SUMELA MONASTERY · DISCOVER & EXPLORE
History & timeline
Explore Sumela Monastery’s history, foundation traditions, the Komnenian period and a complex shaped over centuries, with sources.
Photo: Xayala Mammadli · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized / cropped
Where tradition meets history
Tradition links Sumela’s foundation to two monks, Barnabas and Sophronios, searching for an icon. This story belongs to the monastery’s religious tradition and should not be read as a verified record of events.
A complex shaped over centuries
The monastery gained importance under the Komnenian rulers of Trebizond and expanded through later additions and renovations. What visitors see today reflects many periods, rather than a single moment of construction.