Edwards in Greece

Festal Vespers at St. Athanasios

2012-01-18T14:35:00.005+02:00

On Tuesday evening, I was invited by a friend, Fr. Constantinos, the rector of St. Athanasios in downtown Thessaloniki, to serve in the Festal Vespers for the saint. Metropolitan Anthimos of Thessaloniki was there, as well about 10 priests and two deacons. (We were also joined in the altar by His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph (Harkiolakis) of Proikonnisos, although he did not serve.)

In Greece, having a multitude of clergy serving is associated with feasts, and the bigger the feast, the more clergy, as well as the more people in general. (This is true of Greek culture in general -- having a large crowd is associated with a big feast and celebration.) Thus, for a parish's patronal feast, usually the rector will invite all his friends to come celebrate and he will prepare some small gift or blessing to give them to thank them for coming, such as a small icon of the saint, etc.

Vespers was slated to start at 6:00, but the bishop didn't arrive (in a police-escorted motorcade of sorts) until 6:40. The tradition is for the clergy to wait outside for his arrival, so this was particularly challenging given the bitterly cold weather we've been having for the past week or so. After he arrived, we rushed inside to thaw and began the Festal Vespers, which lasted about 2 hours, as is usual, complete with artoklasia and a few words from the bishop.

The photo above is taken from inside the altar and shows a few different things. One, on the right, you can see five loaves that were brought to be offered at the artoklasia. Especially on big feasts, many people will bring five loaves (as well as oil and wine) to be blessed.

It was interesting in Zagora that another tradition developed there during the period of poverty and hardship under Ottoman Occupation. To this day, instead of a "full" artoklasia, they retain the village tradition of what they call the "ypsoma." It is basically the same service, with the last, short prayer of blessing removed. Instead of five loaves, one small loaf is offered, along with a small amount of oil and wine. It seems that, because of the poverty at the time, very few people could afford to offer five whole loaves. Not wanting, however, to be without a blessing, they instead offered what they could -- one loaf. The priests, not wanting to deprive the people, exercisedoikonomia and performed the service, minus the last blessing, although they did conclude with the familiar lifting (= "ypsoma") of the loaf, from which it got its name.

Even after such harsh conditions passed, the local tradition still holds (as such things are wont to do), so that it is very difficult to change back to the original tradition. Although perhaps it will become necessary again given the current economic situation in Greece....

But I digress. The other thing to note about the photo above is the basket stacked full of names to be commemorated. And this was just at the beginning of Vespers. By the middle of Orthros the next day, there will be several such stacks of names, often accompanied by some offering, such as of prosphora, oil, etc. This is an important (although often tragically overlooked) aspect of participation in the services.

Finally, you can note in the photo the relatively bare walls. The church is quite old -- dating to the late 12th century, if I recall correctly -- and thus the Greek Archaeological Service forbids them from putting new icons on the walls, even though the old ones are irretrievably lost. As one priest there noted ironically, the Archaeological Service permits them to hang whatever they want from the walls, but not to paint on them, "whatever logic that has." When asked about the lone exception in the church, that of the Theotokos in the apse, he guessed that it was the typical Greek solution of "I'll do it until they stop me," or "It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission."

For something completely different, have a look here at some of the nice photos Pelagia recently took of the kids playing the yard. (This was at the beginning of the month before the recent cold spell.)

The Greek Mountain Village of Kissos

2012-01-14T10:59:00.002+02:00

On January 6, we celebrated the feast from 8:00 until about 11:30, ending again with the Great Blessing of the Waters. Bad weather was rolling in, so one or two of the priests from the other parishes ran down to the beachfront in Horefto to bless the Aegean. They must have finished just in the nick of time, too, as the rain, wind, and snow soon came howling in. We were quite fortunate to have sunny weather for our house blessings the day before.

I then had a wonderful lunch with the family of one of the parish council members. Later, two of the parish council members took me for about a 40-minute drive to another of the 24 Pelion mountain villages, this one of Kissos, which boasts one of the oldest churches in Pelion still in use -- St. Marina, from 1650.

The photo above is of a Nativity Scene set up in the courtyard just outside the church.

Most of the churches of the villages of Pelion, which date from the period of Ottoman Occupation, have similar features. They are fairly low, basilica style churches with stone slab roofs. Although there is the traditional entrance at the west end of the church, they seem to utilize a south side entrance more. The photo above is of the iconography above the south side entrance.

I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but the Archangel Michael, depicted on the left, has several faces located in his armor.

We met the parish priest, Fr. Michael, and had a very interesting discussion with him. He described the iconography of the church as pious folk art, rather than belonging to one of the particular schools of iconography, such as the Macedonian School or the Cretan School.

Above, the south-east side of the church from its courtyard. Below, the eastern side.

Above, the rectory, located on the northern side of the church. A rectory like this is typical of the Pelion village churches.

Above, some of the iconography from inside the church.

After Fr. Michael treated us to a coffee and very interesting conversation, particularly about his work with the young people in his parish, we headed back to Zagora. The following morning, Jan. 7, we celebrated Orthros and Liturgy for St. John the Forerunner, and then I headed back to Thessaloniki.

Theophany and House Blessings in Zagora

2012-01-11T10:58:00.001+02:00

A week ago, on Jan. 4, I made my third and final trip of this holiday season to Zagora to serve the parish of St. Paraskevi. On Jan. 5, we began the service at 4:30 AM and ended with the Great Blessing of the Waters around 8:30. After about a 20-minute break, I then headed out to bless all the houses of the parish. Nikolaos, a local 14-year-old boy, served as my assistant and guide, leading me up, down, and around the narrow, winding, and often steep roads of the mountain village. He decided we should first hit all the houses at the top of the village, so we got lots of exercise right away. The photo above is of Nikolaos near the top of the parish (NB: a parish is a geographical area). In his hand, you can see the traditional little copper bucket used to carry the holy water. I, meanwhile, was armed with basil.

The parish's chapel of Sts. Constantine and Helen (built 1886) sits near the upper limits of the parish (above). We went inside to venerate the icons as we passed by (below).

Above, a view down on the parish and the Aegean from the chapel.

Another view of the parish, from near the top. (As you may be able to guess, I stopped to take photos as an excuse to also catch my breath!)

Finally, we wended our way back to the center of the parish, where the parish's main church of St. Paraskevi sits (see above).

I blessed houses from 8:50 AM until 7:30 PM, with only two short breaks. It was absolutely exhausting, but the tradition is for every house to be blessed on Jan. 5, the eve of Theophany. I'd guess that it was about 200 homes.

Although exhausting, it was a wonderful experience of traditional Greek village life. When I explained it to Fr. Panayiotis here in Panorama, he said: "Ah, they sent you to a village right out of Papadiamantis!"

Everyone in the village was eagerly awaiting the priest, some even checking out their windows to see if they could spot us coming down their road. When Nikolaos had us turn right instead of left onto a new road, some times people would call the members of the parish council, fretting that their house had been forgotten!

When we arrived at a house, the story was similar. Often, they had seen us coming and opened the door even before we knocked. We would enter, singing the festal apolytikion (the hymn in celebration of Theophany and Christ's baptism in the Jordan), and sprinkling the holy water around the house, which always included the house's icon corner. The icon corner was frequently located near the front door and almost without exception consisted of rather old icons, frequently of a Romantic type, and the couple's wedding crowns. This reminded me of Elder Paisios, who also, in his simple and pure village piety, had the Western- and Romantic-influenced icons, which were standard before, say, the 1950s in Greece.

After venerating my hand-held cross, they would often then produce a small cup and ask for some holy water, so that they could drink it the following morning. Often, a cup was sitting ready at a table near the door, even some times filled with water. Nikolaos explained to me that this was the old tradition. They would first pour the plain water into the small container of holy water (in order to replenish it), and then the young boy would pour some holy water back into their cup.

Also on the table near the door was a small amount of money for the priest. Before the 1970s, when the priests began to be paid by the state, this was how the priest was paid. In fact, the priests did a Small Blessing of the Waters on the first of every month and then went around to bless every house in the village. It was here that he would take his monthly salary, which would often consist of products (bread, eggs, vegetables, etc.) rather than money.

Here are some photos from inside the Church of St. Paraskevi.

Another thing that struck me was the way Nikolaos addressed his elders in the parish. Now in Greece, it is still common for younger people to address their elders as "Mr." or "Mrs.", followed by their first name. This is exactly equivalent to the tradition that prevailed in the US until the 1950s or so of calling people "Mr." or "Mrs." followed by their last name. In the villages, though, often the young people, such as Nikolaos, call their elders "Uncle" and "Auntie," as a way of expressing their closeness, as well as still being respectful. I really liked it. I must confess that after the first two times Nikolaos did it, I began to think: "Gee, is he related to everyone here?" Then I realized it was a term of affection.

Finally, here's a photo of Zagora from a distance. As you can see, there's one section of houses (on the left) that's slightly separated by some woods. This is the parish of St. Paraskevi, which is known as the "outskirts" or "suburbs," if you will, of Zagora. The remaining part of Zagora, to the right, is broken up into three other parishes.

For more photos, click here.

Bicycles from St. Basil

2012-01-08T08:53:00.002+02:00

I got back home to Thessaloniki last Sunday afternoon, Jan. 1, and when the babies woke up from the naps, they got their big present for the year -- balance bikes! (thanks Grandpa and Nan!)

We then rode them out in the hallway, which has a nice long, relatively obstruction-free stretch for them to practice on. Of course, Phoebe's bike is pink (above).

And Paul's is blue.

And Benjamin's is green, reflecting their favorite colors.

Phoebe and Pelagia sharing a laugh out in the hallway.

Our next-door neighbor Ann's brother Peter is visiting from Australia. He's quite good with the kids. Above, he's playing with Paul while Phoebe enjoys a candy cane.

On Sunday evening, we had our neighbors as well as Angela's family over for a visit and for some pumpkin cheesecake that Pelagia made.

For a few more photos, click here.

New Year's in Zagora

2012-01-06T08:50:00.001+02:00

On Dec. 31, I drove back down to the mountain village of Zagora in Pelion, this time by myself, in order to serve Liturgy there the next morning, January 1. Above is a photo of the alley on which the bed & breakfast I stayed at is located.

A young guy named Kivis helps out at the parish a lot and also helps me when I'm there. This is his store, where he makes traditional pastas. It's located in the old part of town, on the other side of the alley from my B&B.

I did Vespers with Fr. Nicholas at St. George's in the old part of town on Saturday evening. Above is an icon there of of Saint Triantafyllos, who was born in Zagora in the mid-17th century. He worked as a fisherman and at the age of 15 was arrested by the Turks, who pressured him to renounce his faith in Christ. He was martyred in Constantinople in 1680.

The churches in this area, mainly built around 1800, are most famous for their hand-carved wooden iconostases, such as this one in the parish of St. Paraskevi, which I have been serving.

Also at St. Paraskevi, we have a small chapel dedicated to St. Triantafyllos. Above is his icon, located inside the chapel.

Above, the chapel lies just to the south of the main church.

Another shot of the south side of St. Paraskevi's.

On the way back, I stopped to take some photos from the road. On one side, you have a view of the Aegean (above). On the other side of the road, at the same point, you have beautiful snow-capped mountains (below).

Moni Panagias in Kleisoura

2012-01-04T11:09:00.001+02:00

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During the week between Christmas and New Year, the priests of our parish took a break to go with our families on a small pilgrimage to the Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Kleisoura, an old monastery in north-central Greece originally founded in 1314. It's nearly 3 hours from Thessaloniki, so the drive was a bit rough for the kids, but it was worth it, because we were able to venerate the holy skull of the newly proclaimed Saint Sophia (+1974). Fr. Alexios had the blessing to attend the Liturgy in November celebrating the proclamation. We would all like to go to her official glorification, which is scheduled for May 6. John Sanidopoulos has done us a great service by translating this text about her life, which I urge you to take the time to read. There is also a whole 200+ page book of her life and teachings. I asked and the monastery's abbess gave me a tentative blessing to translate it into English, pending the new version that is forthcoming, reflecting her new status as (official) saint. Now the question is: Who is going to put up the money to publish it? :)

Above, the gate of the monastery.

Here we are walking around to the entrance of the monastery.

Next to where we parked our car, there was a small niche carved into the rock, in which sat an icon and a burning oil lamp.

Above, Fr. Panayiotis and his family go in the entrance to the monastery. Notice the hanging icicles on the far side of the entrance.

A photo of the katholikon from near the entrance to the monastery. Inside, we saw the old church with its well-preserved iconography and venerated the saint's relics. We also saw the fireplace where she slept and prayed. Afterwards, we talked for awhile with Abbess Anisia, who warmly welcomed us all. She told us some things about the life of the saint, whom they affectionately referred to as "Yiayia," which means something like "Granny."

Here we are leaving the monastery. Benjamin liked climbing through the snow.

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We then headed about 40 minutes away to Agios Panteleimon for lunch at an outstanding restaurant right on the shore of a beautiful lake.

You get an idea of the view from the tables.

During the summer, people eat out here. They dry their own red Florina peppers and grind them up for a spice.

After we ate, the kids ran around outside on the restaurant's outdoor patio. You can see the great view.

Click here for a few more photos.

