Holy places of Greece. Saints of Greece Greek Orthodox Saints

GREECE is a special world that will fill you with unforgettable impressions. An unnaturally bright and pure light is scattered over the mountains and reflected on the coasts and islands. The clean and fresh air is filled with the scent of countless wild flowers. In Greece you will always find more than you expect. There is a good reason for this.

Every corner seems to hide a secret treasure - magnificent ruins that remind you of the glories of times gone by, shops full of attractive folk items, beaches lined with bungalows, an endless sapphire sea or... a roadside tavern inviting you to relax with a drink. guilt. This combination of antiquity and modernity introduces the visitor into a state between reality and illusion until he reconciles in his soul the long History of Greece with its living present.
Between the dizzying, rapidly rising mountains stretch green valleys, decorated with crystal lakes and blue lagoons of the sea. Countless peninsulas, bays, coastal depressions. And, of course, countless wonderful islands. Yes, this is indeed a country of islands, not similar to each other, but connected in a beautiful mosaic, surrounded by a blue sea, the waters of which surround almost 50,000 square meters. miles Greece. At all times of the year, the water temperature is moderate, and the constant rays of the sun give everything a brilliant shine. When thinking about Greece, there is no need to worry about its climate - it is typical Mediterranean: spring, summer and autumn merge into one warm and sunny season.
About 10 million people live in Greece. The people here are joyful, hospitable, humorous, perhaps unpredictable, but full of infectious enthusiasm. It's hard to find a boring or angry Greek.
From the very beginning of Greece, some 7,000 years ago, its strong people set out to prove that they were special, capable of completely controlling their own destiny. It has remained the same to this day... The borders may have changed, and the people themselves have been subjected to severe trials throughout their history, but this is precisely what turned them into a single nation.
In addition to magnificent landscapes, history, unique islands, brilliant sunshine and blue seas, Greece also offers modern, high-quality living and recreational conditions in all corners of the country. This is why Greece is becoming one of the most beloved tourist countries in Europe and the Middle East. Almost all hotels are new and equipped with the most modern equipment that promotes a good mood.
Traveling by ship, train, plane or car is not tiring and comfortable. Yachts and ships for cruises will offer you about 85 sea stations and small harbors on islands and coasts. The ideal way to see Greece and experience the true soul of the Greeks is by car or bus, combined with a boat cruise.
The charm of Greece affects you the moment you set foot on its soil. And by combining your free time with well-planned sightseeing, you will discover that Greece is a country unique, mysterious and full of varied experiences, the memories of which will never leave you.

TOURIST REMINDER

Greece is located in the Eastern Mediterranean, at the junction of 3 continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. It borders on Albania in the north-west, the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria in the north, and Turkey in the east. Greece is washed by 3 seas: from the west – the Ionian, from the east – the Aegean, and from the south – the Mediterranean.
The country's area is 132,000 square meters. km, and the population, according to the last census conducted in 2000, is 11 million people. Of these, 95% are Greek.
Greece consists of mainland and islands. Greece owns more than 2,500 islands, the largest of which are the island of Crete, Euboea (Greek: Evia), Chios, Corfu (Greek: Kerkyra), Lezbos (Greek: Lesvos), Rhodes, etc. Most of the islands are uninhabited.
The entire territory of the country is divided into 52 administrative districts (Greek: nomos), which, in turn, are divided into dioceses. As a rule, the name of a particular administrative district is the name of the largest city or capital of a given nome. It should be noted that all historical names of the regions were preserved, such as: Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly, Sterea, Peloponnese, etc.
The capital of the country is the legendary city of Athens with a population of about 5 million people. Other large cities are Thessaloniki (Greek: Thessaloniki), Patras, Volos, Heraklion, Larissa, etc.
Greece is a predominantly mountainous country. Its highest peak, Mytikas (2917 m), belongs to the Olympus mountain range (Greek: Olymbos).
Modern Greece is one of the world's largest tourist centers. This is understandable: the country is washed by seas on 3 sides and receives about 11 million tourists on its coast every year - almost as many as its indigenous population. There are few industrial enterprises here. But agriculture here is very well developed, which is facilitated, first of all, by the favorable climate. About 20% of the population is employed in agriculture. The main agricultural products include: tobacco, cotton, olives, vegetables and fruits. Time in Greece is 1 hour behind Moscow.
Religion
The official and most widespread religion in Greece is Orthodox Christianity, adhered to by almost 98% of believers. The church in the country is not separated from the state. The Greek Orthodox Church is autocephalous, its head is the archbishop, whose residence is in Athens. At the same time, the Orthodox churches of the monastic republic on Mount Athos, as well as the churches of the Dodecanese Islands and Crete, report directly to the Ecumenical Patriarch, whose residence is in Constantinople (Istanbul).
According to the country's constitution, citizens are granted freedom of conscience. Thus, the few inhabitants of some islands of the Aegean Sea, which once belonged to the Venetian Republic, profess Catholicism. Small groups of Muslims live in Thrace and on the island of Rhodes.
Language
The official language is Modern Greek, which developed on the basis of Ancient Greek. The language of the ancient Greeks had a great influence on world culture and is one of the oldest languages ​​in the world (its written monuments date back to the 8th century BC).
The impact of the ancient Greek language on Slavic languages ​​(including Russian) is difficult to overestimate. It is very noticeable in the graphics of a number of languages, and in phonetics, and in vocabulary, and in syntax.
English and German are the accepted languages ​​for communicating with tourists. There are many people from the former Soviet Union living in Greece, so in many places you can hear Russian speech.
Climate
Greece is part of the Mediterranean climate zone; In summer there is almost no rain, while in winter there are downpours and winds. In general, the Greek climate allows you to relax here at any time of the year and in any state of health, if you plan your vacation correctly. Winter in Greece begins when the air temperature drops to 6 degrees Celsius, but this temperature lasts no more than 2 weeks. On average, the air temperature in winter is 12 degrees Celsius. The coldest month is February. Snow falls very rarely in winter, and it lasts no more than 3 days. However, the mountain tops are almost always covered with snow. As you know, in coastal cities, thanks to the sea, the climate is milder. On hot summer days and nights along the coast you can enjoy pleasant fresh air.

