Even though it is is 31C, it is raining. One of our friends said, “you have brought the rain with you from Manchester.” Indeed, but I drank from the fountain of Christ’s Mercy.
St Efraim the Syrian writes:
“Thanksgiving be to Him who caused a stream to flow forth
in the mouths that had been closed,
so that they might give praise without end, through the Son,
to the worshipful Father.”
Nisiben hymns 69
The evening was spent in conversation with Sister A and S at C’s house. The conversation was pastoral in nature, and the conversation revolved around the vicissitudes of life that we all suffer. Set within that larger framework of God’s divine plan.
It is a blessing to share one another’s burdens and to focus on our faith, our common heritage, within a world which often has taken the wrong direction and that is searching for answers. St Paul, in his letter to the Galatians in chapter 6 v. 2, writes, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” So, in acceptance of these words, we were indeed bearing one another’s burdens, and in so doing, fulfilling that law of Christ, to love God and to love one’s neighbour.
St Porphyrios says, “Christ is everything.” So, we should not add or subtract anything to our Christian faith, since, by adding, we compromise, and by subtracting, we fall short of that perfection which God calls us to. C.S. Lewis calls this “Mere Christianity.”To Wormwood, his nephew, in the Screwtape Letters, he says, what we must do is to keep them in the state of mind I call ‘Christianity and …’, you know, ‘Christianity and Crisis’, ‘Christianity and the New Psychology’, ‘Christianity and the New Order.’” To add to that, perhaps ‘Christianity and Politics.’
The horror of the same old thing is one of the most valuable passions we have produced in the human heart. It creates an endless source of heresies. Pure Christianity, with nothing added and nothing taken away, we find in the monasteries.
C.S. Lewis writes again: “just as we pick out and exaggerate the pleasure of eating to produce gluttony, so we pick out the natural pleasantness of change and twist it into a demand for absolute novelty.”
Original, authentic and unadulterated Christianity does not need nor seek approval of the world, or indeed embrace its passing fads and fashions and fantasies. It remains steadfast to apostolic order, to true doctrine and to the living tradition.
Any movement that is required is impelled by the action of the All-Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Now the enemy’s philosophy is nothing more nor less than one confirmed attempt to evade this very obvious truth. He aims at a contradiction.
The good of one’s self is to be the good of another. This impossibility he calls love. He is not content even himself to be a sheer arithmetical unity.
He claims to be three as well as one, in order that this nonsense about love may find a foothold in his own nature.” C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters.
Loving others is that impossible contradiction that we live as Christians.It requires on our part effort, time, perseverance and patience. These four virtues, cultivated by a little hope, will bring forth fruit.
Today the tenth is the feast of St. John Maximovich, who planted the seed of love in the New World, and indeed also in the eastern world, of which his fruit can be seen today in the USA and in the UK, and in many parts where he was present.
The growth of Orthodoxy is witnessed amongst our young people. It was on this day in 1993 that we, Pilgrims to Orthodoxy, met Patriarch Ignatius IV of thrice-blessed memory. We met him in Paris with these virtues and with equal hope, and he greeted us with “Welcome home.”
Home is more than a place. It is a people. It is being among others in that “arithmetical nonsense” where three are one, and one is three.
The resolute and formidable cost of being a Christian, in the early days of the Byzantine Empire, was evidenced today in the Catacombs (1) and the Baptistry of St. John the Baptist, which we visited today, next to Hagia Sophia Church. Burials, liturgies and prayers were carried on side by side in these underground chambers. These Catacombs were connected to one another, to other catacombs of St Demetrius and Hagia Sophia. There was no separation, not even in death.
Earlier on in the day, we visited the churches of St. Nicholas Orphanos (2) and St. Elias, both early 14th-century Byzantine churches with the most beautiful ancient frescoes. At St. Nicholas’s church, there was a constant stream of visitors. Listening to the accents, we heard English, Romanian and German, and like us, they were leaving names of their loved ones to be remembered at the Holy Liturgy.
We also met F., an elderly lady who looked after the St. Nikolaos Orphanos gardens. She asked for a blessing and also that we may remember her son, N.
At St. Elias’s church (3), the parish priest gave us gifts. May he be blessed.
Our Lord is recorded as saying to the Pharisees that if his followers are silenced, even the stones will cry out, and indeed, they do.
Walking in the midday heat, in a rason*, carrying a bag, takes its toll on the body, especially when you have age on your side. But it was a price well worth the experience of visiting prayer-soaked places of worship.
A living metaphor for my morning travels was the lovely tortoise we saw in the grounds of St. Nicholas’s church. Slow and resolute in her circumambulation of the church, carrying her home wherever she went. We saw her and followed her until it was time to make our own way back home.
*
(1) Catacombs of St. John the Baptist
The Catacombs of St. John the Baptist are located south of the Church of Hagia Sophia, underneath the street. Entering the gardens of the catacombs, one can see the ruins of the nymphaeum, a spring dedicated to the nymphs, as well as the thermal baths dating from Roman times. The nymphaeum was converted into a holy water spring during the Christian times, and an underground worship place was built there, in honour of St. John the Baptist.
This Catacomb belongs to the greater secret communication system of Thessaloniki, which has not been fully explored yet! Actually, it consists of numerous catacombs and tunnels, used by the first Christians to practice their worship. One can reach them through the Temple of Saint John the Baptist, hence the name. There are also remnants of the early Christian church.
(2) Church of Agios Nikolaos Orfanos
The church of Agios Nikolaos Orphanos is located at the district of Ano Poli Thessaloniki, near the eastern walls, between the streets Apostolou Pavlou and Irodotou. It used to be the catholicon of a Monastery, from which a small part of the entrance of the propylon.
We encounter the name Agios Nikolaos Orphanos in two patriarchal documents, in 1635 and 1638, of the Monastery Vlatadon, which was its metochi already from the period of the Turkish Occupation, and to historical sources of 1745.
The origin of the name has intrigued a lot of researchers. For some the name Agios Nikolaos Orphanos is related to the name of the founder of the church which belonged to the family of Orphanos. But it is also related to Saint Nicholas, who showed great care for widows and orphans (Orfanos meaning orphan).
The present day view accepts as the founder of the church the Serbian king Milutin, who had developed intense building activity in Thessaloniki. To this view lead us wall paintings in the church with Agios Georgios Gorgos and Clement of Ochrid, saints that were specially honored in Serbia. The close relations of Milutin with Thessaloniki is due to the fact that he was married to the Byzantine princess Simonis, daughter of empress Irene Palaiologina, who lived in the city.
Nowadays, the church has the form of an oblong, wooden-roofed hall, which is surrounded on three sides with a portico. The portico on the east ends in two chapels.
At the interior of the church the marble screen dates from the period the church was founded, while the capitals date from the Early Christian period.
The church’s excellent wall paintings, frescoes, are true masterpieces and are the best preserved compared with the ones in other churches of Thessaloniki. They date from 1310-1320. Among them, apart the ones dealing with the life of Christ, of particular interest are the themes of Akathist Hymn and the lives of Agios Nikolaos and Agios Gerasimos Ioardanitis.
(3) Church of Prophet Elijah (Profitis Elias)
The church of Prophet Elijah, at some point the catholicon of a monastery, is at a close distance from the basilica of Agios Dimitrios and is one of the most important examples of church architecture from the Palaeologan period (1261-1453) in Thessaloniki.
Its dedication to Prophet Elijah is a more recent one and is because of a corruption of the Turkish name of the mosque Serayli Camii or because the church is built on a hill, where they usually build churches dedicated to the Prophet. According to the most prevalent view the church was initially dedicated to Christ, as it is evident by the numerous Christological scenes that are depicted at the narthex. It is possible that it is identified with the well-known in the sources Monastery of Akapniou.
Its architectural type, four-columned, cross-in-square church with semi-circular conches on the northern and southern side (side choirs), is unique in Thessaloniki. This type is called Athonite triconch. Easy and west of the choirs, four compartments are added. The two eastern ones are the sacristies, and the two western chapels. These are roofed by domes of smaller dimensions than the huge central one. On the west there is the so-called “liti”, that is spacious narthex, necessary for the funational needs of the catholicons of the monasteries. In the years 1956-1961 there were restoration works at the dome, the portico, the chapels and some Turkish additions were removed.
At the interior some wall paintings of the 14th century (1360-1370) still survive, where scenes from the Life of Christ dominate, as well as isolated saints.
* The rasson (also spelled rason, exorasson, or ryassa) is the voluminous, wide-sleeved outer cassock worn by priests, deacons, and monks in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches.
Holy Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos, Mikrokastro: a beacon of faith and tradition, offering spiritual guidance, hospitality, and hope to the faithful from all over the world. It remains a living centre of Orthodox Christianity, linking past and present through devotion and heritage.
In the past, I have written several blog posts about this monastery and its blessed synodeia. This time I would like to focus on the miraculous icon of the Theotokos Panagia Eleousa, the Merciful Virgin, which possibly dates back to as early as 1200 (!), and is located in the iconostasis of the Katholikon. I would like to share with you three recent miracles of the Theotokos, shared with me during my recent monastery pilgrimage.
During a very serious operation, a man died and began to watch outside his body, the agonising efforts of the doctors in the operating room, but also the ascent of his soul, accompanied by angels. He climbed the stairs with difficulty, but the angels always helped him on each step, until he reached the last one, and there, no matter how hard he tried, he could not climb it. He saw a brightly lit space in front of him, but he could not climb it. He begged the angels, but they told him that even they could not help him and that he should ask for the intercession of his patron saint. Indeed, he prayed to Saint Nektarios, who, however, also told him that he could not help him and that he had to implore the Virgin Mary. She then appeared and told him that he could not actually climb this last step, because he lacked the virtue of charity. However, through her intercession, she would give him a second chance to prepare himself properly. And the Virgin Mary performed her miracle, and he returned to life in front of the astonished eyes of his doctors. His wife had made a vow to the Virgin Mary with many tears to give her husband a second chance, so that he would not leave unprepared for the terrible test.
