Pilgrimage On The Holy Mount Athos
A DAY OF PILGRIMAGE ON THE HOLY MOUNT ATHOS IN GREECE
I woke to the sound of a wooden semantron being beaten with a mallet, it was three in the morning and I was in a small dormitory in a Greek Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos. This was the call to prayer and as a pilgrim, I quickly dressed in warm clothes, as it was chilly before dawn, and made my way silently to the large church where the service of Orthros was soon to begin. As I left my room and entered the great cloister all was dark and silent, only moonlight guided my path. Historically this main service is held in the quietest time of the night as the monks then feel closer to God.
At the door of the church hung a great thick curtain, more like a rug or carpet. I moved it aside and it was just as dark on the other side. As my eyes became accustomed to the darkness, I could make out a faint glow and this guided me onwards. I knew that as a non-Orthodox Christian I was not allowed into the inner nave but could hear and join the service from the narthex to the rear. I took my place in one of the rows of stacidia or chairs and lowered the seat so I could sit before the service began. The light turned out to be coming from a small lamp fuelled with olive oil and soon a monk began with a general blessing and then a reading of one or more of the psalms. As he read so dark shapes appeared from left and right and moved slowly and silently in different directions. This was rather ghostly, but I later learnt that these were monks in their black flowing cassocks joining the service, and as they arrive they venerate or kiss, the icons and holy relics which are all around the church.
As the liturgy progressed so the numbers of monks and pilgrims grew, many candles were lit in massive candelabra and the volume of chanting and singing rose. It was very pleasant and restful, so much so that some of the older monks were dozing away and failed to stand at the appropriate times. This service is the last of the four-night offices or services, which also include vespers, compline, and midnight office. It begins at three and continues until dawn at about seven o’clock. This four-hour service is generally extended on Saint’s days and Sundays.
On leaving the church at the end of the service the monks and many pilgrims move to the refectory or trapeza where the main meal of the day is being served. This will be a substantial vegetarian meal. The table will be laid with mounds of fresh bread, salad, fruit and bottles of olive oil and vinegar. The platters of hot food soon arrive. There is water on the table as well as wine, though wine is not served on a fasting day. Feast days, on the other hand, see fish, octopus and even snails served as a treat. For those pilgrims who fail to get up for the service and wander down for breakfast, it is always a bit of a shock for them to find snails and wine on the table where they had ideas of eggs, bacon, toast and coffee.
After breakfast, the monks move off to their allotted tasks. Some may sit down to paint Icons, others will take to the fields as they aim to cultivate all their produce, while a few return to the kitchen to prepare the next meal. There may be fifty monks with an equal number of pilgrims. There are many mouths to feed.
Everyone comes together again for Vespers at about five in the afternoon. Unlike the Anglican church, there is some flexibility over the arrival time for services, but it is expected that one arrives before the censor comes around with his incense. Vespers is a relatively short service and as it ends everyone troops into the trapeza for the evening meal. This is eaten in strict silence as the duty monk reads from the book of the saints. When he shuts the book the meal ends, a bell is rung, and a prayer is said as thanks for the meal. As we leave the cooks are there to be acknowledged and the bell is ringing to call us to Compline the last service of the day. This too is a short service and when it is over everyone returns to their cells or dormitories, and movement in the cloisters is discouraged. As the sun sets the great wooden doors of the monastery are closed in a tradition that goes back a thousand years which was then to keep out any marauding Saracens. Exactly at sunset, which could be six or seven o’clock, the clocks are set to midnight as the monastery runs on Byzantine time. For the pilgrims whose watches are on European time, this can be confusing. It means that getting up at three in the morning is actually eight or nine o’clock monastery time which is why the “breakfast” served at twelve midday is a lunch meal rather than a breakfast! As I retire to write my diary, I dig out my bottle of ouzo and pour myself a generous helping, add the tap water, which is surprisingly cold, and settle down for the night..
Alun Davies