Saturday, July 03, 2010

The Babies Visit St. Theodora's

On Tuesday, Paul, of course, celebrated his Name Day. We had Liturgy in the morning, followed by a lovely lunch with lots of meat in the afternoon. In the evening, we had a small party, and Paul's godfather, Paris, came over.

The next day, we took a little outing into the city to run some errands, and we stopped by the Monastery of St. Theodora's for the babies to see the church and play in the courtyard. The monastery no longer really functions as a monastery, since it is located right in the heart of the city, but serves basically as a place for unmarried clergy to stay, including visiting clergy. It is dedicated to two Thessaloniki saints, St. Theodora and St. David, both of whose complete relics grace the small church.

We found an open window at the left-hand side of the iconostasis, and the babies enjoyed standing in the window sill on both sides and peering through. In the photo above, Benjamin called out to Yiayia (Grandma) Sophia and Phoebe, who were out in the courtyard.

Here, Yiayia and Phoebe are venerating the relics of St. David of Thessaloniki. The small room containing his relics also contains extensive iconography chronicling the saint's life.

Here's Phoebe looking out the window from inside the church.

And here's Benjamin outside, looking back in.

Yiayia and Phoebe in the courtyard.

Here's Paul looking up at a mosaic of his namesake, which is located at the entrance to the church.

No comments: