Today we left Delphi and visited the city of Meteora. This city was unlike anyplace we’ve visited on this trip. The mountains did not have wide bases extending to high peaks. The mountains themselves appeared to be giant boulders. They were large, deep gray, and magnificent. Basically, no matter how much I try to describe them I cannot do them justice. They are the type of mountains that make you look upwards in reverence. While looking at them it’s easy to see God’s hand in creation.
I’m not the only one who thinks this place is showered with God’s presence. For centuries this place has been a spot of worship; a site where monks and nuns go to devote their lives to God. We had the opportunity to visit two of these Greek Orthodox sites.
The monastery we visited was dedicated to all the saints. In order to be respectful, the girls had to tie on skirts before entering the site. The chapel was small but quite ornate. The walls were decorated with frescos that depicted the stories of Jesus, Mary, and the saints. Since the church is Greek Orthodox, everything in the frescos had meaning. Even the colors on the clothing. Jesus was typically depicted wearing red underneath and blue on top. Red represents the divine life, while the blue represents human life. Gold represents the kingdom og God. The disciples wore blue underneath, and red on top meaning that they were men who ascended to divine life.
After the chapel we saw a room that had a large barrel that stored all the wine they used. I can’t remember how many gallons it held, but it almost filled the entire room. That is a lot of wine! We also got to see the spot where people used to get into the monastery. The steps we used were relatively new. Before the steps people used to ascend in a rope basket. That is what I call dedication.
The second site we visited was a nunnery dedicated to St. Stephen. Like the last monastery, this one was Greek Orthodox. There were also frescos on the walls of this chapel. Many of them were gruesome scenes of martyr’s deaths. These frescos were relatively new, created within the last decade or so. This might sound strange, but it was kind of refreshing to see something new. I found it comforting that beautiful works of art are still being put in chapels.
As an American Protestant, I am not used to seeing frescos or mosaics in church. At one point in my life I even believed that such icons were “evil” because people worshiped them. I have since changed my views on this topic. The Greek Orthodox church puts pictures and icons in churches not to worship the icons, but to have the icons aid in worship. Images of Christ and the saints remind people to look towards God for inspiration. It saddens me that many Protestant churches do not teach on the lives of the saints. We know that the witness of Christ is true partially because of their lives. The disciples and saints would not have died if Jesus was still rotting in his tomb. They firmly believed in the resurrected Christ, and this should be a source of comfort to all Christians.