Money
The common European currency, the euro, is used throughout Greece. Many large and small businesses accept credit cards, such as: Visa, Diners, Mastercard, American Express, etc.
Currency can be exchanged at banks, exchange offices or hotels. When leaving Greece, the remaining euros can be exchanged for any convertible currency.
About the history of Greece
The geographical location of Greece to some extent determined its historical and cultural development. The proximity to the regions where ancient civilizations originated made it possible for the Greeks to enter into close cultural contacts with them. In the V-IV centuries BC. e. Ancient Greek civilization reached its apogee. It is no coincidence that this period of history is called classical. However, the geographical factor also forced the Greeks to repeatedly defend their independence.
For the first time, Greek city-states lost their independence as a result of the victorious campaign of the Macedonian kings Philip II and his son Alexander the Great. This was followed by a Roman invasion in the mid-2nd century. BC.
Until 1453, the Greeks were part of the Eastern Roman Empire, later called the Byzantine Empire. In 1453, the tragic 450-year history of Turkish rule for the Greeks began. At the beginning of the 19th century. under the influence of the French bourgeois revolution, a national liberation movement arose. The result of a long and bloody struggle was the proclamation of an independent Greek state in 1834.
The history of the 20th century is full of bloody events. The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), as a result of which northern Greece was liberated from the Turkish yoke. The First World War did not spare Greece either. Since 1917, the Greeks took part in hostilities on the side of the Entente. The country was among the winners, and thanks to this fact, Western and Eastern Thrace, the islands of Imvros and Tenedos were annexed to Greece, and the Greek government received the right to govern the city of Smyrni (a Greek city on the west coast of modern Turkey) and its suburbs. In this regard, in 1919, a revolution began in Turkey under the leadership of Kemal Mustafa with the goal of overthrowing the Sultan and annuling the results of the agreements. In order to defend its lands, the Greek government declared war on Turkey in 1919. The Greeks lost this war, and in order to avoid further bloodshed, it was decided to exchange the populations of Greece and Turkey, that is, Turks from Greece had to move to Turkey, and Greeks from Turkey to Greece. This event went down in history under the name “Asian Minor catastrophe.”
Next comes World War 2: 1941-1944. the country was occupied by German, Italian and Bulgarian fascists, civil war 1946-1949. , military dictatorship 1967-1974
Until 1973, Greece was a constitutional monarchy. The last king, Constantine II, was exiled and currently lives in London.
Since 1981, Greece has been a full member of the European Union.
Political system
Greece is a parliamentary republic with a presidential form of government. The head of state - the president (currently Kostis Stephanopoulos) is elected by parliament for a term of 5 years.
Legislative power is exercised by a unicameral parliament of 300 deputies, who are elected for 4 years. The party that wins the elections is the ruling party. The government is headed by the Prime Minister (currently Kostas Simitis), who is also the chairman of the ruling party (PASOK). Elections take place every four years; A citizen receives the right to vote upon reaching the age of majority (18 years).
Executive power in cities is exercised by the "dimarchio" (mayor's office), and in the villages by the "kinotita" (village council).
There are many political parties of different directions in Greece. The largest of them are: PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) and NEA DIMOCRATIA (New Democracy) - a right-wing party. It should be noted that the Greeks are keenly interested in politics, they can discuss pressing issues for hours, and also fanatically defend their political beliefs. It is rare to meet a person who does not belong to any party. Moreover, if you take into account that the Greeks are very emotional people, then you will be presented with a picture of loudly speaking people waving their arms and vigorously proving to each other the correctness of their beliefs.
Greek cuisine
Greece is a southern country, so vegetables, fruits, and a variety of greens are available here all year round. Almost everything, with a few exceptions, is cooked in olive oil. National cuisine, characterized by a wide variety of dishes, is popular in many European countries. Fish occupies a large place in the Greek diet. Meat and vegetables are usually stewed by adding seasonings - onions, garlic, pepper, mint, parsley, wine vinegar, etc. Among meat dishes, the Greeks prefer lamb or pork shish kebab (souvlaki) or other meat dishes cooked on a spit or on coals. Greece is famous for its confectionery products.
Please note: first courses (soups, broths) are not very popular here. Apparently the hot climate has an effect. However, in some taverns you can order broth or puree soup. Bean soup-fasolada is considered the cheapest and most common. A popular lentil stew is fakes. The Greeks enjoy eating rice soup in chicken broth with beaten egg and lemon juice - kotosoupa me avgolemono. We also recommend that you try the beef vrasto soup.
The Greeks do not like tea either, considering it a medicine that has a good effect on colds. The traditional hot drink of the Greeks is strong aromatic oriental coffee. Coffee is prepared without additives; it is customary to drink it in small sips, washed down with cold water. You can order “vari glyco” coffee – strong and sweet; “matrio” – less strong, with less sugar; “sketo” – medium strength, no sugar.