Trip to Serres with Trif

2012-01-02T11:06:00.001+02:00

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Trif headed back to the US early on Dec. 27, so on the second day of Christmas (Dec. 26), Paul, Trif, and I took a trip to visit the Monastery of St. John the Forerunner in Serres.

We got to Serres before the monastery reopened after the mid-day break, so we stopped first at Serres' famous acropolis, which just between 1196 and 1383 saw the following developments: In 1196 in the battle of Serres the Byzantines were defeated by the Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Asen I. Nine years later in 1205 the Bulgarian Emperor Kaloyan defeated here an army of the Latin Empire and incorporated the town in the Bulgarian Empire. In 1256 it was captured by the Nicaean Empire. Serres fell to Serbia in the 1345 and became a capital of Stefan Dušan, the Serbian King. Dušan was so satisfied with the capture of the third major Byzantine city that he crowned himself Emperor of Serbs and Greeks. After his death his Empire fell into feudal anarchy and the Empress Consort Helena continued to govern Serres area from 1356. In 1365 she was ousted by Despot Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević, who forged a tiny but powerful mini-state in Serres. After the 1371 Battle of Maritsa, the Byzantines retook Serres under their control. Soon, however, in 1383 the Ottomans conquered it.

The view of Serres from up on the acropolis.

Part of what remains of the outside walls -- this one faces basically north. It is marked by an insignia and a cross, which would have identified the city as Christian to those outside (although that doesn't always seem to have helped too much).

After our brief stop here, we headed on to the monastery, where we were able to visit with the newly tonsured Sister Parthenia (formerly Novice Katherine), an American convert friend of ours from Texas.

Christmas in Zagora

2011-12-31T10:04:00.002+02:00

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For Christmas, the bishop sent me to serve the parish of St. Paraskevi, which is temporarily without a permanent priest. It is one of four parishes in the ancient town ofZagora, which dates back until at least the 8th century BC.

We drove down to Zagora on Dec. 23 for Christmas Eve services. After the Liturgy on Christmas Eve, we drove over to a nearby ski center so that the babies could play in the snow. Above, Paul is holding my hand as we walk up the hill to the lodge.

Pelagia walking up the hill with Benjamin and Phoebe.

After the babies had a hot chocolate at the lodge to warm up, we rented a sled to back down the hill. All three piled on one sled and I ran down the hill with them.

As usual, the babies were quite a sight for people as they flew by!

Next, we drove over to the ancient port of Zagora, Horefto, which is 8 km down the mountain from Zagora. It is now a beautiful summer beach area rather than a major port as it once was.

This was the babies' first overnight trip and they didn't sleep all that well at night. So they took a good nap in the car.

On the way back up the mountain from the beach, we passed Zagora's old monastery, dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The mountains of Zagora were once full of hermits' caves and this monastery (or probably, technically, skete) served them until at least the 19th century, I believe.

Behind the monastery church lies one of Zagora's two cemeteries. Directly behind the altar is the grave of a local priest who reposed this year. This is a wonderful tradition that is still kept in the villages in Greece.

The cemetery with the monastery church above on the right, and a very old school building, which served as a "secret school" during the period of Ottoman occupation and hosted such famous students as the Greek revolutionary Rigas Feraios.

Another shot of the monastery church.

The parish put us up in a nice bed and breakfast in the heart of the old part of the village. Above, Pelagia and Phoebe are walking down the narrow street to our place, which is just on their left.

The old main square with several enormous old plane trees. Inside this one, the town erected a Nativity scene, which the babies enjoyed.

On Christmas Day, services started at 5:30 AM and went until about 9:00. It is the tradition in Greece to start Christmas services around 5:00 or so. In the mind of the Church (at least in ages past), the bigger the feast, the closer the Liturgy is celebrated to midnight. Hence, Pascha is celebrated right at midnight. Theophany services are also often begun early, around 5:00-6:00.

Above is a photo of the kids on Christmas day in their Christmas outfits. We had a coffee at this local place after the Liturgy and before heading back to Thessaloniki.

Heading back to our hotel from the other direction. On the right is Kivis, one of the parish's tireless helpers. He is also well-known for his traditional, handmade pasta, which is exported even to North America. On the left, Benjamin heads back, while you can make our Pelagia and Phoebe up ahead.

Above, the Metropolitan Church of St. George, in the old part of the village next to our hotel. Until perhaps 20 years ago or so, the Metropolis was called the Holy Metropolis of Demetriados and Zagoras, but was then changed to Demetriados and Almyrou, another area of the metropolis. The people of Zagora, however, still prefer the old title and use it in the bishop's phimi when he serves there.

The road from Volos to Zagora is very windy and the area is frequently hit by snow, making the roads a bit treacherous. But it is also quite picturesque as you pass through tunnels of snow, with deciduous trees hanging bending over the road, full of snow. We had to stop a few times to deal with car sickness, but thank God we made it home safe and sound.

Once we got home, the babies got to open a few presents!

For more photos, click here.

The Skete of Veroia

2011-12-27T13:00:00.001+02:00

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Last Tuesday, our American friend Trifon finished up his semester abroad at American College of Thessaloniki and moved out of his dorm and back in with us. To celebrate, so to speak, we took a trip to Veroia (spelled variously as Veria, or Berea or Beroea in the New Testament). Of course, this city was made famous by its apostolic visit there around AD 54, when it was visited by St. Paul himself, as well as Sts. Silas and Timothy (Acts 17:10-15 RSV):

"The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroe'a; and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessaloni'ca, for they received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. But when the Jews of Thessaloni'ca learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Beroe'a also, they came there too, stirring up and inciting the crowds. Then the brethren immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed."

Our destination was the Skete of Veroia (also known as the Monastery of St. John the Forerunner) which dates to the 9th century, when the mountains and caves around Veroia were host to many monks. The Skete of Veroia developed as a place of common worship for Sundays and major feast days for the monks of these caves. Many saints spent time here, such as St. Clement of Ohrid and St. Dionysius of Olympus, but perhaps none more famous than St. Gregory Palamas.

Being located in the mountains, there are plenty of streams with clean, fresh water feeding the skete's springs. Above, Paul takes a drink from a fountain just outside the monastery's gates.

Above, Phoebe walking in the entrance to the monastery, which today is manned by just four male monks.

The monks keep some peacocks. Above, Paul was trying to get a view of them; some of them were perched on a small balcony in the top right of the photo.

At some point in the skete's history, the kitchen was tucked into this cave. This is not too far from what the kitchens look like in some of the sketes on Mt. Athos, such as Little St. Anne's. Above, Paul was checking out the great big pots.

Above, Paul inside the old kitchen.

When St. Gregory Palamas and his disciples came to the skete, they used this cave--which had served as the skete's refrigerator (i.e., cold storage for food)--as an ascetic cell. In the Greek mind, braving the elements (especially cold) is one of the most austere forms of asceticism. Now the cave is preserved as a sort of museum.

In the photo above, you can see the church in the foreground to the right and the entrance to the cave I just mentioned off to the left.

Another spring.

The view from the monastery down to the river.

Trif and Paul light a candle in the church.

The kids found some animals to play with. Phoebe particularly liked this dog.

Above, the outside of the monastery, with a sign in the foreground pointing the way to the cave St. Gregory Palamas used as his cell for 5 years, from 1326-1331.

We took a short hike through the woods, past waterfalls, to venerate inside St. Gregory's cave.

Above and below, Pelagia and Paul in the cave.

Above, Trif coming out of St. Gregory's cave.

Above, a view of the outside of the monastery as we hiked back.

One of the monks, a Greek-German, invited us all for a simple but pleasant lunch with him and a couple workers, and then we headed back to Thessaloniki.

For more photos from the trip, click here.

For Trif's photos from the trip, try to click here, although you may have to be friends with him or something like that.

Outings with the Triplets

2011-12-21T16:04:00.001+02:00

One day in November, the triplets and I met our Serbian friend Danica at the Thessaloniki zoo, along with her friend Rejko, who was visiting Thessaloniki from Belgrade. Although it was a little cold, it was a nice day, and the colors of fall were beautiful. The zoo is a lovely escape from the concrete jungle of the city.

We took a snack break in a gazebo inside the zoo.

Rejko was trying to make sure the babies didn't fall as they scaled these rocks in the zoo.

Here we are feeding leaves to the animals.

The babies went with me one Sunday afternoon to Ormylia to pick up Mother Nina. After Vespers, the babies decided to play in the sisters' large cross-shaped baptismal font, which is designed for converting adults. (They don't do infant baptisms at the monastery.)

Catching up, finally, to the present, the photos above and below are from our trip downtown last week. The photo above was taken at the base of Aristotle Square, where they've set up a kind of Christmas fair. To the right, in the water, you can see a Christmas tree-inspired float. The Christmas tree is actually foreign to Greek Christianity, which traditionally has a decorated boat. For some reason (probably financial, given the crisis), they didn't bring the decorated boat this year, but instead opted for this simpler display. However, a strong wind came in just a couple days after we took this photo and sank the display.

We stopped by the Church of Agia Sophia, where the kids had fun jumping in the rain puddles in the courtyard.

For a few more photos, click here.

Catching Up

2011-12-19T15:52:00.003+02:00

I've got a backlog of photos of the triplets from the last couple months, so here goes. First, we head back to October when my parents came to visit. One day, we went to Ikea, and above you can see a photo of my dad and Benjamin eating ice cream there.

One day, we took a trip with the parish out to the Monastery of St. Anastasia, founded in 888. The monks there have a small collection of deer just outside the monastery walls. The kids like feeding them, as you can see above.

After visiting the monastery, the bus headed to the nearby village of St. John the Forerunner, which is famous for its great meat. Above, my dad and Benjamin caught a quick nap on the bus.

Above, Paul got a chance to drive the bus for awhile. You can see below that the babies enjoyed riding on the bus.

One day, we headed down to the center of Thessaloniki to shop for gifts for my parents to take back to the US. Here's Paul enjoying an ice cream on Aristotle Square, near the bazaar.

One day, our friend Job and another friend from Syria (both theology students here in Thessaloniki) came up to our house for lunch. Above and below, you can see the kids playing with bubbles.

Above, my dad reading the truck book to the boys. Ever since they brought that truck book, Benjamin doesn't go anywhere without it.

At the beginning of November, after my parents left, Mother Nina of St. Nilus Skete in Alaska came to visit. She spent about 2 weeks at the monastery in Ormylia, but stayed with us briefly on either side of that visit. One Friday night, we went down to St. Dimitrios' to venerate the saint and attend the Friday night Liturgy in the crypt where the saint was martyred.

Above, the group of dedicated ladies who are devoted to serving the parish. One of the ladies treated the group and the priests to dinner in memory of her departed husband.

Above, a shot of Paul cuddling with the cat on the bed, in that brief instant before the cat freaks out and leaves.

For more photos from my parents' visit, click here.

The Citadel in Amman

2011-12-14T16:24:00.003+02:00

The last stop in our pilgrimage through Jordan. My dad's commentary is in blue.

After witnessing a beautiful sunrise in the desert at Wadi Rum, we rode our camels back to the Bedouin camp and then left for the four-hour drive back to Amman. We arrived early in the afternoon and went straight to the Citadel.

As its name implies, the Citadel is located on the highest hill in Amman, Jebel Qala’a, and the view alone makes the visit worthwhile. There are ruins there, including that of an Umayyad Palace (about 720 AD), an Umayyad Cistern, a Byzantine Basilica from the 6th or 7th century, and some of the pillars of the Temple of Hercules, constructed during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-80 AD), are still standing.

There is a great view of the Roman Theater built in the 2nd Century, which is the most obvious and impressive remnant of ancient Philadelphia (modern day Amman); the theater can hold 6000 people. Immediately in front of the theater one can see what’s left of the Forum, once one of the largest public squares in Imperial Rome. Also adjacent to the Theater is the Odeon, built about the same time as the Roman Theater, it had a capacity of about 500 seats and served mainly as a venue for musical performances.

The Temple of Hercules. On the left of the photo, just below the tallest pillars, you can see a large rock. I read somewhere that originally, as the highest point of the hill, it was an altar for animal sacrifice from the earliest times of this city, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world.

Jordan's first National Archaeological Museum is located within the Citadel. The artifacts include three 8500 year-old statues, but the review of the extensive and rich history of the area was well documented and served to remind us of the sweep of civilization over the millennia.

Above, an ancient sarcophagus. Below, my dad walking through the door of the Umayyad mosque.

As usual we tested the patience of our driver, who was waiting for us when we completed our ambulation. We returned to our quarters, gathered our materials and thoughts, and prepared for our departure early the next morning, including a 3:00 a.m. departure for the airport.

We departed Jordan on time and without incident and, although there had been strikes within Greece during our absence, we arrived back in Thessaloniki on time and without incident.

Above, a piece of a hand and another fragment from a colossal statue of Hercules, which they believe once measured 42 feet tall, making it one of the largest known statues in the Roman world.

By way of concluding reflections on the trip, my dad had these thoughts:

I found Jordanians to be very friendly and very welcoming. I found the country beautiful in its own way, but to some extent not appreciated by its own people: the litter was everywhere. Of all the "western" habits or customs, the Jordanians like "tipping" the best -- yet I'm not sure they understand that a tip is a gratuity, not an expectation.

