Thursday, June 25th - FEAST!

Today is the birthday of St. John the Baptist who is the patron saint of the monastery. “Prodromos” is the greek word for “forerunner”, and is referring to St. John as he prepared the way for Christ’s time on earth, hence the name of the monastery here on Mt. Menoikeion. There was a massive liturgy this morning which started at 7:30 and lasted longer than 3 hours! I sat in for approximately the last hour, but seeing this during the daylight with more pilgrim interaction and knowledge of the church itself was incredible! Though I still don’t understand much of what happens during each moment of the service, due to the language barrier, I still find the activities captivating. As the priest directs the ceremony with the assistance of the nuns, everything is in unison and the liturgy embodies a feeling of transcendence. There is a smell of incense which the priest is blessing the icons and participants while the nuns sing in perfect unity, the bells ring, and the candles light the room!

The liturgy is long and my attention is distracted from time to time, but there are specific moments that are very special. A specific instance of this occurs when the nuns spin the large chandeliers within the Katholikon and sing in unison with a wide range of tones. Each little detail of the service has deeply rooted history passed down through generations which started long ago. The liturgy celebrates more than the story of Christ as well. The Priest and Nuns include stories of saints and leaders throughout Byzantine history that date back to Early Christian times (4^th century BC!!!).

The rest of the day has been extremely busy. Only the females are able to help the nuns with chores because it is monastic tradition. Therefore Julian, Matt, and I (the three guys) have been working on research, reading, and writing during those times. The nuns are frantically preparing the feast, which includes 4 main meals throughout the day after a post-liturgy snack (which had already filled me up!). The meals were beyond anything I could have imagined. As an example, the first meal included a fish pie (not like an American pie), a casserole that included egg plant, salmon, tomatoes, and pesto, as well as a stuffed zucchini plate, grilled calamari, and a honey soaked dessert that I’ve had before but don't recall the name of. There was also word that the Bishop may stop in, which worried them as there is political controversy because this particular monastery elects to praise the patriarch in Constantinople before the Bishop of the Greek Church. He did end up stopping in, but not until the late afternoon when things had calmed a bit. We didn't get to meet him, but it sounds as though that may have been a good thing as there are some political issues with US students studying a monastery that he doesn't have as much control over.

I was also given a tour of the old olive press by Sister Catherine, who is originally from Texas and one of the only ones who speaks English well! The press is now a museum and gift shop (where I will undoubtedly pick up some worry beads to bring home). The technology they used is fascinating with pulley systems, cranks, and troughs that took advantage of the density of oil!!! These were used for centuries as monks ran the complex, and now it’s symbolic of the ability of a monastic community like this one.

Though life in a monastery may sound as simple as pious living, the abilities of the women here is incredible. At the end of the service today, the Abbess was recognized for her service. She has been the leader of the complex since its beginning (1986), and managed a small group of Orthodox Nuns into a finely tuned self-sufficient community, business, and religious monument. She is a entrepreneur turned CEO, spiritual leader, and president of this small community that started literally from ashes and rubble. The efficiency at which things are done has developed from a strict methodology that she has put forth, and it continues to produce great results.