Meteora

Originally I was not going to go to Meteora because it was a mandatory trip for two classes, both of which I am not in, and the extra spots were already filled before I had even really considered going. But the more I heard about it, the more I wished I could go and then my lucky day came. And e-mail was sent out by our Student Services Director, Kim, saying there were two spots now open on the trip and to e-mail if interested. I jumped on the opportunity and got myself signed up. I thank my lucky stars it worked out that way, because it was an absolutely amazing trip. First, let me explain what exactly Meteora is…

A long long long time ago the land that is now called “Meteora” was covered by the sea. Because of the presence of water for so many years, the mountains that are there now have a very unique look. They are greatly stratified with different layers of sediment and have holes in the sides that sea creatures used to live in. Also, unlike the mountains most of us are used to, these mountains are very much independent of each other. They do not connect in a sort of range, but rather stand each on its own with tall, steep, and smoothed sides all around.

At first, these massive rocks were inhabited by spiritual hermits trying to find peace and quiet for the purpose of prayer and reflection. Rather to their dismay they developed certain followings and to accommodate these people, monasteries were established on the top of the rocks, built into the sides. Since then the monasteries have been beautifully maintained and are still inhabited and run by monks and nuns (never in the same monastery though). Our trip included visits to two of these monasteries as well as going to Vespers (the evening service) at a local church. We were fortunate enough to get to speak to a monk, a nun, and a priest. They were all very informative, friendly, and left us with a blessing, but my favorite by far was our encounter with the priest.

He did not speak any English so everything had to be translated for us, but his first comments to us were about how although in the old days people who were not baptized Orthodox had to remain in the Narthex, he believes that we are all God’s children and who is he to say who is and is not welcome in God’s house, thus inviting us to the upcoming service. When he asked about where we were from and heard America he made a short comment about it, one that all of us, with the little Greek we know, could actually understand so we all laughed. He was quite taken aback by our response and gave a hearty laugh at our reaction. During the service, while the Orthodox (and myself as I found it the most comfortable based on my own upbringing in regards to visiting others churches) stand during the entire service, most of the students in our group chose to sit and the priest very discreetly motioned for them to stand during the incense portion of the service and then signaled to them when they could sit down again. He later explained why he found that portion of the service important for them to stand and was very gracious about the whole thing. Vibrant and passionate in the way he spoke, what he said was surprisingly open-minded for an Orthodox priest, especially of his age and it was a greatly refreshing experience. I know that not quite everything he was saying was getting translated to me because he went into great theological discussion and used many flowery words that became difficult for my professors to translate, but for me the importance of what he was saying was the way he was saying it. Always warm and welcoming and looking to educate not reprimand us in response to our lack of knowledge about the church. This was by far my favorite experience during the entire trip to Meteora and it alone made the whole trip worthwhile. Of course there were great views, interesting facts, and good company that also made the trip extremely enjoyable, but this was the icing on the cake.