Holy places of Greece. Orthodox shrines, travel to holy places
The variety of holy places on the island does not allow you to visit everything at once, having made only one trip. Greece adheres to Orthodoxy, because 98% of the local population are Orthodox. The first city that meets pilgrims from all over the world is Thessaloniki - the northern capital of Greece, Thessaloniki. The Great Martyr Dimitri Solunsky is the patron saint of the city. In the fourth century, he was the son of the Roman proconsul of the city of Thessaloniki, he baptized his son in the house church, and he was also brought up in accordance with Christian customs and foundations. He was appointed emperor Galerius after the death of his father, in his place. After his appointment, he proved himself to be a true Christian, began to preach in the city and introduced most of its inhabitants to Christianity. By order of the emperor for this he was killed.
The shrines that pilgrims visit in Thessaloniki are, first of all, the Cathedral, which still contains the relics of the great saint of God, St. Gregory Palamas. Also visit the monastery of St. Theodora the “obedient” Solunsky, which preserves her holy relics, as well as the relics of St. David the Stolpnik Solunsky - he lived in the sixth century. One of the holy places is the source of St. Praskevia, she was a Christian great martyr of the third century. Through the gorge there is a bridge over it and you can go to the rocky church of St. Paraskeva-Friday. The source is located in the depths of a narrow passage and is located in the mountain. Also, the sources of St. Praskevia are still being discovered in Russia. In the Central District of the city of Krasnoyarsk, with all honors, a public garden was opened, in which is located the source of St. Paraskeva-Friday. The source is named after her - St. Paraskeva-Friday. Another is located in Staraya Ladoga under Malysheva Gora. Many holy places and more than seventy churches are located in Kastoria, most of them from the Byzantine era. In addition to the Church, the Mavriotis are also known: the Church of St. Athanasius Muzaki (XIII century), the Church of Saints Bessrebrenik (XI century), Metropolitan Cathedral of the Archangel (XIV century).
The decoration of Orthodox churches in Greece, when compared with ours, is more modest. If there is a church shop, then it is located next to the church building, and not indoors. Candles are simple, without price tags and anyone can take and deliver the amount that he wants. There is a special bowl for a donation, and voluntary, where you need to put as much money as you can or as you see fit. Particularly attractive are small chapels, which are located almost everywhere in the country. They are installed along the sidelines of many roads - in honor of the memory of dead people in road accidents.
One of the most visited places in Greece is Athos, which means "Holy Mountain" in Greek. This is the third of the Halkidiki peninsulas. One of the main holy places in the world for Orthodox Athos is revered as the earthly Lot of the Virgin. The Holy Mountain is considered a "monastic republic", and autonomous, women have not been allowed to go there for more than ten centuries, men are more lucky - they are welcome guests here. Today, there are twenty monasteries. They contain precious crosses, parts of the life-giving tree of the cross of the Lord, they store it in precious frames, miraculous icons, ancient holy books, the relics of the holy apostles and great martyrs.
The main monastery, Vatoped, preserves the priceless shrine of the whole Christian world - the belt of the Virgin, as well as the gifts of the Magi brought to the Bethlehem baby. There is a Russian monastery of St. Panteleimon on the territory, it stores the second largest bell in the world, it weighs fifteen tons. Video shooting is forbidden on the territory of Athos, you can take pictures on the street without permission - it is allowed, but inside the temple you need to have a blessing. In a holy place, in addition to prohibitions on video recording, it is forbidden to sunbathe and swim. In the Esfigmen monastery on Athos, the entrance to the temple is allowed if a man is wearing a long-sleeved shirt, you can take one at the entrance. Visiting the rest of the temples you just need to observe a modest appearance of clothing. If you declare when you come to the temple that you have arrived on an excursion or just look at the nature, then you will be denied access to the holy place.
Another holy place is Patmos island. Here is the monastery of St. John the Evangelist, whose founding date is 1088. One of the largest Christian libraries is considered to be located in the monastery, whose early manuscripts are dated to the fifth century. Near the monastery is a cave where John the Evangelist received his "Revelation", which was recorded by his disciple Prokhor. There was even a depression in the wall, in the place where the apostle was leaning against it. The cave and monastery is protected by UNESCO and is listed as a World Heritage Site.
Shrines of Greece
It is known that Ancient Greece is the cradle of European culture. And indeed it is. Homer, Aeschylus, Plato and Aristotle - all of them were Greeks. The conquests of Alexander the Great brought the seeds of this great culture to the very depths of Asia. Rome, conquered Greece in the II century BC He could not, and did not want to abandon the Greek achievements. Greek until the fall of Rome, and even more so during the period of the Byzantine Empire, was the language of science, poetry and theology. All miraculously preserved ancient texts of the Gospel are written in Greek. Therefore, in the very early period of the spread of Christianity, it was especially important to convey the Word of God to Greece, which had changed in many respects, but had not lost the glory of the original source of European civilization. The main role in the enlightenment of this country, the change of pagan shrines of Greece to Christian, was played by the missionary journey of the Holy Apostle Paul in the 50s of the 1st century after Christmas.
Shrines of Athens
Church of st. Apostles, Athens, Greece.
Parthenon
Surprisingly, when it comes to the ancient Parthenon, which amazes even now, the pagan history is always remembered. However, we must remember that for more than 1000 years it was a Christian temple! An inexhaustible stream of pilgrims strove for this shrine of Greece. After all, here were stored: the gospel, rewritten by St. Queen Elena, relics of St. teacher Macarius of Egypt, as well as other relics, information about which was left. Time and war have done their job. During the period of Turkish occupation, the Parthenon was even a mosque. Now it is a museum that attracts the attention of not only tourists, but also many pilgrims.
Nearby is the famous Areopagus, where the holy Apostle Paul preached. Little has been preserved from the place where the most noble and educated citizens of Athens listened to strange and unusual words about the Son of God, who atoned for human sins, about love for enemies, about the Kingdom, not earthly, but Heavenly. The stone steps along which St. Pavel, little has changed in almost 2000 years, but how Athens themselves have changed! From the center of pagan philosophy, they turned into a stronghold of Orthodoxy and the capital of Orthodox Greece. 
Church of St. Nicholas, Athens
The shrines resting in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens tell us about the tragic share of Christianity during the period of Turkish rule. In this temple are the relics of St. Gregory V - Patriarch of Constantinople. In 1821, the anti-Turkish Greek uprising for independence began, which was mercilessly suppressed by the invaders. The victims of the regular army of the Sultan were women, the elderly and children. All the anger at the failure to suppress the uprising was thwarted by the Turks in the elderly primate of the Church. He was tortured and then hanged at the gates of the Patriarchate in Constantinople. The body was thrown into the Bosphorus, but the captain of the Russian ship lifted him aboard and transported to Odessa. In 1871, the relics were solemnly returned as a shrine to the already independent liberated Greece.
Shrines of Thessaloniki
Basilica of St. Demetrius
The first church on the site of the dungeon, where, according to legend, St. Demetrius (according to another version, over his grave) was martyred, was built between 313-323 years. A hundred years later, in 412-413, the Illyrian nobleman Leonty, in memory of his deliverance from paralysis, built the first large church between the ancient bathhouses and the stadium that had turned into ruins. The altar of the church was built above the alleged burial place of the saint, and during its construction his relics were found, secretly buried there, according to the life, by Thessalonian Christians in 306.
This ancient port city is now second after Athens in terms of population. He had great military, commercial and political significance in the first centuries after Christ. The patron saint of Thessaloniki is the holy great martyr Demetrius, who at the beginning of the 4th century became the commander of the garrison of the city. His parents were secret Christians and raised their son with love for the Lord, in piety and faith. The persecution of Christians then subsided, then resumed again. Once, Demetrius received an imperial decree on the adoption of the most cruel measures to eradicate Christianity. Neither the fear of losing such an important post, nor even the fear of inevitable torment and execution, embarrassed his heart. He not only directly and publicly professed the faith of Christ, but denounced idolatry and called on everyone to turn to true faith. The emperor, who understood the powerlessness of his earthly power, in anger ordered the execution of Demetrius. The saint suffered a martyrdom in the premises of Roman baths, at the arena for gladiators. Thessaloniki Christians hid the body of St. Demetrius in a well near this place. Later, a magnificent temple was erected over the grave of the saint. The relics of St. Demetrius is one of the main shrines of Greece, which Orthodox from all over the world come to bow to.
In the center of the city rises the majestic Metropolitan Cathedral in honor of St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, best known for his theological works in support and defense of unceasing prayer - hesychasm.
In the vicinity of Thessaloniki is still the holy monastery of Greece - the monastery of St. up and the Evangelist John the Evangelist. Here lie the relics of St. Arseny of Cappadocia and Elder Paisius Svyatogorets. St. Arseny was born in the small village of Faras in modern Turkey. Ordained to be deacons, he remained in his native village and tried, despite the strictest ban on the part of the Turks, to teach children the Greek language. Strict fasting and prayer ahead have borne fruit - the gift of healing and foresight. Saint Arseny fearlessly stood up to defend Farasa from the oppression of the Turks and the unclean robbers who knew about the saint and were afraid to do any harm to the inhabitants if they found out that he was nearby. Many miracles by the will of God were performed by St. Arseny and at the end of his earthly journey. Here - in the monastery of St. John the Evangelist - the relics of yet another ascetic of piety, the elder Paisius the Holy Mountaineer, who was baptized by St. Arseny. Elder Paisius for a long time carried out prayer ministry on Mount Athos, and then was the confessor of the convent, acquiring the grace of God with his righteous life.
Shrines of Corfu
Covered with verdant forests surrounded by the azure sea, the island of Corfu is not only fertile, but also an amazingly beautiful place. The light of Christianity shed on this earth about 37 years, when St. Jasson and Sosipater are the apostles of seventy. Thus, Corfu was enlightened before the rest of Greece. Here, one of the most important shrines of Greece - the relics of St. Spiridone.
The future saint was born and lived in Cyprus, in the small town of Trimifunta. He did not receive any education, was a simple shepherd, but the whole district knew about his pious disposition, meekness and goodwill. Widowed, Spiridon became a monk and continued to serve God as he served people, without ceasing to help the inhabitants of his native village. Grateful residents elected him Bishop of the Trimyfounds. In 325, the First Ecumenical Council was held in Nicaea, at which the Orthodox hardly defended the Creed from Arian heretics who considered God the Father above God the Son. Suddenly, a previously unknown Bishop Spiridon stepped forward. He held out his hand with a piece of tile sandwiched in it. By the will of God, a miracle happened: a flame burst out of the tile, water flowed out and dry clay remained - three elements in confirmation of the unity and inseparability of the Holy Trinity. The heretics were put to shame, and the future saint, despite the fame gained after this event, modestly, as befits a Christian, continued his ministry in Trimifunt. Subsequently, the relics of the saint were transferred to Corfu, where to this day many miracles are performed by his prayerful intercession.
There are more than 800 churches and monasteries on the island.
Patras
church of St. Andrew in Patras.
Among the shrines of Greece for the Russian pilgrim the relics of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called are of particular importance. According to legend, the apostle preached not only in the Greek lands, but also sanctified the founding place of the future capital of Russia, Kiev, and even reached the headwaters of the Dnieper.
