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.