Our journey through Greece continues!
Wednesday, we boarded the bus and headed west. Along the way, we got a glimpse of Greece’s tallest and most famous mountain, Olympus. Good morning, Zeus!
Our first stop, a workshop where we saw how Byzantine icons are crafted. It was, in a word, eye-opening — and inspiring.
It is a family operation, and much of the work is done by an Orthodox priest. His son explained the process of crafting icons and the painstaking work that goes into it.
From there, we headed further west, into the mountains of Greece, to see how these icons are used in some of the most extraordinary monasteries on earth. Our journey took us to Meteora, a region of craggy cliffs where hundreds of years ago, hermits built monastic communities atop mountains, a feat that just defies all logic (and, really, gravity). And yet, they exist anyway — testaments to faith, courage, persistence and, just maybe, sheer audacity.
I found this YouTube video which explains some of the history and how you can see what these monasteries have to offer.
What we saw was spectacular. The bus ride up is not for the faint of heart. (I have no doubt our prayers got many people out of purgatory Wednesday afternoon.)
We were able to visit one monastery, dedicated to St. Stephen
They have strict rules — no photographs inside and women must wear a skirt, even if they are already wearing long pants. They keep a supply of skirts at the entrance, just in case.
Some women (including Siobhain), um, skirted the issue, by tying large scarves around their waists.
After seeing some beautiful areas of the monastery, with icons covering every inch of every wall — sorry, no photos allowed — we headed back to the bus. We paused for a photo op before continuing to our next hotel.
We pulled up to the wonderful Hotel Meteora.
Father Jeremy had the room next to ours.
The views from the hotel of those famous cliffs were nothing less than breathtaking. And they made for a gorgeous backdrop for the liturgy that evening. We celebrated Mass in a small amphitheater outside.
We didn’t have an altar, but the hotel provided a small folding table that served just fine.
We posed for a group portrait after.
Following dinner, we returned to our rooms to collapse and get ready for another day.
But there was one more unexpected sight to see that night. Father Jeremy captured this picture from his balcony, a glorious full moon: God’s goodnight kiss for us all.