The word of God found in the inhabitants of Patras attentive and sincere listeners. After some time, as the life of the holy apostle narrates, the majority of the population converted to Christianity. The statues of the pagan gods were broken, the rich citizens distributed the property to the poor, the poor, having no money, helped than anyone who asked. And only imperial power could not accept the triumph of true faith. The apostle was crucified upside down on a cross in the shape of the letter “X”. So the apostle himself asked, out of humility who did not consider himself worthy to accept the same cross as the Savior. A crowd of many thousands was ready for a rebellion to save the beloved teacher, but the apostle urged them to obey the authorities and forgive the enemies. The relics of the saint and part of the cross on which he was crucified rest in the majestic cathedral of the city of Patras.
Meteors
An amazing sense of solitude and quiet prayer joy embrace the pilgrim in the Meteor monasteries. Based on the huge miraculous pillars of rock, they become a symbol of handing oneself into the hands of God. Now in each of them only a few monks strive, but there were times when the Meteors were centers of theology and enlightenment. In the monastery of St. the first martyr Stephen in Meteora rests his head, as well as a particle of the relics of the holy martyr Charalampius, who suffered during the persecution in the III century. Merry Christmas.
The pilgrimage to the shrines of Greece, of course, is not limited to the listed cities and monasteries. A special theme is the holy islands of Greece, in particular about. Patmos, where he preached and labored in the prayer works of St. Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian
Center for International Pilgrimage "Pokrov"
Northern greece
Convent of St. up and ev. St. John the Evangelist is a 30-minute drive from Thessaloniki. A quiet monastery is located in the small town of Suroti. The monastery of Mount Athos, Paisius Svyatrets, helped to found the monastery. Once he was approached by women who wanted to establish a monastery, where they could live according to strict Athos rules. Soon the elder found a beautiful picturesque place for a convent, received a blessing on its foundation by the bishop, and in 1967 the first sisters settled in the monastery. Now there are 67 of them, and they really live according to the old Athos traditions. Services are held by candlelight without electricity. Another tradition, typical of many monasteries in Greece, has been preserved in the monastery - to treat visitors with Turkish delight and cold water. To get to the monastery, you need to climb the mountain. So such a treat comes in handy.
One of the main shrines of the monastery is the grave of the elder Paisius Svyatogorets, thousands of pilgrims seek it. Near the grave is constantly one of the nuns, who monitors the order. People seek here to honor the memory of this amazing person. 
The elder Paisiy Svyatorets, in the world Arseniy Eznepidis, was born in Faras of the Cappadocian (in Turkey) in 1924 into a large family. Two weeks after the birth of Arseny, the Farasian Greeks fled from Turkey to Greece. Before leaving, Saint Arseny of Cappadocia (1841-1924), who was then a parish priest in the village, christened the boy and gave the child his name. He also uttered the words that became prophetic for Paisius: "I want to leave a monk behind me."
As a child, little Arseny loved to read the lives of the saints, his older brother even took away and hid books from him. Arseny's youth was held in the city of Konitsa, where he studied at school and received the profession of a carpenter. The Civil War in Greece (1944-1948) began, he was drafted into the army. After serving, Arseny went to Mount Athos, in 1954 he accepted a ryasophore with the name Averky. And two years later he was tonsured in a small schema with the name Paisius. From 1958 to 1962, he lived in the Konitsky monastery in the village of Stomio, after which he went to Sinai. He spent two years in the monastery of the holy martyrs Galaction and Epistimia on Mount Sinai, where his cell was still preserved, but then, due to lung disease, he returned to Mount Athos and settled in the Iversky monastery.
In 1966, the disease developed so much that Father Paisius had most of his lungs removed. It was then that several women turned to him with a request to help establish a monastery.
Father Paisiy constantly supported the monastery and twice a year until his death on July 12, 1994 he came to visit his sisters from Athos. He died in Suroti, buried there. As the sisters say, that’s right. If he had been buried on Mount Athos, women would not have been able to come to him. The relics of St. It is no coincidence that Arseny of Kapadoki ended up in a monastery, in the creation and life of which Father Paisius played a huge role. They were born in one village, and it was St. Arseny baptized Father Paisius, giving his child his name, prophetically saying: "I want to leave a monk after me." This happened in the Faras of Cappadocia, where St. Arseny of Kapadoki was a parish priest at that time.
At an early age, Arseny of Kapadoki lost his parents. He was educated at the seminary in Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey). At the age of 26, he received monastic tonsure at the Monastery of John the Baptist in Zinji Dere in Caesarea (present-day Kayseri, Turkey), was ordained deacon and sent by Metropolitan Paisius II to Farasu to teach children literacy in church books.
In 1870, the Monk Arseny was ordained a priest and elevated to the rank of archimandrite. He made 5 pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and therefore he was nicknamed Hajj Effendi. The pastoral activity of the monk continued in Faras until the age of 55. He instructed and affirmed in faith the inhabitants of the Greek enclave, which was constantly under threat of destruction. The Monk Arseny foresaw the coming trials - wars and an exodus from his native land. In 1924, when the Greeks of Asia Minor were resettled, he accompanied his flock and died 40 days after arriving in Greece on the island of Corfu. The relics of the saint were first transported to Konitsa, and then to the monastery of St. John the Evangelist in Suroti.
Monastery of St. Anastasia the Solvers is located near the city of Thessaloniki. The Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Lawbreaker is his patroness and intercessor. There is an opinion of scientists that she tied up where her monastery stands today.
St. Anastasia was born and raised in Rome at the end of the 3rd century. Her mentor and teacher of faith was the holy martyr Chrysogon. Since childhood, conducting a good Christian life, she kept herself clean and strengthened in virtues. Desiring to devote his life to Christ, St. Anastasia visited persecuted Christians in prisons and dungeons. She supported them spiritually and helped financially, distributing her inheritance. During her lifetime, the Holy One received from God the gift of healing and helped many sick and afflicted.
The saint is called the “Great Martyr,” since she bravely endured all the grave tortures and torments. She is also called the “Counselor,” because she has been given strength from the Lord to heal bodily and spiritual illnesses. In prayers, she is asked to resolve the bonds of the unjustly convicted and give comfort to those in prison. The saint is also customary to ask for protection from witching charms.
St. Theophania, Queen of Byzantium, identified this monastery as royal, in 888 donated large financial resources for the needs of the monastery. The imperishable relics of Queen Theophania are still in the Patriarchal Cathedral in Constantinople. She is considered the first beautifier of the monastery. Then the monastery was brought as a gift to St. the relics of the Patroness of the monastery - the head and part of the right foot of the Great Martyr, which are now stored in the temple of the monastery and are its main Shrine. Then the monastery fell into decay, it was preserved by a miracle. In 1522, St. Theon found the holy abode of the Decourer in a state of desolation. It was he who restored it and made it prosperous.
St. Theon was abbot in the monastery he had revived, and then in 1535 he was elected Metropolitan of Thessaloniki. The holy and incorrupt relics of St. Theons are located in the monastery church to the right of the iconostasis.
In 1821, the monastery was badly damaged by the Turks, who destroyed and burned it. Since then a rich library, archives, and many monastery treasures burned down, information about the history of the monastery from the 9th to the 16th century that has come down to us is very scarce.
Kalambaka is not a very large city with a population of 11.5 thousand people. It is the capital of the homonymous district, occupying the northern part of the Trikala prefecture. Located at an altitude of 247 meters above sea level. Nearby are the famous cliffs of Meteor.
Meteors come from all over the world. This unique place is amazingly beautiful. Smoothly polished impregnable rocks, like pillars, connect the sky and the earth saturated with Christianity. Meteors are not accidentally given their name, in Greek, “Meteors” means “soaring in the sky” or “suspended between heaven and earth.” Almost 30 million years ago, nature created incredible rocks on the flat surface of the Thessaly Plain, then they were at the bottom of the ocean, water knocked down sand and betrayed them with amazing forms that they had not left anywhere else in the world. But not only the picturesque landscape attracts this place of tourists. Here you can feel the strongest energy of the holy place. Since the 10th century, Meteors have been one of the largest monastery complexes in Greece. These impregnable rocks have become a symbol of faith, penance, repentance and renunciation of worldly goods. For many centuries, monks have lived on the peaks, for whom the rocks have become not only a place where you can quietly and calmly indulge in the service of God, but also find reliable protection during the Turkish conquests. At first, the monks lived in caves and rocky depressions, then monasteries gradually began to form. Until the 20s of the last century, it was possible to get to monasteries only with the help of a system of stairs, scaffolding and rope structures. Most often, monks and pilgrims used nets and baskets, which with the help of hand blocks were lifted to the tops. All these lifting methods caused fear and excitement for those who wanted to go up. At a height of several tens of meters, a strong wind begins, which shakes and threatens to disrupt seemingly unreliable structures. The rise to the monasteries became a kind of test of faith. Now, of course, roads and staircases hollowed out in the rocks have appeared. Once there were 24 monasteries, now there are only six monasteries: Transfiguration, St. Varlaam, St. Nicholas, Barbara or Rusan, the Holy Trinity and St. Stefan. Two of them are female.
When the Rusany monastery was created is not known exactly, as well as the origin of its name. Perhaps the monastery was founded by Rusanos, a native of the town of Rusan. According to another version, the monastery was founded in 1288 by the hieromonks Nicodemus and Benidict. The authentic facts can only be attributed to the fact that in 1545, with the permission of the Metropolitan of the city of Larisa Vissarion and hegumen of the Greater Meteor Monastery, the brothers Hieromonk Joasaph and Maxim built the Byzantine-style monastery catholicon on the site of the destroyed Transfiguration Church and restored the monastery. Unfortunately, the monastery was often plundered, and few relics remained from it. Those that have survived are now in the Transfiguration Monastery (Big Meteors). In 1940, the monastery fell into decay and lost its monks. Since 1950, for 20 years, the old woman Eusebius from the neighboring village of Kastraki single-handedly kept the three-story building of the monastery, which now in an updated form acts as a convent, which received its second name in honor of St. Barbarians.
To the Monastery of St. Stefan, located in a very picturesque place on a huge rock, is easy to get into. To visit it, you just need to go through one bridge. He is the richest of meteor monasteries. The first thing that pilgrims saw before 1927, getting into the monastery, is a walled plate with the inscription "6770 year." Jeremiah ”, which was in the arch above the entrance to the monastery and meant that a certain hermit named Jeremiah lived on this rock already in 6770 from the creation of the world, that is, in 1192 from the birth of Christ. There is a version that this hermit and other monks built here a small chapel of St. Stefan and a few cells. However, the monastery itself was built at the end of the 14th century by Anatoly Katakuzinos and Filofei of Siatinsky, whose images are captured in a small church on the territory of the monastery. At the end of the XIX century, the monastery was inhabited by 31 monks, but by 1960 it was almost empty, in 1961 it was transformed into a female, and today it is flourishing. The refectory of the monastery hosts an exhibition of monastery treasures.
