bayezid II, Selim II, Selim III, Murad I, İbrahim I, Süleyman the Magnificent, Mustafa I and Ahmet III were also said to be kept in the monastery.

Sumela was expanded and improved in the l8th century and many parts of it were rebuilt. The golden age of this monastery was the l9th century, when rebuilding and magnificent decorative works were carried out. During this period several important writers visited the monastery including Ghikas (1755), Stephan (1764), Hysilantes (1775), and G. Palgrave (1826-1888). After the Russian invasion of Trabzon between 1916 and 1918, the monastery was completely closed in 1923.

Sumela Monastery includes the Anakaya, kitchen, guest rooms, a library, courtyard and small chapels. An aqueduct that brought water to the monastery fell into ruin through disuse, but large portions of the structure, which had several arches, have been restored.

The monastery can be reached by way of a steep path through the forest. Its entrance was clearly designed with security in mind; the building is accessed via a long, narrow flight of steps. As you pass through the main entrance, where there is a room for the gatekeeper, you descend a flight of steps into an inner courtyard. To the left there are a number of monastery buildings and to the right is the library. Sixty-six of the primarily l7th and l8th century manuscripts from this library, which had been previously catalogued, are now in the Ankara Museum. Some further 1,000 Byzantine-era manuscripts, adorned with miniatures, are kept in the Hagia Sophia Museum in İstanbul. There are also 150 printed books.

The silver candlesticks presented by Sultan Selim I were stolen in 1877. Another icon belonging to the monastery is in a private collection in Oxford. In the Benaki Museum in Athens there is a silver medallion on which the Holy Trinity is depicted and another ornate medallion dated 1438, together with an altar cloth (epitaphios) dated 1438 from the monastery. Also on the right side of the courtyard are a number of rooms, known to have been built circa 1860, and rooms for guest and monks. There are traces of Turkish art in some of the buildings around the courtyard. For example the details of the cupboards, nooks and fireplaces are extremely reminiscent of the Turkish style. The inside and outside walls of the Anakaya and chapels are covered with frescoes. The wall in the Anakaya that is adorned with frescos is said to be from the time of Alexios III. The inside and outside walls of the chapel that are adorned with layers of frescoes date back to at least the l8th century. In some areas of the chapel the walls have three layers of frescos. The bottom layer is superior to the others in terms of color and quality. The change in subject-matter discernable in each layer is interesting.

Inscriptions have been discovered that tell the viewer that these frescoes were made in 1710 and 1732. However, on the courtyard-facing wall of the Anakaya there were once frescoes dating from the reign of Alexios III. There are, however, no traces of these today.

Outside there are parts of a huge Apocalyptic scene on the rock. However only the upper bands remain and underneath its flaking plaster other scenes are visible. On the wall of the small chapel, visitors can see the image of a dragon and two mounted figures: St. George and St. Demetrios. Beneath this top layer, there are also two additional layers of paintings.

Atop the first layer, where the figure of an emperor wearing a diadem is depicted, is yet another figure of the same kind also wearing a diadem, and on top of this a Transfiguration scene. In the older parts of the monastery there are correspondingly valuable paintings in places where the plaster has not flaked off completely in the lower layers.

The pointed arches of the fountain where the water of the sacred spring accumulates are also Turkish in style. In contrast to the extremely dilapidated chapels about 100 meters north of the Sumela monastery that contains frescoes, the walls in the monastery have been under protection by the Culture and Tourism Ministry since 1998. The frescoes in the Anakaya have been cleaned and placed under special care.

And finally, the pathway to the monastery has been restored and widened without touching its natural structure.