As for a pilgrimage, there is a lot of Biblical history here in Jordan -- from Wadi Musa to Mt. Nebo to Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan and more. There's lots of Christian history here too, from the many trails of pilgrims to the mosaics and church art, to remains of beautiful Byzantine churches, all of which speak to the understanding of how God and Christ have revealed themselves over the centuries.

There are the experiences too, riding donkeys and horses and camels, enduring the desert, and so much more. In some ways too I appreciated that holy sites were not overly commercialized. I was struck by the contrast at Bethany where on the Jordanian side -- the true site of the baptism -- one walked through the heat and the brush to reach the river, and then went down a few wooden steps and onto the muddy bank. I found this somewhat more authentic than what we saw on the other side: modern buildings (no neon lights, I think), concrete stairways with railings down to and into the water.

The omnipotent power of Rome was visible everywhere, and Karak Castle reminded us of the ongoing battle for dominance in the holy land.

All in all, a very powerful and informative pilgrimage.

For more photos from our last stop at the Citadel, click here.

Wadi Rum

2011-12-09T18:13:00.004+02:00

The pilgrimage continues. My dad's narrative in blue; my comments in black.

Wadi Rum is a vast desert at the southern end of Jordan, near the border with Saudi Arabia. A highlight to all visitors to Jordan, it has spectacular desert views and is a protected area. The area was made famous by TE Lawrence and the Arab Revolt in the early 20th century, and much of the movie Lawrence of Arabia was filmed here.

Some of the specific historic and natural sites here include a Nabataean temple, Lawrence’s Spring (TE Lawrence wrote about it in his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom), various siqs (several may be seen in the photographs), rock formations, and of course the ever-changing sand dunes.

It is as timeless today as any day. While a visitor might see tire tracks in the sand, it takes only a breeze to restore its pristine condition. Countless camel caravans have passed here, and travelers over the centuries have left their marks in the rocks. [See photos below.]

Our driver arranged for us to spend the night in a Bedouin camp and to tour the desert from the back of a four-wheel drive truck. Both experiences seem to be popular. We arrived at the camp late in the morning where we met our truck driver, then we headed for the desert where both our drivers (the truck at Wadi Rum and the car throughout Jordan) prepared a fabulous lunch of chicken over an open fire. We meanwhile meandered next to the rocks and in the sand.

I liked the fact that even in major cities like Amman, there were small shops on the streets full of cages of chickens. People picked out the chicken they wanted and the keepers then went and butchered the chicken fresh.

We then continued our tour through the desert with so many beautiful and historic sites, and we quietly ended our tour atop a rock formation and watched as the sun slowly set. We then returned to the camp, met some interesting Jordanians (including some government officials as well as an Egyptian Coptic who was working at the camp), enjoyed some local cuisine (including some camel’s milk), and conversed with travelers from throughout Europe.

The Egyptian Copt seemed particularly happy to see an Orthodox priest and, since I had gotten pretty sunburnt at Petra, loaned me his keffiyeh and helped me put it on for our trip out into the desert. We had an interesting conversation with him that evening about the frightening situation for Christians in Egypt as a result of the Arab Spring.

The climate is so arid and the sky so clear that one sees many more stars at night than we might have imagined possible. One can better understand, perhaps, why shepherds over the centuries have so many stories about the stars and have imagined so many constellations.

This experience, as well as traversing the desert, riding donkeys and camels, feeling the omnipresence and power of Rome (we were reminded of this by visits to Jerash and other cities of the decapolis), and indeed just sensing the forbidding surrounds of desert bring us closer to the experiences of those who witnessed and felt the same experiences two millennia ago. All in all, these were valuable parts of our pilgrimage.

Lawrence's prison was set up here in this crevice.

My dad riding around in the back of the pick-up truck.

Our Bedouin driver showed us how one of the desert's sparse plants is a natural soap. We just ground it with a rock and then rubbed it in our hands with some water to wash up.

Here my Dad is trying to read ancient Thamudic, left by camel caravans.

Early the next morning, in the surprising cold and darkness, we mounted camels and rode for nearly an hour to reach higher ground where we quietly awaited sunrise. Other visitors from different camps arrived along with us, and it indeed appeared as a camel caravan. Picture it: sitting on a camel in the middle of the desert awaiting a sunrise!

We departed Wadi Rum upon returning to camp early in the morning and began our four-hour journey back to Amman to conclude our last full day in Jordan. As we drove along the desert highway, we could see so many examples of how much had changed, especially since the founding of Jordan following the Second World War, and yet how much had remained unchanged since ancient times.

Next stop: Amman's Citadel.

For many more photos from Wadi Rum, click here.

Little Petra

2011-12-07T08:17:00.000+02:00

Again, my dad's comments are in blue.

Little Petra is located a short distance from the town of Wadi Musa, a suburb actually. Only when measured against Petra proper does one think “little.” It is within the same canyon or geological bowl, and it includes outstanding natural rock features as well as tombs and other sites carved from the stone, only this stone is more white than the heavy rose color of Petra.

Scholars speculate that Little Petra served a more commercial function, although there are a significant number of tombs, cisterns, aqueducts as well as biclinia and triclinia. The facade at the entry is both magnificent and simple, and as one enters more deeply into Little Petra (Al-Beidha), the walls of the canyon close ever-so tightly so that not even a camel can pass; this entry is known as Siq al-Barid.. These narrow crevices then open again into natural courtyards -- there are three of them.

The walk through this ancient city is breathtaking and helps remind us again of the capabilities and sense of community of these ancient peoples. The second courtyard, for example, seems to have been a place for feasting, for there are numerous biclinia or triclinia (dining areas). (See a triclinium below.)

One of the rooms, for example, contains the only known example of Nabatean painting, a frescoed ceiling. To preserve this fresco it was protected by iron bars.

Again the various niches, caves and natural formations are connected by stairways carved in the stone throughout Little Petra.

Here, we are climbing to what appears to be another place of sacrifice, located at a high point in the area. Below, my dad stands on the spot and surveys the city below.

The visit to Little Petra only confirmed the strong sense of community experienced by the Nabateans, as well as provided more evidence of their ingenuity and energy. They were an important people in an important place, and a better understanding of their culture helps us understand the peoples of ancient Middle East.

As we left the Valley of Moses (Wadi = valley, Musa = Moses) we stopped to appreciate a panoramic view of the area. At the highest point, in the upper left of the photo, is Jabal Haroun or Aaron’s Mountain, the Mount Hor of the Old Testament, and it is believed to be the site of Aaron’s Tomb. A careful look will reveal a small, white area where the monument reflects the light of the bright sun. In the valley below you see nothing to reveal what is there. Petra, the red-rose city, was also a hidden city.

Thus the entire city was invisible to the many traders who passed on this important ancient route from Egypt to Syria. Scholars speculate that the Nabateans staged raids on the caravans from this hidden city.

Before we leave Petra and Little Petra, I just wanted to note an interesting theory regarding St. Paul's three-year period in "Arabia" after his conversion. According to this theory, which is laid out well and concisely explained here, St. Paul spent at least some of this time evangelizing the people of Arabia, which was not some empty wasteland of desert, but included the very advanced people of the Nabatean Kingdom and its capital, Petra. The Nabatean Kingdom also included Jews and synagogues. This would then help explain why the powerful Nabatean king, Aretas IV, goes to the trouble of trying to have St. Paul killed in Damascus, as St. Paul himself tell us in 2Cor 11:32-33. To me, this theory is very plausible.

For more photos from Little Petra, click here.

Petra

2011-12-05T17:12:00.005+02:00

The tale resumes, finally, this time with the help of my dad, whose narrative will appear in blue.

The Great Wall of China ranks first among the existing Wonders of the World. Petra ranks second. Built by the ancient Nabateans from the period beginning in the 6th century BC, it was "discovered" by the outside world only in the early 19th century, and locals (i.e., people who at least claim to be Bedouin) continued to live in the various caves and tombs until the mid-1980s. More recently Petra served as the setting for the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. For visitors to Jordan, whether on pilgrimage or not, Petra is “must see.” It is one of the great archaeological treasures in the world.

We left Kerak Castle late in the day and arrived well after dark at the town of Wadi Musa where the entrance to Petra is located. Very early the next day we began one of the longest days of our trip. We began our “entry” to the ancient city on horseback (Arabian horses they said), which carried us to the Siq, a long, narrow opening in the rocks through which we walked over half a mile. Proceeding through this Siq only added to the anticipation of what was to be seen, as well as displayed examples of the engineering ability of the ancient Nabateans, as seen through their various aqueducts. There were natural rock formations that also added to the wonder of it all.

Above, my dad is posing at a point along the Siq. Like many things from this ancient city, no one is exactly sure what its original purpose was, but the theory we heard was that it was a place where marriages were performed. The couple stood in the stalls behind my dad and the priest (?) stood where my dad is standing and united their hands (?).

After a long walk in the shade of the crevice, one reaches the opening as the sun shines directly on the most famous monument of Petra: the Treasury. It is not a structure, but rather it was carved from solid rock, as were most of the monuments and tombs of Petra. The architectural style reflects influences from several corners of the ancient world: Hellenic, Hellenistic, Egyptian and more, plus the execution of the sculpture reflect the skill and commitment of the ancient Nabateans. The "Treasury" is actually a misnomer. Like almost all the remaining monuments in Petra, it was almost certainly a tomb for royalty and/or the wealthy.

Beyond the Treasury one could see the Street of Facades, revealing a series of tomb monuments carved from the sandstone, the Theater, which could seat nearly 7,000, a series of Royal Tombs, including the largest of the Royal Tombs, the Urn Tomb. (See below.)

Above, the theater.

We also visited what little remains of “constructed” Petra. Certainly the Theater would be constructed, but there are remains of a Nymphaeum, the Great Temple, a Temple of Winged Lions, a beautiful Colonnaded Street and more.

Visiting these and other historical sites in Jordan required a good deal of walking (see for example, the “hike” required to visit Machareas). We enjoyed the walk through the Siq and through much of the open area. In order to see as much as possible in one long day, we “rented” two donkeys, who escorted us to the distant Monastery in about a third of the time required to walk, and then back again, carrying us to the Sextius Florentinus Tomb, the only tomb in Petra in which it is known for whom it was built. With stops for various sites along the way, we spent about five hours in the ancient mode of transportation. It saved time!

One of the stops on our donkey tour was the "Monastery," which is possibly more impressive than the Treasury. We were able to climb inside and look around, although there wasn't much to see besides four walls. It's theorized that this was once a temple.

No one knows what happened to the Nabateans, but they seem to have disappeared from history at some point. Their city, however, was not abandoned, as it was used by the Romans. Many churches were developed under the "Byzantines" (i.e., Romans), including the ones in the photos here. The 5th century churches in Petra were quite similar to the other ones we saw throughout Jordan on our pilgrimage, with the same type of mosaic work in the floors, inspired by contemporary trends. Above, for example, the floor has personified seasons, animals, etc.

Above, a small altar in what appears to be a side chapel. The altar as you see it has been reconstructed.

Another church from the period, built with columns of rare blue marble from Egypt.

The donkeys next to us up the High Place of Sacrifice, which -- as the names implies -- was quite a hike. We were grateful for the transportation. Above, my dad standing behind what they think was an altar for animal sacrifice. Below, my dad walking away from the altar. They think that the circle you see in the foreground was used to somehow drain blood from sacrificed animals.

Continuing from this point, we descended narrow pathways and stairways cut into the rock, which eventually returned us from above the Treasury to the area near the Colonnaded Street below. We thus hiked high and low for over four hours after leaving our beloved donkeys!

We walked back to the Siq from which we had emerged early in the day, at the front of the Treasury. It was difficult to turn your back on this beautiful site and walk away. By the time we retraced our steps back out through the Siq, the day was over.

We were unable to visit the site of Aaron’s tomb. Located at the top of a mountain accessible only by foot, it was estimated to be a four-to-five hour walk -- perhaps half that by donkey, but still requiring an additional day.

After a good meal of local cuisine, we slept soundly and got an early start for yet another long day: Little Petra and Wadi Rum.

For many more photos from Petra, click here.

Stylite Tower, Machaerus, and Kerak Castle

2011-11-20T10:37:00.000+02:00

About 2 km outside the ancient city of Umm ar-Rasas stands a 15-meter-tall Stylite Tower, at the top of which is a small room where a monastic spent his life. The inside of the tower is not hollow, so the only way to reach the top seems to have been by a removable ladder. In the photo above, you can see one of the cross etched into the side of the tower.

This particular tower was set out by itself, 2 km from the town. There, the monk lived at the top of the tower, praying. Any food or water he received had to be brought to him by someone and hauled up by rope. Frequently, these sites became major sources of pilgrimage, in which the faithful would ask for the holy man's prayers or spiritual advice. I highly recommend reading the life of St. Symeon the Stylite, which is available in an excellent translation by my former professor.

Our next stop was Machaerus (modern day Mukawir), one of Herod's fortresses (like the famous Masada), where St. John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. Above and below are the views from the top. You can see the Dead Sea about 8 km to due west.

Here are the ruins of the fortress on top of the hill . The columns mark the hall of Herod's palace, where Salome danced for Herod and then requested St. John the Baptist's head. This was also the fortress where St. John was imprisoned and beheaded.

