Our New Church of the Holy Unmercenaries

Here are some more photos of our parish's main church, dedicated to the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian. For those unaware of traditional Christian terminology, a "parish" refers to a specific geographical area with defined borders. All the people residing in this geographical area are its "parishioners." It is not a matter of one's preference.

The parish is located with a broader "diocese," which is composed of many parishes. It is analogous to counties in a state. In this analogy, the bishop is akin to the governor, and the priests to the heads of the counties. In each parish, the first priest (if there is more than one) is tasked by the bishop with being responsible for everything related to the spiritual life that takes places within that parish's borders. 

In Greece and other traditionally Orthodox countries, a parish will often have more than one church or chapel. (The distinction between the two is somewhat arbitrary, mainly related to size.) Actually what we call the "church" (i.e., the building) is more properly called the "temple," since "church" (ekklisia in Greek) refers to the gathering of the people of that particular geographical area in one place for the purpose of worship. But it is common (and natural) in both Greek and English to refer to the building where this takes place as the "church."

From what I have learned so far, our parish's central temple was built in 1791. Above is a view of its south side. The priest's office and house are to the southeast corner of the church, i.e. just to the right of the photo above.

Here is the front entrance to the temple (i.e., from the west).

Water flows freely throughout Portaria, and here we have a natural spring at the front of the church. To the left, you can see the entrance to the church. In the background, you can see the gulf and Volos.

These photos above and below are of the balcony in the back of the church.

A view toward the front of the temple from the balcony. As you can see, it is not a traditional Byzantine-style domed church. Almost all of the churches built during the period of Ottoman occupation (ca. 1451-1912) are in this style, which I believe is referred to as a three-aisle basilica, a standard style for churches until the 5th or 6th century.

Another view from the balcony down to the center of the temple. On the left, you can see the bema or pulpit, which the deacon ascends to proclaim the Gospel.

A view along the northern aisle. On the right, you can see the narrow winding steps leading up to the bema.

Here is the iconostasis, or, more properly, the "templon." The icons are from 1838 and were done by well-known iconographer brothers, who painted many of the churches of this area. They were trained on Mt. Athos in what is called the "Athonite" style. Ironically, Mt. Athos was the entry point for much of the westernization of iconography, which occurred during this period (18th-19th c.). The western influence is evident especially in the attempt at more realism, the somewhat baroque excess of folds in the clothing, etc. This western influence was probably mediated through Russia, which exerted a heavy influence on Mt. Athos during this time period, due to the flowering of Orthodoxy in Russia under the Tsar and the great suffering of the Greeks under the Turks.

A view of the center of the church, from the right chanter's stand across to the left.

The altar area. On the left, you can see the back of the templon, which is wood-carved.

We are greatly, greatly blessed to have the holy relics of Sts. Cosmas and Damian.

Another view of the inside of the church, this time from the left chanter's stand to the right.

The exo-narthex of the church, at the front entrance. When you sit on the benches there, you have a wonderful view of the city and the gulf (below).

Portaria is a mountain village, so everything is on a slope. Here is Presbytera Pelagia coming down the stairs on the northwest side of the temple.



Here are the kids playing on those stairs. The bell tower is in the background.

For more photos, click here.

The next two posts will cover some of our parish's chapels, or smaller temples.

Our New Parish

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Now that I've finished my doctorate in Thessaloniki, the time has come to move. There don't seem to be any positions available for us in the US, but our bishop here in Greece, Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias and Almyros (i.e., Volos) was very enthusiastic about offering us our choice of several parishes in his metropolis, so it looks like we will be staying in Greece, but relocating about 2.5 hours south.

So, on July 31, I was appointed rector of the parish of the Holy Unmercenaries in Portaria. The main church, dedicated to the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, was built in 1791, and features relics of the saints. The parish also includes 8 chapels, as well as a house and small office for the priest.

Portaria is a small mountain village famous as a resort. Only about 20 minutes up Mt. Pelion, it is close to both the sea and ski centers. Above, you can see a photo of the view from our new house. That's Volos in the background.

One interesting note is that Alexandros Papadiamantis, the revered Greek author (as well as chanter for St. Nicholas Planas), actually chanted in our church when he was in Portaria to visit his brother.

On July 31, all of us (including Rebecca, who was visiting from Yakima) went down to Portaria and began "camping" in our new house. The house needs some work (painting, etc.) before we can move in for good.

Mt. Pelion is famous for its crystal clear mountain water, which flows freely through channels along the side of the old, narrow cobblestone streets. The church and priest's house actually can't be reached directly by car because of the streets, but we can get pretty close. Chickens wander around.

Above, you can see the kids on some stairs in the church's courtyard. Alongside the stairs, to the left, you can see a water channel. In the background, the bell tower.

