Igoumenitsa-Kerkyra

(Written on February 3, 2015)

Last weekend we had a long weekend because we had Friday off (January 30), in honor of the Three Hierarchs, the patron saints of Greek Letters (St. Basil, St. Gregory the Theologian, St. John Chrysostom). I.e., this was an academic holiday that the rest of the world had to work on.

I decided to use the extra day off to travel. After class on Thursday I packed my backpack and took a taxi to the KTEL (bus station), because the city bus that goes there wasn’t coming for a while and I was running late. I got there right on time to buy a ticket and get on the bus to Igoumenitsa before it left at 3:00 pm. Igoumenitsa is a city on the western coast of Greece, across from the island of Kerkyra/Corfu. If you remember, I had met three priest-monks on the plane from Boston to Istanbul (I mentioned them in this blog post: http://www.superman-oli.blogspot.gr/2014/11/greece-2014-so-far-november-14.html).

This is me with the three fathers and their friend in the Istanbul airport during our layover - September 30, 2014.

They are from a monastery in the mountains outside Igoumenitsa. It is called Μονή Γηρομερίου (Geromeriou Monastery – website: http://monigiromeriou.gr/en/index.htm), and it is named after the village of Γηρομέρη (Geromeri), which is the closest village, about five minutes down the mountain. The monastery is about a half hour drive from the small city of Igoumenitsa.

I had been in touch with the abbot and gotten his blessing to go. The bus arrived a little before 7:00 pm. The abbot picked me up from the bus station there, and drove me to the monastery. That night we did a vigil for the Three Hierarchs. There are only three fathers there – Fr. Methodios (the abbot), Fr. Alexios and Fr. Seraphim – all of whom are hieromonks (monks who have been ordained priests). Thus, only one of them serves each service, while the other two chant and make sure everything is orderly in church.

Fr. Seraphim served that night. I chanted with Gheronda Methodios for most of the vigil, along with some other guys from the surrounding villages. Gheronda put me “in the chair” (i.e. to lead) after the Gospel. They had limited music books so I chanted the Cherubic Hymn in Fourth mode (Ἅγια) by Theodore Phokaeus. Gheronda held ison for me, which was really nice, and helped me stay on key and chant well. The rest of the Liturgy I did by heart (i.e. “made it up” in fourth mode), the “original” Ἄξιόν ἐστιν (It is truly right) in second mode, and then something from the Simonopetra Psalter book (Ψαλτήριον Τερπνόν) for the Communion Hymn – I don’t remember what.

The vigil was really nice. It’s not often that I get to be the protopsaltis (lead chanter) for the Divine Liturgy. And when I do, there are not usually people around me to hold ison and keep me on pitch, so I often have trouble because the Liturgy is actually the hardest thing for me to chant in the daily cycle of services – I can usually do Vespers or Orthros reasonably well, but I have trouble with Liturgy. I’ve blogged about that before. It’s something I need to work on. But that night was nice. It was a Cherubic Hymn that I knew; Gheronda holding ison really helped; and Fr. Seraphim also knows music well so he kept us in the mode too – it’s always nice to have a priest who knows music and can stay on key! J

On Friday morning the abbot was giving a talk at one of the schools in Igoumenitsa, in honor of the Three Hierarchs. I left with him a little before 9:00 am, and he dropped me off at the port of Igoumenitsa where I caught the 9:30 ferry to KERKYRA!! I had been wanting to go to Kerkyra for a long time to venerate St. Spyridon (my middle name), and because one of our ancestors on my dad’s side is from there. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera to Kerkyra so I have no pictures from that. Oh well, it’s an excuse to go back! J

The ferry ride to Kerkyra was about one hour and 45 minutes, very calm (it started to rain a little bit as we got closer), and very few people on board. It was very comfortable and relaxing. When I got there I asked for directions and found my way to the church where St. Spyridon’s incorrupt relic is. I was so thankful to God and to St. Spyridon for finally getting to go there, somewhere I’ve been wanting to go pretty much all my life. It was really such a huge blessing! I met Deacon Jason who was standing at the foot of the reliquary keeping watch while people venerated. He actually asked me to help him close the lid of the reliquary when all the people were done venerating, which is considered a huge blessing for the local people to get to do that. I actually had the blessing to help close it three times, because people kept coming in and he re-opened it twice more for them. I then got his email so I can keep in touch with him. He gave me some pieces of the slippers of St. Spyridon, as well as oil from his vigil lamp (for those of you who don’t know, St. Spyridon is a “walking saint,” and his slippers wear out because he “walks” and visits people who need his assistance. They change his slippers every year and cut up the old slippers to give them to people as blessings).

I went down to the port and caught the 1:00 pm ferry back to Igoumenitsa. I recognized one of the ticket inspectors from the previous boat ride. He looked at me for a split second like I was crazy – I guess he remembered that I had just come there and was confused why I was going back so soon.