In 1340 Athanasius Meteorsky founded the monastery on the highest and largest rock, which is known as the Preobrazhensky or the Big Meteors. The monastery received its name in honor of the main temple, which was built in 1388. As noted, it was built in the likeness of Athos temples. The founders of the monastery, reverend Athanasius and Joseph, are buried inside the temple in its northern limit. Joseph, the last Serbian king, cut his hair as a monk and did a lot for the monastery: he expanded the Transfiguration Cathedral, decorated it with icons and provided the necessary sacred vessels. The cathedral is decorated with magnificent frescoes, which were executed in 1522, unfortunately, the name of the master did not reach us. The temple is also famous for its skillful gilded iconostasis, which was made in 1971. Here is a large number of valuable icons of the XIV-XVI centuries, and in the former refectory there is a museum of monastery jewelry. Among the treasures of the monastery are especially distinguished: the most ancient Greek manuscript of the year 861; a double-leaf icon of the Mother of God, the contribution of Mary Paleolog, sister of one of the founders of the monastery; part of the Golden Bull with the signature of Emperor Andronik Paleolog; completely embroidered shroud of the XIV century; four icons of the 16th century: the Nativity of Christ, the Crucifixion of Christ, the Passion of Christ, Our Lady of Sorrows. Not far from the entrance to the monastery is the monastery of St. Athanasius. It was there that the founder of the monastery lived and prayed.
Until 1922, they climbed a rock in a net, since it was unsafe, steps were cut into the rock. But the grid is still not forgotten and is used to raise provisions and other items necessary for the life of the monastery.
Monastery of St. Nikolay Anapavsas is probably the most unusual of the meteors and stands out due to the peculiarities of his construction. The monastery seemed to huddle on a small rock, this forced the monks to think about such an arrangement of temples and cells, so that everything was functional. So this magnificent monastery appeared, bewitching pilgrims with a labyrinth from several levels. Presumably, the monastery was founded in the XII-XIII centuries, when the first monks appeared on the rock. It was founded by the monk Nikanor by the name of Anapavsas, in whose honor the monastery got its name.
There are 3 levels in the monastery. On the first is the church of St. Anthony. On the altar square of 4 square meters. Meter can be only one clergyman.
On the second level is the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, the catholicon of the monastery was built in 1527. The cathedral was built in the shape of a rectangle without windows and crowned with a low dome, while the narthex of the cathedral is so spacious that it seems that it was originally built as a monastery courtyard. The altar is forced to the north. The walls of the cathedral are decorated with frescoes by Theophan Strelidzas, an outstanding icon painter of the Cretan school. On the third level are the cells, the old refectory, used as a reception for honored visitors, a small church of St. John the Baptist and the crypt with the skulls of monks.
Demetrius of Solunsky came from the city of Soluni, where his father was governor of the Roman proconsul in Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki) and a secret Christian. When his father died, the emperor Maximian appointed him proconsul of the city. His main task was to protect the city. However, Demetrius returned to Thessaloniki and, instead of eradicating Christianity, as the emperor commanded, he himself began to profess Christianity in front of everyone and began to teach the inhabitants of the city the Christian faith. When the emperor found out about this, he immediately wanted to deal with Demetrius. Dimitri, foreseeing this, indulged in strict fasting and prayer and asked to give all his property to the poor. The emperor entered the city and immediately summoned Demetrius. He boldly declared himself a Christian and was imprisoned. At night, the Angel came down to him, comforting and strengthening him in a feat. Later in prison he was brutally stabbed with spears. Faithful servant of St. Demetrius Lupp collected the blood of the holy great martyr on a towel and dipped his ring in it. With these shrines he began to heal the sick. The body of the martyr Demetrius was thrown to be eaten by wild animals, but the solunky Christians secretly betrayed him to the earth. Under Emperor Constantine, a grave was erected, and a hundred years later, during the construction of a new majestic temple, the incorrupt relics of the holy martyr were found. From the 5th century, with the cancer of St. Demetrius, the expiration of the incense world begins, therefore St. Demetrius receives the name Myrrh-streaming. St. Demetrius became the patron and protector of the family of Thessaloniki, when barbarians approached the city. Repeatedly, the pagan Slavs retreated from the walls of Soluni at the sight of a formidable bright youth who was walking around the walls.
St. Gregory Palamas was born in Constantinople in a noble family. His parents tried to teach him from a young age both human and, especially, Divine wisdom. Gregory from an early age sought to devote all his strength to the service of God. Despite the fact that Gregory was from a wealthy family, he despised wealth, always wore a poor robe and behaved like a poor man. Some even thought he was crazy. At twenty years old, he finally decided to take monastic dignity and go into the desert. Soon with his brothers he retired to Mount Athos. In 1350, he returned to Thessaloniki. In 1354 he was captured by the Turks, but a year later he was released. Over the past three years st. Gregory performed many miracles and healed many patients. In 1368, Gregory Palamas was canonized as a saint.
North West Greece
Once upon a time, Igoumenitsa was only a fishing village. During the Turkish yoke in Greece, it was a small town called Grava. In 1913, the town was liberated from the Turks, and in 1938 adopted its modern name. The city took its final shape after the Second World War.
Corfu Island is probably one of the most famous Ionian islands in Greece, with an area of \u200b\u200b593 km². The island is very picturesque and attracts tourists from all over the world with its small coves and wonderful beaches. The island has an ancient history, mention of it can be found even in ancient Greek myths. Many nations left their mark on it: the Romans and Normans, the Gottes and Venetians, Turks and French, the British and Russians. This could not but affect the culture of the island, rich in monuments and temples. The Orthodox on the island have their shrines.
Residents of the island of Corfu, or, as it is also called Kerkyra, know Admiral Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov well and honor his name. His squadron freed Kerkyra in 1799. Having driven the French out of the island, Ushakov reinstated the Orthodox episcopate on it after an almost five-century absence of the Orthodox Church in Kerkyra. The admiral also contributed to the creation of the first Greek state in the Ionian Islands after the fall of the Byzantine Empire. In 2002, a monument to Admiral F.F. Ushakov was opened on Corfu near the New Fortress.
Cathedral Church in the name of the Greek Queen Theodora. The righteous queen Theodora went down in history as an icon protector. She was the wife of the Greek king Theophilos the iconoclast (829-842), but did not share her husband's convictions and secretly venerated the holy icons. When her husband died, she ruled the state instead of her infant son Mikhail. Theodora did a lot for Orthodoxy. Her merits include the fact that she restored icon veneration, returned and ensured that the iconoclasts were betrayed by the curse. The righteous Theodora did a lot for the Holy Church. She raised in her son Michael a firm devotion to Orthodoxy. When Michael grew up, she was removed from control and, having spent 8 years in the monastery of St. Euphrosyne in the exploits and reading of the Divine books (the Gospel written by her hand is known), died peacefully around 867. Her relics in 1460 were given by the Turks to the inhabitants of the city of Kerkyra.
Church of St. Spiridon of Trimifunta is the most famous religious monument. St. Spyridon was born in Rome in the III century on the island of Cyprus, from childhood he was pious and led a righteous life. Helped the needy, sick, children. For his deeds, God awarded him the gift of miracles. There are many miracles that St. Spiridone. Once, during the service in the lamp, the oil burned out, and it began to fade away. The saint was upset, but the Lord consoled him: the lamp was miraculously filled with oil. During the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great (306–337), he was elected bishop in one of the cities in Cyprus. But even as a bishop, he was able to combine pastoral service with mercy. Spiridon was a great patron of the faith and fought against heresy. It is known that he took part in the First Ecumenical Council in 325 in Nicaea. After his death, his relics were buried in Constantinople, and when the capital of Byzantium fell before the Turks, the Orthodox who left the city took them with them. They came to Corfu in 1489. It is not known exactly how he was associated with Corfu before he became St. Spyridon, patron of the island. But the story has survived that he saved the island from the plague in 1553. He later stood up for the island back in 1630, when Corfu was threatened by famine, and in 1716, when the Turks attacked him. They say that he appeared dressed as a monk, holding a candle, and sowed panic among the Turks. The day of their patron on the island is celebrated on December 12 with a large scale. The first church of st. Spiridona was in the town of Sarokas, but it had to be destroyed when the city walls were built. The current temple was erected in 1590. The temple was built in the typical style of the Ionian islands. Inside there are huge golden and silver chandeliers, a marble iconostasis, an unusual appearance of the icon in golden frames on the vault. Throughout the cathedral and over the canyon with relics on chains hang a large number of metal figures depicting ships, cars and individual parts of the body - thanks to the parishioners who received the help of the saint. The temple contains the imperishable relics of a saint in a silver sarcophagus of the XIX century. Every day, hundreds of people come to the temple to venerate this shrine, and these are not only tourists, but also local residents who love and honor their patron.
Southern Greece (Peloponnese)
Patras is a city on the Peloponnese. According to Christian history, this place of martyrdom of St. Andrei: Andrew the First-Called spent the last years of his life in Patras, here he preached the faith of Christ, created a large Orthodox community. By order of the proconsul Akhaya Egeat, he was sentenced to martyrdom on the cross.
St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called was born in Bethsaida. His teacher was John the Baptist himself. Apostle Andrew and Apostle John the Theologian were the first to follow the Lord. After the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Andrew went by lot to preach the Word of God to the Black Sea countries, went through Asia Minor, Macedonia, Chersonese, went up the Dnieper to the place where Kiev is now located. Many feats in the name of faith were performed by the Apostle Andrew, his path ended in the city of Patras. Here, by the laying on of hands, the First-Called Apostle healed many people, including the wife and brother of the ruler. But the ruler Egeat, embittered, ordered to crucify St. Apostle so that he suffers for a long time, - not nailing his arms and legs to the cross, but tying them. The cross was not ordinary, but beveled, because the Apostle considered himself unworthy to die on the same cross on which Jesus was crucified. Such a cross has become a symbol of the Orthodox faith and is called the "St. Andrew".
Two days St. The apostle from the cross taught the assembled townspeople. People listening to him sympathized with the martyr and demanded that he be removed from the cross. Fearing an uprising, the ruler ordered an end to the execution.
But the Apostle wanted to accept death in the name of Christ, and the soldiers could not untie the hands of the martyr. Suddenly a bright glow illuminated the cross. When it stopped, people saw that St. The apostle has already handed over the soul to the Lord.
Church of St. The Apostle Andrew the First-Called in Patras was built at the beginning of the twentieth century in the tradition of Western architecture. Its huge dome is visible from afar from the sea, because the temple stands right on the shores of the Gulf of Corinth. In the temple are the honest head of St. Apostle Andrew and the cross on which he was crucified. The modern cathedral was built on the very spot where the apostle was executed. Nearby you can see the cave with the source, which, according to legend, scored at the place of his death.
Also in Patras are the relics of the Apostle Paul.