Τhe miracle that follows is very similar to the previous one. It was again a case of a patient’s death during a very serious operation, and it was again a wife praying on her knees to the Virgin Mary, who heard her tama, her spiritual vow. However, it also has some differences. This husband arrived in front of a brightly lit plain, but he could not enter; a “wall” separated him. Also, he was not alone, but “outside” this plain, there were a multitude of people who were moaning, lamenting … This torment lasted for this particular man “many hours” and in the end he too was exhausted from waiting, fatigue, thirst! And he, too, began to cry. No matter how many prayers he said, they were not heard. At some point, the Virgin Mary appeared before him. He begged her to help him enter the bright plain, to give him a glass of water. And the Virgin Mary replied that he is not worthy not to enter this place of rest, but he is not worthy even for a glass of water! But because your wife begs me, I will give you a second chance to correct your life so that you can escape this place of torment. And indeed, the husband came back to life, shocked! The sister who told me about this miracle described to me that he himself came to the monastery with his wife to fulfil the vow to the Virgin Mary, and he still seemed shocked. The sister added to me that perhaps the most terrible thing in this story, but also in the previous one, was that these two men had spiritual fathers; they lived with the mysteries of the Church, yet they were not yet ready! Lord, have mercy!
The third miracle is a little different. Here we have a husband praying, making a tama, and his wife being saved from death. She had been hospitalised for months without any hope, and while the doctors had given up, her husband begged the Virgin Mary to perform a miracle. One evening, exhausted from the hospital, he drove late at night all the way from Thessaloniki to Mikrokastro, over two hours, and found the door of the monastery open, because a vigil was being held. He entered the church and began to pray with tears to the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, and at some point, from exhaustion, he fell asleep inside the church. Then he saw what a dream he had. In the centre of the church, he saw the Virgin Mary sitting on a radiant throne with Her Son enthroned in Her arms and standing reverently on one side was the Archangel Gabriel and the Archangel Michael on the other side. The Virgin Mary then spoke to him, addressing him by his baptismal name, and told him not to worry about his wife; she would be fine. But the Theotokos asked him to fulfil his spiritual vow in the following way: to offer an icon of her to the monastery exactly as she had appeared to him. Then he woke up, and after thanking the Virgin Mary, he hurried back to the hospital to share the wonderful news with his wife. He found her indeed healed, healthy, and the morning medical tests also clinically proved to the astonished doctors that her health was now excellent! A miracle had occurred, and she had been healed! Then, they rushed to the monastery to tell the story of the miracle and to describe to a sister who paints icons the specific representation of the Virgin Mary. Since then, this icon has adorned the narthex of the Katholicon. The miracle and the Theotokos’ request are signed at the bottom of the icon, together with the names and the date of the miracle, October 28, 2017.
We visited a monastery, where a young British man who wanted to become a catechumen “accidentally” met a British Orthodox priest who was visiting the same morning and “happened” to be a parish priest very near this young man’s hometown. Last but not least, they had booked the same return flight to the UK that Saturday! So, this young man had his first 3 catechesis lessons that morning!
The nuns of war.
From Aleppo to …
Years ago, it was a deserted monastery with only two nuns. But in 2013, the war in Syria brought here a sisterhood from Aleppo. These nuns have experienced the war, and each has a moving story to share. This monastery is now vibrantly alive, full of radiant Joy and warm Love.
All of the sisters have studied at Syrian universities – from Fine Arts to Economics – all come from old Christian families, and most of them have postgraduate degrees in Theology, which they have studied in Greek Universities. Pavlos, the Metropolitan of Aleppo, their spiritual Father, asked them to come here.
This is a monastery where Arabic hymns and psalms mingle along with Greek prayers. But what is most amazing and I have never encountered before in any other monastery I have visited, is their joy and love. This radiant Joy and love are a fruit of their obedience to their spiritual father in everything, and especially to his word. This is what a sister told us: “The most important thing is that Joy in a person, being joyful, is a decision. When we are not joyful in this life, it is a sin against God and His love.
When I was in Thessaloniki, I can’t remember because it’s just one, visiting from one monastery to another, and the spiritual fragrance of those places is filled with the living Christ. I met a Gerontas. I won’t tell you his name because I know some know him, but some believe he is a saint already. And when you are next to a saint, you know it. Remember, Orthodoxy is very physical. I wanted to be near him, because you could feel holiness. He told us a story about a woman from Canada. She was Chinese. And she had a dream of this face, of this Geronda. She had this dream every night for four years in Canada. Four years. Every night, this Geronda would come in her dream and say, “Come see me. I don’t have so much time.” She didn’t know who he was. She didn’t know where he lived. So she went and had a car, and she went on a tour of monasteries in northern Greece. Until she arrived at this particular monastery, where Gerontas lived, “Ah, here you are”. (And then, this Gerontas made particular arrangements for her to be properly catechised and baptised back in Canada with a priest next door to her own house!) You see, there are some hidden Christians.
This Gerontas goes and secretly baptises people in Turkey. There are secret Christians. There are people who want to become Christians. Many Muslims, rather than going to Greece, go to Romania, perhaps.