The ferry back was exactly the opposite – full of people, and a storm had just started so it was very turbulent. It took between 2 and 2½ hours to get back, that’s how bad the sea was. I don’t get sick very easily, thank God. I was in touch with Gheronda who picked me up from the port and took me back to the monastery. That storm raged for the next two days. I was thankful to be safe inside the monastery where everything was close and we weren’t near any bodies of water.

Some pictures from inside the monastery during the rain those days. This is looking from the main church to the cemetery (see the photos below).

The outside of the main church.

The inside of the main church.

Outside the monastery, looking at the entrance.

Looking at the altar area of the main church.

Up those stairs is the wing where the fathers live.

Friday night I had sea legs from being on the boat, and hearing the rain and wind outside made me feel like I was still on the boat!

By the way, the mountains around the monastery are the Misty Mountains (whoever has read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings will get the reference). That was something I was constantly reminded of throughout my stay at the monastery. Just look at the following picture. It doesn't do it justice, though. You had to be there!

Saturday morning we had Liturgy at the monastery – it was just the three fathers and me. Fr. Alexios put me to read the Midnight Office – psalms that I’ve never read in Greek – and the First Hour – psalms I’ve only read in Greek a few times. It made me realize my real poverty in reading Greek quickly. They read very quickly at the monastery, and with me reading those things we finished twenty minutes later than usual! It was good for humility. I chanted Liturgy in plagal fourth mode (the mode of the week that we were finishing), which went ok. I did the Cherubic Hymn by Phokaeus in plagal fourth which I have not learned, so I wasn’t as confident as I was at the vigil. Oh well.

After Liturgy I sat in the kitchen with the fathers and a four-member family who came to confess. I stayed there for a few hours and talked to the three who were not confessing. The parents had lived in Boston for a number of years, and we talked about that, among other things. Their first son was actually born in Boston. The rest of the day on Saturday I walked around the monastery (in the rain) to see the things I hadn’t seen yet, like the cemetery chapel.

Looking into the tiny cemetery chapel

The cemetery chapel is so small it's basically an Altar area. The bones of the previous fathers are kept under the Altar table. There is Liturgy there once a year, on the Saturday of Souls before Pentecost, because the weather is usually good and only the priest stands inside the chapel - the people have to stand outside because it's so small.

The door to the cemetery chapel is on the right, and two empty tombs on the left.

I also saw the tomb of St. Nilus the Sanctified, the founder of the monastery, whose tomb is under a giant rock outside the gates of the monastery. They hope to exhume him this summer if possible, and make his tomb into a cave/catacomb/pilgrimage place, while putting his relics in the monastery – if I understood correctly.

From what I understood, the tomb is under the giant boulder. There used to be a chapel on top, right where I was standing, and there was dirt in the now-gap. They removed the chapel and dug around the rock, to get down to the tomb. They hope to prop up the rock and exhume the saint, and then put the rock back where it was, and make a subterranean pilgrimage spot out of the empty tomb, replacing the dirt and the chapel on top... something like that. I could have gotten some of the facts wrong.

On Sunday Gheronda went to one of the villages for a memorial service. Fr. Alexios liturgized and I chanted with Fr. Seraphim. It was nice. I ate lunch with the fathers a bit later, and then Fr. Seraphim (who is the cook) packed me up a “goody bag” for the road. Gheronda took me down to Igoumenitsa to catch the bus at 2:30. It was then that we saw the aftermath of the storm that was just letting up that day. Many low roads next to the river were flooded, and the water was rising because of the water coming down from the mountains. I felt bad for the people that it affected.

Stop sign in the water - that's how high it was.

Look at that car going through the water. That's also what we looked like from the front.

It was cloudy for almost the entire bus ride back, until we got pretty close to Thessaloniki when it cleared up, but by then the sun had set. When I got back I took a taxi home, and then went to a vigil at St. Haralambos for the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Ὑπαπαντή). It was nice. Anya (whom I mentioned in the Christmas blog) once told me that she likes the Presentation because there are a lot of things in first mode (Lord, I have cried/Κύριε ἐκέκραξα, and the Apolytikion and Kontakion as well). When I told that to another musical friend, he retorted, “Are you kidding?! Ypapanti is the Feast of Γα!” (Fa in the western scale), because the Canon of the Feast is in third mode (the ninth ode megalynaria are awesome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1r6Yo4Xxrw), and the Aposticha at Vespers are in Varys, which is also based on Γα. First and third modes are both awesome, so I really enjoyed the vigil J

This entire trip happened because Lufthansa was on strike, I got put on Turkish airlines, and I met the fathers on the plane. Otherwise I certainly would not have gone to Igoumenitsa and probably not Kerkyra either!

Glory to God!

Blessed Triodion!