Day 9: More marvelous monasteries set against blue skies

Cannot tell you how early 6.30am came this morning when bedtime didn’t happen 'til well after 1am. I think part of pilgrimage is opening the spirit and the soul through exhaustion of the body. But a week into this fabulous experience it is soon easy to forget the tiredness and opt instead to simply remain absorbed in the amazing sights and engaged with the stories of my fellow pilgrims. So off to breakfast and back on the bus for a monastery crawl. 

First stop today was the cave of Revelation, up on the hill overlooking the port of Patmos. Before visiting the sacred site we gathered for Eucharist, overlooking the blue waters of the Aegean and off to the hills on the other side. Sam preached today, with a challenging message to teachers about our authentic Catholicity. We then climbed down the steps to the chapel that has been built around the cave where John the evangelist, son of Zebedee received revelation in 95CE. There is no photography inside the cave and so I cannot post a pic, but can describe this low ceiling cave formed from volcanic rock which has dark cool walls and a very low entrance. There has been a chapel on the site since the 1100s and the intimate nature of it combined with the somewhat mystical silence of the location is very evocative.

We arrived just as the Holy Eucharist was finishing and heard the chanting and saw the incense and the dimensions of the post communion rite. Our guide told us that John was in exile on Patmos for only about 18 months and that he was accompanied by a scribe or deacon called Prochorus. John dictated the Book of revelation to Prochorus. The iconography of this region depicts that scene of John dictating and Prochorus writing.

Visit over we moved off to our first monastery of the day, the Monastery of the Annunciation of the holy mother of the beloved disciple. This is a community of nuns; all dressed in black and heavily veiled who work to the monastic timetable of 8 hours prayer, 8 hours work and 8 hours rest. Much of the monastery is very new, the chapel for example was only complete in 2000 and so the icons have a luminescent quality. The sisters left a small offering of Turkish delight for us... yum. Leaving the monastery we met a little Patmos donkey who was very happy to pose for a few photographs. On to the next monastery.

We moved on to Chora which is the capital of Patmos. This is the very costly section of the island nestled right up in the hillside. We met in the town square and learned about the Maundy Thursday public enactment of the Last Supper before moving down to the Monastery of Zoodaohos Pigi, or the Monastery of the Life giving source. Currently there are no sisters living in this monastery and it is administered by a local priest who was very happy to meet the cardinal. It is an old monastery dating back to the 11^th century and it has some original wall paintings that were uncovered following wall damage in the 1956 earthquake. Again, a peaceful inspiring place and set in the old town meant that we got to wander there through narrow Greek streets. Some of the girls started to sing ABBA because it was a bit like the Mumma Mia movie.

Our final stop on the monastery crawl was the imposing Monastery of St John the Evangelist. This is a castle like building perched high atop the hill above the town centre. It is large and imposing and has lots of steps which were a tad difficult. But so worth the climb. The iconostasis in this particular chapel is all wooden carving covered with authentic 24 carat gold leaf. 

Magnificent. Here we were also able to view in the museum a 5^th century manuscript of Mark’s gospel, as well as beautiful vestments, precious ritual items and an icon depicting the beginning of the Book of Revelation with the 7 churches which is said to have been an early El Greco. Of course what went up ( the stairs) must go down the stairs and that is what we did as we moved our way back down to the bus. On the way back to the wharf we looked around the island, seeing the smallest church. We learned about the need for terracing due to runoff and a lack of agricultural space and we saw some truly breathtaking scenery.

We landed back in town and a group of us decided to grab a quick bite at a café near the hotel which was a real hoot. I have never been to a pizzeria before that cooks pizza in the oven one at a time… so the lunch was pretty slow. Then after lunch it was time for a wander round the pretty little square and side streets , time for a gift or two, then back to the blog before dinner. Yes readers, pilgrimage is a bit like retreat… all you seem to do is EAT!

As the hotel does not have an evening restaurant we ate at a local Greek restaurant just down from the hotel. We were supposed to eat on the verandah overlooking the water but it is blowing a gale and has been since abut 5pm so we had to eat inside. Lovely authentic Greek food, an embarrassing little Mamma Mia performance and good company. A very appropriate way to end what has been a fabulous week in Greece, one that I will never forget. But the suitcase beckons and tomorrow we have to get on another boat and head off to Kusadasi.