Other little miracles happened during my stay in Thessaloniki. I asked Gerontas for a word. It’s a tradition in Greece to say, “Give me a word.” Do you have this tradition? He didn’t say anything. He took a sweet out of his pocket and gave it to me. And I knew what he meant. He said, Give, feed people with the sweetness of Christ. You see, he doesn’t speak English. And I don’t speak very much Greek, so he just gave me a sweet. Simplicity is the beauty of Orthodoxy.
This same Gerontas shared with us another monastery miracle. Many years ago, on Mount Athos, a small boat with monks and doctors met another small boat with some Italian students. One of them was so impressed with the holiness of the Fathers that he swapped boats and followed them to their monastery pilgrimage. Years passed by, communication continued between this Gerontas and this Italian student, miracles happened to his family with Gerontas’ prayers, including saving his father’s life from cancer, and now this Gerontas visited him in Italy and made arrangements for his catechism and baptism, again next door, by an Orthodox Italian hieromonk, a former Uniate priest and now a member of Gerontas’ synodeia.
With God’s help, our group continues the pilgrimage to Georgia.
The day began with a journey to the ancient capital of Mtskheta, a place sanctified by centuries of Christian witness and home to several of the most revered holy sites in the country.
1. Svetitskhoveli Cathedral – The Life-Giving Pillar
The group first visited Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, dedicated to the Twelve Apostles. The original church dates back to the 4th century and was commissioned by the first Christian rulers of Georgia: King Mirian and Queen Nana. The current building is from 11th century.
TheCathedral’s name means “the Life-Giving Pillar,” reflecting one of the most treasured holy traditions of the Georgian Church. According to ancient tradition, during the Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, a Georgian Jew named Elias was present in Jerusalem. He obtained the seamless robe of Christ from a Roman soldier and brought it back to Mtskheta. His sister, Sidonia, upon touching the garment, was overcome with divine grace and reposed immediately, clutching it to her breast. She was buried with the robe, which could not be separated from her.
Years later, when Saint Nino came to Georgia preaching Christ, she prayed over this burial site. A great cedar tree had grown there, and from it pillars were fashioned for the first church. One of the pillars, however, rose miraculously into the air and could not be set in place until Saint Nino spent the night in prayer. By God’s power, the pillar descended and began to stream myrrh, bringing healing to the faithful. Hence the name: the Life-Giving Pillar.
Icon depicting the miracle with the Life-giving Pillar
Burial place of the Robe of Christ and Sidonia
2. Samtavro Monastery – St Nino and St Gabriel
The group then moved to the ancient Samtavro Monastery, dedicated to the Transfiguration of our Lord.
This holy place is closely connected with Saint Nino. It was here, according to tradition, that she lived and prayed under a humble blackberry bush, establishing her ascetic dwelling while preaching Christ to the Georgian people. Even today, a chapel marks this place, preserving the memory of her quiet but powerful witness.
The monastery holds the relics of the great modern saint of Georgia, Saint Gabriel Ugrebadze who spent the final years of his life there. Known for his boldness, humility, and deep love for Christ, Saint Gabriel lived as a “fool for Christ,” enduring persecution during the Soviet era. His life was marked by repentance, simplicity, and unwavering faith, and many pilgrims come seeking his intercessions.
Chapel of St Nino at Samtavro Monastery
3. A Hidden Treasure – Antioch in Mtskheta
During the free time, part of the group, advised by a local priest who learned that we belong to the Antiochian Church, was led to a hidden treasure away from the main tourist routes: the small monastery, dedicated to Saint Stephen, also known locally as Antioch. Dating back to the 4th century (though rebuilt several times), it bears witness to the early ecclesiastical ties between Georgia and the Church of Antioch.
Before becoming autocephalous, the Georgian Church was under the jurisdiction of Antioch. This monastery is believed to have functioned as a metochion (kind of ecclesiastical representation or “embassy”) of the Antiochian bishops in the region.
The group was welcomed at the monastery by mother Sophia, one of the nuns, who kindly showed the faithful around and told the story of the monastery. For our group, this visit was a particularly meaningful reminder of the historical and spiritual connection between our Churches.
4. Jvari Monastery – The Holy Cross
The day concluded with a visit to Jvari Monastery, dedicated to the Holy Cross (“Jvari” in Georgian means Cross).
According to tradition, it was on this very hill that Saint Nino erected a wooden cross after the conversion of Georgia to Christianity in the 4th century. This cross became a sign of victory and protection for the newly illumined land. The present monastery, built in the 6th century, stands as a witness to that event, overlooking the confluence of the rivers and the ancient city of Mtshketa below.
Confluence of rivers: Mtkvari (Kura) and Aragvi rivers
Standingthere, our group chanted “Christ is Risen!” and the Apolytikion of the Holy Cross, giving thanks to God for granting us to venerate these holy places.
On the way back to Tbilisi the group briefly visited the Chronicles of Georgia, created by the sculptor Zurab Tsereteli. This impressive monument stands on a hill overlooking Tbilisi. It is formed of large stone pillars richly carved with scenes: at the lower levels, biblical episodes from the life of Christ, and above them, figures from Georgian history, such as kings, saints, and other notable people, standing as witnesses to the faith and history of the nation.