The apostle Paul was not one of the twelve apostles. He, originally bearing the Hebrew name of Saul, belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. The Apostle Paul was born in the Cilician city of Tarsus. In his youth, he participated in the persecution of Christians. Once Saul was illuminated by the brightest light, from which he blindly fell to the ground. A voice came from the light: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” To Saul’s question: “Who are you?” - the Lord replied: “I am Jesus whom you persecute.” Soon after, he became an apostle. Paul was a very educated and wise man. He created numerous Christian communities on the territory of Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula. The Epistles of Paul to communities and individuals form a significant part of the New Testament and are among the main texts of Christian theology. The Apostle Paul was distinguished by the fact that he sought to convey to the Gentiles the Divine Revelation, not only adequately, but also convincingly, understandably, beautifully. He speaks to people in a language they understand. The sermon that the Apostle Paul delivered in Athens in the Areopagus, where all Athenian meetings were held at that time, went down in history. Athens at that time was not only a center of education, but a city of idols. It is believed that Paul, when he arrived in Athens, was at a loss from the majesty of this city. However, this did not stop him from making his speech. Although historically it is believed that most Athenians did not change their views, many still believed. Among them were Dionysius the Areopagite and many others.
The Mega Spilio Monastery or the Great Cave is located at an altitude of 924 meters near the city of Kalavrita. There is an icon of the Virgin Mary, created from wax and aromatic substances by the Evangelist Luke. Evangelist Luke was born into a Greek family and was very educated, by profession he was a doctor. The author of one of the four Gospels, he created the Acts of the Apostles, was sent by the Lord to preach about the kingdom of heaven. It is believed that it was he who painted the first icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, the wax icon, which is located in Mega Spilio, is unique. It was thanks to her that a man’s monastery appeared. It was created in 362 around the cave where it was found. The monastery building has 8 floors, and there is a feeling that it is built into the rock. The monastery was destroyed many times, and there were fires in it, but the icon survived to this day. The walls of the church of the monastery are covered with frescoes. Handwritten Gospels and cribars are also kept here.
Central greece
The holy relics of the martyr Gregory and the Cathedral of the Annunciation. The future patriarch of Constantinople Gregory was born into a poor family and was named George. He studied on the island of Patmos. He soon became a monk with the name of Gregory. An ascetic lifestyle, great knowledge in secular and theological sciences, made him known to Metropolitan of Smyrna Procopius. He was ordained a deacon, then a presbyter, and in 1785 he was consecrated bishop and became the successor to Metropolitan Procopius. In 1792, St. Gregory was elected patriarch of Constantinople.
The saint did a great deal for his flock. Despite the fact that the Turks hindered the spread and preservation of Christianity in Greece, St. Gregory repaired the old and built new Orthodox churches, urged the people not to change the Christian faith.
It is not surprising that the Turkish ruler did not like all this. After the third return to the patriarchate, when the reprisal of the Turks against the Christians began, the patriarch was taken and hanged after much torment in 1821.
Turks banned the burial of the body of the holy martyr It was given to the Jews, who, having tied stones to the neck of the saint, threw him into the sea.
The body of St. Gregory, who miraculously got rid of the stone, was found by Greek sailors and transported to Odessa, where he was buried in the Trinity Church in the northern part of the altar. In 1871, the holy relics of Patriarch Gregory were transferred from Odessa to Athens and laid in the Cathedral of the Annunciation. The temple was built in the 19th century, it was consecrated in 1862. Construction went slowly, architects were replaced by one another, so its architecture can not be called unambiguous. It is believed that it was built in the "Hellenic Byzantine tradition", but some believe that it is not as beautiful as real Byzantine temples.
Aegean Islands
The island of Euboea has an unusual feature, it is connected to the mainland by a 14-meter bridge, as it is very close to the mainland. It is the second largest island in Greece after Crete. The bridge is not the most important feature of the island, the water beneath it in the Euripus Strait is much more interesting: it rushes at a frantic speed, then it practically freezes, and after a few hours it picks up speed again, but, surprisingly, it moves in the other direction.
The island is a favorite vacation spot of the Greeks themselves, it is especially popular among the Athenians, because from Athens to it - only 88 kilometers. But there are few tourists, which makes the island even more attractive with its hot springs, beautiful beaches, green forests and beautiful mountains.
The temple of the righteous John of Russia, one of the most revered saints in Greece, is located on the island of Euboea in the town of Neoprokopion, there are also his relics. This saint lived an amazing, fertile, but at the same time full of torment life. He was born in the 17th century in Little Russia, came to the service of Peter I. He fought a lot and wandered around the world, but he was always full of humility and firmly professed the holy Faith. Many miracles are attributed to him. During the war, the saint was captured by the Turks, was sent into slavery in Asia Minor, where he suffered for a long time.
Monastery of St. David of Euboea is located near the temple of St. John of Russia. Funds for the construction of the monastery of St. David, who lived in the 16th century, collected in the territory of modern Romania, Moldova and Russia. The most valuable of these gifts are still kept in the monastery. The monastery contains the relics of its founder, the Rev. David of Euboea, as well as the Honest Head of St. Basil the Great. The great saint of God and the God-wise teacher of the Church, Vasily was born in the city of Caesarea in 330. He was not only a pious believer, but also an educated person who knew secular sciences. His education was occupied by his father. Vasily traveled a lot in search of new knowledge, he was in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia. However, he felt that the main thing for him was not worldly science, but service to the Lord. Therefore, he went to Egypt, where monastic life flourished. When Basil the Great returned to Athens, he did much to become the Truth of the Faith and converted many to it.
Elder Jacob of Euboe lived a pious, but very complex and full of bodily suffering. He was born on November 5, 1920 in a pious family that was closely associated with the Church. As a child, Jacob and his family had to leave their homeland Livisia due to the oppression of the Turks. By the will of God he was destined to get to the island of Euboea. There he went to school and began to lead a righteous and ascetic life there. As a child, his favorite toy was a censer, which he himself made. All the neighbors were proud of him and saw him as a real man of God. Soon the keys to the temple were entrusted to him: there was no priest in the village, he came from the neighboring village once every two weeks. Residents of neighboring villages, when they had any difficulties, turned to him for help. Jacob was called to anoint with oil and prayers for the sick, women who had difficult births, for the obsessed and for other needs. Jacob could not continue to study at school, as he was forced to work to help his family.
His path to monasticism was a long one. At first he lost his parents and was forced to take care of his sister, then he had to fulfill a duty to his country and served in the army. After returning, he undertook any work to collect a dowry for his sister Anastasia. Only when she got married did he feel that he was ready to become a monk. He began to think about returning to the Holy Land. Once St. appeared to him. David said that Jacob’s mission is to revive the monastery that he once founded here. His tonsure took place on November 30, 1952. And he devoted his whole life to the service of God and the restoration of the monastery. When her age approached fifty, he began to be overcome by diseases that had tormented him since childhood. However, his heart bothered him the most. He was sick for a long time. Restoring the monastery of St. David, who chose the elder as his spiritual heir, bringing healing and peace to thousands of suffering souls, father Jacob passed away on November 21, 1991. The monastery has preserved his cell and many personal items that carry information about the life of this holy man.
Convent of St. up and ev. St. John the Evangelist is a 30-minute drive from Thessaloniki. A quiet monastery is located in the small town of Suroti. The monastery of Mount Athos, Paisius Svyatrets, helped to found the monastery. Once he was approached by women who wanted to establish a monastery, where they could live according to strict Athos rules. Soon the elder found a beautiful picturesque place for a convent, received a blessing on its foundation by the bishop, and in 1967 the first sisters settled in the monastery. Now there are 67 of them, and they really live according to the old Athos traditions. Services are held by candlelight without electricity. Another tradition, typical of many monasteries in Greece, has been preserved in the monastery - to treat visitors with Turkish delight and cold water. To get to the monastery, you need to climb the mountain. So such a treat comes in handy.
One of the main shrines of the monastery is the grave of the elder Paisius Svyatogorets, thousands of pilgrims seek it. Near the grave is constantly one of the nuns, who monitors the order. People seek here to honor the memory of this amazing person.
The elder Paisiy Svyatorets, in the world Arseniy Eznepidis, was born in Faras of the Cappadocian (in Turkey) in 1924 into a large family. Two weeks after the birth of Arseny, the Farasian Greeks fled from Turkey to Greece. Before leaving, Saint Arseny of Cappadocia (1841-1924), who was then a parish priest in the village, christened the boy and gave the child his name. He also uttered the words that became prophetic for Paisius: "I want to leave a monk behind me."
As a child, little Arseny loved to read the lives of the saints, his older brother even took away and hid books from him. Arseny's youth was held in the city of Konitsa, where he studied at school and received the profession of a carpenter. The Civil War in Greece (1944-1948) began, he was drafted into the army. After serving, Arseny went to Mount Athos, in 1954 he accepted a ryasophore with the name Averky. And two years later he was tonsured in a small schema with the name Paisius. From 1958 to 1962, he lived in the Konitsky monastery in the village of Stomio, after which he went to Sinai. He spent two years in the monastery of the holy martyrs Galaction and Epistimia on Mount Sinai, where his cell was still preserved, but then, due to lung disease, he returned to Mount Athos and settled in the Iversky monastery.
In 1966, the disease developed so much that Father Paisius had most of his lungs removed. It was then that several women turned to him with a request to help establish a monastery.
Father Paisiy constantly supported the monastery and twice a year until his death on July 12, 1994 he came to visit his sisters from Athos. He died in Suroti, buried there. As the sisters say, that’s right. If he had been buried on Mount Athos, women would not have been able to come to him. The relics of St. It is no coincidence that Arseny of Kapadoki ended up in a monastery, in the creation and life of which Father Paisius played a huge role. They were born in one village, and it was St. Arseny baptized Father Paisius, giving his child his name, prophetically saying: "I want to leave a monk after me." This happened in the Faras of Cappadocia, where St. Arseny of Kapadoki was a parish priest at that time.
At an early age, Arseny of Kapadoki lost his parents. He was educated at the seminary in Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey). At the age of 26, he received monastic tonsure at the Monastery of John the Baptist in Zinji Dere in Caesarea (present-day Kayseri, Turkey), was ordained deacon and sent by Metropolitan Paisius II to Farasu to teach children literacy in church books.
In 1870, the Monk Arseny was ordained a priest and elevated to the rank of archimandrite. He made 5 pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and therefore he was nicknamed Hajj Effendi. The pastoral activity of the monk continued in Faras until the age of 55. He instructed and affirmed in faith the inhabitants of the Greek enclave, which was constantly under threat of destruction. The Monk Arseny foresaw the coming trials - wars and an exodus from his native land. In 1924, when the Greeks of Asia Minor were resettled, he accompanied his flock and died 40 days after arriving in Greece on the island of Corfu. The relics of the saint were first transported to Konitsa, and then to the monastery of St. John the Evangelist in Suroti.
Monastery of St. Anastasia the Solvers is located near the city of Thessaloniki. The Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Lawbreaker is his patroness and intercessor. There is an opinion of scientists that she tied up where her monastery stands today.
St. Anastasia was born and raised in Rome at the end of the 3rd century. Her mentor and teacher of faith was the holy martyr Chrysogon. Since childhood, conducting a good Christian life, she kept herself clean and strengthened in virtues. Desiring to devote his life to Christ, St. Anastasia visited persecuted Christians in prisons and dungeons. She supported them spiritually and helped financially, distributing her inheritance. During her lifetime, the Holy One received from God the gift of healing and helped many sick and afflicted.
The saint is called the “Great Martyr,” since she bravely endured all the grave tortures and torments. She is also called the “Counselor,” because she has been given strength from the Lord to heal bodily and spiritual illnesses. In prayers, she is asked to resolve the bonds of the unjustly convicted and give comfort to those in prison. The saint is also customary to ask for protection from witching charms.