St. Mark 6:14-29:

¹⁴ And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” ¹⁵ But others were saying, “He isElijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶ But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; ²⁰ for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; ^[l]but he ^[m]used to enjoy listening to him. ²¹ A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and ^[n]military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; ²² and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and ^[o]his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵ Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶ And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of ^[p]his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bringback his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.

Another view from the top of the fortress.

Next we headed south down the famous King's Highway, the extremely important ancient trade route between Egypt and Syria, dating back 5000 years. We passed through Dhiban, the ancient capital of Moab and the home of the famous Mesha Stele, commemorating the Moabite victory over Israel around 850 BC.

In something of a common theme for this area, villagers found the stele, amazingly perfectly intact after 2000 years, in the 1860s. Greed and ignorance, however, would soon undo this. Realizing that the Europeans would be interested in it, the villagers tried to start a bidding war between the French and the Germans. Either because the villagers had a dispute among themselves about who would get the money, or because they realized they could get paid more if they sold the stele in individual pieces (as happened when the Bedouin ripped the intact Dead Sea Scrolls into tiny pieces), they decided to smash the stele.

After passing through Dhiban, we hit "Jordan's Grand Canyon," Wadi Mujib, which was the dividing line in biblical times between the Moabites and the Edomites.

This took us down to Kerak Castle, the siege of which may be famous from the film Kingdom of Heaven. We watched this film when we returned to Thessaloniki and, although I would say it's worth watching (only the Director's Cut, though -- the theatrical version cut was made confusing by all the cuts), it's heavily influenced by the director's modern ideology. As one reviewer perfectly put it: "An epic about Christian crusaders who happen to be liberal humanists willing to die for the sake of religious tolerance."

Above is a photo of the castle's dungeon, which once hosted several rulers. Above, you can see scratches into the wall, probably depicting the number of days, weeks, months, or years that had passed.

Above, my dad inside Kerak Castle. Behind him to the left are the remnants of its main Catholic church.

Above, my dad scaling the walls!

Another view of the remnants of the main Catholic church.

For more photos from this day, click here.

Jordanian Mosaics

2011-11-18T10:32:00.000+02:00

The next morning, we stopped again at Madaba to spend some time at the other churches inside the archaeological park. The open-air park also features a section of the city's ancient Roman road, as well as mosaics culled from other nearby towns. My dad is examining one of those in the photo above.

Above, the 6th century Byzantine "Hippolytus Hall" (part of a wealthy Roman house) with the adjoining Church of the Virgin behind it.

To the left, you can see four birds around a circle, which features a depiction of two sandals. This was the entrance to the room and indicated that you were to leave your shoes here.

Out on the Roman road with a friendly museum curator who showed us around. Throughout our trip, many people noted that tourism in Jordan was only at about 10% of normal. They attributed this to the general unrest in the Middle East, particularly in neighboring Syria. Jordan, on the other hand, stood out to us for its stability and the moderation of its government.

Here we are inside the Church of the Apostles, also in Mabada, but outside the archaeological park. This church is famous for the personification of the Sea (Thalassa) in the middle of the church. You can kind of make it out just to the left of my dad in the photo above.

A close-up of one of the corners of the mosaic from the same church -- this depicts one of the winds.

Our next stop was Umm ar-Rasas, again famous for its Byzantine church mosaics. Almost inexplicably, this site was so deserted that two of the policemen showed us around - probably because they were so bored. Most of the 14 churches are still in the open-air, so their mosaics are covered with sands for protection. The guards helped us realize this (even though we had a language barrier) by expertly kicking away the sand on top of particularly beautiful parts of the mosaics, such as the one below of a lion. They then let us dig around wherever we wanted, as you see me doing in the photo above.

The highlight of the site is the Church of Saint Stephen, built around 785, well into the Islamic period. (It seems, though, that the Christian community's fortunes took a turn for the worse soon after this church was built.) The church features the largest perfectly preserved mosaic floor and is second in fame only to the Mabada Map. It features 15 cities of the Holy Land, both east and west of the Jordan, in bands running the length of the nave, as you can see in the photo above and the two photos below.

Here you can see the altar area of a smaller church from 587, known as the Church of Bishop Sergius, because of an inscription in the mosaic floor. St. Stephen's partially overlaid it. It seemed to me that it was probably incorporated as a side chapel.

For more photos from this day, click here.

Christ's Baptismal Site

2011-11-16T10:28:00.001+02:00

Later that day, we headed to the Jordan River, where Christ was baptized by St. John the Baptist. Above is a shot of the river as it is today. The river is a source of life and rich green vegetation in the midst of arid desert. At the time of Christ, it was 1 km wide. In the last 50 years, due to Israeli water diversion, the river has shrunk to just 3 meters at point.

Due to water diversion, the river has shifted 300 meters to the west of its location at the time of Christ. Since the river marks the border between Israel (or Israeli-occupied Palestine) and Jordan, that means that the actual site where Christ was baptized is now 300 meters inside the Jordanian border. No serious scholars dispute that the site in the photo below is where Christ was baptized, as evidenced by the churches and baptisteries built on that spot from the earliest centuries. Above is a mosaic reconstruction of the site from around the 4th century. Below, you can see that the steps lead into a cruciform-shaped baptistery (originally in the Jordan River), where Christians could be baptized on the same spot Christ was, where the Holy Spirit descended on Him, and where the voice of God declared him to be His Son.

Next to the site, this sign indicates that the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem intends to build a church dedicated to St. Mary of Egypt on this spot. The icon on the sign depicts St. Mary of Egypt receiving communion from St. Zosimus on the banks of the Jordan.

The Jordanian flag next to a fenced section along the Israeli-Jordanian border.

Right on the river, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has a newly built church dedicated to the Theophany.

Here is my dad at the Jordan River, 300 meters due west from the original baptismal site. As you can see, the river is now quite small. On the opposite side, you see Christian pilgrims over in Israel preparing for some kind of baptismal ritual. As you can see, there is a walled/fenced enclosure into the water where the Christians can perform their baptism. In stark contrast to the Jordanian side, the Israeli side is quite built up. The Jordan side, on the other hand, has some rickety wooden benches and wooden overhang for protection from the sun. Pilgrims are free to do whatever they like at the water, without the permits necessary on the Israeli side.

A shot of the Jordan River, with an Orthodox church sticking up in the distance.

There are currently no active Orthodox monasteries in Jordan, but this one, just a few hundred meters from the river and dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is now being constructed.

For more photos, click here.

Madaba and Mt. Nebo

2011-11-14T10:24:00.002+02:00

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On Sunday morning, we headed southwest from Amman to Madaba, which has been a Christian center for centuries and still features a large Christian enclave of about 15,000, approximately 8,000 of which are Orthodox.

We attended church at St. George's, which is the home of the famous Mosaic Map. The head priest was a Jordanian who had spent 9 years in the US serving an Antiochian parish in the Midwest, so he was happy to invite me to serve with them.

One of the deacon's doors to the altar had this interesting feature so that people could hand over their prosphora without opening the door all the way.

ROCOR Bishop Agapit (Gorachek) of Stuttgart was also with us in the altar, but did not serve. Afterwards, we headed to the parish center where we all had coffee with some of the parishioners. Christians make up about 5% of Jordan's population and, by all accounts, are very well treated both by the people and the government. Fr. Nicholas, the head priest, mentioned to me that the parish celebrates Divine Liturgy every Friday and often times it is better attended than the Sunday Liturgy, simply because weekends in the Muslim world are on Friday-Saturday, with Sunday the first day of the work week. Some Christian businesses are able to have Saturday-Sunday as their weekends, but Christians who work for Muslims don't always have that option for practical reasons.

Above is a close-up of a section of the 6th century map, which is really quite impressive. Madaba was a stopping point on Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and the map was actually just as functional as it was decorative, indicating for pilgrims the holy sites and where they were located, with a surprising degree of accuracy, as contemporary research has shown.

I found it fascinating that, as famous as this map is and as many tourists as it draws, the church is still, first and foremost, a place of prayer, not a museum. Thus, during services, a carpet is rolled over the mosaics and we made the entrances right on top of the famous floor. As soon as the Liturgy is over, the carpet is rolled up, ropes are erected, and the church is opened to tourists.

After church, we headed to Mt. Nebo, the mountain just to the east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. This is where Moses looked out over the Promised Land before dying and being buried somewhere nearby. Above is a photo of a round stone that was used as the gate to an early Byzantine monastery on this location. The stone, probably much like the one used to close Jesus' tomb, was rolled in front of the entranceway. In the background, you can also see a tree with many ribbons tied to it. This is done by Muslims and Christians alike as a sort of tama.

Above and below, some of the incredible views over the Promised Land that Moses also saw. The photo above includes a map from the site which indicates the direction and distances to important sites.

After Mt. Nebo, we made our way to the somewhat obscure site of the 6th century Church of the Holy Martyrs Lot and Procopius. The ruins and its beautiful mosaic floor are covered by what appears from the outside to be a small, modern house with no identifying signs. We were thus quite unsure if we had come to the right place. We roused a dozing man in a nearby shack and it turned out he was the site's manager. Not only that, but his family had actually lived in a house that stood on top of these ruins, although quite unaware of them until 1932, when his mother accidentally spilled milk down the old wood stove that stood in the middle of the house. She moved the stove in order to clean down into the floor and soon hit a mosaic tile. It was thus that the ruins of the church and the beautiful floor were found underneath 60 cm of accumulated earth. In the middle of the floor, near the altar, in the photo above, you can see a black spot. This is where their wood stove had stood all those years.

As you can tell, there are countless, beautiful mosaic floors from the Byzantine churches of the 5th-7th centuries in this region east of the Jordan. Interestingly, many if not most of the subject matter was taken from classical pagan art, which was enjoying a revival in the general (not specifically ecclesiastical) culture of that time, and it was melded also into the ecclesiastical art, which sought to adorn its churches with the greatest amount of beauty. Of course, there were also some biblical themes as well, and even some of the pagan subject matter was reinterpreted in a Christian light, such that, for example, it reflected the Christian eschatological vision.

Here's a photo of my dad with the man whose family had lived 60 cm on top of these ruins for generations.

For more photos, click here.

Gerasa

2011-11-07T15:52:00.001+02:00

After Ajloun, we headed down to Gerasa (modern day Jerash), one of the best preserved Roman cities today. Gerasa, like Gadara, was one of the cities of the Decapolis. Sts. Mark and Luke record that Jesus' sending of the demons into the swine took place in the region of the Gerasenes, while St. Matthew, as we quoted in the last post, identifies it as the region of the Gadarenes. Gerasa was by far the larger city and the whole region, including up to Gadara, was known as the region of Gerasa. St. Matthew, who seems to be the most familiar with the biblical geography, was simply more precise in his description.

Gerasa features the best preserved Roman hippodrome in the world, which also happens to be one of the smallest, seating about 10,000-15,000 spectators. (The Circus Maximus in Rome, by comparison, seated about 150,000.) Above is my dad standing on the track.

They also offer a daily show that recreates some of what a Roman spectator would have seen at the hippodrome. The show is quite well researched by classicists and involves the man who worked as the technical advisor for the movie Gladiator. A large part of the show involved various drills by a Roman military detachment (see above). It also included a mock gladiator contest.

It ended with the chariot race.

Above, the huge Oval Plaza. The circle you see in the photo was actually a manhole that led the city's underground sewer system.

Above were the legs of a butcher's table in the forum. Each leg depicts an animal, including (if I remember correctly, a cow, a pig, and somewhat strangely, a lion).

The city was fully Christian in Byzantine times (ca. 350-650), with over 13 churches. Above are the remains of a large cross-shaped baptistery.

Above, my dad in front of the Nymphaeum.

Above is a photo we took of ourselves inside the enormous Temple of Artemis: "The Temple of Artemis was built in the 2nd century A.D. The columns are 12 m high and each drum weighs 20-40 tons. Artemis was the virgin goddess of nature and the hunt (the Romans called her Diana). The daughter of Zeus and the twin sister of Apollo, Artemis was one of the most popular Greek deities. She was like “Mother Nature,” life-giving and supportive on the one hand, but cruel and destructive on another. Artemis was also the patron goddess of a temple at Ephesus, whose well-being was threatened by the presence of the Gospel (Acts 19)."

A view from the highest part of the Temple of Artemis back toward the entrance to the temple. The square area at the bottom of the photo appears to have been an area for sacrifice.

This is a photo of the mosaic floor of one of the 13 churches built between 350-650 .

After this long day of sightseeing, we headed back to Amman, where we had a fantastic supper of hummus and falafel at a local joint, followed by some sweets at this place.

For more photos of this first day, click here.

Pilgrimage to Jordan: Gadara and Ajloun

2011-11-05T20:48:00.000+02:00

A couple weeks ago, I was blessed to be able to make a pilgrimage with my father to Jordan, a continuation of our pilgrimage to Jerusalem almost two years ago. We arrived rather late on Friday day and went straight to our hotel in Amman. On our first day, we headed to Gadara, on a hill on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, where Christ met the two demoniacs and cast them into a herd of swine, which ran down the hill into the sea.

Above is a photo of my dad exploring the ancient theater of Gadara, which was one of the cities of the Greco-Roman Decapolis. It was an important city of Byzantium until it was captured by the Muslims following the nearby Battle of Yarmouk in 636, one of the most important battles in history. Gadara was destroyed by an earthquake in 747 and abandoned.