With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Silouan Oner, a group of 29 pilgrims from St George’s Cathedral, together with brothers and sisters from other Orthodox parishes in the UK, began a six day pilgrimage to Georgia, one of the most ancient Orthodox Christian lands.
The group departed London on the evening of 30 April and arrived in Tbilisi in the early hours of Friday 1 May after a five-hour flight.
Holy Trinity Cathedral – View from the Hotel
Walking Tbilisi
Our guide Beka welcomed the group at the airport and led them to the hotel for a short rest before the programme began. The hotel stands close to the magnificent Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, which the group will visit the following day.
The day focused on a walking tour of the city.
Leaning Tower
The pilgrims crossed the Mtkvari River (Kura River as it’s known internationally) and passed the Berikaoba Sculpture of dancing people and historic Leaning Tower of Tbilisi before reaching the oldest surviving church in the city, the Christians have worshipped there continuously since the sixth century, apart from a short interruption during the Soviet period.
The church is closely connected with the Ancha Icon of the Saviour, linked to the Image of Edessa, the miraculous imprint of Christ’s face sent to King Abgar. The original icon is now kept in the Georgian National Museum, while the church preserves a wonderworking copy. Archpriest Mikhail welcomed the group, and the pilgrims venerated the icon and received anointing with oil from its lamp.
The group then passed the residence of the Patriarchate of Georgia, where the late Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II lived and served for many years. Memory eternal.
The next stop was the Sioni Cathedral, whose present structure dates to the twelfth century. Until 2004 it served as the main cathedral of the Georgian Church and the seat of the Patriarch. The cathedral keeps a relic of the skull of the Apostle Thomas and the Cross of Saint Nino, the Enlightener of Georgia (photos prohibited). It also serves as the resting place of many Georgian patriarchs, including Patriach Ilia II of thrice-blessed memory.
The group continued through the narrow streets of the Old City and reached Vakhtang Gorgasali Square, where they paused for lunch.
After lunch the pilgrims explored the Abanotubani district with its sulphur baths and visited the Leghvtakhevi Waterfall.
The group arrived during Vespers. The interior frescoes have not survived, but the church keeps the relics of the holy Queen and Martyr Shushanik of Armenia. It also commemorates the one hundred thousand martyrs of Tbilisi, who in 1226 refused to trample on the holy icons under the orders of Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu and accepted martyrdom. Their bodies were cast into the river, which according to tradition ran red with their blood.
The final church of the day was the Metekhi Church, dedicated to the Nativity of the Mother of God. The church stands on the left bank of the Mtkvari River, and its present form dates to the thirteenth century.
After a short rest the pilgrims gathered for a traditional Georgian meal. Among the foods weee famous, khachapuri (warm bread filled with melted cheese) and khinkali (dumplings filled with meat and broth). The evening included traditional music and Georgian dances.
This concluded the first day of the pilgrimage. Glory to God!
My recent five-day “pilgrimage“ to Thessaloniki was filled with blessings and holy encounters with friends on earth and friends in heaven. These meetings have brought me spiritual refreshment and renewed energy. Visits to monasteries, all-night vigils, meals with Orthodox families — such spiritual nourishment and Greek hospitality provide an excellent sufficiency for soul and body.
I was reflecting on the Western concept of holiness as against Orthodox Theosis. Western holiness mainly consists of individual moral improvement. Any notional idea of a greater good lies somewhere in the adherence to Biblical interpretation.
The Eastern Orthodox way is not a concept but a mystical experience, an incarnational reality through revelation to the senses. One can see holiness, one can smell holiness, taste it, hear it and touch it. Holiness is essentially participation in the Life of the Holy Trinity. Since God has become man, the Word has become flesh, and all our senses are to be made holy. Everything that we bless in Christ becomes holy and sanctified since we are made in the image of God and have put on Christ. We are being formed and transformed through grace.
This then is not just moral perfection gained through individual merits, it is transfiguration: it is participation in the Love of God within the Body of Christ, His Church. We Orthodox truly ”worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
In the beauty and Truth of the Holy Liturgy, we smell the incense representing our prayers ascending to the heavens, we see the Icons of our Saviour Jesus Christ, His Most Holy Mother and the saints, and we venerate their image. We hear the mellow byzantine chanting of the psalms, the scriptures and petitions, we taste the Body and Blood of Christ, we greet one another and holy relics with a holy kiss and take a blessing from the hands of priests.
I draped myself over the holy relics of St Demetrios when in Thessaloniki. That physical presence brought joy and strength. I met Geronda T. during my visit and wanted to be close to him, to take his blessing, to kiss and hold his hand. I wanted to be near him to enjoy his light that he has from Christ. When one meets a holy person you just want to be in their presence and bathe in the light of Christ. It is no wonder the first disciples left everything they had to follow Christ, the Light of the World.