In Greece, you can expect a huge variety of dishes from fish and other sea creatures: squid, shrimp, crabs, mussels, lobsters, oysters, etc. Fried or baked fish is served with a delicious sauce made from olive oil and lemon juice. According to Greek customs, a tavern visitor has the right to enter the kitchen and choose fish or other product, which will then be prepared for him exactly as he wishes. Seafood is usually prepared on a special scale in special fish taverns - psarotaverna, most of which are located on the sea coast.
Wherever you are, look around, and we are sure that some snack bar, kebab shop, pastry shop, coffee shop, cafe, bar or tavern will certainly appear in front of you. It seems that all of Greece is lined with tables, and the owners are waiting with open arms for you so that you can appreciate their skill. Visiting a tavern in the evening, and even more so on weekends, with friends or relatives is a favorite pastime for Greeks. Typically, taverns have a relaxed atmosphere. Here they drink beer or light wine, most often the famous retsina (wine aged in tar barrels), which can be diluted with Coca-Cola, and, of course, Greek aniseed vodka.
Restaurant opening hours: from 12:00 to 16:00 and from 20:00 to midnight; some restaurants are open until 2:00 am.
Holidays
In Greece, both religious and public holidays are celebrated, the most significant of which are declared non-working days. These are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Dormition of the Virgin Mary, St. Demetrius's Day, Holy Trinity Day, Greek Independence Day, Ohi Day - the day of the official renunciation of alliance with the Nazis, etc. In Greece, all religious holidays are celebrated in the new style. For example, Christmas in Greece is celebrated on December 25, and in Russia 13 days later - on January 7. Although, it should be said that in some cities in Greece there are churches that adhere to the old style. Each city celebrates the day of its patron saint. For example, in Thessaloniki it is St. Demetrius's Day (October 26).
Official holidays in Greece are:
January 1 – New Year
January 6 – Epiphany (Epiphany)
Clean Monday is the first day of Lent after Maslenitsa.
March 25 is Independence Day, the biggest national holiday. On this day in 1821, the national liberation struggle against the Ottoman yoke began.
Easter, Holy Resurrection of Christ. Easter Monday is a non-working day.
May 1 – May Day, workers' holiday. Also celebrated as the Flower Festival.
May 9 – Mother's Day.
Holy Spirit Day
Feast of Pentecost (50th day after Easter)
August 15 – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
October 28 is Okha Day, a national holiday. On this day in 1940, the Greek people answered with a decisive “no” to the ultimatum of fascist Italy, which demanded that it be given several strategic points on Greek territory.
December 25 – Christmas.
December 26 – Christmastide (first day)
What kind of Greeks are they?
Many people strive to visit the country that was destined to become the cradle of European civilization. And only being in the “land of heroes and gods” (A.S. Pushkin) can you feel the full depth of the art of Ancient Hellas. It is connected, first of all, with nature, in which there is nothing excessive or overwhelming, as well as with the character of the people, with modern Greeks, no matter how different they are from their distant ancestors.
What kind of people are these Greeks? The Greeks stand out among Europeans for their serene and philosophical attitude to life. Men are loving and are also European champions in longevity. Greeks look at themselves and everything around them simply and with pleasure. The country has a fairly low crime rate, which promotes a healthy attitude towards life.
The Greeks, despite the large number of churches and monasteries, are a moderately religious people. Almost everyone attends church, but a significant proportion only attends Christmas and Easter.
The Greeks are proud of everything connected with their centuries-old history. They do not demolish monuments, do not curse their past, but always and in everything feel like descendants of the ancient Hellenes.
They love and know how to have fun. They like to be in public, outdoors, in the fresh air, which is facilitated by the country's climate. The Greeks are firmly convinced that the most important thing in life is not work, but pleasure. Therefore, nowhere in Europe are there so many festivals, holidays and weekends. And in terms of the number of restaurants, taverns, bars, discos, and kebab houses, it is difficult to find equals.
The Greeks cannot deny themselves one more pleasure - the siesta: rest in the middle of the day (from 14.00 to 17.00). During these hours, cities die out, shops close. The Greeks have lunch and take an afternoon nap. And from 9.00 pm the nightlife begins, which is very diverse here. People pour out into the streets and fill taverns, bars and discos and, of course, the bouzouki (an entertainment center where live Greek music is played) and this can last until 3-4 o'clock in the morning.
Numerous and varied folk dances ("sirtaki", "kalamatianos", "kochari", etc.) well express the national character. There is probably no Greek who does not know how to dance, and he does it with visible pleasure. With all this, strong alcohol intoxication is not only an optional element, but also extremely rare.
It is easy to maintain good relations with the Greeks: you just need to follow generally accepted rules of behavior. When visiting temples and monasteries, you should respect the religious feelings of people and follow accepted norms.
A prerequisite for visiting many churches and monasteries is modest clothing with covered shoulders. Shorts, miniskirts and trousers on women in such cases are unacceptable. However, women are not required to cover their heads. In some monasteries, tourists are given special skirts, trousers or robes during their visit.

