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Reflections from the back of the bus - Kalambaka
24th June, 2009 - Posted by Ursula Stephens -
It’s Monday and we are back in the bus heading north , following the ancient trade route in the footsteps of St Paul.
We have several hours of travel to cover the distance to our next stop, up through the mountains and then down and across the rolling plains towards the town of Kalambaka.
As the bus climbs away from the coast the landscape changes and starts to look more familiar. We can see why many Greek migrants would feel at home in regional Australia.
The temperature is milder too - the thermometer in the bus is showing about 26C and there are cloudy skies.
As we head off Archbishop Mark leads us in the Morning Prayers from our journal encouraging us to offer all our intentions to the Virgin Mary.
Neil has been monitoring the blog site to ensure we are aware of any special intentions we are being asked to pray for- and so be certain that if you ask us we will certainly do that, knowing that so many at home are praying for us.
James our guide is fantastic. He gives us a running commentary for hours about the ancient civilisations that have inhabited this region. Great stories about the Spartan wars, athletecism, romance, religion, death and dishonour.
Arcbishop Mark then links the stories to the perennial tensions between divine law and human law - subversive in its purpose.
We’re heading to an extraordinary region of Meteora ( look it up!) where over 600 years ago Byzantine monks moved to establish their monastic community.
Archbishop Mark explains the emergence of Monastic movement : St Anthony of Egypt fleeing not from persecution but from complacency and to a more spiritual life. The Rule of St Benedict which outlines the principles for living and practices of the Benedictine monasteries is considered the most significant text within western christian churches after the bible.
We’re all happy to sit and listen to these two masterful story tellers as the bus rumbles along. Around midday we say the Angelus and then the Rosary.
Lunch along the way was scrumptious traditional Greek food - none of us is starving, believe me! Bob has set up his laptop so we can check out the blogsite which is great! Thanks for your messages of encouragement please keep sending them.
We arrive in Kalambaka mid afternoon and James our guide has a special treat for us. We are visiting a icon workshop where a Greek priest is producing such masterful and significant icons that he has even had one commissioned by Pope Benedict.
This is a stunning place of living history. The study of iconography is fascinating. There are very strict rules about how images can be produced, and in this workshop, the traditional production methods and painting techniques are painstakingly slow and precise.
I can report that the visa card machine ran out of paper at one stage and we’re doing our bit for the Greek economy.
We have one last stop today - a slight change of plan - we’re driving right into Kalambacka to visit a 3rd century Byzantine church dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin - the Assumption.
We leave the bus and walk the the last 500m to the church - such a tough walk uphill on uneven ground - there are a few cracking knees and most of us are puffed!
But again, it’s worth it. The church, high above the town and in the shadow of the monastry cliffs nestles at the end of a road.
When we think how far we’ve travelled today we can only imagine St Paul undertaking these journeys on foot.
We shouldn’t be complaining but we decide that our 4600 steps today have had a degree of difficulty of 2.5 and represent another 10000 steps in the footsteps of St Paul.
We have Mass together at the hotel and everyone is ready for an early night.
We’re well and happy and thinking of you all at the end of the first week of our pilgrimage.
Tags: Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, footsteps of saint paul, pilgrimage, Sights and Sounds, st paul, Ursula Stephens
Posted on: June 24, 2009
Filed under: Reflections from the Back of the Bus
1 Comment
Denis Matthews
June 26th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Thank you Ursula for all your communications. I note you have been exploring the development of monasticism. The Benedictine rule became so widespread in Western Europe for so long with reforms of reforms that we tend to overlook the more “primitive” earlier forms, not just in the East but in the Celtic world as well. A false assumption that is widely made is that all monks were priests but many did not enter into Holy Orders at all. It is so refreshing to see that the group includes two ordained deacons. Best wishes.
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