“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
Wehave seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
“Someone recently described Thessaloniki as like a dry cake. I’m not sure about this simile. I would prefer to describe it in terms of warm slices of bread. Exchanging a cold, windy, wet Manchester of 13C for a calm, warm late evening 25C, Thessaloniki was indeed a taster of what was to come. Having navigated the vicissitudes of the roaming signal with a friendly local, a familiar “taxi” driver arrived to pick me up from the terminal.
I have often thought that the word terminal speaks of rather sad endings rather than the springboard and opening to new adventures.
Having been delivered to my assigned apartment I enjoyed the sleep of the just traveller.
The five days in Thessaloniki spent with my spiritual children had both an eternal and a brief dimension. Time expands and contracts according to God’s ordinance.
House blessings, Confessions, Social Gatherings, Prayers, Church and Monastery Visits and the not so mundane coffee stops roll into a well risen loaf with the yeast of kindness and the warmth of hospitality.
In just one day we visited:
The Holy Church of St Nicholas Orphanos
The Church of Pammegistoi Taxiarches where there was a Byzantine Crypt and huge Basil bushes outside.
Vlatadon Monastery.
Latomos Monastery and later the cave Church of St David the Dendrite.
St Demetrios Church.
St Theodora Monastery and Church where we venerated the holy relics of St Theodora and St David.
Church of St Theodora
Stopping for late lunch the first thing to arrive on our table was warm sliced bread — a gift and a symbol of the spiritual slices of holiness we had tasted earlier.
St Demetrios church St Anysia relicsChurch of Pammegistoi Taxiarches with byzantine cryptSt Nicholas OrphanosBasil bushOsios David the Dendrite Latomos monasteryView from Vlatadon Monastery
We took the bread, blessed it, gave thanks, broke it and shared the humble gift with the meal — a eucharistic pattern that is woven into every fabric of the Christian Life.
So many precious memories in a short space of time — but God’s time (kairos not chronos). For these treasured moments I give thanks to God”.
Christ is in our midst. Please forgive my absence of nearly a month, but this was a time of intensive reflection after my first ’round’ of pilgrimages to monasteries so that we could decide what to do and where to go next. By the way, this month I also visited another monastery, which was so hesychastic and hidden that I did not have the blessing to share with you anything, be it photographs or discussions with the monastics there!
During these quiet weeks of reflection, hesychia and quiet, friends introduced me to the Travels of Egeria, alias Pilgrimage of Aetheria or Pilgrimage to the Holy Lands(Peregrinatio or Itinerarium Egeriae), the earliest extant graphic account of a Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land about 381/2–384, from Mount Sinai to Constantinople.
Who is this Egeria, this Christian woman who took a journey lasting four years to the Middle East in the middle of the fourth century c.e. and wrote a journal of her travels?
Her manuscript lay dormant until the late 1800s. Other Latin writers made mention of her, so her accounts circulated among religious pilgrims before they were lost for centuries. Her name was Egeria (also known as Eutheria, Aetheria, and Silvia), and she was writing for other religious women who lived in Europe, perhaps on the Atlantic coast of Spain or France.
Most likely she was a nun commissioned by her community to put her curious and adventurous mind to work for the benefit of the spiritual life of her sisters. She went on pilgrimage to the most important sites of the Christian and Jewish world of her day.
Her account is one of the most valuable documents scholars have of the fourth-century world of travel, piety, early monasticism, women’s roles, and even the development of late Latin.
Her book has two parts. The first part is a travelogue and is simply her report of her pilgrimage. She tells her sisters of her visits to such hallowed and historical places as Jerusalem, Edessa, sites in Mesopotamia, Mount Sinai, Jericho, the Jordan River, Antioch, and Constantinople, and of meeting people (usually monks and mystics) serving the places.
She follows the itinerary of the people who made the places famous and prays there. Often her comments about the rustics at the sacred sites show a bit of dry humour.
Her tourist program has many other objectives, such as following the path of Moses through the desert to Mt. Sinai, her plan to visit the home of Abraham’s family (Carrhae or biblical Harran, southeast of Edessa), and her hope to go to Thomas the Apostle’s tomb in Edessa.
The travelogue is incomplete, for like any good pilgrim she concocted ever more schemes to visit other places like Ephesus to pray at the tomb of the John the “Beloved” Apostle. This part of her travels is missing from the manuscript.
The second part is more a journalistic report on the church of Jerusalem’s liturgical practices over the three years she lodged there. Her record of the practices surrounding daily life and prayer of the church is the first one that scholars have on the topic.
She also reports on how the church’s celebrations correspond to its unique location in the Holy Land. The liturgies she describes are hardly stationary ceremonies in one church location, but they involve processions from place to place according to the occasion. In addition, her descriptions are useful for historians of church architecture.
Her account allows modern readers to see things like the need for military escorts in various places of the Holy Land, the unfailing hospitality of the monasteries along the way, the road network, and the system of inns maintained by the empire.
She speaks of the monks, the nuns, and the religious laity in the Holy Land and their patterns of fasting and the instruction of the candidates for entrance into the church. Finally, she epitomises the heart of the pilgrim and shows pluck and pithiness as she describes each stage of her spiritual journey. Having done part of this pilgrimage myself, even the ascent of Sinai, I have to say how impressed I am by her fearlessness and stamina !
