« Our Last Days at the Skete…or so we thought
Posted on July 28, 2010 in 2005 Pilgrimage to the Skete of St. Anna, Mount Athos - 0 COMMENTS
“If I could only have a bowl of lentil soup”
by Rev Fr Chris Flesoras
Our morning began at 4:30AM with a cheerful wake up call from Fr. Cheroubim who celebrates his birthday on this most beautiful feast of the Church. By 4:45AM we were chanting a modified Orthros so that we could begin Liturgy by 5:30 AM. After services, which were attended by beautifully chanted by a handful of brothers, we gathered for coffee and a sweet.
During the night, winds reached over 80 mph, which meant that a boat would not visit the Skete today. Thankfully, we were able to modify our plans to accommodate our stay. Now, it’s just a matter of making plans for the day. And, from what it seems like so far, the dads will work in the kitchen and I will work on organizing some periodicals and sorting through books in Fr. Cheroubim’s library. After a tuna and feta cheese omellete in honor of the Feast, we rested for the day and made preparations to depart in the morning.
We awoke to a relatively calm sea and a light wind. Paraclesis to Saint Anna began at 6AM, potentially our last service again at the Skete. Fr. Theophilos and I chanted while Fr. Cheroubim officiated.
At the close of service, we proceeded to collect our things and to say good-bye. The two options for travel this day are the large ferry boats to Daphne and Ouranoupolis or a much smaller Chris Craft that is the property of one of the brothers. Either way, we should be on our way to Athens this evening.
We received a final blessing and embrace from Fr. Cheroubim and then began our trek down the steps with Fr. Theophilos. Once down at the port, we learned that the large boat would not come today. Fr. Theophilos was in communication with Fr. Sophronios the captain of the Chris Craft. Although the sea was calm by the Skete, conditions from Daphne the Ouranoupolis were rough at best. We waited…
Always crafty and utilitarian, Fr. Theophilos made a round of Greek coffee and found some apples and paximadia in one of the storage units at the port to enjoy with our “Power Bars”. We waited through the morning, into the afternoon, finally receiving word from Fr. Sophronios that the Port Authority would not allow crafts to travel from Daphne to Ouranopoulis.
Although the dads thought that we should simply layer our clothes and build a fire in one of the storage units to keep us warm until morning, we gathered our things for one more hike up the 2,000 steps. Although the weather and the sea was to blame, we decided as a group, including Fr. Theophilos, that my father was to blame. Earlier that morning, my father learned that we would miss lentil soup for dinner. In turn, he continually lamented the fact that he would miss one of the best meals of our visit. He had his wish…lentil soup and another evening at the Skete!
The dad’s were troopers and incredibly chipper as we trekked back up the steps, even getting a smile or laugh from Fr. Theophilos on account of their humor, I would hope unique to the Skete if not Mount Athos itself. Unlike our initial hike up to the Skete, we all made it without the assistance of a donkey (The donkey was thankful as attested through his sigh of relief). As we approached the courtyard, Fr. Cheroubim greeted us with applause an a bit of encouragement to hurry as our coffee was getting cold (this was our fifth cup for the day).
After freshening up, the dads went to work in the kitchen to assist with the lentil soup. Costa, our fellow pilgrim and I joined Fr. Cheroubim as we traveled to the house of Fr. Symeon to wish him a most blessed feast day. Fr. Symeon is one of the elders of the Skete, well into his nineties. Unfortunately, their brotherhood is uncharacteristically zealous, so much so, that they consider the other brothers of the Skete, not to mention much of the Orthodox world, in schism. Nonetheless, Fr. Cheroubim suggested that regardless of their feelings toward us, we offer our continual love and embrace them as brothers as this is how reconciliation is encouraged.
I was introduced as the newly ordained deacon from America (Fr. Symeon and his brotherhood would have had difficulty understanding how I had been a priest for so many years and had so little facial hair) as we entered the home. We proceeded to the chapel to chant a few hymns, enjoyed a rose flavored liquor and a delightful chocolate sweet in the common area, and took a few pictures of the house and of those celebrating the feast.
It’s worth noting that the monks that we encountered were not overly stoic or overtly pietistic. Instead, they were cheerful, smiling, and laughing. Fr. Cheroubim wisely noted that when one removes himself from the world, a personality and humor is a way of preserving sanity! Monks are strict, but human. As the priest monk from Canada noted, “Our lives aren’t overly glamorous or perfect, but lives in which we do our best to achieve salvation in our respective families at a monastery, Skete or house, and we remain authentically human throughout this process.”
After returning to the Skete, we proceeded to the formal dining hall, before returning to the common dining room in which we would enjoy our lentil soup…
