Category Archives: A PhotoDiary of little things

Adam and Eve my little apple trees

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Grown from pips!

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Kimberly, Tom and Kristian

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Dear Friends in Christ,
I hope that you are all well and safe. I apologise for my disappearance but I have recently started “offcially” chanting at two (!) parishes in the suburbs of Thessaloniki. In fact, I am so busy chanting all the time (or preparing for the services) and I spend so much time in church that I sometimes have to politely decline a chanting obedience since I cannot be in both parishes at the same time 🙂
Church services in Greece have dramatically multiplied since the release of the lockdown, for as long as it lasts, so chanters are in great demand as there is no end to our vigils, processions and forty days liturgies!

How are the churches doing in your countries?

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PS. Not my hand 🙂 This is from a spiritual brother in Lesvos who is the closest I have known of a “bird whisperer” 🙂
Christ is in our midst!

“Emerald Lake” – Skra Waterfalls

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A Photo/ Video Blog

 

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Memories of Greek historical moments are mixed with the rare beauty of nature and the turquoise waters of an ancient lake.

These are the emotions one feels and the images that one sees as a visitor of Skra, the waterfalls and the famous “emerald lake”.

Skra is only 4 km away from the borders with FYROM and it spreads on the Northeast slopes of Paiko at an altitude of 520m. Its previous name was Lioumnitsa, while the current one is due to the proximal top Skra di Legken that during the First World War was the place of the homonymous battle field (Skra – Ravine). The battle was a decisive one for the course of the Greek State and the First World War.

With its characteristic proud old plane tree in the center of the village, Skra is considered to be a place of celebration in honor of the homonym battle, while every year on 17th of May a memorial ceremony for the officers and the soldiers of that battles belonging to the so called Greek Division of Crete and Archipelago is held at the Monument to those who died in 1918.

Since May 2002, the Museum of the First World War- Skra Battle has been operating in Skra, housed in a specially constructed area. The Museum exhibition presents relics, photos and historic documents from the Macedonian battles of the First World War, as well as from the victorious Skra battle. The well known victorious battle took place on May 17, 1918.

Near this settlement, the visitor faces a small miracle of nature. Through a wonderful path one can reach an area with rich vegetation, where one meets the first waterfall of Skra, at the root of which there is a small cave with stalactites. A little further on the path, the visitor is stunned by the beauty of the small “Blue Lake” or “Emerald Lake”, which owes its aquamarine emerald color of the water to the calcified and fossilized organisms of its bottom. Continuing on the path, the vegetation thickens and the ground is steeper. Here, one can see the second waterfall of Skra that falls with thunder over the rocks creating a stunning natural landscape.

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On my way to physiotherapy

st raphael's chapel3Saints Raphael, Nikolaos and Irene chapel happens to be literally next door to my physiotherapist’s clinic. I always visit it briefly before my treatment. I pray to the Saints’ to illumine my physiotherapist and bless me with a speedy healing.

 

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The chapel is one of the many small shrines scattered here and there, in practically every neighbourhood in Greece, an important part of the Greek culture. If a family has a special devotion to a Saint, and most of them have, then they get a licence and build a chapel for the public, in the loving memory of a grandmother or grandfather. This is a responsibility for all generations to come and they pay particular attention to its  being always clean, well-cared and its candles lit, day after day.

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Passersby pause briefly for a respite from their hectic schedule, get inside, light a candle, add their own petitions and always end by offering thanks and prayers for the founder.

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Memory Eternal to Anastasios Tataridis for this chapel!

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Dried Flowers and Tender Buds

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Christ is Risen! A miracle at St. George church in New Moudania, Chalkidiki. 18 days after the Epitaphios, all lillies “looking”towards Him are sprouting anew! Glory to God for all things!

 

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Christ is Risen! A miracle at St. George church in New Moudania, Chalkidiki. 18 days after the Epitaphios, all lillies “looking”towards Him are sprouting anew! Glory to God for all things!