St. Theophania, Queen of Byzantium, identified this monastery as royal, in 888 donated large financial resources for the needs of the monastery. The imperishable relics of Queen Theophania are still in the Patriarchal Cathedral in Constantinople. She is considered the first beautifier of the monastery. Then the monastery was brought as a gift to St. the relics of the Patroness of the monastery - the head and part of the right foot of the Great Martyr, which are now stored in the monastery’s temple and are its main Shrine. Then the monastery fell into decay, it was preserved by a miracle. In 1522, St. Theon found the holy abode of the Decourer in a state of desolation. It was he who restored it and made it prosperous.
St. Theon was abbot in the monastery he had revived, and then in 1535 he was elected Metropolitan of Thessaloniki. The holy and incorrupt relics of St. Theons are located in the monastery church to the right of the iconostasis.
In 1821, the monastery was badly damaged by the Turks, who destroyed and burned it. Since then a rich library, archives, and many monastery treasures burned down, information about the history of the monastery from the 9th to the 16th century that has come down to us is very scarce. Kalambaka is not a very large city with a population of 11.5 thousand people. It is the capital of the homonymous district, occupying the northern part of the Trikala prefecture. Located at an altitude of 247 meters above sea level. Nearby are the famous cliffs of Meteor.
Meteors come from all over the world. This unique place is amazingly beautiful. Smoothly polished impregnable rocks, like pillars, connect the sky and the earth saturated with Christianity. Meteors are not accidentally given their name, in Greek, “Meteors” means “soaring in the sky” or “suspended between heaven and earth.” Almost 30 million years ago, nature created incredible rocks on the flat surface of the Thessaly Plain, then they were at the bottom of the ocean, water knocked down sand and betrayed them with amazing forms that they had not left anywhere else in the world. But not only the picturesque landscape attracts this place of tourists. Here you can feel the strongest energy of the holy place. Since the 10th century, Meteors have been one of the largest monastery complexes in Greece. These impregnable rocks have become a symbol of faith, penance, repentance and renunciation of worldly goods. For many centuries, monks have lived on the peaks, for whom the rocks have become not only a place where you can quietly and calmly indulge in the service of God, but also find reliable protection during the Turkish conquests. At first, the monks lived in caves and rocky depressions, then monasteries gradually began to form.
Until the 20s of the last century, it was possible to get to monasteries only with the help of a system of stairs, scaffolding and rope structures. Most often, monks and pilgrims used nets and baskets, which with the help of hand blocks were lifted to the tops. All these lifting methods caused fear and excitement for those who wanted to go up. At a height of several tens of meters, a strong wind begins, which shakes and threatens to disrupt seemingly unreliable structures. The rise to the monasteries became a kind of test of faith. Now, of course, roads and staircases hollowed out in the rocks have appeared. Once there were 24 monasteries, now there are only six monasteries: Transfiguration, St. Varlaam, St. Nicholas, Barbara or Rusan, the Holy Trinity and St. Stefan. Two of them are female.
When the Rusany monastery was created is not known exactly, as well as the origin of its name. Perhaps the monastery was founded by Rusanos, a native of the town of Rusan. According to another version, the monastery was founded in 1288 by the hieromonks Nicodemus and Benidict. The authentic facts can only be attributed to the fact that in 1545, with the permission of the Metropolitan of the city of Larisa Vissarion and hegumen of the Greater Meteor Monastery, the brothers Hieromonk Joasaph and Maxim built the Byzantine-style monastery catholicon on the site of the destroyed Transfiguration Church and restored the monastery. Unfortunately, the monastery was often plundered, and few relics remained from it. Those that have survived are now in the Transfiguration Monastery (Big Meteors).
Meteors - Orthodox monasteries on the rocks (Greece)
In 1940, the monastery fell into decay and lost its monks. Since 1950, for 20 years, the old woman Eusebius from the neighboring village of Kastraki single-handedly kept the three-story building of the monastery, which now in an updated form acts as a convent, which received its second name in honor of St. Barbarians.
To the Monastery of St. Stefan, located in a very picturesque place on a huge rock, is easy to get into. To visit it, you just need to go through one bridge. He is the richest of meteor monasteries. The first thing that pilgrims saw before 1927, getting into the monastery, is a walled plate with the inscription "6770 year." Jeremiah ”, which was in the arch above the entrance to the monastery and meant that a certain hermit named Jeremiah lived on this rock already in 6770 from the creation of the world, that is, in 1192 from the birth of Christ. There is a version that this hermit and other monks built here a small chapel of St. Stefan and a few cells. However, the monastery itself was built at the end of the 14th century by Anatoly Katakuzinos and Filofei of Siatinsky, whose images are captured in a small church on the territory of the monastery. At the end of the XIX century, the monastery was inhabited by 31 monks, but by 1960 it was almost empty, in 1961 it was transformed into a female, and today it is flourishing. The refectory of the monastery hosts an exhibition of monastery treasures.
In 1340 Athanasius Meteorsky founded the monastery on the highest and largest rock, which is known as the Preobrazhensky or the Big Meteors. The monastery received its name in honor of the main temple, which was built in 1388. As noted, it was built in the likeness of Athos temples. The founders of the monastery, reverend Athanasius and Joseph, are buried inside the temple in its northern limit. Joseph, the last Serbian king, cut his hair as a monk and did a lot for the monastery: he expanded the Transfiguration Cathedral, decorated it with icons and provided the necessary sacred vessels. The cathedral is decorated with magnificent frescoes, which were executed in 1522, unfortunately, the name of the master did not reach us. The temple is also famous for its skillful gilded iconostasis, which was made in 1971. Here is a large number of valuable icons of the XIV-XVI centuries, and in the former refectory there is a museum of monastery jewelry. Among the treasures of the monastery are especially distinguished: the most ancient Greek manuscript of the year 861; a double-leaf icon of the Mother of God, the contribution of Mary Paleolog, sister of one of the founders of the monastery; part of the Golden Bull with the signature of Emperor Andronik Paleolog; completely embroidered shroud of the XIV century; four icons of the 16th century: the Nativity of Christ, the Crucifixion of Christ, the Passion of Christ, Our Lady of Sorrows. Not far from the entrance to the monastery is the monastery of St. Athanasius. It was there that the founder of the monastery lived and prayed.
Until 1922, they climbed a rock in a net, since it was unsafe, steps were cut into the rock. But the grid is still not forgotten and is used to raise provisions and other items necessary for the life of the monastery. Monastery of St. Nikolay Anapavsas is probably the most unusual of the meteors and stands out due to the peculiarities of his construction. The monastery seemed to huddle on a small rock, this forced the monks to think about such an arrangement of temples and cells, so that everything was functional. So this magnificent monastery appeared, bewitching pilgrims with a labyrinth from several levels. Presumably, the monastery was founded in the XII-XIII centuries, when the first monks appeared on the rock. It was founded by the monk Nikanor by the name of Anapavsas, in whose honor the monastery got its name.
There are 3 levels in the monastery. On the first is the church of St. Anthony. On the altar square of 4 square meters. Meter can be only one clergyman.
On the second level is the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, the catholicon of the monastery was built in 1527. The cathedral was built in the shape of a rectangle without windows and crowned with a low dome, while the narthex of the cathedral is so spacious that it seems that it was originally built as a monastery courtyard. The altar is forced to the north. The walls of the cathedral are decorated with frescoes by Theophan Strelidzas, an outstanding icon painter of the Cretan school. On the third level are the cells, the old refectory, used as a reception for honored visitors, a small church of St. John the Baptist and the crypt with the skulls of monks.
Demetrius of Solunsky came from the city of Soluni, where his father was governor of the Roman proconsul in Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki) and a secret Christian. When his father died, the emperor Maximian appointed him proconsul of the city. His main task was to protect the city. However, Demetrius returned to Thessaloniki and, instead of eradicating Christianity, as the emperor commanded, he himself began to profess Christianity in front of everyone and began to teach the inhabitants of the city the Christian faith. When the emperor found out about this, he immediately wanted to deal with Demetrius. Dimitri, foreseeing this, indulged in strict fasting and prayer and asked to give all his property to the poor. The emperor entered the city and immediately summoned Demetrius. He boldly declared himself a Christian and was imprisoned. At night, the Angel came down to him, comforting and strengthening him in a feat. Later in prison he was brutally stabbed with spears.
Faithful servant of St. Demetrius Lupp collected the blood of the holy great martyr on a towel and dipped his ring in it. With these shrines he began to heal the sick. The body of the martyr Demetrius was thrown to be eaten by wild animals, but the solunky Christians secretly betrayed him to the earth. Under Emperor Constantine, a grave was erected, and a hundred years later, during the construction of a new majestic temple, the incorrupt relics of the holy martyr were found. From the 5th century, with the cancer of St. Demetrius, the expiration of the incense world begins, therefore St. Demetrius receives the name Myrrh-streaming. St. Demetrius became the patron and protector of the family of Thessaloniki, when barbarians approached the city. Repeatedly, the pagan Slavs retreated from the walls of Soluni at the sight of a formidable bright youth who was walking around the walls.
St. Gregory Palamas was born in Constantinople in a noble family. His parents tried to teach him from a young age both human and, especially, Divine wisdom. Gregory from an early age sought to devote all his strength to the service of God. Despite the fact that Gregory was from a wealthy family, he despised wealth, always wore a poor robe and behaved like a poor man. Some even thought he was crazy. At twenty years old, he finally decided to take monastic dignity and go into the desert. Soon with his brothers he retired to Mount Athos. In 1350, he returned to Thessaloniki. In 1354 he was captured by the Turks, but a year later he was released. Over the past three years st. Gregory performed many miracles and healed many patients. In 1368, Gregory Palamas was canonized as a saint.
North West Greece
Once upon a time, Igoumenitsa was only a fishing village. During the Turkish yoke in Greece, it was a small town called Grava. In 1913, the town was liberated from the Turks, and in 1938 adopted its modern name. The city took its final shape after the Second World War.
Corfu Island is probably one of the most famous Ionian islands in Greece, with an area of \u200b\u200b593 km². The island is very picturesque and attracts tourists from all over the world with its small coves and wonderful beaches. The island has an ancient history, mention of it can be found even in ancient Greek myths. Many nations left their mark on it: the Romans and Normans, the Gottes and Venetians, Turks and French, the British and Russians. This could not but affect the culture of the island, rich in monuments and temples. The Orthodox on the island have their shrines.
Residents of the island of Corfu, or, as it is also called Kerkyra, know Admiral Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov well and honor his name. His squadron freed Kerkyra in 1799. Having driven the French out of the island, Ushakov reinstated the Orthodox episcopate on it after an almost five-century absence of the Orthodox Church in Kerkyra. The admiral also contributed to the creation of the first Greek state in the Ionian Islands after the fall of the Byzantine Empire. In 2002, a monument to Admiral F.F. Ushakov was opened on Corfu near the New Fortress.