CORFU ISLAND (KERKIRA)

Corfu (in Greek "Kerkyra") is the largest of the islands of the Ionian Sea. It was originally inhabited by Eritrians, then became a Corinthian colony, and in 229 BC it was captured by the Romans. The first of the Christian missionaries to come here were the holy apostles Jason and Sosipater - two of the seventy sent by the Lord to preach the Gospel. According to some sources, they arrived in Corfu in 37. If this is so, then of all the regions of modern Greece, Corfu was the first to accept Christianity.
Due to the proximity of the island to Italy and Albania, Corfu often changed owners: Goths, Lombards, Saracens, Normans. In 1204 the island was annexed to the Greek province of Epirus, but fifty years later it was again in the hands of the Sicilians. A decade later, the Neapolitans took possession of the island, and from 1401 to 1797 it was ruled by the Venetians. In 1797, Corfu became a French protectorate; a few years later, the French were ousted by a joint Russian-Turkish fleet, but they demanded that Corfu be returned to them as part of the Napoleonic Empire. After Napoleon's defeat, the island came under British protectorate. The Greeks never captured Corfu: the British “ceded it” to them in 1864.
The inhabitants of the island love Russians very much. This is due to the presence of the Russian navy here under the leadership of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov. Today the monument to the admiral is one of the main attractions of Corfu.

