How Was Your Trip?

The Ladder of Divine AscentThis is a question I’ve been asked countless times by friends and coworkers since I returned. When asked, I reply "great!" "wonderful!" but in my head I’m thinking how inadequate such a casual reply is in conveying the full measure of this adventure. If I were simply on a vacation I might feel satisfied with such a common response. Even in situations where we get a bit more in-depth I’m never sure what to say. How do I convey such an experience? Well… I spent 8-10 hours a day in church. I slept 2-6 hours a day, never in one block. I ate twice a day. I even had to drink boiled sweet coffee (Greek coffee) to meet my daily caffeine needs… now that is a struggle! This was no sightseeing trip, no week on the beach (although that would have been nice!). This was a spiritual pilgrimage that I’m still trying to understand.

Now, I don’t want to make more out of it than it was; I wasn’t looking for answers, direction, or solace on the trip. I was open to whatever might happen. It would certainly be nice to get some "spiritual sense" slapped into me but that was unlikely. Major life changes do happen to folks on pilgrimages. As we saw and heard, many people come to Mt Athos with heavy burdens that are lifted by God’s grace. Again, how do you explain to someone that you stood in awe and prayed before an ancient icon, like thousands before you have done, some of them Saints, and have it make any sense. How do you convey the "other worldly" experience of spending all night in services? I’m reminded of the report to Prince Vladimir of the Rus (pre-Christian Russia 990 AD) by emissaries returning from Constantinople, saying of Orthodox worship: "we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth". How humble and lowly one feels when gazing upon a relic of the "True Cross" of Christ, theuncorrupt (undecayed ) hand of St John Chrysostom, the belt of the Holy Virgin and on and on. Many people would think you nuts, deluded, a fool for believing in such things!

One takes from such an experience a sense of wonder at what has taken place in these great monasteries over the centuries. Indeed, much of what has shaped the course and life of the Church (Orthodox) in the last 1000 years was influenced by those who lived at one time or another on the Holy Mountain. Even today there are many holy men,"elders" and ascetics living there. At other monastaries across the globe there are also many holy women (not to leave out the ladies!). Some, but not all, provide spiritual guidance to others. All strive to pray unceasingly for their own salvation and at that of others.

If I had a "mission" on the trip it was to pray for other people: my family, extended family, church family, friends, co-workers and especially those I know who are ill. Rarely was I thinking of myself, I do that enough at home! As we hear many times, the spiritual path is narrow (as depicted in the icon above). We Orthodox don’t believe that simply professing a belief in God or accepting Jesus as one’s personal savior is the beginning and end to the spiritual journey. Growth rather, comes from struggle and hardship; not something we in the 21st century are accustomed to.  It is through humility, repentance, and love that spiritual progress comes often in imperceptible steps. The Church has often been referred to as a "spiritual hospital", if that is indeed true than the monasteries are the "intensive care units". It is here that immersion in the complete cycle of Orthodox worship and the ascetic life that one finds true medicine for the soul.

It even seems that today’s world leaders feel the same way. Read an interesting article about their pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain andVatopedi Monastery prior to a major summit.

More info about Orthodoxy

Dining Monastery Style

Gregoriou Trapeza One of the unexpected surprises of the trip was the food served at the monasteries. Don’t get me wrong, this was not gourmet fare, just simple wholesome food.  There were two meals a day, each following services.  In the evening the meal was served after Vespers so we ate between 5-6 pm.  The morning meal would be served after Liturgy anywhere from 5-7 am. depending on when the services started.  At several places services started at 1 am so breakfast was early.

Meals are eaten in the refectory or trapeza, a separate building usually close to the church.  The walls of the dining room are covered with murals depicting saints and biblical themes.  Most of the murals showed the ravages of time.  However, at Gregoriou Monastery the refectory had recently been repainted as part of the major reconstruction effort there, it was beautiful.

Vatopedi Click For Larger Image Orthodox view the meal, particularly one after Liturgy as an extension of the service.  The meal after Liturgy is called the Agape Meal (meaning love feast).  The refectories varied in size depending on the monastery but most sat everyone with room to spare.  Vatopedi’s refectory can seat at least 250 people with small marble tables that seat six.  At most one sits at long tables with benches, guests sitting apart from the monks.  There is no talking during the meal; everyone gets right down to the business of eating since the meal only lasts about 15 minutes.  While everyone eats a monk reads, usually from a pulpit above everyone, from the lives of the saints. 

Wednesdays and Fridays are fasting days in the Orthodox Church.  On these days no meat, dairy, eggs and sometimes olive oil can be eaten.  Monks never eat meat.  On big feasts of the Church they can eat fish.  We had fish on the morning of the Feast of Theophany ( Epiphany) our first full day on Athos.  On fasting days we would have a pasta dish of some type in the morning.  On non-fast days we might have a fresh egg hardboiled, feta cheese, olives, a piece of fruit and bread.  Wine was also available; at 5 am I passed on it. 