Above, some of the ruins of the city.

Gadara's ruins are somewhat limited, but the view more than makes up for it. We stopped and had a coffee at a restaurant inside the site, from which we could sit and survey the Sea of Galilee (only 6 miles away). We could even make out the city of Tiberias in Israeli-controlled Palestine on the western shore of the sea, which you can see above and to the left of my dad in the photo above.

Besides the border with Israel only 6 miles away, we were even closer to the border with Syria or, more precisely, the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, which you can see to the right of my dad in the photo above.

Above and below, shots of Gadara's main street.

After Gadara, we headed south to Aljoun, the site of a Muslim castle built by a nephew of Saladin in the late 12th century to defend against the Crusaders.

Here's a photo of my dad walking up the initial stairs into the castle.

Here's my dad looking out onto the modern city of Ajloun from the castle's walls.

For more photos from our first day in Jordan, click here.

Stay tuned for entries about the rest of our pilgrimage.

Zizioulas Conference

2011-10-31T22:36:00.003+02:00

This weekend, the Academy in Volos held a conference in honor of Metropolitan John Zizioulas. I went down on Saturday morning with two friends and fellow students here at the Theological School in Thessaloniki.

Above, you can see Metropolitan John to the left listening to Bishop Maxim present his paper on gender and otherness according to his reading of Zizioulas. In the middle of the photo, you can see Prof. Georgios Martzelos, professor of Dogmatics here in Thessaloniki. He and Metropolitan John had an interesting discussion on Saturday about the "monarchia" of the Father within Trinitarian theology. Martzelos argued that some early anaphoras refer the prayer to Christ rather than the Father.

The highlight of the event was Metropolitan John's speech on Saturday evening, which was on the occasion of his being inducted as a Fellow into the Volos Academy for Theological Studies. The Metropolitan spoke for about 40 minutes on the future of Orthodox theology in the 21st century. Briefly put, his message was a call for theologians to formulate a creative and above all positive proposal in order to dialogue with the contemporary world, rather than being satisfied with just offering criticism. Hopefully, this talk will soon be published in Greek and perhaps English.

Interestingly, on Saturday, a group of about 20-30 protesters from Larissa picketed outside the conference center, claiming that "Zizioulas' theology is heretical." They also showed up outside the church where we celebrated the Liturgy on Sunday morning and handed out a newsletter briefly detailing some of their objections. Fortunately, they were peaceful.

A photo from the Liturgy on Sunday morning at the Church of the Ascension in Volos. Concelebrating bishops were Metropolitan Apostolos of Militos (Ecumenical Patriarchate, Abbot of St. Anastasia Monastery in Halkidiki), Bishop Damaskinos of Velestinos, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia, and of course Metropolitan Ignatios of Demetrias (all Church of Greece), Bishop Ignatije of Pozarevac and Branicevo and Bishop Maxim in Western America (both Patriarchate of Serbia).

At the end of the Liturgy, Fr. Stamatis Skliris, the famous iconographer, sits between Metropolitan John and Bishop Maxim.

Afterwards, the parish treated us all to coffee. Above, you can see the Archsecretary of the Ecumenical Patriarchate sitting between Bishop Maxim and Metropolitan Ignatios.

A photo of Fr. Stamatis and me.

For more photos, click here.

I am preparing translations of all of Zizioulas' talks now. Check on this website in the coming days.

Ancient Dion with My Parents and the Triplets

2011-10-24T09:10:00.000+03:00

My parents came to visit for a few weeks. One day, earlier this month, we took a trip out to Mt. Olympus to see the ancient city of Dion, where Alexander the Great massed his armies before heading out on campaign.

Of course, after driving over an hour there, I should not have been surprised, after these years in Greece, to find the site closed due to strike. It was also not completely surprising that a kindly Greek caretaker let us in anyway so that we could wander around on our own. In the photo above, you can see Mt. Olympus in the background.

Above, Phoebe walking on the ancient city's main road. Below, Paul found a bug to play with on the main road.

Above and below, Paul climbed up on some ruins to get an overview of what was inside. Below, my dad is standing with him.

After our visit, we drove over to the nearby village of Litohoro, a well-known mountain resort town popular with people from Thessaloniki in the summer, and had a fabulous traditional Greek lunch at the fanciest Greek restaurant I've ever been to.

For a few more photos from the outing, click here.

The Triplets at a Baptism

2011-10-05T15:46:00.001+03:00

On Saturday, October 1, we went downtown to Papafeio, an orphanage built around 1900 that has its own church inside the property. There, some friends were baptizing their new baby.

Above, you can see Phoebe and her friend Michael eating cupcakes at the end of the baptism.

After Phoebe had eaten all the sugary pink frosting, she offered me the rest of the cupcake.

More photos of the babies enjoying their cupcakes.

Outside the church.

Benjamin was getting excited about the camera.

There were a lot of kids there, so they all gathered for a photo on the steps of the church at the end of the baptism.

We briefly hosted someone from my alma mater, a pre-med student who spent one month at the monastery in Ormylia helping with their free medical clinic. Here she is with the babies in front of the church.

Here are some shots she took of the babies playing on the steps in front of the church.

On Sunday morning, Pelagia and the babies took our guest to Liturgy at the famous St. Nicholas Orphanos and then for a coffee in the upper city, next to the area St. Paul stayed the night after he was thrown out of the city (see Acts 17). Above is another photo she took at coffee.

Around Thessaloniki with the Babies

2011-10-03T14:06:00.003+03:00

Here are some photos of the babies from September. One beautiful day, we had a BBQ in the backyard. Above, Benjamin and Paris are shooting each other with water bottles.

In the middle of the month, my friend John, from Kenya, defended his doctoral dissertation at the university and passed. In the photo above, the professors are telling him that he passed, as his young son Joseph stands next to him.

On my birthday, we went into the city to see our spiritual father. On the way, we stopped for a coffee at a cafe next to the Rotunda (St. George's). The babies played around on the grass there. You can see the Rotunda (with the minaret from its time as a mosque) in the background.

Here they are running back and forth on the parcel of grass.

For lunch, we went to our friend Gregory's Indonesian restaurant. Gregory is a convert to Orthodoxy from Indonesia, the nephew of Fr. Daniel Byantoro, the famous missionary to Indonesia. Gregory came to Thessaloniki to study theology and never left. His little restaurant opens up right onto the sidewalk. We couldn't keep the kids seated for long, so they ended up playing outside on the sidewalk, "driving through" occasionally for me to hand them some food out the window.

We also stopped at the Theological School at the university so that I could pick up some books. Above is Phoebe walking around with the Theological School in the background.

Later that night, we had some birthday cake. Can you tell what color the frosting was?

For more photos, click here.

Celebrating the Divine Liturgy at New Skete

2011-09-29T11:40:00.000+03:00

The boat dropped us off at New Skete in the early afternoon, and we soon met the dikaios, or the monk in charge of hospitality at the skete for this year (it's a rotating responsibility), and he got us settled in a room near the katholikon. Just to give an idea of how different life in a skete is from that of the major monasteries, the monk asked us what time we'd like to have dinner. The few other guests that arrived preferred 5:00 PM, so we had some time to rest, which was quite welcome considering all the walking we had done in the hot sun.

At 5:00, we headed up to this monk's cell, which was near the very top of the skete. Above is a view of the skete from his cell. He prepared us a very simple dinner of pasta with tomato sauce. It had oil, so this is what made it a non-fasting meal. The monk himself didn't eat with us, since he only eats once a day. He lives in the rather large but ramshackle cell by himself and, since he's not a priest, he does almost all the services on his prayer rope, going to the katholikon on Sundays and big feasts for Divine Liturgy.

After dinner, we headed over to Elder Nikon's cell. The elder has several disciple monks with him at the cell, which is dedicated to St. Spyridon. We were fortunate to meet this wonderful monk, who is a spiritual child of Elder Ephraim of America, during a previous visit two years ago. Above and below are views at sunset from the balcony of his cell. Like many monks in the cells, we did Small Compline together outside on the balcony, facing the setting sun.

It is Elder Nikon's custom to talk with his handful of visitors out on the balcony after Small Compline, so we spent some time chatting with him then, along with his other two guests, two Roman Catholics from Germany, one of who is a professor of New Testament there. Since neither Elder Nikon nor any of his disciples are priests, I was given the very great blessing to celebrate the Divine Liturgy the next morning in their chapel dedicated to St. Spyridon.

The next morning, we met at 5:30 to do the proskomidi and to read names, and then started the Liturgy about 6:15. I was very impressed with Elder Nikon's great love, hospitality, and discernment. Athonites generally follow the rule that non-Orthodox are not permitted inside the temple during the Divine Liturgy. He was therefore somewhat hesitant to have the Liturgy because he did not want to exclude his visitors, but finally he found a discerning compromise -- he told his disciples to bring some comfortable chairs and to set them up just outside the rather small chapel's door, so that he could keep the tradition regarding attendance at the Liturgy as well as the equally venerable tradition of love and hospitality.

After the Liturgy, we had coffee and pitas and a wonderful discussion.

After breakfast, Trif and I went to venerate the grave of Elder Joseph the Hesychast, which is located at New Skete, near the tall tower. Above is a photo of Trif next to the grave site. Below is a sign pointing the way there.

We then went back to Elder Nikon's for lunch before starting our journey back to Thessaloniki. Above is a sign that says "Monk Nikon," located at the entrance to his cell.

We caught the boat in the early afternoon as it headed down to the very end of Mt. Athos; Trif thus had a chance to see all the sketes and cells on the very southern end of the Holy Mountain -- revered as the original starting point of asceticism on Mt. Athos and still the most ascetic part of the Mountain. You can just make out a cell or two in the photo above. We then slowly made our way back to mainland Greece and Thessaloniki.

For more photos from the trip, click here.

Dionysiou

2011-09-26T11:37:00.002+03:00

At Dionysiou, we drank lots, and lots, and lots of water and sat on a balcony with a great view over the ocean as we recovered from our walk.

A view of Dionyiou's port area from the balcony.

After we recovered, Fr. Pavlos took us inside the main church and even brought out a few of the monastery's amazing collection of relics to venerate, including the right hand of St. John the Baptist.

We then wandered around a bit and soon found ourselves talking with an old monk, Fr. Vasileios. When I asked him how long he'd been at the monastery, he said he had just come yesterday -- in 1965. He then regaled us with stories about his encounters with Elder Paisios, Elder Sophrony, and Elder Porphyrios, whom he personally knew to have been given the gift of foresight from the age of 18. He was also a monk of Dionysiou under the abbacy of Elder Haralambos, about whom a book has been translated into English (with a green cover). He led us to his grave so that we could venerate it and he told us he thought the Elder was a saint. He then showed us the monastery's ossuary, where they keep the monks' bones (see above and below).

The skulls are kept in a separate place from the rest of the bones.

Here is where the newly reposed lie. Elder Haralambos' grave is here.

Fr. Vasileios and I.

Our destination was New Skete, which is about 1.5 hours away from Dionysiou. We were too tired from our walks in the morning, so we walked down to the port and caught the boat over to New Skete.

Simonopetra and Grigoriou

2011-09-24T11:35:00.003+03:00

A friend from the US came at the beginning of the month for a semester studying abroad in Thessaloniki. Before his school started, we made a trip to the Holy Mountain, his first and my 13th. Above is a photo of Trifon with Simonopetra (our first stop) and the peak of the actual Mt. Athos in the background.

We had a little trial getting on to Mt. Athos. Apparently, two days before, the police did a spot-check of the insurance on all the ships in the area. The company running the main boat to Mt. Athos was found with lapsed insurance and therefore taken out of operation. Therefore, the only way to get on Mt. Athos was on the small speed boats which can only take a limited number of people at a time. We waited in line to put our names on a list and then waited around some more. We didn't manage to get on the first available boat and were told to wait around a couple more hours until the boat came back to get more people. In the meantime, another company's speed boat pulled in and everyone went and crowded around it. The captain and crew shouted and pleaded for anyone who did not have a reservation to please get out of the way, but of course -- in true Balkan style -- no one moved. Soon, I saw the abbot of Simonopetra, along with Fr. Iakovos (the Greek-American from New Jersey who was on the 60 Minutes piece) and Fr. Makarios (the French monk who did the new Synaxarion) come up to the boat. I went to greet them and told them we were hoping to come stay with them that day. They had reservations (plus, he's the abbot of an Athonite monastery) so they got on, but we were still out of luck. I knew enough to hang around near the boat and hope something good would happen. Fortunately, at the very end, one of the crew came out and signaled for us to get on -- apparently, the abbot had put in a good word for us, and we were off.

A view from the top balcony of Simonopetra, just outside the entrance to the main church.

After spending a wonderful day at Simonopetra, as usual, we decided to walk down to Grigoriou, which is about an hour's walk downhill. Here we walked by the donkey waypoint. Donkeys are still used in many places on Mt. Athos to haul goods from the sea up to the monasteries and cells.

Here's a photo of Simonopetra from the path down to Grigoriou.

Our first sighting of Grigoriou along the path.

Fortunately, we found a monk at Grigoriou who let us into the church so that we could venerate the icons. Here's a photo of the outside of their main church.