Saint Spyridon of Trimifuntsky

Nowadays, Corfu is well known to Orthodox Christians as the resting place of the relics of the island's patron saint, St. Spyridon of Trimythous, a 4th-century Cypriot bishop, the holy Empress Theodora of Constantinople, who banned iconoclasm, and saints Jason and Sosipater, two of the seventy apostles of the Lord sent by Him. to preach the Gospel. Their relics still rest here, in a 12th-century Byzantine temple named after these two saints, who are revered as the enlighteners of Corfu.
The Lives of the Saints describes the life of Saint Spyridon not on the island of Corfu, with which many associate his name, but in Cyprus, where he lived and died. The saint was born in the middle of the 3rd century - during years that were especially difficult for the Church: during times of severe persecution under the Roman emperors Valerian, Galinius and Maximilian. As a child, he was a shepherd and received almost no education, but his natural intelligence and the grace of God that reigned in his soul developed in him a wisdom before which the greatest orators of that era were lost.
The gentleness and personal charm of the young man Spiridon won him the love of his neighbors, and at an older age his innate virtues, under the influence of God's grace, grew into generosity and nobility of soul, not clouded by a bit of selfishness. Saint Spyridon married early. From this marriage a daughter, Irina, was born, whom he himself baptized. A few years later, his wife died, and Saint Spyridon, leaving his daughter in the care of the church community, accepted monasticism. Local residents and clergy loved him so much that after the death of Bishop Trimifunt, they elected Spyridon to this post.
While in the rank of bishop, he received an invitation to participate in the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, convened in 325 by Emperor Constantine the Great. The purpose of the Council was to determine the fundamental truths of the Orthodox faith, as well as to discuss the teachings of the heretic Arius, who argued that Christ was not God from eternity, but was created by God the Father. The Council was attended by 318 bishops, priests and monks, including such luminaries of the Church as Saints Nicholas of Myra, Athanasius the Great, Paphnutius of Thebes and Alexander, Patriarch of Alexandria, who convinced the Emperor of the need to convene this Council.
The Fathers of the Council were faced with such a convincing “presentation” of heretical doctrine by the famous philosopher Eulogius that even being convinced of the falsity of this teaching, they were unable to resist the well-honed rhetoric of the heretic. Finally, when his skillful speeches flowed in an uncontrollable, all-crushing stream, and it began to seem that Arius and his followers would win, the uneducated Bishop of Trimifuntsky rose from his place, as they say in the Lives, with a request to listen to him. Convinced that he could not resist Eulogius, with his excellent classical education and incomparable oratory, the other bishops begged him to remain silent. However, Saint Spyridon stepped forward and appeared before the congregation with the words: “In the name of Jesus Christ, give me the opportunity to speak briefly.” Eulogius agreed, and Bishop Spyridon began to speak, holding a piece of simple clay tile in his palm: The Holy Trinity, although it has three Persons and Three Hypostases: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is One God * - One inexpressible and incomprehensible Essence. The human mind cannot comprehend this and does not have the ability to comprehend it, for the Divine is infinite.
Just as it is impossible to contain the entire expanse of the oceans in a small vase, so it is impossible for the finite human mind to contain the infinity of the Divine. Therefore, that you may believe this truth, look carefully at this small, humble object. Although we cannot compare the Uncreated Supermaterial Nature with the created and perishable, yet, since those of little faith trust their eyes more than their ears - just as you, if you do not see with your bodily eyes, will not believe - I want to prove this truth to you. Show it to your eyes through this ordinary piece of tile, also composed of three elements, but one in its substance and nature.
Having said this, Saint Spyridon made the sign of the cross with his right hand and said, holding a piece of tile in his left hand: “In the name of the Father!” At that moment, to the amazement of everyone present, the flame with which it was burned burst out from the piece of clay. The saint continued: “And the Son!”, and in front of the participants of the Council, the water with which it was mixed flowed out from a piece of clay. “And the Holy Spirit!”, and, opening his palm, the saint showed the dry earth remaining on it, from which the tiles were fashioned. The assembly was gripped by awe and amazement, and Eulogius, shaken to the core, was at first unable to speak. Finally he replied: “Holy man, I accept your words and admit my mistake.” Saint Spyridon went with Eulogius to the temple, where he pronounced the formula for renouncing heresy. Then he confessed the truth to his fellow Arians. The victory of Orthodoxy was so certain that only six of the Arians present, including Arius himself, remained in their erroneous opinion. Others returned to the confession of Orthodoxy.
After Saint Spyridon clearly showed the Council the power of God, he began to be exalted and revered throughout the Orthodox world. However, in the simplicity of his heart, he returned to Cyprus and continued not only to fulfill his episcopal duties, but also to tend sheep. On icons he is often depicted wearing the reed cap of a Cypriot shepherd. Saint Spyridon reposed in the Lord on December 12, 348 or 350, at the age of approximately eighty years.
Initially, the life compiled by Bishop Trifillius included seventeen miracles that took place through the prayers of Saint Spyridon during his lifetime. Bishop Theodore added eight more miracles to this, which he learned about directly from their witnesses. The posthumous miracles of the saint (of those that are known and recorded) number tens of thousands. Saint Spyridon is the greatest miracle worker in the history of the Church (after Saint Nicholas). And these days you hardly meet a family in Corfu who cannot tell their story of how the patron saint of their island helped them.
First, Saint Spyridon was buried in a marble coffin in one of the temples of Trimyphontos in Cyprus (the saint’s homeland). His village, called Trimyphontos, was razed to the ground in 1191 by the troops of King Richard the Lionheart of England; the village that now stands in its place is called Trimitos. The relics of the Saint are no longer in Cyprus, but his marble coffin remains.
The earliest documents that have reached us confirm for certain that the relics of St. Slyridon and the Holy Empress Theodora were brought to Corfu in 1456 by the priest George Kaloheretis. In 1596, the relics of St. Spyridon were placed in the church named after him and remain there to this day.

Holy Queen Theodora
The city of Corfu also houses the relics of Empress Theodora, who in 842 freed the Church from the heresy of iconoclasm. Theodora was the wife of Emperor Theophilus the Iconoclast. Theophilus, imbued with the ideas of iconoclasm, issued a decree on the destruction of all icons in his empire.
Iconoclasm was one of the most powerful and long-lasting heresies. It arose in the first half of the seventh century and existed for more than a hundred years. Emperors, one after another, took harsh measures to combat icon veneration, which led to the massive destruction of the ancient treasures of the church, including icons, crosses, illustrated manuscripts and frescoes on the walls of churches. Although iconoclasm was declared a heresy at the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787, it was not possible to implement the corresponding dogma before Theophilus the Iconoclast died. After his death, power passed to Theodora as regent for Michael III, her minor son.
Empress Theodora and Saint Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople, convened the Council of Constantinople in 842, which restored the veneration of icons as an integral part of Orthodox piety. This victory gave rise to the celebration of the Day of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which we celebrate on the first Sunday of Great Lent.
Michael, the son of Theodora, when he grew up, showed the same ruthless ambition as his father: he exiled his mother and four sisters to the monastery of Gastrion and forced them to take monasticism. The Empress took advantage of her forced position to save her own soul. Years after her burial, her body was found incorrupt, and in 1456, after the fall of Constantinople, her relics were transferred to Corfu. Today they are located in the Church of St. Nicholas, located near the coast in the city of Corfu.
In the Church of St. Nicholas there are also particles of the relics of the Hieromartyr Blasius, bishop of Armenia of the 4th century.

