Old Greek Church in Asia Minor to Hold Service

On 9 February 2020,the eighteenth century basilica-style Cathedral of St.Charalambos will celebrate the eve of its patronal feast day with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presiding.Located in the city of Cesme,Turkey,which was once known as Tseme,Asia Minor,in the Holy Metropolis of Krini,the cathedral had been blown up by the Turkish army in 1821,but was restored and reopened in 2016.Patriarch Bartholomew has previously served two Divine Liturgies there.*
Cesme,which is visible from the Greek island of Chios,was once home to as many as 10,000 Greeks,and their descendants still regard it with affection.Many of them,including several from Chios,attended the previous services in their ancestral hometown.The most ancient name of the city was Erythres.*
The Metropolis of Krini was home to about 60,000 Orthodox Christians.Besides St.Charalambos,there were four other Greek churches in Tseme and 34 rustic chapels in its outskirts.*
The Turkish community of Cesme also holds its own cultural events in the restored cathedral.*