At Grigoriou, we ran into an Anglican visitor from England and his Greek tour guide from Athens and we all decided to walk together to the next monastery, Dionysiou, which was nearly 2 hours away along a path that at no point seems to go along even ground, instead going continually up and down the ridges of the peninsula.

It was tough, tough walk, but as Bishop Athanasije (Jevtic) says, "The Holy Mountain is in the legs." Part of the experience is walking the paths that the saints trod.

The photo above is of the last uphill from Dionysiou's port up into the monastery.

Triplets Update - Summer 2011

2011-09-22T23:21:00.003+03:00

It has been too long since I posted some photos of the triplets. Here are some shots from one of our trips to the beaches of Halkidiki this summer.

Visiting with friends on our balcony one evening.

Paul getting buried in the sand on another trip to the beach.

Here are a couple shots from a trip down into the center of Thessaloniki. We stopped at a Starbucks for a coffee and the babies ran around in a grass area next to the outdoor seating. In the background is the Arch of Galerius, built around 300.

Our friend Iren from Hungary stopped by for a visit one day and played with the babies on the trampoline.

Some shots of the kids using the kaleidoscope feature.

Our friends Moses and Maria, with their two kids, came to visit one afternoon, and all five of the kids managed to pile on the swing.

For a few more photos, click here.

Back Home (in Greece)

2011-09-21T08:24:00.000+03:00

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Back in Greece, there wasn't quite as much snow as I had seen in Crater Lake!

Pelagia's mother was visiting and she gave us the opportunity to get away for a day, so we drove over to the east side of the second leg of Halkidiki. It takes about 2 hours to get there from Thessaloniki, but it's truly beautiful. The second leg is not nearly as developed as the first leg.

We drove the complete circuit around the second leg, stopping at many of the beaches. In my opinion, the most beautiful was Sarti (photo above). Across the gulf you can see Mt. Athos and you can even make out individual monasteries such as Simonopetra, Dionysiou, etc.

A shot of one of the beaches we stopped at.

Back home with the babies, we had a good time with Pelagia's mother. One day, we visited Elder Paisios' grave at Souroti. Here Benjamin is venerating his grave.

Just down the road from our house, there has been some work (sporadically) on a new apartment building. The babies love the big backhoe. Here they are inside of it.

The Way Back to Greece

2011-09-20T12:50:00.000+03:00

Near the end of my stay in Oregon, my hosts, the Lubliners, took me out to the central Oregon Coast. This is quite different from what I was used to from Florida and Greece! It is very rugged and only the very hearty go swimming in the cold water (even in July!)

Popadija Esther and I went for a walk on the top of some relatively small sand dunes (caused by the nearly nonstop strong winds). Above, you can see we slid down one sand dune.

Look how we were bundled up in the middle of summer!

On my way back to Greece, I stopped in Los Angeles for a few days to visit Bishop Maxim and the headquarters of the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church. This was my first time in Southern California and I was very impressed by the weather.

Finally, I headed back to Greece near the end of July. I had a long 9 hour layover in Rome, so I went into the city for a few hours to visit some of the 5th century churches. At one of them, I noticed this contraption above. You drop your coin into a slot (like a vending machine) and one of the electric candles lights up at random for a certain amount of time!

For more photos from Crater Lake and the Oregon Coast, click here.

Crater Lake

2011-09-19T08:03:00.003+03:00

On the way back to Eugene from Platina, we arranged to stop by Crater Lake to watch sunrise there. The elevation is about 7,100 feet, so even in July there was still snow blocking part of the road that runs around the crater. It was especially cold at sunrise, but it was all worth it. It's a truly beautiful place.

Here you can see Wizard Island in the middle of the lake.

The only building on the top of the mountain is the Crater Lake Lodge. I've heard you need to book reservations a year in advance in order to spend a night there. (It's only open during the summer months; the roads are impassable during the winter.)

There's one place with a trail down to the lake itself, so we climbed down there. During the summer, they have boat tours on the lake.

For many more amazing photos, click here.

Visit to St. Herman's in Platina, CA

2011-09-15T13:17:00.001+03:00

I also had a chance during my trip to the US in July to visit St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, CA for a few days. This also was part of my research for my doctorate, which I am happy to say is near completion (and which explains why there has been so little activity on the blog lately).

Another parishioner from St. John the Wonderworker accompanied me on this drive, which took about seven hours from Eugene. Above, you can see our view of Mt. Shasta in northern California from a rest stop.

At Platina, we got to see Fr. Seraphim Rose's cell. Each of the monks has his own small, simple little hut, which are spread out over the mountainside. As you can see from the photo above, Fr. Seraphim had a small bell on a tree not far from his cell. The custom was to ring it and say loudly "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me" as one approached his cell, so that he would be aware someone was coming.

Walking into Fr. Seraphim's simple cell, which was constructed from old mining cabins from the area's gold rush days in the 19th century.

Fr. Damascene lived in the cell for many years, but it is now empty. The mattress you see on the tiny bed is from Fr. Damascene. Fr. Seraphim slept directly on the wood.

Fr. Herman's cell, closer to the top of the ridge.

The entrance to the monastery.

The main church.

Fr. Seraphim's grave.

One of the old printing presses they used to print the first issues of The Orthodox Word and many of their other publications and translations.

One morning, we travelled over to the nearby St. Xenia's Skete to celebrate the Divine Liturgy for the sisters. Above is a photo of their main church.

Above, barely visible, is one of the nuns' original, spartan cells.

The nuns' outdoor chapel area.

For more photos of the trip, click here.

Eugene, OR and Goldendale, WA

2011-09-02T19:11:00.003+03:00

After Arizona, I headed to Eugene, OR, where I went to help out at the Serbian parish of St. John the Wonderworker for a few weeks. Above is a photo from a walk I took in Eugene's lovely Rose Garden along the river in Eugene with Popadija Maria and little Lucy.

One day, a parishioner and I drove up to Goldendale, WA to visit the Monastery of St. John the Forerunner for a couple days. Above is a photo of the main building, which houses their small (hopefully temporary) church.

A view of the monastery's bookstore and bakery from the highway. Besides visiting the sisters, the visit was also for research for my dissertation here in Greece.

The drive from Eugene to Goldendale goes through the Columbia Valley Gorge, which is beautiful. It's quite windy so it's lined with thousands of massive windmills.

For more photos from the trip, click here.

Elder Ephraim and St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona

2011-08-28T13:08:00.003+03:00

At the beginning of July, I had the opportunity to visit St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona for the second time. The first time was nearly 6 years ago, shortly before we left for Greece.

Ostensibly, the reason for my visit was research for my dissertation, which will include one chapter on Elder Ephraim's missionary impact in North America.

During this visit, now that I speak a little Greek, I had the great blessing to speak with Elder Ephraim for about 45 minutes.

At my first visit to the monastery, I remember being overwhelmed by the magnificence of it all -- the land, the number of monks, the number of churches, the services, etc. This time, after having had the great blessing to visit the Holy Mountain many times, I had another view. I realized just how much Elder Ephraim sacrificed in order to come to the United States -- such is the spiritual grandeur of the Holy Mountain.

Fr. Artemios, a hieromonk from Grigoriou Monastery on Mt. Athos, was visiting at the same time.

One morning, after Liturgy, I went for a sunrise walk up to the little chapel dedicated to the Prophet Elijah.

A view down on the monastery from the chapel up on the hill.

For more photos from the visit, click here.

Simonopetra and Ormylia

2011-07-17T22:25:00.002+03:00

On Wednesday morning, after the tour of Vatopaidi, we headed off to Simonopetra, where Bishop Maxim was welcomed with ringing bells by the abbot, Fr. Elisaios (above) and much of the brotherhood.

We were given a tour by the abbot, including the monastery's breathtaking view from the top (see above), as well as a tour of the library by Fr. Maximos, the Greek-American former Harvard professor who is now the monastery's librarian.

Finally, they gave us a wonderful lunch of octopus before we headed down to Daphni to catch a private speed boat back to Ouranoupolis.

Back in the world in Ouranoupolis, we met up with the five female pilgrims in the group and headed over to Kakovo, a Serbian men's monastery and dependency of Hilandar located only about 20 minutes away. There are only a handful of monks, but the property they are responsible for maintaining is enormous and full of crops, a lake for fishing, etc. It is dedicated to the Feast of the Life-Giving (or, better, Life-Receiving) Spring, which the Church celebrates on Bright Friday. Above is a photo of the courtyard where we visited with the monastery's abbot.

Above is a small chapel at the dependency.

We then headed on to a dependency of Simonopetra, the women's monastery of the Annunciation, located in the village of (and frequently referred to as) Ormylia. This is the largest monastery in Greece with about 120 nuns from approximately 17 or 18 different countries. Unfortunately, one member of our group was not feeling well, and one of the sisters at the monastery (who is also a doctor) recommended we take her to a hospital in Thessaloniki out of an abundance of caution. So Fr. Blasko and I took her to a private hospital near my house in Panorama. I then returned the next morning with Pelagia and the babies to visit with the abbess, Nikodemi, and the sisters after the Liturgy. When we walked in to the conversation between Bishop Maxim, the abbess, Fr. Serapion, a monk from Simonopetra who serves the monastery, and some of the nuns and pilgrims, Paul headed straight for Bishop Maxim and sat in his lap, eating the bishop's cookies (see above).

Later in the morning, Fr. Athanasios, a monk of Simonopetra and the chief hymnographer of the Great Church of Constantinople (the one responsible for composing all services to new saints, such as he has done for St. Silouan the Athonite and St. Justin of Celije), as well as the abbess' brother according to the flesh, came by to greet Bishop Maxim. Above and below are a couple photos of him playing with Paul. The babies loved being swung by him (see below).

Thus ended my participation in the pilgrimage, as the group continued on to Meteora and Bishop Maxim left for other obligations in Serbia. For more photos, click here and here.

Vatopaidi

2011-07-12T22:21:00.001+03:00

After Iviron, we headed to Vatopaidi, where we were scheduled to spend the night. Above is the entrance to the monastery.

Before retiring for the evening, we got to spend some time speaking with Abbot Ephraimon the balcony just outside the abbot's office. See the view above, which is out onto the Aegean from the northeast side of the peninsula.

Above, Bishop Maxim with Abbot Ephraim. The abbot is a disciple of Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi, who was one of the disciples of Elder Joseph the Heyschast, along with his spiritual brother Elder Ephraim of Philotheou (now in the US).

The next morning was Wednesday, and starting just this year, the fathers at Vatopaidi had decided to revert to the monastery's old typikon with regard to Wednesdays and Fridays during fasts (such as the one that was then happening for the Apostles). Normally, Vatopaidi, like most Athonite monasteries, has Divine Liturgy daily. But under this old typikon, they instead do the mid-Hours in place of Liturgy. After the services, we ran into Prof. George Mantzaridis, professor emeritus of theology at the University of Thessaloniki and a former parishioner at our church in Panorama. He is credited with rediscovering St. Gregory Palamas, which led to an explosion of interest in hesychasm.

Bishop Maxim read a trisagion for Elder Joseph, whose grave lies behind the main church.

After breakfast, we then got the royal tour into the famous secret room that was featured on the 60 Minutes piece at Easter. If you didn't see it, take the 25 minutes or so to watch the two parts now (part 2 here). Above, you can see Fr. Matthew, an American (convert) monk at Vatopaidi for the last 25 years or so, using the five old keys to let us into the first part of the secret room. This door leads into what looks like a simple library/study, with bookcases lining the walls. Apparently, the fathers of Vatopaidi had at one point in history lost one of the five keys needed to enter this room.

Eventually, it was found and when they entered they were surprised that all this security was only for a nearly empty study. But they knew there was a piece of the building they couldn't account for. When they came back again the next day and began investigating more thoroughly, the discovered that one of the bookcases was actually a secret passageway into another area, which was originally used to house the monastery's most precious liturgical items. Of course, now it was recently renovated and, although, small, it is a first-class museum housing, still, some of the monastery's most valuable liturgical items.

It was quite dramatic when Fr. Matthew opened the door inside the bookcase (see below). In the new renovation, they've set it up so that low museum lighting and a CD of Vatopaidi's chant automatically turn on when the door opens. Above is an icon of St. John Chrysostom housed in the museum.

Another shot of the initial door that takes five old iron keys to open.

For more photos of the trip as a whole, click here.

Iviron with Fr. Vasileos

2011-07-09T22:16:00.001+03:00

On Tuesday morning after the Liturgy and a festive meal at Hilandar, we headed to Karyes, the capital of Mt. Athos. The road connecting Hilandar with the rest of the Holy Mountain recently washed out, so we took a speed boat down to Dafni, where a taxi van was waiting for us.

This was Bishop Maxim's first visit to the Holy Mountain as a bishop, and the ancient custom is for bishops to be received, on their first visit, by the Protos (head) of the Holy Community at the administrative headquarters, located next to the Protaton. Thus, the Protos treated us all to a raki, a coffee, and sweets, per tradition, and after a discussion with him, we headed down the stairs to venerate the Axion Estin icon in the Protaton (see photo above).

Next, we went to the original cell of St. Sava of Serbia, where a lone Serbian monk has kept St. Sava's Typikon, the most austere on the Holy Mountain, since the saint's repose in the 13th century. Above is part of our group. The cell is down on the left.