Cathedral Church in the name of the Greek Queen Theodora. The righteous queen Theodora went down in history as an icon protector. She was the wife of the Greek king Theophilos the iconoclast (829 - 842), but did not share her husband's convictions and secretly venerated the holy icons. When her husband died, she ruled the state instead of her infant son Mikhail. Theodora did a lot for Orthodoxy. Her merits include the fact that she restored icon veneration, returned and ensured that the iconoclasts were betrayed by the curse. The righteous Theodora did a lot for the Holy Church. She raised in her son Michael a firm devotion to Orthodoxy. When Michael grew up, she was removed from control and, having spent 8 years in the monastery of St. Euphrosyne in the exploits and reading of the Divine books (the Gospel written by her hand is known), died peacefully around 867. Her relics in 1460 were given by the Turks to the inhabitants of the city of Kerkyra.
Church of St. Spiridon of Trimifunta is the most famous religious monument. St. Spyridon was born in Rome in the III century on the island of Cyprus, from childhood he was pious and led a righteous life. Helped the needy, sick, children. For his deeds, God awarded him the gift of miracles. There are many miracles that St. Spiridone. Once, during the service in the lamp, the oil burned out, and it began to fade away. The saint was upset, but the Lord consoled him: the lamp was miraculously filled with oil. During the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337), he was elected bishop in one of the cities in Cyprus. But even as a bishop, he was able to combine pastoral service with mercy. Spiridon was a great patron of the faith and fought against heresy. It is known that he took part in the First Ecumenical Council in 325 in Nicaea. After his death, his relics were buried in Constantinople, and when the capital of Byzantium fell before the Turks, the Orthodox who left the city took them with them. They came to Corfu in 1489.
It is not known exactly how he was associated with Corfu before he became St. Spyridon, patron of the island. But the story has survived that he saved the island from the plague in 1553. He later stood up for the island back in 1630, when Corfu was threatened by famine, and in 1716, when the Turks attacked him. They say that he appeared dressed as a monk, holding a candle, and sowed panic among the Turks. The day of their patron on the island is celebrated on December 12 with a large scale. The first church of st. Spiridona was in the town of Sarokas, but it had to be destroyed when the city walls were built. The current temple was erected in 1590. The temple was built in the typical style of the Ionian islands. Inside there are huge golden and silver chandeliers, a marble iconostasis, an unusual appearance of the icon in golden frames on the vault. Throughout the cathedral and over the canyon with relics on chains hang a large number of metal figures depicting ships, cars and individual parts of the body - thanks to the parishioners who received the help of the saint. The temple contains the imperishable relics of a saint in a silver sarcophagus of the XIX century. Every day, hundreds of people come to the temple to venerate this shrine, and these are not only tourists, but also local residents who love and honor their patron.
Southern Greece (Peloponnese)
Patras is a city on the Peloponnese. According to Christian history, this place of martyrdom of St. Andrei: Andrew the First-Called spent the last years of his life in Patras, here he preached the faith of Christ, created a large Orthodox community. By order of the proconsul Akhaya Egeat, he was sentenced to martyrdom on the cross.
St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called was born in Bethsaida. His teacher was John the Baptist himself. Apostle Andrew and Apostle John the Theologian were the first to follow the Lord. After the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Andrew went by lot to preach the Word of God to the Black Sea countries, went through Asia Minor, Macedonia, Chersonese, went up the Dnieper to the place where Kiev is now located. Many feats in the name of faith were performed by the Apostle Andrew, his path ended in the city of Patras. Here, by the laying on of hands, the First-Called Apostle healed many people, including the wife and brother of the ruler. But the ruler Egeat, embittered, ordered to crucify St. Apostle so that he suffers for a long time, - not nailing his arms and legs to the cross, but tying them. The cross was not ordinary, but beveled, because the Apostle considered himself unworthy to die on the same cross on which Jesus was crucified. Such a cross has become a symbol of the Orthodox faith and is called the "St. Andrew".
Two days St. The apostle from the cross taught the assembled townspeople. People listening to him sympathized with the martyr and demanded that he be removed from the cross. Fearing an uprising, the ruler ordered an end to the execution. But the Apostle wanted to accept death in the name of Christ, and the soldiers could not untie the hands of the martyr. Suddenly a bright glow illuminated the cross. When it stopped, people saw that St. The apostle has already handed over the soul to the Lord.
Church of St. The Apostle Andrew the First-Called in Patras was built at the beginning of the twentieth century in the tradition of Western architecture. Its huge dome is visible from afar from the sea, because the temple stands right on the shores of the Gulf of Corinth. In the temple are the honest head of St. Apostle Andrew and the cross on which he was crucified. The modern cathedral was built on the very spot where the apostle was executed. Nearby you can see the cave with the source, which, according to legend, scored at the place of his death.
Also in Patras are the relics of the Apostle Paul.
The apostle Paul was not one of the twelve apostles. He, originally bearing the Hebrew name of Saul, belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. The Apostle Paul was born in the Cilician city of Tarsus. In his youth, he participated in the persecution of Christians. Once Saul was illuminated by the brightest light, from which he blindly fell to the ground. A voice came from the light: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” To Saul’s question: “Who are you?”, The Lord answered: “I am Jesus whom you persecute.” Soon after, he became an apostle. Paul was a very educated and wise man. He created numerous Christian communities on the territory of Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula. The Epistles of Paul to communities and individuals form a significant part of the New Testament and are among the main texts of Christian theology. The Apostle Paul was distinguished by the fact that he sought to convey to the Gentiles the Divine Revelation, not only adequately, but also convincingly, understandably, beautifully. He speaks to people in a language they understand. The sermon that the Apostle Paul delivered in Athens in the Areopagus, where all Athenian meetings were held at that time, went down in history. Athens at that time was not only a center of education, but a city of idols. It is believed that Paul, when he arrived in Athens, was at a loss from the majesty of this city. However, this did not stop him from making his speech. Although historically it is believed that most Athenians did not change their views, many still believed. Among them were Dionysius the Areopagite and many others.
The Mega Spilio Monastery or the Great Cave is located at an altitude of 924 meters near the city of Kalavrita. There is an icon of the Virgin Mary, created from wax and aromatic substances by the Evangelist Luke. Evangelist Luke was born into a Greek family and was very educated, by profession he was a doctor. The author of one of the four Gospels, he created the Acts of the Apostles, was sent by the Lord to preach about the kingdom of heaven. It is believed that it was he who painted the first icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, the wax icon, which is located in Mega Spilio, is unique. It was thanks to her that a man’s monastery appeared. It was created in 362 around the cave where it was found. The monastery building has 8 floors, and there is a feeling that it is built into the rock. The monastery was destroyed many times, and there were fires in it, but the icon survived to this day. The walls of the church of the monastery are covered with frescoes. Handwritten Gospels and cribars are also kept here.
Central greece
The holy relics of the martyr Gregory and the Cathedral of the Annunciation. The future patriarch of Constantinople Gregory was born into a poor family and was named George. He studied on the island of Patmos. He soon became a monk with the name of Gregory. An ascetic lifestyle, great knowledge in secular and theological sciences, made him known to Metropolitan of Smyrna Procopius. He was ordained a deacon, then a presbyter, and in 1785 he was consecrated bishop and became the successor to Metropolitan Procopius. In 1792, St. Gregory was elected patriarch of Constantinople.
The saint did a great deal for his flock. Despite the fact that the Turks prevented the spread and preservation of Christianity in Greece, St. Gregory repaired the old and built new Orthodox churches, urged the people not to change the Christian faith.
It is not surprising that the Turkish ruler did not like all this. After the third return to the patriarchate, when the reprisal of the Turks against the Christians began, the patriarch was taken and hanged after much torment in 1821.
The Turks forbade the burial of the body of the holy martyr. It was given to the Jews, who, having tied stones to the neck of the saint, threw him into the sea.
The body of St. Gregory, who miraculously got rid of the stone, was found by Greek sailors and transported to Odessa, where he was buried in the Trinity Church in the northern part of the altar. In 1871, the holy relics of Patriarch Gregory were transferred from Odessa to Athens and laid in the Cathedral of the Annunciation. The temple was built in the 19th century, it was consecrated in 1862. Construction went slowly, architects were replaced by one another, so its architecture cannot be called unambiguous. It is believed that it was built in the "Hellenic Byzantine tradition", but some believe that it is not as beautiful as real Byzantine temples.
Aegean Islands
The island of Euboea has an unusual feature, it is connected to the mainland by a 14-meter bridge, as it is very close to the mainland. It is the second largest island in Greece after Crete. The bridge is not the most important feature of the island, the water beneath it in the Euripus Strait is much more interesting: it rushes at a frantic speed, then it practically freezes, and after a few hours it picks up speed again, but, surprisingly, it moves in the other direction.
The island is a favorite vacation spot of the Greeks themselves, it is especially popular among the Athenians, because from Athens to it - only 88 kilometers. But there are few tourists, which makes the island even more attractive with its hot springs, beautiful beaches, green forests and beautiful mountains.
The temple of the righteous John of Russia, one of the most revered saints in Greece, is located on the island of Euboea in the town of Neoprokopion, there are also his relics. This saint lived an amazing, fertile, but at the same time full of torment life. He was born in the 17th century in Little Russia, came to the service of Peter I. He fought a lot and wandered around the world, but he was always full of humility and firmly professed the holy Faith. Many miracles are attributed to him. During the war, the saint was captured by the Turks, was sent into slavery in Asia Minor, where he suffered for a long time.
Monastery of St. David of Euboea is located near the temple of St. John of Russia. Funds for the construction of the monastery of St. David, who lived in the 16th century, collected in the territory of modern Romania, Moldova and Russia. The most valuable of these gifts are still kept in the monastery. The monastery contains the relics of its founder, the Rev. David of Euboea, as well as the Honest Head of St. Basil the Great. The great saint of God and the God-wise teacher of the Church, Vasily was born in the city of Caesarea in 330. He was not only a pious believer, but also an educated person who knew secular sciences. His education was occupied by his father. Vasily traveled a lot in search of new knowledge, he was in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia. However, he felt that the main thing for him was not worldly science, but service to the Lord. Therefore, he went to Egypt, where monastic life flourished. When Basil the Great returned to Athens, he did much to become the Truth of the Faith and converted many to it.
Elder Jacob of Euboe lived a pious, but very complex and full of bodily suffering. He was born on November 5, 1920 in a pious family that was closely associated with the Church. As a child, Jacob and his family had to leave their homeland Livisia due to the oppression of the Turks. By the will of God he was destined to get to the island of Euboea. There he went to school and began to lead a righteous and ascetic life there. As a child, his favorite toy was a censer, which he himself made. All the neighbors were proud of him and saw him as a real man of God. Soon the keys to the temple were entrusted to him: there was no priest in the village, he came from the neighboring village once every two weeks. Residents of neighboring villages, when they had any difficulties, turned to him for help. Jacob was called to anoint with oil and prayers for the sick, women who had difficult births, for the obsessed and for other needs. Jacob could not continue to study at school, as he was forced to work to help his family.