THE ASCENT OF SINAI
We reached the mountain late on the sabbath, and arriving at a certain monastery, the monks who dwelt there received us very kindly, showing us every kindness; there is also a church and a priest there. We stayed there that night, and early on the Lord’s Day, together with the priest and the monks who dwelt there, we began the ascent of the mountains one by one. These mountains are ascended with infinite toil, for you cannot go up gently by a spiraltrack, as we say snail-shell wise, but you climb straight up the whole way, as if up a wall, and you must come straight down each mountain until you reach the very foot of the middle one, which is specially called Sinai. By this way, then, at the bidding of Christ our God, and helped by the prayers of the holy men who accompanied us, we arrived at the fourth hour, at the summit of Sinai, the holy mountain of God, where the law was given, that is, at the place where the Glory of the Lord descended on the day when the mountain smoked.1 Thus the toil was great, for I had to go up on foot, the ascent being impossible in the saddle, and yet I did not feel the toil, on the side of the ascent, I say, the toil, because I realised that the desire which I had was being fulfilled at God’s bidding. In that place there is now a church, not great in size, for the place itself, that is the summit of the mountain, is not very great; nevertheless, the church itself is great in grace. When, therefore, at God’s bidding, we had arrived at the summit, and had reached the door of the church, lo, the priest who was appointed to the church came from his cell and met us, a hale old man, a monk from early life, and an ascetic as they say here, in short one worthy to be in that place; the other priests also met us, together with all the monks who dwelt on the mountain, that is, not hindered by age or infirmity. No one, however, dwells on the very summit of the central mountain; there is nothing there excepting only the church and the cave where holy Moses was.2 When the whole
1 Exod. xix. 18. 2 Exod. xxxiii. 22.
passage from the book of Moses had been read in that place, and when the oblation had been duly made, at which we communicated, and as we were coming out of the church, the priests of the place gave us eulogiae,1 that is, of fruits which grow on the mountain. … I began to ask them to show us the several sites. Thereupon the holy men immediately deigned to show us the various places. They showed us the cave where holy Moses was when he had gone up again into the mount of God,2 that he might receive the second tables after he had broken the former ones when the people sinned; they also deigned to show us the other sites which we desired to see, and those which they themselves well knew.
1 This word is still used in the Eastern Church for food which has been blessed by a priest, e. g. the first fruits from an orchard or a vineyard. 2 Exod. xxxiv. 4.
… From the summit of the central mountain, those mountains, which we could scarcely climb at first …From thence we saw Egypt and Palestine, and the Red Sea and the Parthenian Sea,1 which leads to Alexandria and the boundless territories of the Saracens, all so much below us as to be scarcely credible, but the holy men pointed out each one of them to us.”
This is a highly readable, exciting book, available as a full Audio Book, read by David Wales, and available online, which I strongly recommend you to have a look at, if you haven’t already.
Or, my last day at Metamorfosi monastery of Saint John the Forerunner and how Gerondas Gregorios and Mother Akylina defeated the demons’ assaults and saved my father from eternal death.
The night before my departure, I had the blessing to speak to Mother Akylina. (So far all my momentous meetings at the monasteries have mysteriously taken place the last few hours before my departure…) Mother Akylina is a very old and frail sister in her nineties, bent in two, with a very sharp, illumined nous, and with beautiful, wide azure eyes staring into eternity. Until last summer, Mother Akylina was probably the first person pilgrims met upon entering the monastery, near its book store, but recently this sister has completely “disappeared” in hesychia and is now rarely seen anywhere. Yet God in His Mercy granted an exception to me.
“The just shall flourish like the palm tree, shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bear fruit even in old age, always vigorous and sturdy, As they proclaim: “The Lord is just; our rock, in whom there is no wrong.” (Psalm 92:13-16)
I always smile when I think of Mother Akylina because although she is old and bent double, she is “always vigorous and sturdy“, moves like a firefly, and her knowledge and eagerness to help sweeps you up in her enthusiasm.Indeed, she “bears fruit even in old age”.
I always listen to Mother Akylina. I feel most indebted to her because she saved my father from eternal death. Together with Gerondas Gregorios of blessed memory. It was their discernment, leading to insight, and ultimately to foresight, which wrought that amazing miracle at the end of my father’s life. Oh, what a profoundly moving experience I experienced with their prayers! Let me try to put it into words, if I can.