Portaria is just a couple miles from Makrinitsa, another mountain village and favorite tourist destination. One day, we went over there for lunch and to walk around. Above you can see Rebecca and Phoebe, with Volos in the background.

Portaria has a shaded square full of restaurants and cafes. Here's a view from the square (a boy on a horse is riding down the main street).

Here's Presbytera Pelagia walking down the stairs to the church. You can see the water and Volos in the background. Understandably, our church is a popular place for weddings.

The Monastery of Panagia Odigitria, which is under the spiritual direction of Elder Ephraim (of Philotheou and Arizona), is 0.8 miles from our house. Several of the nuns in America came from this monastery. One day we went there to greet the nuns and to show Rebecca the monastery. Above is a photo of Phoebe, with the monastery's small chapel in the background.

We had (and have) a lot of work to do to get the house ready. Here are Pelagia and Rebecca taking a break for a frappe (a Greek cold coffee) on our porch.

The Xenia Palace resort is just down the road from our place. Around it are a public playground and one of our parish's chapel. Here are the kids playing at the playground. In the background, you can see the houses of Makrinitsa along the mountainside.

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One day, we took the kids to a gorgeous beach on the Aegean, about 50 minutes from Portaria along windy mountain roads.

For more photos, click here. I'll be following up with more posts explaining all the photos.

The Shanbours Visit

Two months late, but better than never, I'm finally posting about the Shanbours' visit. Pres. Pelagia's sister, Kh. Makrina, her husband Fr. Michael, and their son Symeon came to visit back in late May.


One Sunday, we celebrated with our spiritual father, Fr. Spyridon, at Panagia Ahiropoiitos, the 5th century basilica in the center of Thessaloniki. Above, you can see the kids playing on some of the ruins from the church.

Above and below, the kids are playing with their cousin Symeon in the courtyard outside the church.

In the background is the apse of a small side chapel to St. Paraskevi.

We stopped in the pedestrian square nearby to feed the pigeons.

Here are Symeon and Paul playing with a turtle outside St. Nicholas Orphanos, with its famous iconography.





Outside St. Nicholas Orphanos, we encountered one of the wandering Gypsy accordion players, which the kids enjoyed.

The next Sunday we celebrated Liturgy in Lakkia, a village about 20 minutes east of Panorama. Above, the kids are playing afterwards in the playground next to the church.

When we went to explore the Upper City with the Shanbours, I noticed that the park just outside the city walls, with the cave which St. Paul stayed in after being kicked out of Thessaloniki, was open for the first time in our 6 years here. The park is owned by a private Christian brotherhood and they are now doing some upgrades to the site to make it open to the public. They let us come in while the works were undergoing. In the photo above, you can see the small covered area that was erected many years ago around the cave.

The Shanbours walking along the old city walls.





Fr. Michael looking down at the city from near the Trigonion (aka Chain) Tower, the northeast tower of Thessaloniki.


For more photos, click here.

Thessaloniki: Up and Down

Here are some photos from Pelagia's birthday back on May 8. First, we went down to Thessaloniki's waterfront, which is a good flat place for the kids to ride their bikes.

Here is Paris helping Paul.

Here are one of the many playgrounds on the waterfront. You can see Benjamin and Phoebe sharing a swing.

In the evening, we went to a great restaurant in the Upper City, along the city's old upper walls. Above, our friend Iakovos, another American studying theology here, walks along the 2300-year old walls with Phoebe.

Here the kids are playing along the walls across from the restaurant.

The Upper City is full of old, narrow, winding alleys, and houses built right into the old walls. (Much of this area was settled by the refugees from Asia Minor in 1922-3 and thus houses were built quickly and everywhere they could find space.) Above, you can see one of the houses built right into the walls.





Above, the kids running down one of the typical alleys.


For more photos, click here.

Sunday School Outing to Kilkis

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Back on April 28, our parish here in Panorama had an outing for the Sunday School kids and teachers to a park in Kilkis, about an hour north of Thessaloniki.

Since spring had just started, the park service hadn't yet been by to cut the grass, etc., so it was a bit overgrown, but the kids had fun. Above, you can see one of the girls from Sunday School walking around in the woods with the kids.

Here, Phoebe is trailblazing through the tall grass.

Benjamin is making his way through the grass to join a game with the older kids.

As usual in Greece, no space is complete without a reminder of God. Here, Phoebe is coming out of the little shrine after lighting a candle and venerating the icons.

The entrance to the park.

The parish brought a grill and meat. Paul helped his godfather Paris with the grilling.

Souvlaki!

At one point, the kids lost a ball--and then two--up in a tree, until someone was brave enough to go up and get it.

Fr. Panayiotis and Paris rotating the souvlaki. While the meat cooked, the Sunday School teachers organized a game for the kids in the woods.

Paul played a little volleyball.

After we left the park, we stopped at another park with swings, etc., for a few minutes on the way home.

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