Paleokastritsa is a small town 25 km northwest of Kerkyra and one of the most charming places on the island. Sheer cliffs, densely covered with greenery, crash into a densely forested cape, forming six small bays with silver sandy beaches. The purest sea of ​​unreal beauty shimmers with blue, purple, jade green colors. Paleokastritsa is one of the most popular holiday destinations on the island. It is suitable for lovers of water sports, especially scuba diving, and for those who appreciate the beauty of the surrounding nature. However, it should be noted that the water in Paleokatsritsa Bay is always colder than in other places in Corfu. The restaurants and taverns of Paleokastritsa will offer you a local delicacy - a dish of fresh lobsters, the best on the island. While in Paleokastritsa, it is worth visiting the Monastery of the Virgin Mary and enjoying the magnificent view of the bay.

ISLAND OF EUBOEA (PROCOPI).
The island of Evia bears little resemblance to an island: it became that way as a result of the earthquake. It compares favorably with most Greek islands with its lush vegetation and greenery. The island of Evia is separated from the mainland by a narrow strait, in which the direction of the current changes eight times a day due to the constant ebb and flow of tides. The mountains of the island are covered with mixed forests. For several centuries before the birth of Christ, the capital of the island, Eretria, was a major trading center. Before the capture of the island by the Venetians, Saracen pirates ruled here, and after the fall of Byzantium, the island fell under the rule of the Turks.
Since 1924, this place has become known throughout Greece and in the Orthodox world as the resting place of the holy relics of St. John the Russian, who died in Turkish slavery. This saint is loved not only by Orthodox Christians all over the world; he is revered by the Turks themselves.

Righteous John the Russian
Saint John was a soldier in the Russian army that fought under the banner of Peter in the Turkish campaign of 1711. Twenty-one years old, a peasant by birth, he, like many others, was captured by the Turks. He was destined to live the rest of his life as a slave in a foreign land. The captured soldier Ivan was bought at the slave market by one of the commanders of the Turkish cavalry, who lived in the village of Prokopion. They tried to force the newly acquired slave to convert to Islam. But the Russian soldier firmly answered his owner that he would rather die than renounce his Faith. And if they do not interfere with him in confessing his faith, then he will willingly carry out all orders. The owner aroused respect for John’s firmness. He was put in charge of the horses and was soon entrusted with the owner’s rich stable, over which he was made the boss. The owners loved their servant and gave him a room in their own house, but John preferred to sleep in the stable, where nothing would interfere with his ascetic lifestyle and prayer.
Not far from the house there was a small Orthodox church built in honor of St. George. Here, in the vestibule of the church, John spent nights in prayer, and every Saturday he received Holy Communion. Once the owner went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. His wife, having learned that her husband had reached Mecca safely, organized a thanksgiving feast in the village. Remembering that her husband loved the pilaf that was served at the holiday, she expressed regret that her husband could not try it. John, who was serving at the feast, approached the hostess and asked for a plate of pilaf for the host. Everyone around laughed, but the mistress fulfilled the servant’s request. John took the plate to the stable, knelt down and began to fervently pray to God that this plate would end up in Mecca, with its owner. And soon the plate disappeared. A few weeks later the owner returned. He said that, being in Mecca on such and such a day (then when there was a feast in Prokopion), returning from the mosque, he found a plate of hot pilaf in his room. He came closer and gasped - the plate was from his house, as indicated by the engraved initials. To confirm his words, he brought the plate back home to show his household. Everyone was amazed; this miracle became known throughout the village. They began to talk about John as a man of God.
John fell ill at the age of forty. Anticipating his imminent death, he asked to invite a priest, since he could no longer walk. Having received the Holy Mysteries, John the Russian peacefully reposed in the Lord on May 27, 1730.
Three years later, the villagers saw a mysterious light over his grave. And to the local priest, who administered communion to the sick man for the last time, John himself appeared in a dream and said that his body had not undergone corruption. And whatever God desires, it should be raised and venerated as a relic. Both Christians and Muslims reverently removed the incorruptible relics of the saint from the ground. They were transferred to Deia, and later a large temple was built in honor of John the Russian, where they remained until 1924, when, during a population exchange, they were transported to Euboea.
Today in the village of Neo Prokopio there is a temple in honor of John the Russian, where his incorruptible relics are kept. Thousands of pilgrims flock here from all over the world for the help of the saint. The priest, Father Ioannis, serving in the church, carefully “collects” miracles that occur through the prayers of those suffering to the saint. Father John's little book has been translated into Russian and, with each reprint, is updated with new stories about the healing of incurable diseases and the obvious help of the saint.