His path to monasticism was a long one. At first he lost his parents and was forced to take care of his sister, then he had to fulfill a duty to his country and served in the army. After returning, he undertook any work to collect a dowry for his sister Anastasia. Only when she got married did he feel that he was ready to become a monk. He began to think about returning to the Holy Land. Once St. appeared to him. David said that Jacob’s mission is to revive the monastery that he once founded here. His tonsure took place on November 30, 1952. And he devoted his whole life to the service of God and the restoration of the monastery. When her age approached fifty, he began to be overcome by diseases that had tormented him since childhood. However, his heart bothered him the most. He was sick for a long time. Restoring the monastery of St. David, who chose the elder as his spiritual heir, bringing healing and peace to thousands of suffering souls, father Jacob passed away on November 21, 1991. The monastery has preserved his cell and many personal items that carry information about the life of this holy man.
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“So, having departed from the Troas, we directly arrived in Samothrace, and the next day in Naples ...” (Acts 16: 11).
According to the legend preserved on the island, the apostle Paul landed on the shore in the port of the ancient city, modern Pagliapoli. To commemorate this event, a three-part early Christian basilica was subsequently built on this site, during the construction of which fragments of architectural details of buildings of antiquity were also used. Paleopolis is located 7 km northeast of sovr. port of Kamariotis. The main resort of the island - Therma - has been used since Roman times. Hot springs hit here.
Kavala (ancient Naples). The temple is holy. Nicholas, who is near the port at the place where the apostle Paul first stepped ashore. Behind him is a low cylindrical column in honor of the landing of the Apostle Paul. “So, departing from the Troas, we directly arrived in Samothrace, and the next day in Naples” (Acts 16: 11).
The ancient city of Philippa - archaeological reserve. “From there to Philippi: this is the first city in that part of Macedonia, a colony. We stayed in this city for several days. ” (Acts 16: 12). From Naples, the apostle Paul went to Philippi along the antique road Via Ignatius and most likely entered the city from the east. This road is a large stone blocks.
Chapel of St. Lydia stands by the river in which she was baptized. This river is called Gaggiti. A temple now stands in place of the house of worship. The place, which is traditionally considered the house of Lydia, is now built into the Lydia Hotel, which is located at the entrance. “On the Sabbath day, we went out of town to the river, where, as usual, there was a house of worship, and, sitting down, we talked with the women gathered there. And one woman from the city of Fiatir, by the name of Lydia, who was selling scarlet, who honored God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to heed what Paul said. When she and her family were baptized, she asked us, saying: if you recognized me as faithful to the Lord, then enter my house and live with me. And convinced us ”(Acts 16: 13-15).
The place where the apostle Paul healed a servant, possessed by a divine spirit, is located not far from the ancient square. The young maid of fortune teller owed her strength to the spirit of the Serpent, who possessed it. This serpent is connected with the ancient Greek Mantle at Delphi, known throughout the ancient world thanks to the prophecies of the god Apollo speaking in the voice of Pythia. “It happened that when we went to the house of worship, we met one maid, possessed by a soothsaying spirit, which through prophecy brought great income to her masters. Following Paul and us, she screamed, saying: These men are the servants of God the Most High, who proclaim to us the way of salvation. She did this for many days. Having become indignant, Paul turned and said to the spirit: By the name of Jesus Christ I command you to leave it. And the spirit came out at that hour. Then her masters, seeing that the hope of their income had disappeared, seized Paul and Silas and brought them to the chiefs in the square ” (Acts 16: 16-19).
The ruins of the prison where the apostles Paul and Silas were imprisoned is a small building similar to a cave, not far from the entrance to the ancient square. It was on the ancient square that the apostles Paul and Silas were beaten with sticks. “The people also rebelled against them, and the governors, tearing off their clothes, ordered them to be beaten with sticks. And, having given them many blows, they plunged them into prison, ordering the prison guards to keep them safe ” (Acts 16: 22-23).
“Having passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where the Jewish synagogue was” (Acts 17: 1)
The apostle Paul went through these cities when he went to Thessaloniki on his second journey.
Monastery of Vlatadon in the old town. On the territory of the monastery is ancient chapel of st. Paul. According to the first version, there was a synagogue in this place, where the apostle Paul preached “... they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. Paul, as usual, came to them and spoke to them from the Scriptures for three Saturdays, revealing and proving to them that Christ was to suffer and rise from the dead and that This Christ is Jesus, whom I preach to you. And some of them believed and joined Paul and Silas, both from the Greeks who honor God, a great many, and many noble women ”(Acts 17: 1-4).
According to the second, the house of Jason stood here, where the apostle Paul stayed and in whose courtyard he prayed “But the disbelieving Jews, jealous and taking some worthless people from the square, gathered in a crowd and revolted the city and, going to the house of Jason, sought to bring them to the people” (Acts 17: 5).
Agios Pavlos District outside the walls of the old city. Oldest temple stands at the intersection of Castron and Leoforos Okha in the green zone, next to it is a chapel, a holy spring and a cave, in which the apostle Paul stayed, leaving Thessaloniki. According to legend, the holy spring arose from the tears of the Apostle Paul - he spent the night here, outside the city walls, and prayed with tears. The new church rises above this whole area, located behind the old park. It stores part of the relics of the Apostle Paul.
Berea.In Veria, not far from Platia Orology Square, behind the school building on Mayromiksali Street, there is an open chapel in memory of St. Apostle Paul. Four ancient marble steps lead to the main icon, on which the apostle Paul stood, preaching. “The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas to Berea at night, where they arrived and went to the synagogue of Judea. The local people were more generous than Thessalonica: they took the word with all zeal, daily examining the Scriptures, whether this is true. And many of them believed, and there were many of the Greeks of honor and women ” (Acts 17: 10-12). “But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that Paul also preached the word of God in Berea, they came there, stirring up and disturbing the people. Then the brothers immediately released Paul as if going to the sea ... " (Acts 17: 13-14).
According to local legend, he was sent from Veria on a ship, first to Aegnion (now Kalindros), and then to the coastal city of Methoni (today it is called Elevferochori). From there he sailed on a ship to Athens.
Athens.By the time the apostle Paul was in Athens, the life of this city was far from its former splendor. Here he first preached to the Gentiles on their territory. In Antioch, he addressed them in the synagogue, and in Athens, which had long ceased to play the role of a large prosperous shopping center, there was no Jewish community; it moved to new colonies: Patras, Nikopol, and Corinth. The apostle Paul was the first Christian missionary to preach in this illustrious city, the intellectual stronghold of the Greco-Roman world. And in fact, Athens was still the main university of the empire; they enjoyed the well-deserved fame of the city of philosophers, on the streets of which one could hear the arguments of Platonists, Stoics and Epicurians. Other intellectual centers have already emerged - in Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and Tarsus - but Athens held the palm of unconditional primacy. Despite the decline of spirit, outwardly the city was more beautiful than ever. He held fast to his ancient traditions and monuments, holidays and sacrifices. Waiting for the arrival of the apostles of Silas and Timothy in Athens, the apostle Paul must have had enough time to look at the temples sparkling with gold and rich colors, and at the statues of a host of Greek and foreign gods erected on high pedestals in temples, in the yards of the rich and noble citizens, in public buildings and on the streets. He begins his famous appeal to the Athenians with the words: “The Athenians! In all I see, that you are especially pious: for, passing and examining your shrines, I also found an altar on which it is written: “THE UNKNOWN GOD ...”.
H.V. Morton notes that, referring to the altars dedicated to the Unknown God, the Apostle Paul, as always, adapts the form of expression of Christian doctrine to the peculiarities of the perception of his listeners. In this case, he did not cite Jewish texts that had little meaning for the Athenians, but offered them something that was understandable to them. It was a great start, imbued with local flavor and promised an unusual continuation. For everyone who listened to him that day, altars with the inscription UNKNOWN GOD were part of their daily lives. Everyone knew the story of the plague that struck Athens six centuries before Christ. Then, having made sacrifices to all known gods and seeing that the plague was not retreating, the Athenians asked for the help of the Cretan prophet Epimenides. He drove a flock of white and black sheep to the Areopagus and allowed them to roam wherever they wanted. He waited for the sheep to settle down to rest in their chosen places, and in these places they were sacrificed to a “suitable god”. The plague ceased, after which it became a tradition to erect altars to unknown deities, and not only in Athens.
Going down from the temple mountain through the ruins of the Propylaea (ancient gate), a large rocky ledge is visible at the bottom right (a path starts from the temple mountain, starting in plaka area and winding along the north side of the Acropolis). An ancient fifteen or sixteen steps staircase carved into the rock leads to the top of the rock with a smooth, as if polished, surface dotted with crater-like openings. This peak was specially leveled many centuries ago. This is Apec (or Areopagus), the ancient venue for the famous gatherings of the Athenians, which the apostle Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. According to some, he could refer to the meeting from the agora (market square), located below, but according to local Orthodox tradition and the assertion of many historians, he stood on the Areopagus itself. If so, then the apostle Paul climbed these stone steps and, standing on a ledge of a rock above Athens, spread out under his feet, told his listeners that God “does not live in man-made temples” (pointing to the marble temples crowning the Acropolis behind him and a thirty-foot statue of Athena, whose golden spear sparkled so brightly that it was visible even to sailors off the coast of the southern tip of Attica).
It’s best for a pilgrim who wants to remember the words of the Apostle Paul while on the top of the Areopagus to come here early in the morning or late at night, when the sun sets behind the Acropolis, shining with the splendor of colors - very special, so characteristic for Greece shades of red and gold - and it seems as if here the words of the Apostle still sound. “In anticipation of the apostles of Silas and Timothy in Athens, Paul was indignant at the sight of this city full of idols. He reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and those who worship God, and daily in the square with those who meet. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to argue with him; and some said: "What does this weslov want to say?""And others: “He seems to be preaching about other deities,” because he preached to them Jesus and the Resurrection. And taking him, they brought him to the Areopagus and said: can we know what kind of new teaching you preach? For something strange you put into our ears; therefore we want to know what it is? The Athenians, and all the foreigners living with them, were less willing to spend time than talking or listening to something new.
And standing in the midst of the Areopagus, Paul said: Athenians! In all I see that you are, as it were, especially devout; For, passing and examining your shrines, I also found an altar on which it is written: "to the unknown God." Something of which you, not knowing to honor, I preach to you: God, who created the world and everything in it, He, being the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in man-made temples and does not require the service of human hands, as if having in need of something, Himself giving everything life and breath and all; From one blood He made the whole human race to dwell throughout the entire face of the earth, appointing predetermined times and limits to their dwelling, So that they would seek God, not feel Him, and not find, although He is not far from each of us: For we We live and move by it and exist, as some of your poets said: "we are His kind." So, we, as the race of God, should not think that the Divine is like gold, or silver, or a stone, which has received an image from art and human fiction. So, leaving behind the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent; For He appointed the day on which He will judge the universe with righteousness, by means of His predetermined Husband, having certified everyone, having raised Him from the dead. Hearing about the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed, while others said: we’ll listen to you about this at another time. So Paul went out of their midst. Some of the men, who had molested him, believed; between them was Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damar, and others with him. (Acts 17, 16-34).
Of all these thousands of idolaters, philosophers, and orators, only a handful of people have come to believe in his words. We know only three of them by name: the holy martyr Dionysius Areopagitus, according to legend, a former judge of the Council of Areopagus, which consisted of only nine members; St. Hierofei (perhaps he was also a member of this Council), who later became the first Athenian bishop, and a woman named Damar.
