It is believed that the church was built between 365-395 AD. The rules of Cappadocia churches, which are frequently encountered in Anatolia, were made; in fact, there is a similar cave church in the Maşatlık area of ​​Trabzon. Little can be said about the thousand-year period between the first foundation of the church and its conversion into a monastery. According to a legend told among the Black Sea Greeks, two monks named Barnabas and Sophronios of Athens had the same dream; in their dreams, they saw the place of Sumela where the icon was located, out of the three Panagia icons made by Saint Luke in the children of Jesus. Thereupon, unaware of the events, they came to Trabzon by sea, met there, told each other about their dreams and thought that the first church could be built. However, the fact that it is widely present in the frescoes in the monastery makes it thought that Emperor Alexios III of Trebizond, who is given special importance, is the real founder of the monastery.