MONASTERY MEGA SPILEO
(BIG CAVE)
In addition to particles of the relics of hundreds of saints, the Mega Spileo monastery houses the most ancient shrine - a relief icon of the Mother of God and the Savior, carved from wax. It is believed that it could have been one of the seventy icons created by St. Luka.
The founders of the monastery were two brothers, Simeon and Fedor. They were born at the beginning of the 4th century in Thessaloniki to pious, educated parents. Growing up, the brothers studied theology, philosophy, rhetoric and poetry. At that time, desert asceticism flourished, and the young men, inspired by these examples, began to lead a monastic lifestyle. First they labored on Mount Olympus, then they went to Mount Ossa, and then to Mount Pelion. They visited ascetics on the Athos Peninsula and traveled to the Holy Land and Sinai. Upon their return from Sinai to Jerusalem, Simeon and Feodor accepted holy orders. They were ordained by Bishop Maximus of Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem, both young priests had the same dream: the Mother of God, accompanied by the holy apostles Paul, Andrew and Luke, ordered them to go to Achaia and find there Her icon created by Saint Luke. Having received the Bishop's blessing, the brothers went to the northeastern coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, where three apostles preached the Gospel: St. Paul (in Corinth), St. Andrew (in Patras) and St. Luke (in the outer regions of Achaea).
Arriving in Achaia, they began to ask God to show them the further path. That same night, in a dream, the Lord commanded them to go to the Buras River, a two-hour walk from Achaia, and find there a pious shepherdess named Euphrosyne, who would lead them to where the icon was. The next morning, arriving at the indicated place, they saw that the shepherdess was already waiting for them. She bowed to them and addressed them by name. Confused by her insight, they did not dare to approach. Euphrosyne noticed this and, calling on the Most Holy Theotokos for help, struck the rock on which she was sitting with her staff. Immediately a spring with the purest water gushed out of the rock. To this day it bears her name.
Euphrosyne said that she lives in a neighboring village called Galata and often grazes her father’s flock near one high rock. Twice she saw how a goat from her herd climbed onto a rock, to the entrance to a cave located there, and when she returned, her face was wet and water was dripping from her. Euphrosyne guessed that there was a source there and went to see if it was so. Having made her way through the dense thickets and finding herself at the entrance to a huge cave, she suddenly heard someone calling her name. She looked around and saw an icon of the Mother of God on the upper wall of the cave. A voice coming from the icon told her to wait for the arrival of Father Simeon and Father Theodore.
After listening to this story, the monks went up to the cave, where everything turned out to be exactly as the shepherdess said. They reverently removed the icon, took it out of the cave and returned to clean and put the cave in order. They set fire to the bushes and the garbage that had accumulated in the cave, and they themselves remained at the entrance, waiting for everything to burn out. Suddenly, a giant snake flew out of the cave, as if on wings, disturbed by fire and smoke. The brothers and Euphrosyne jumped back in fear, but suddenly lightning burst out of the icon and pinned the snake to the ground. They entered the cave. There was a table on which, according to legend, Saint Luke himself served the liturgy and wrote the Gospel. After some time, they expanded the cave, and then built a small chapel and several cells.
Rumors about the new icon spread throughout the peninsula. Christians came to worship the shrine, through which the Lord performed many miracles. Monastics began to gather around Simeon and Theodore, and they themselves began to go around the Peloponnese preaching the Gospel, inspiring its inhabitants to convert to Christianity. During the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate, the brothers were briefly expelled from these places, but after his death they returned. Both of them died in Mega Spyleon. Euphrosyne built herself a cell near the cave and lived in it as a hermit until the end of her days.
Since its foundation in the 4th century after the Nativity of Christ, the monastery has survived five terrible fires, and after each of them the icon of the Mother of God turned out to be unharmed. On this relief wax icon, darkened by time, measuring approximately 45 by 45 centimeters, an image of the Mother of God is carved, slightly turned to the right, with the Divine Child in her right hand. With her left hand she presses the hand of the Christ Child to her chest. Her look is gentle and joyful. The baby holds the Holy Gospel in his right hand. Cherubs and seraphim are depicted in the corners of the icon. According to legend, this icon could be one of the first created by Saint Luke, and the Most Holy Virgin, seeing it, said: “May the grace of the One who was born of Me be with her.” Saint Luke gave this icon, along with the text of the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, to his spiritual son Theophilus, the ruler of Achaia. During the times of Roman persecution, when many Christians accepted the crown of martyrdom, the icon was hidden in this cave, where it remained until the arrival of Euphrosyne, to whom the Mother of God miraculously revealed this secret.
Many healings and other miracles are associated with this icon, including its salvation in fires, two of which destroyed the monastery to the ground.
The day of the discovery of the icon of the Mother of God and the founding of the monastery is celebrated on August 23, 362.