My father was a very good person and a conscientious doctor who honoured his calling, offered wise counselling about diet and exercise to everybody, cared deeply for his patients and helped them as much as he could. I always smile when I remember his words to his patients and us, to be sure, familyand friends: “No, you do not need any medication. You should just lose weight, exercise regularly, and your test results will improve”. Or: “No, you do not need any make-up; eat lots of fruits and veggies, and their nutrient antioxidants, vitaminsand minerals will help you get glowing skin”. Or: “Feeling stressed? Having difficulty to sleep at night? No need for any medication. Just run or walk briskly for at least one hour every day, take a cold shower at the end of your training, and then come and tell me if you still feel stressed. And if this ‘dosage’ fails, repeat as often as you can, as many times in the day! ” Or: “Never take a serious decision at night! Rest, get some sound sleep, thinkabout it clearlyand calmly, and then make up your mind in the cold light of day”. And so on and so forth …
But it was not just his words and the example he set, being himself an athlete and a tennis champion. My father, God rest his soul, also had integrity, courage, resilience, cheerfulness, empathy, respect, compassion and kindness towards everybody. Each and everyone loved my father and wanted to be near him. His only difficulty was … to believe in afterlife. After retirement, he started diligently to study the Holy Bible, day after day, the whole Old and New Testament, intrigued by my life choices, underlying the passages which made the greatest impression of him. I have kept his study Bible and am still impressed by how much he had read. Years went by like this, but my father never quite made up his mind to participate in any church sacraments, especially confession to a priest.
Then, towards the end of his life, he became a patient himself who needed doctors, as he started having some horrible nightmares of ghastly dark figures chasing and attacking him. Every night, he would fall from his bed and end up on the floor ‘beaten’, injured and shivering. All his friend doctors considered these symptoms side-effects of the medication he was taking, but they could not help him, free him from that torture, night after night.
“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
Once, back in those days, I went to St. John the Forerunner monastery and met sister Akylina as usual at the bookstore, and she asked me about our family news. When she heard this update from my father, she looked very concerned, sharply told me to “wait here” and disappeared in a haste to meet Gerondas Gregorios. At that time, Gerondas was in absolute silent seclusion, but she was one of the very few sisters who had the blessing to “interrupt” his hesychia at her discretion.
A few minutes later, she came back in a hurry and told me Gerondas’ message to my father: “Ioanni, if you do not confess to a priest, these dark figures that chase you in your nightmares, they will chase you in reality after you die, because they are demons”.
–“But Mother, how can I say such things to my father? I do not dare. He will dismiss them. He is a doctor, he has witnessed lots of deaths at his long medical career in hospitals, he does not believe in the possibility of life after death”.
–“We insist. You should say Gerondas’ message to your father. We will all pray”.
And so, a few days later, I summoned all my courage and told my father Gerondas’ words. To my surprise, he did not dismiss them but looked at me very seriously in the eyes. He told me he needed time to reflect about all this. I am sure that this martyrdom must have been a most humbling experience for my father, who had survived all life’s odds, war, poverty, even losing his father as a young child and having to support his brethren and his young, widow mother, yet was now helpless. What a humbling experience for someone so strong to feel so powerless and helpless! We all started praying and waited … God must have been shouting in my father’s nightmares: it was indeed his megaphone to rouse his skeptic child. “Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:27) Another megaphone was certainly + Gerondas Gregorios’ stern warning to him.
A few months passed by, and one day, my father called me and asked me to arrange for a priest to come to hear his Confession! (By that time he could not move outside the house). As you may very well guess, I promptly arranged this with our parish priest. By God’s Providence, I was also present at his Confession. My father was a simple man and wanted to make his confession in front of us (ie. my mother and I), and eventually the priest, after hearing his Confession, covered the heads of all three of us with his epitrachelion and read the absolution prayer to us all.
From that night on, after his Confession and Holy Communion, my father’s nightmares disappeared at once and his martyrdom came to an end. He radiated peace and joy! Very soon, his health sharply declined. But there was no pain, agony or anguish in any of this. Only peace and joy! In a matter of a few weeks, my father slept peacefully in the Lord, who patiently extended the life of His child just as much as needed to save him. Glory to God! Christ is Risen!
Mother Akylina’s prayers are so powerful and targeted! So are her insights. You probably understand now why I pay such close attention to every single word she is telling me. So, I did yesterday, and I paid even more attention now because she looked “bodiless”— as if her departure to Heavens was imminent. Please forgive me for not being able to share her words since they are all about most private matters.But I can share this. It is about somebody who had just started going to Church, Confession etc and he kept telling me how his life had become so much harder since. Her words were that all this is from the Evil one to discourage him and he should not pay any attention to his suggestions. It will become harder because of the spiritual battle, but he should keep his soul in hell and despair not. And when I told her, that I cannot say anything to this person about anything really, she told me “then, pray!” Also, about a very difficult situation, a Cross, her words were: “As the Lord provides. May it be blessed. Therefore, keep silence and pray!“
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
“Discernment in beginners is true knowledge of themselves; in intermediate souls it is a spiritual sense that faultlessly distinguishes what is truly good from what is of nature and opposed to it; and in the perfect it is the knowledge which they possess by divine illumination, and which can enlighten with its lamp what is dark in other. Or perhaps, generally speaking, discernment is, and is recognised as, the assured understanding of the divine will on all occasions, in every place and in all matter; and it is only found in those who are pure in heart, and in body, and in mouth.
The body is enlightened by its two corporeal eyes; but in visible and spiritual discernment the eyes of the heart are illumined”.
St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
“The heart is the eye of the human being. The purer it is. the quicker, farther, and clesarer it can see.”
ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FAITH AND LIFE 