Next, we headed over to the "cell" of Bourazeri, a dependency of Hilandar in Karyes, but populated by a large Greek brotherhood of 25. Thus, this "cell" is bigger than some of the ruling 20 monasteries, demonstrating again how relative the terms "monastery," "skete," and "cell" are. Technically, a "cell" on Mt. Athos can have no more than 7 members, but Bourazeri is an exception.

We went there because the brotherhood there is famous for its production of antimensia, which Bishop Maxim wanted to order. They also showed us their gorgeous new "chapel" that is currently being completed. See above and below.

Then it was on to Iviron to see the famous Athonite theologian and elder Fr. Vasileios Gontikakis, an important theologian of the "generation of the 60s" and responsible for renewing two Athonite monasteries, Stavronikita and Iviron, at the same time as the likes of Elder Ephraim of Philotheou, Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra, and Elder Georgios of Grigoriou. Above, we are walking into the entrance of the monastery.

Above, Bishop Maxim, Fr. Vasileios, and the current abbot of Iviron, Fr. Nathaniel. We spent over an hour discussing theology with Fr. Vasileios (see below).

Fr. Vasileios showed us the relatively new iconography inside the refectory. He preferred the light colored backgrounds to make the relatively small space feel more open for the monastery's large brotherhood.

On the way down to our van, I got a few minutes alone with Fr. Vasileios to ask him advice about being a pneumatikos (spiritual father). Above, Iviron from the water.

For more photos, click here.

Hilandar with Bishop Maxim and Pilgrims

2011-07-08T12:10:00.001+03:00

On Monday morning, June 27, Bishop Maxim led a group of two priests, one deacon, and five laymen to Hilandar Monastery on Mt. Athos. The bishop was greeted with the ringing of the monastery's bells, and the all the monks came out to greet him at the entrance. There they gave him the mandyas (bishop's cloak) and he entered into the monastery, proceeding down to the main church. Above is a view of the main church from near the entrance to the monastery. It was this part of the monastery, near the entrance, that suffered the most damage in the very serious fire of 2004.

After the new abbot, Methodije, treated us to refreshments, he took us for a tour of the monastery, including a visit to the monastery's vineyards. Above, Bishop Maxim is checking out the grapes. You can see the Aegean Sea (i.e. the northeast coast of the peninsula) in the background.

Just outside the building where they produce the wine, Bishop Maxim picked some wild berries that everyone tried.

Here we are inside the winery, where the monk in charge provided us with a wine-tasting of their two productions, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Paul's godfather, Paris, was able to take off a few days from work to join us for this trip.

We then walked down to the waterline, which is close by. Here Bishop Maxim is gathering some rocks.

Here I am with Pars and Abbot Methodije on Hilandar's eastern dock.

Next we visited the cemetery. Above, the cemetery chapel behind Bishop Maxim and Abbot Methodije. Below, the ossuary underneath the chapel.

Here are the plots where the newly reposed monks rest for a few years before they are exhumed and placed in the ossuary.

Here's our group at the entrance to the monastery.

The new guesthouse is built just outside the monastery walls. Here is a view of the monastery from the guesthouse.

Here are the frescoes at the monastery's entrance.

Here are some views of the inner courtyard of the monastery from my room, situated near the monastery's entrance.

Here is Bishop Maxim walking down to the church for Small Vespers. We had a Vigil for Vivovdan from 9:00 to 3:15 AM, followed by a short rest, and then Liturgy at 7:00 AM. Vivovdan is a Serbian feast dedicated to St. Prince Lazar and the martyrs who died with him fighting against the Turks in 1389 in the Battle of Kosovo. Although the Serbs didn't win (it was basically a stalemate), they so damaged the Turkish army that they were not able to continue sweeping through Europe, thus saving western Europe from Islamization.

After Small Vespers, our tour continued. Here a monk is showing us the vine of St. Symeon.

Bishop Maxim, Fr. Blasko (a priest of the diocese with a parish in Orange County, CA), and I were then treated to a special tour of Hilandar's library. The monastery's librarian was just pulling ancient manuscripts out of a drawer, including this one -- the ORIGINAL Typikon of St. Sava (or Karyes Typikon). That's the original wax seal there at the bottom.

Here are some shots from the small library quarters.

Finally, here's a photo from the end of the Liturgy for Holy Prince Lazar on Tuesday morning. I was blessed to be able to serve, now making it three Athonite monasteries in which I've been able to celebrate.

For more photos, click here.

Bishop Maxim and Pilgrims Visit Panorama

2011-06-30T22:13:00.003+03:00

On Saturday evening, Bishop Maxim, Fr. Blasko, a priest in his Serbian diocese of Western America, and a group of eight pilgrims arrived in Thessaloniki after spending the first part of their pilgrimage in Constantinople.

On Sunday morning, thanks to the blessing of Metropolitan Anthimos of Thessaloniki, Bishop Maxim presided over a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at our parish here in Panorama. At the end of the service, somewhat to my surprise, he read two prayers for me: one to become a pneumatikos (spiritual father/confessor) and the second to be elevated to the office of Oikonomos and awarded the accompanying epigonation, or thigh shield.

There are differing theological opinions on the issue of priests hearing confession, but in the Byzantine tradition being a confessor is not automatically conferred with ordination to the priesthood, but is rather a separate charisma (spiritual gift) with a special prayer read by the bishop conferring and confirming the charisma. In Greece, many priests never become confessors. It is usually done on the recommendation of the priest's spiritual father a few years after ordination to the priesthood.

The office of Oikonomos (Economos) is another prayer read by the bishop and is signified by the awarding of the epigonation or thigh shield. It is often connected with hearing confession, to the point that some say the epigonation symbolizes the keys to the Kingdom that were given to St. Peter. As Bishop Maxim noted in his address at the end of the Liturgy, when the Orthodox speak of "symbolism" it means that it "iconizes" (serves as an icon of), refers to, and participates in reality, i.e. the eschatological reality of the coming Kingdom of God.

The word "Oikonomos" means "steward," as in "stewards of the mysteries of God" and the prayer refers to the appropriate management or stewardship of the Church's money and resources.

Above, Bishop Maxim is smiling at the babies as they come up for antidoron.

After the Liturgy, we went to a nearby cafe for a coffee before taking the pilgrims to see a couple things in Thessaloniki. Above, you can see Bishop Maxim speaking with Prof. Dimitris Tselingidis, a professor of Dogmatic Theology here at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and a parishioner here in Panorama.

The group really only had time for two stops -- one, of course, to St. Demetrios, and the second to the Serbian War Memorial, which commemorates the 8000 Serbs who gave their lives defending Orthodox Greece in World War I. In these photos, you can see an old Serbian soldier, the cemetery's guard, giving a talk about the cemetery. We did a memorial service in the chapel in the cemetery before the group headed out to Ouranoupolis, from where the men (and I) would depart for Mt. Athos the next day. More on that coming.

To see the group's photos of the early part of their trip, including their time in Thessaloniki, click here.

The Babies' Second Birthday

2011-06-25T15:47:00.001+03:00

Last Saturday, the babies celebrated their second birthday. We had a small get-together in the evening, with a BBQ, cake, and ice cream to celebrate. Above you can see the babies blowing out their candles. Well, actually here it seems that Paul is trying to help Benjamin blow out his.

Here they dig into their individual cakes/tarts after the singing of "Happy Birthday."

Benjamin's godparents, James and Ann, gave the babies squirt bottles, since they love going next door and playing with theirs. Naturally, a big squirt gun fight broke out. The babies went around spraying everyone. Here, our friend Justin is about to get his revenge on his son Michael, who is also two. The babies are playing with the water in the background.

The babies' main present was this disc swing from Ikea, which Pelagia hung on the balcony.

Our landlady, Kyria Maria, came down and brought homemade stuffed grape leaves (dolmadakia). Here she and Sophie watch as the babies play under the table.

On Sunday afternoon, we went on an outing with Michael Tishel and all his guests from Santa Rosa to Elder Paisios' tomb at the women's monastery in Souroti. Here is a photo of Paul and me sitting just outside the church. The elder's grave is in the background to the right.

Our friends George and Kalliopi from Panorama (who have 8 kids) were at the monastery for Vespers, so they helped out with the babies. Benjamin even sat with Kalliopi for all of Vespers. Afterwards, they stuffed themselves with Turkish delight and played in the water fountain.

On the way home, we stopped at the mall so that our guests could see what a mall looks like that is on land owned by the Ecumenical Patriarchate -- it has a functioning church right in the middle of its courtyard. Here the babies are playing on the ramp outside the church after we went in and lit candles.

For more photos from the weekend, click here.

Tour Around Mt. Athos with the Babies

2011-06-23T12:26:00.003+03:00

Last week, our friend Michael Tishel had some visitors from Holy Dormition Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Santa Rosa, CA. While he took the men to Mt. Athos, we took the two women for the boat tour around Mt. Athos. This was also the first time for Pelagia, after five years, and of course the first time for the babies. In fact, it was probably the babies' biggest trip yet, with a 2-hour car ride each way and a 3-hour boat ride. The highlight for the babies was probably the fact that dolphins came and swam right alongside the boat. I didn't get a very good photo of them close-up, but here you can one splashing in the water as Pelagia and Phoebe look on. The babies love dolphins and whales right now.

The boat tour around Mt. Athos must stay 500 meters off the shore of the autonomous monastic republic. But you can still see 8 of the 20 ruling monasteries in only a 3-hour boat ride. The main company runs this tour twice daily. We took the first one, leaving at 10:30 AM, which is probably a bit cooler than the afternoon one. Above, Pelagia and Benjamin look at Grigoriou Monastery.

Above, Paul and Phoebe look at Simonopetra Monastery perched up on the hill.

Here's Paul hanging out at the aft of the ship. The babies spent a lot of time just walking around the boat with their backpacks on, which was handy since the backpacks have little leashes on them. They also liked throwing bread and pretzels to the birds that fly after the ships.

Our guests from California were staying at Fr. Symeon's women's monastery in Panorama, and the nuns there had graciously packed us a lunch. So when we got back, we sat on the beach in Ouranoupolis (which, besides being the main port for Mt. Athos, is also a popular beach resort town) and at lunch. The babies, of course, also got a chance to play in the water. Above, Popadija Christina walks with Paul and Phoebe on the beach.

Here, she's walking down to the water with Benjamin (on his little bike) from the shady spot we found.

Here are the three playing with the rocks in the water.

Here, I managed to snap a photo with the rock in mid-air. Paul especially liked making big splashes.

It wasn't long before the babies got naked, their favorite state. Above, Paul is climbing along the rocks. Below, Phoebe doing the same.

Finally, we got them dressed and ready to go. Paul discovered the pockets in his new shorts and seemed to like them.

On the way home, we stopped at the Monastery of St. Anastasia the Deliverer from Potions, which dates to 888 AD. We caught a bit of Vespers before the babies wandered just outside the entrance and found where the monks keep their animals--two deer and a goat. We spent a long time feeding them.

The babies freshened up in the mountain spring fountain outside the monastery before we headed home.

For more photos from the outing, click here.

First Swim of the Summer

2011-06-17T21:04:00.002+03:00

Last week, temperatures peaked in the high 80s, so we decided to take the babies for their first swim of the summer. There were a decent number of people on the beach, mainly foreigners probably taking advantage of reduced prices. Greeks generally will only swim in July and August, but we foreigners, used to cold temperatures, are unfazed. Above, you can see the pit the babies dug.

One of their favorite games is picking up rocks and tossing them to make a splash.

Paul is the most adventurous in the water, and in general. Here he is walking around.

Phoebe helped these girls pick up their ball when it went astray and would go and hand it back to them. They thought she was pretty cute.

Phoebe and Benjamin.

A sandy Phoebe.

For a few more photos, click here.

Turtles

2011-06-07T21:30:00.003+03:00

Two weeks ago, our friend George, another American studying here in Thessaloniki, took the babies and me to a nice, quiet little park in the city with fish and turtles.

The babies LOVED the turtles. Here Paul was trying to get this one to come out of his shell and play with him.

Phoebe wanted to give it a leaf.

George bought the babies some hot dogs, but all they wanted to do was feed them to the turtles. Here's Paul trying to entice the turtle with a hot dog.

Above, George is pointing to another turtle as Paul and Benjamin look on eagerly.

Agiou Pavlou

2011-05-31T09:35:00.003+03:00

On Friday morning, we left Vatopaidi in a van that took us to the port of Dafni. We waited there until 12:30, at which time we caught the boat from Dafni that runs southeast toward the tip of the peninsula. Along the way, we passed Grigoriou (above) and Dionysiou (below).

After Dionysiou, we got off at the port for Agiou Pavlou (above), which sits just below the peak of the actual Mt. Athos (i.e. the highest point on the peninsula, from which the whole gets its name). In the photo above, the peak is obscured in clouds, but you can see Agiou Pavlou nestled in the valley.

At the monastery, we were met by Fr. Evdokimos, an Englishman and the brother of Fr. John Behr, the dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. Fr. Evdokimos has been at Agiou Pavlou for the last 22 years. He gave us a wonderful tour of the monastery, including the osteophylakion (ossuary), where the earthly remains of all the monks in the 1000-year uninterrupted history of the monastery are kept.