Gregoriou Trapeza Much of what we ate was raised at the monasteries.  At Vatopedi they grow their own wheat and mill it.  The breads served at each meal were the heartiest I’ve ever eaten.  Not very sweet, they were incredibly dense and had to be eaten in small bites in order to muster enough saliva to swallow.  No butter or jam to ease it down, just break off a piece and work it over.  Very filling! At Vatopedi they also have hothouse tomatoes.  A fresh tomato at each meal was a real treat.  Feta and olives were also products of the monasteries.  Feta and olives for breakfast is fabulous.  As you can gather, I was impressed with the fare at Vatopedi.  The morning meal we had there has to rank up there with the most satisfying meals I’ve ever had.  The main course was a spatzel-like dish with a hardboiled egg, feta, olives and of course tomatoes.  They also served a coffee cake that was almost as dense as the bread.  No coffee or tea is served at any meal only water.

Evening meals often included beans in some type of stew.  Cabbage and onions was also a favorite.  At Xeropotamou we were served pickled cauliflower.  At Gregoriou they served fresh oranges from their terraced orchards.  Karrakallou served us kiwis.  Generally speaking the meals were very well balanced.  In fact, I’d say that the morning meal was more balanced than the typical American breakfast, certainly better than mine.

The meal ends when the abbot rings the bell.  A closing blessing is said and the monks file out followed by the guests.  As you leave the building the abbot is outside the door blessing all who leave.  A number of monks are outside prostrating in deference to the guests.  Post meal is a time for conversation and catching up.  For us it was time to debrief after the long service and plan our day’s move.  If it was early enough in the morning we would catch some sleep before setting off for our next destination.

The Services

Monk Reading In the Cliros A number of people have asked me “how can you be in services for that long?”. Long services are certainly not easy but they are never boring.  An Orthodox service of any type is not a passive endeavor. Most people tend to associate church services with a Protestant type of worship: sermons, congregational singing, preaching, etc. Monastic services, like those in every Orthodox Church, are liturgical in nature.  That is, they have a proscribed ritual and ceremony. Most of the services are comprised entirely of singing and chanting. In the case of the services we took part in, there were either readings chanted or "singing" in the Byzantine chant style at all times with very little silence.  Examples of Byzantine Chant in English

View During A Service A typical service would start in the exo-narthex (the area just inside the entrance) of the church in almost total darkness with only a few oil lamps lit. Services such as Compline, the Hours, or Midnight Office were done in this way.  Once that service was finished everyone would move into the main church for Matins and the Divine Liturgy.  In every church there are two areas on opposite sides near front where the chanters stand called the "cliros". Most services are chanted antiphonally, one group of monks chants a part then the other chants going back and forth. There is never congregational or “choral” singing with western type harmony.

During these services there is an ebb and flow of activity.  Censing (with incense) of the church and people is done numerous times.  The priest or deacon is contributing their respective parts as well. Candles and lamps are being lit and extinguished according to the rubrics of services. At certain high points the church can be ablaze with candle light and the next minute dark again. Everything that is done from censing of the faithful, to lighting of candles, to chanting has meaning and is purposeful, nothing is ad-libbed.  Orthodox worship is governed by cycles that determine the nature of services for every day of the year.  One cycle is based on Pascha or Easter, these are often thought of as “movable” since the services are effected by their

Monk Tending the Candlesrelationship to the date of Easter ( Pentecost always comes 40 days after Easter for example). The other is the day of the week. The third is the day of the year. Services celebrated on each day take into account these three variables, it is very complex.  Here is a good explanation

The “congregation” (pilgrims and monks) of course listen to what is being chanted but also engage in their own private prayers. I had a mental list that I would go through numerous times during the long services: family, my God parents, my God children, friends, co-workers, fellow parishoners , people who are ill I know, and so on. In addition, I would work my prayer rope. A prayer rope is a circular rope with varying number of knots tied in (usually 100 or 33). The rope is used to say the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ Have Mercy On Me A Sinner”. This is said internally repeatedly with the idea that at some point when one is spiritually advanced it becomes part of one’s consciousness.  Part of a monk’s prayer rule is to say the prayer a certain number of cycles of the rope a day. Layman can say the prayer as well. During the services you can see everyone praying their rope. I’m not very good at it, a few knots then I’m thinking about something else.  I’ve got a long way to go!  More info on the Jesus Prayer

Note: The images used here are not from my trip but taken from the Decani Monastery in Serbia website.  No photos are allowed of the services on Mt Athos without permission. 
Decani Monastery. Decani Monastery. 02 Feb. 2005 (http://www.kosovo.com/main.html).