God blessed Presbytera Connie and me with a wonderful time these past three weeks on vacation. We are spiritually and emotionally refreshed, but I must say, “Boy, it is good to be home!” Of course, getting into our routine back home will have its own way of reinvigorating us indeed and we look forward to seeing you all this Sunday.
Our travels were a combination of pilgrimage and reconnection with our roots. I would say it was a spiritual and enlightening journey. Below is a synopsis of our travels.
Rome: We saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, which were quite impressive in their scope and grandeur. I was particularly moved by the Church of San Maria Antiqua, a 5th century church, the oldest church we visited in Italy or Greece. On the site, there are actually two churches: the Chapel of the 40 Martyrs and the main church dedicated to the Theotokos. The iconography was from the pre-iconoclastic period, Byzantine in style, and filled with saints of the Eastern Church. Magnificent.
Of course, we also took the tour of the Vatican to include St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. We could have spent two days in there despite the crowd. I looked for the engraving commissioned by Pope Leo I, which he posted above the exit doors of St. Peter’s, of the Nicene Creed without the Filioque, but was told they were there but seem no longer to exist. Hmm. Anyway, the pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Peter was inspiring indeed.
Athens: the usual and typical stuff and it was great! We stayed just two blocks from the Metropolis (Cathedral) where I attended Sunday Liturgy. I did not participate because it was on live TV and they said I had a face made for radio (kidding).
The most gratifying experience for me was my journey to find my roots. I had done so in Crete, my paternal grandparents’ birthplace, but not for the birthplace of my maternal grandfather: Meligalas, Kalamata. It was phenomenal (if not miraculous) how by chance I got to see the homes belonging to the family. I am going to write a book called Roots—wait, that has already been done and my book would be quite boring, but it was meaningful to me.
And then there were the fantastic churches of Mystras, a World Heritage Site of 13th century Byzantine churches and monasteries. We also went to Aegina to visit the Monastery of St. Nektarios. NOTE: you all will be anointed with the oil from the Monastery on Sunday, November 10th.
Finally, off to the other islands: Rhodes, Patmos and Kos. Needless to say, the pilgrimage to the Cave of St. John the Evangelist and Apostle, where he wrote the last book of the New Testament, the Revelation of St. John, was inspiring beyond expectations. Our stay in Kos included reconnecting with Connie's family and a visit with and participation in the Divine Liturgy and a Paraklesis Service with His Eminence, Metropolitan Nathaniel of Kos, Nisyros and the Cyclades islands.
I have no doubt bored you to tears by now, but I wanted to share my experiences with my beloved parishioners… you. We had a good time, but we missed you and our home.