The ossuary also has a chapel, in which they celebrate Liturgy every Saturday morning. Above is a photo of the outside of the ossuary. In the background, you can see the boat heading back to Dafni after completing its route to the tip of the peninsula. He also took us into the altar of the main church, where a cabinet along the south side is full of the monastery's relics and treasures. There we venerated the Gifts of the Magi, the relics of the Three Hierarchs, the right hand of St. Maximos the Confessor, and many others.

After a brief rest, we had Vespers at 5:30, followed by a meal, and then our tour continued. We went up to the highest point of the monastery, along the upper walls, to venerate inside a tiny chapel that had been frescoed by Theophan the Cretan. We then climbed up the tower (above) for a view down on the monastery.

The monastery from the tower.

Here, McKeel and the others admire the view from just outside the door to the chapel.

The bottom floor of the tower features this tunnel and ladder, which Fr. Evdokimos told us leads underneath the massive walls to the cave of the monastery's founder, St. Paul of Xiropotamou. I wanted to go down, but he said the tunnel may have collapsed.

After climbing up all the narrow passageways of the tower, the final story was ascended by this ladder through a rusted metal trap door.

A view from the top down to the water. Small Compline ended the day at 8:30 PM (i.e. sunset, which is 12 midnight on Byzantine time).

The next morning, the services started at 3:30 and ended with Divine Liturgy, which concluded around 7:30. This was then followed by breakfast and a coffee with Fr. Evdokimos on a balcony overlooking the water. We then gathered our things and headed down to the port to catch the boat back to Dafni. We got to the port just as the boat was stopping on its way down to the tip of the peninsula, so we decided to get on and ride it down and back so that we could view the sketes at the ascetic end of the mountain.

We soon passed the famous New Skete (above).

A view from near the tip of the peninsula. I believe that this cross marks the southernmost point.

On the way back, we passed Agiou Pavlou just as an interesting and somewhat rare event was happening. A boat full of 200 or so women pilgrims had arranged for the monastery to bring out some of its relics for veneration. The women's boat stopped about 500 meters off-shore, which is the closest women may come to the Holy Mountain, and a speed boat came from Ouranoupolis to monks waiting at the monastery's port with the relics. The speed boat then took the monks and relics to the waiting women's boat, where the monks boarded. Typically, they do an Agiasmo (blessing of the waters) on the boat and allow the women to venerate the relics before returning by speed boat to the monastery. In the photo above, you can see the women's boat waiting off shore, while the speed boat loads the monks and relics to go see them.

As we got closer to Dafni, the clouds finally parted so we could see the peak of Mt. Athos.

For a few more photos from this trip to the Holy Mountain, click here.

Manuscripts at Vatopaidi

2011-05-29T15:31:00.005+03:00

On Wednesday, I headed off for my eleventh trip to Mt. Athos, this time with two visitors from the U.S. One was Fr. Alexander Rentel, Assistant Professor of Canon Law at St. Vladimir's and a friend from when we met at a conference in Volos two years ago. The other was his friend and koumbaros, McKeel Hagerty, who also graduated from St. Vladimir's. Our first stop was the Great Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi, where we spent two nights. The photo above is from inside the monastery. To the right is the refectory and along the long is the main church, which dates to the monastery's foundation in the 10th century.

One of the goals of the trip for Fr. Alexander was to see an important 14th century manuscript housed at Vatopaidi. Fr. Philip, a Brazilian monk and former professor of Ancient Greek in Buenos Aires, is the monastery's librarian. He let us into the old library, which houses more than 2000 manuscripts. He very kindly showed us their oldest books and manuscripts. I actually held a 9th century codex that was in remarkably good shape, and 15th century printed prayer books. Eventually, we left Fr. Alexander to his work, and McKeel and I took a hike outside the monastery over toward the nearby ruins of the famous original Athonite Academy.

On the way there, we wandered through some of Vatopaidi's vineyards (see above) and a cell in the vineyards that is currently in the middle of reconstruction (below).

Eventually we made our way through some woods to ruins of the Athonite Academy, which was originally a three-storey building that produced such famous students and saints as St. Nikodemos the Athonite, St. Kosmas Aitolos, and St. Athanasios Parios.

Above, McKeel is just outside the door of the small chapel in the middle of the ruins. Below, the chapel.

We then made our way back to Vatopaidi in time for a short rest before Vespers at 4:30 PM.

Vespers was followed by the meal, which was then followed by veneration of the monastery's amazing collection of relics, including the belt of the Panagia and the skull of St. John Chrysostom, where one can see that his left ear is still incorrupt after 1600 years. This is attributed to the fact that the saint's disciple, Proclus, had been deemed worthy to see the Holy Apostle Paul whispering the interpretations of his letters into that ear. The veneration of the relics was then followed by a tour from Vatopaidi's American monk, Fr. Matthew. (He was featured in the recent piece about Mt. Athos on 60 Minutes. Click here to watch it.) Some interesting numbers: The monastery now has 118 monks from 18 different countries. They host over 35,000 pilgrims per year, or approximately 100 per day on average, far and away the largest number of any of the other monasteries on the Holy Mountain.

I also had the chance to venerate the grave of the blessed Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi, who reposed almost two years ago. The grave is located just outside the monastery's main church.

After Fr. Matthew's tour, the day ended with Small Compline. The next day, services began at 4:00 AM and concluded with Divine Liturgy in some of the monastery's 37 chapels a little after 8:00 AM. This was then followed by the main meal of the day.

For more photos from Vatopaidi, click here.

The Expo Center

2011-05-23T08:45:00.000+03:00

About a week ago, we went with our friend Kalliopi and her son Michael to the flower show being held at the expo center right across the street from the university. The babies were fascinated by the huge elephant.

Here they are stuffing gravel into the elephant's trunk.

Paul and Michael throwing the gravel around.

Phoebe was happy to find a bug among the flowers.

Later last week, there was another show at the expo center dedicated to the ecclesiastical arts. There were artists, craftsmen, and monastics from all over the Balkans showing their ecclesiastical vestments, furniture, marble work, iconography, etc.

For a few more photos from the flower show, click here.

Visiting with Herman and Michael

2011-05-17T08:42:00.003+03:00

Last week, our friend Herman Middleton returned to Thessaloniki to lead a trip to Mt. Athos. Herman spent many years here in Thessaloniki, where he completed a BA, MA, and PhD at the Theology School. He's also author of the popular book Precious Vessels of the Holy Spirit.

The weather has turned lovely here lately, so we spent some time outside in the backyard playing with the babies. Above, our friend Michael Tishel is taking a turn on the trampoline.

To get the babies out of the house, Michael and I then took them to one of the monasteries here in Panorama, Kimisseos, for Vespers. They have speakers in the courtyard around the church which allows the babies to be outside and still hear the service.

Here are the boys at the front of the church.

After Vespers, we then headed over to a little nature area in Panorama called Platanakia. The babies immediately found three little vehicles to ride.

We then walked around the little zoo area to see the animals. One of the rabbits had escaped, so the babies liked chasing him around.

Here come Michael and Paul. You can see some of the areas for the animals to the left and right.

When we got back, Herman took a turn trying to do a backflip before the sun went down. Here I caught him in mid-flip.

For a few more photos, click here.

Agios Prodromos and Peristera

2011-05-05T11:11:00.005+03:00

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Last week, on Friday of Renewal Week, we went with Paris for lunch at Agios Prodromos, a village in the mountains of Halkidiki that is well-known for its grilled meats.

It was partly cloudy, but we had a few moments of sun in which we played outside in the yard behind one of the restaurants. Above, Phoebe and I sat in the swing.

We also showed the babies how to blow the seeds off the daffodils.

We hoped to eat outside, but it started raining after awhile so we moved inside. Fortunately, we came at a time when it wasn't busy, so the babies could run around inside after they finished eating.

On the way back home, we stopped at the little mountain village of Peristera to visit the 9th century church dedicated to St. Andrew the First Called. Originally, it was the main church of a monastery but is now a parish church in this village of about 1000.

It has a unique five-dome architecture that is being studied by the archaeological and architectural students in Greece. I learned about the church when I was translating a new pilgrims' guide to the Metropolis of Ierissos, the Holy Mountain, and Ardameri.

Most of the inside seems to be been burned by a fire at some point, but there are some traces of the original mosaics and frescos, including a bit of the Pantocrator in the dome.

The courtyard around the church is an area in which the village children gather to play. The babies joined in.

Above, Benjamin. Below, Paul and Paris.

For a few more photos, click here.

Alistratis Cave and Serres

2011-05-02T08:01:00.000+03:00

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On Renewal Tuesday, we went with Fr. Panayiotis and his family to Alistrati Cave in between Serres and Drama, northeast of Thessaloniki.

On the way there, we stopped at a rest stop and playground so that the children could get out and play. Above, Fr. Panayiotis' presvytera spins Paul and two of her children.

The cave is situated in a scenic area with a valley. As we waited for the next tour of the cave to start, the kids played. Above is Phoebe looking out at the mountains.

And here are the babies playing at a waterfall, which they LOVE.

After the cave, we drove over to Serres for lunch at a lovely restaurant situated next to natural waterfalls. Above you can see Pres. Pelagia and Paul. Below Paul and Benjamin play with the channeled water coming down from the mountain.

We also walked around a small reservoir. Above, Pelagia and Paul.

And here the kids are watching the small fish swimming around.

We then headed up the hill to the nearby Monastery of St. John the Forerunner, which is one of three monasteries in mainland Greece for which Elder Ephraim (now of Arizona) serves as spiritual father. Back in December, they suffered a large fire, which destroyed the building which contained most of their day-to-day living and working space. Fortunately, however, none of the churches from this 13th century monastery were destroyed. Click on their website here to see more about the fire.

You can also compare these photos above and below with previous photos I took on other visits there.

Sister Katherine, an American convert from Texas who has been there for several years now, talked with us for awhile and told us that life at the monastery had changed considerably due to the fire. They are eager to rebuild but, since the monastery is so old, the archaeological service has to be involved, and they insist on doing a detailed inspection of the burnt area before allowing anything to be rebuilt. Fortunately, although the part that burnt was frequently used (including not only workshops but also their kitchen and dining area), the majority of the large monastery was not touched at all, so it could have been worse.

For a few more photos from the day, click here.

Roasting Goats for Pascha

2011-04-30T09:58:00.000+03:00

I arrived back home in Thessaloniki around noon on Pascha Sunday, and we then headed over for a big feast at Paris' house, where they were roasting not one, but TWO, goats on a spit. (In Greece, lamb and goat are interchangeable.) Above and below, you can see Paul helping his godfather, Paris, and Paris' uncle get the goat off the spit just after they took it off.

Paul helped put out the coals with the hose.

Here's Phoebe playing a little soccer in the yard.

And here are Paul and Phoebe eating cake for desert. As you can see, they liked it -- they were trying to lick every last crumb off their plates. Paul even got some on his face to save for later.

For a few more photos, click here.

Pascha in Xinovrysi

2011-04-28T08:40:00.000+03:00

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Christ is risen!

I spent Holy Wednesday through Pascha serving the parish in Xinovrysi, a small village in Mt. Pelion with permanent residents numbering about 90 (summer population of about 150). I also went there to celebrate their feast, the Dormition of the Theotokos, last August.

The little village is just 4 km from a pristine eastern shore out onto the Aegean. Here are some photos I took one evening on a walk. Above, to the left in the background, you can see the island of Skiathos.

The village is about 50 km from the city of Volos, but it takes about an hour to drive.

Xinovrysi has only a couple bed & breakfast type places for the many summer visitors, a couple restaurants, and a small general store. For everything else, one needs to drive over to Argalasti, a village of about 1200. Above is a photo of the town square.

Xinovrysi (or Xinovrisi) is 7 km from Argalasti along some winding mountain roads.

Another photo of Argalasti taken from a cafe. The town's church, dedicated to the 12 Apostles, is opposite.

Xinovrysi's little parish has about 7 country chapels. I tried to visit a few of them in the few hours between services. Above is St. Paraskevi's, which is very close to the main church.

Here is a relatively new chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas in Vounenois, which was built by a village resident who had gone to America and done well financially. Above is an icon of the saint over the door.

A view of part of the village from the door of the chapel.

The chapel, which is just up the hill from the chapel to St. Paraskevi.

Down closer to the water is this chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

Some of the parish's dedicated women were up until 3:30 AM decorating this bier. Many of the flowers are from parishioner's gardens.

The cross, which dates to the 19th century. The iconostasis in the background is original and dates to the church's construction in 1819.

Another chapel, dedicated to St. George. Just at the end of the overhang you can make out the chapel to St. Nicholas, and just below that and to the right, the chapel to St. Paraskevi. You can see them a bit better in the photo below taken from St. George's.

For a few more photos, click here.

Babies at the Interactive Science Museum

2011-04-27T12:35:00.002+03:00

Back on Sunday afternoon, April 10, we went with Paris and the babies to visit the Science Museum in nearby Thermi. They have an interactive exhibit that the babies really enjoyed.

Above and below are photos of Paris and Paul walking into the museum.

Here are Paris and Paul looking at their thermal images at one exhibit.

Afterwards, we had a brief coffee at the outdoor cafe which overlooks the gulf.

Here's Benjamin playing in some of the grass as we headed back to the car. The museum, in a design inspired by Archimedes' lever, is in the background.