Corinth After a sermon in Athens and the famous speech at the top of the Areopagus, the apostle Paul set off on the coastal road to Corinth. Corinth from the time of the Apostle Paul was a unique city that was part of the Roman colonies in Greece. In Corinth, the holy apostle Paul stopped at the house of a Jewish couple, Aquila and Prisca. They, like him, were engaged in the manufacture of tents and sails, and the holy apostle began to work with them, earning his own food. Akila and his wife only recently arrived in Corinth in connection with the order of Claudius "to all Jews to leave Rome." Roman historians explain this exile by the desire to put an end to the Jewish speeches “at the instigation of a certain Krestus”, which unwittingly suggests that already at this stage we are dealing with disputes among the Jews regarding the Gospel.
In the spring, finally, Sila and Timothy joined Paul. They saw that he was preaching with great enthusiasm in the synagogue, and his success, as expected, stirred the Jews. Their hostility reached such an intensity that they blasphemously blasphemed Christ in the middle of the synagogue. In response, Paul “shook off the dust from his robes” (a symbolic gesture of rejection among the Israelites, known since the time of the prophet Nehemiah) and exclaimed: “Your blood is on your heads; I am clean; from now on I go to the Gentiles. " And he left this synagogue forever. From that day, Corinthian Christians gathered in the house of the Roman Titus Just. Among the Jews who followed the apostle were Aquila, Priscilla and Crispus, the head of the synagogue, whom Paul himself baptized and who later became the head of the local Church. Turning to a sermon among the Gentiles, Paul preached with no less enthusiasm than in the synagogue, and it was in the pagan environment that he gathered a plentiful harvest. The greetings in his letters to the Corinthians sound more like lists of citizens of the Roman city-state than an appeal to the inhabitants of the Greek-Jewish colony: Titus, Gaius, Fortunatus, and Thurius.
That night, when the apostle Paul left the synagogue forever, the Lord spoke to him in a vision: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will harm you, because I have many people in this city”(Acts 18.9-10). Perhaps, foreseeing the beginning of the vengeful confrontation that followed him all the way through the land of Asia Minor and most of Greece, Saint Paul thought of leaving Corinth as he had left Salonika, Philip and Veria. However, he stayed here for a year and a half, which turned out to be the longest period of his stay, anywhere from the day his missionary journeys began. The Jews, who rejected the good news of Christianity, were waiting at this time, looking for the right moment to strangle the newborn Church and expel the apostle from Corinth. Finally, with the arrival of the new proconsul of Achaia, Iunius Gallion, they decided that they now had such an opportunity. They understood that it was unlikely that they could influence the proconsul by accusing them of attacking Jewish traditions, and decided to oppose Paul. Gallion was not just the ruler of the Roman colony, but the brother of Seneca, the famous philosopher and teacher Nero, as well as the uncle of the Roman poet Lucian. Well-educated, a native of a good family, a wonderful speaker, Gallion was considered among his contemporaries a charming, friendly person and an astute leader. Unlike the rulers of Philip and Thessaloniki, he could not frighten the crowd, which started religious strife. The Jews, having brought Paul to his court shouting: “He teaches people to honor God not according to the law,” hoped that the law that officially protects Judaism would be on their side. In addition, they hoped that the performance they arranged would make a great impression on Gallion as a new person in a new place. However, he answered coldly: “If there was any insult or malice, I would have a reason to listen to you; but when there is a debate about the doctrine and about names and about your law, then disassemble yourself: I do not want to be a judge in this. " And drove them from the court. They did not manage to leave the courtroom when the Greek pagans gathered there, enraged by these fictitious accusations, surrounded the chief of the synagogue Sosthenes and thoroughly beat him. Gallion ignored it.
Near the temple, built in honor of holy apostles Peter and Paul in Corinth, there is a marble monument in which in four languages, including Russian, the so-called "Anthem of Love". It is also necessary to visit the market square - the place of preaching of the Apostle Paul. The first letter to the Corinthians was written by him three years after he, together with Aquila and Priscilla, left from there to Ephesus; the second - about another year later, when he was in Macedonia, before his last visit to Corinth.
After visiting Corinth, the apostle Paul continued his missionary journey and came to the eastern port of Corinth (it has been preserved), which is called Kehreon (Kenhrei), where cut your head on a vow (Acts 18, 18). Here, having made a stop on the Corinth Canal, which was built at the end of the 19th century to connect the two Aegean and Ionian seas, you should definitely remember the holy martyr Galina of Corinth, who suffered in 258 under the emperor Decius. She was drowned with a stone around her neck in the ancient port of the old city of Corinth. Then the apostle Paul returned to Asia Minor, to Jerusalem, again to Macedonia. In Jerusalem, he was taken into custody and sent to Rome. Eusebius writes that after two years of imprisonment in Rome, St. Paul was released, and he preached for another ten years the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then he returned to Rome. Here the apostle Paul and suffered a martyrdom. This happened on June 29, 67 or 68 from the birth of Christ.
Antique Nikopol,where the apostle Paul preached after his liberation in Rome: “When I send you Artem or Tikhik, hurry to come to me in Nikopol, for I have planned to spend the winter there” (Titus 3, 12). The activities of the Apostle Paul turned Nikopol into the largest Christian center of his time. The picturesque ruins of Nikopol are located near Preveza.
Research by Alexei Mishin.
About Orthodox shrines: Christian shrines, Orthodox shrines of Greece, the Orthodox shrines of Crete, the most famous shrines, the temple of the Holy Apostle Titus, Paliani Monastery, Kaliviani Monastery, shrines photo, map, how to get
If we talk about Orthodox shrines, the first thing you need to look at Jerusalem - the cradle of Christianity. In addition, there are also Christian shrines on the territory of modern day, but not every believer knows this. I would like to recall about and (in it is the chapel of the Burning Cupids). We have already talked about these holy places in our posts. Today invites to visit holy places, get acquainted with Orthodox shrines.
Orthodox shrines of Greece
On the territory of modern Greece, a great many ancient Christian shrines, dating back to the time of the apostles of Christ, have been preserved. In addition, in Greece there are temples built during the Byzantine Empire - the cradle of Christianity. One of the closest Apostles of Jesus Christ - Paul - came to Greece to preach Christianity and had here one of his best disciples - Titus, who was born and raised on the island.
Good advice from the Travel Assistant: when going to holy places, be sure to wear strict clothes, women need to cover their heads with a scarf, as a sign of respect for faith and believers.
We begin our story from the island of Crete, Greece, it is here that more than seven hundred ancient Christian monasteries and temples have been preserved. The most visited of them are located in Heraklion and its environs:
The most famous:
- temple of the Holy Apostle Titus (Heraklion)
- paliani Monastery (Panagia Paliani, near Heraklion)
- agarafu Monastery (near Hudetsi)
- kera Kardiotissa Monastery (near the Lassithi Plateau)
- vrontisio Monastery (near Zaro)
- monastery of George Sgio Illumination (Monofotsi)
- pallianis Monastery (Venereto) monastery of Our Lady of Juveniotissa (Hudetsi)
Temple of the Holy Apostle Titus in Heraklion
In this temple (the Cathedral of the Heraklion Archbishopric of the Cretan Orthodox Church) today are the remains of the face of St. Titus - the Apostle, who saw Jesus Christ and was in his immediate vicinity. It was the Holy Apostle Titus, a native of Cyprus, "had an indescribable happiness to see Jesus Christ, to hear the Divine teaching from His own lips ...". Also on behalf of the Apostle Paul, Titus monitored the spread of Christianity on the island and appointed elders of the Church.
The first Temple, built in honor of the Apostle Titus in 961, was very simple, rebuilt many times and was destroyed in the middle of the fifteenth century. In 1446, the construction of a new church on the site of the old one was completed, but in 1508 it was very damaged by an earthquake, and in 1544 - by a fire. However, after these disasters, all the relics of the temple and the Holy relics were carefully preserved. We are talking primarily about the face of St. Titus, as well as about the icon of Our Lady of Panagia Mesopanditissas.
In 1557 the temple was rebuilt anew, “from scratch”. He was great! In 1669, the city of Handak, which housed the temple of St. Titus, fell under the pressure of the Turks. The holy relics again had to be saved. This time they were hidden in Venice. And the temple was converted into a mosque.
In 1856, the island was again subjected to earthquake and the temple was thoroughly destroyed. The great Vizier of the empire, Ali Pasha, commissioned the construction of a new one (Geni Dzami), while preserving its old name - the temple of St. Titus. In 1922, this magnificent specimen of Christian shrine was returned to the Orthodox Church, and in 1925 it was consecrated by the Metropolitan of Crete.
The Temple of St. Titus is an architectural monument in which the elements of Ottoman art and the skillful architecture of Byzantine masters of architecture are intertwined. His style is very reminiscent of the temples of Constantinople, decorated with decorative crowns carved from stone.
In 1966, Venice returned the Holy relics - the remains of the face of St. Titus. But the Holy Icon of Our Lady "Panagia Mesaponditissas" is still not returned to the Temple, continues to remain in Venice (, Cathedral of Della Salute).
The church celebrates St. Titus on August 25 (old style), or September 7 - in a new way. He lived for 94 years and was always distinguished by meekness, love for his neighbors and mercy.
Monastery of Panagia Paliani
This Orthodox shrine is a very ancient convent. It is located about 25 km from Heraklion.
They say that the first records of it appeared much later than it was built. For the first time in the annals there is information about the monastery, dated to 632 year of our era. What is he so famous among Christians for?
At the place where the monastery was built, the world appeared the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Panagia Faneromeni. Before the construction of the monastery in these places was an impenetrable forest. Once he caught fire. People who put out the fire, in place of charred trees, found a miraculous icon. Praying the face of the Mother of God, over time, believers began to notice that the tree depicted in the icon began to sprout, gain roots. Time passed, the tree grew, the icon began to disappear in its branches.
Today, next to the Paliani monastery, built on the site of the miracle of God, a magnificent ancient myrtle tree grows, in whose branches only children can see the face of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And the branches, and bark, and leaves of the myrtle are considered healing. A copy of the icon of Panagia Faneromeni, written from the original in ancient times, is now kept in the monastery and helps pilgrims around the world.
The monastery of Panagia Paliani has been destroyed several times throughout its existence, but was restored again thanks to the work of believers and prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos.
- Iraklion 700 11, Greece
- Eparchiaki Odos Veneratou - Kiparissou
- tel. 2810 335840-7
Orthodox shrines Kaliviani Monastery
In the very south of Crete, on the coast of the Gulf of Messara, in a place under the same name, 40 km from the city of Mires is the oldest Orthodox shrine - the monastery of Kaliviani.
Today it is a convent, but during the time of Byzantium, male monks prayed and had their monastery here. On the territory of the monastery there is a temple of the miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Life-Giving Source, dated to the fourteenth century AD.
The icon of the Mother of God bearing the same name is considered the main shrine of the monastery. In the cathedral church of the monastery of Caviliani, a list of the miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary is also kept. In the icon case, there is a circuit board soaked in the world from the original icon, which is currently stored on the island of Andros.
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