HOLY MOUNT ATHOS

Athos is an amazing monastic country where constant, continuous prayer is offered for the whole world.
Mount Athos is a special place, halfway between Heaven and earth. Over the past 1,300 years, Athos has occupied a special position among all other countries; the way of life here is not subject to worldly laws. This is a place where silence, that is, eternity itself, speaks so expressively. One should set foot on the Holy Mountain with the desire to learn silence, because the very silence of ascetic monks teaches wisdom better than any words. If the pilgrim understands this, then everything will begin to speak to him about the eternal. The silence of the monks, the caves of hermits, the touching outlines of monasteries, living and even inanimate nature will tell many stories and turn out to be excellent mentors. Everyone has their own path to Athos. Of course, one’s own desire is necessary when the soul asks for spiritual food, spiritual help and healing. But ultimately it is the Lord Himself who brings a person here. Here life and all actions are rethought. Grace makes it possible to see your “sores” that were previously unnoticed. Here, a believer especially feels the presence of the Mother of God, the miracles that happen on the Holy Mountain are felt by everyone who comes. A person returns from Athos completely different. And he never leaves the desire to return here again.
The life of the Holy Mountain is hidden from the world, but the fate of humanity is closely connected with it.
On Mount Athos there is a tradition of Twelve Saints - selected hermit elders, according to the number of Apostles, living unknown to the world and unknown even to other Athonite monks. When one of them dies, without any publicity, another is called upon to continue the exploits of his predecessor. According to legend, it is these hermits who will serve the last Divine Liturgy on earth before the end of the world.
In ancient times, Mount Athos was called Apoloniada, since the temple of Apollo was located here; later, a temple of Zeus, called Athos, was built on the top of the mountain. This is where the name of the mountain comes from.
According to legend, the Mother of God, traveling with the apostles to the island of Cyprus to visit Bishop Lazarus, was caught in a storm, and the ship washed ashore near Mount Athos. When the Virgin Mary descended onto the shore, the pagan temples standing on this land crumbled. And the pagans accepted the Mother of God, listened to Her sermons, many believed and were baptized. Having blessed the people, the Most Holy Theotokos said: “May the grace of God abide in this place, and on those who remain here with faith and reverence, and on those who keep the commandments of My Son and God. The blessings they need for life on earth will be given to them in abundance with little difficulty, and heavenly life will be prepared for them, and the mercy of My Son will not fail in this place until the end of the age. I will be the Intercessor of this place and a warm intercessor for it before God.”
Mention of the first monks-ascetics of Athos dates back to the 4th century. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV Pogonatus (668 – 685) gave the peninsula to the complete disposal of the monks, and then small monasteries began to be built here. In 681, Saint Peter the Svyatogorets (+ 734), one of the first known hesychasts, settled in one of the Athos caves and lived on Athos for 53 years.
In 960, the Monk Athanasius, the founder of the Great Lavra, which was later named after him, settled on Athos. From that time on, monasticism on the Holy Mountain began to actively develop, and by the middle of the 11th century, 180 monasteries were founded on Athos, and more than 700 monks labored in the Lavra of St. Athanasius alone.
There is a legend about the visit of Athos by the daughter of Theodosius the Great, Princess Placidia, who wanted to personally convey royal gifts to the monasteries. But she was prevented from entering the Vatopedi monastery by a voice from the icon of the Mother of God. Since then, the fathers of Athos laid down a law prohibiting females from visiting the Holy Mountain, which was later reinforced by royal decrees and is strictly observed to this day.
Over the centuries, Athos had to endure many hardships and persecutions from both the Latins and the Turks. In the 12th century, Athos was captured by the crusaders, who plundered it for a whole century. Many monks became famous and received the crown of martyrdom during that period, giving their lives for the Orthodox Faith.
After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Athos came under the rule of the Turks, who imposed a monetary tribute on the Athos residents, without, however, particularly touching on the internal spiritual life of the monasteries. And only after the victory of the Greeks in the Balkan War, Athos finally joined Greece as an autonomous region. A period of peace began for Athos.

Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon
The holy great martyr and healer Panteleimon was born in Bithynia (Asia Minor) in the city of Nicomedia into the family of a noble pagan Eustorgius and was named Pantoleon (which means “a lion throughout”), since his parents wanted to see him as a courageous and fearless young man. His mother, Saint Evvula (March 30), raised the boy in the Christian faith, but ended her earthly life early. Then his father sent Pantoleon to a pagan school, and then taught him the art of medicine from the famous doctor Euphrosynus in Nicomedia. Distinguished by his eloquence, good behavior and extraordinary beauty, young Pantoleon was presented to Emperor Maximian (284-305), who wanted to keep him as a court physician.
At this time, the Hieromartyrs Presbyters Hermolai, Hermippus and Hermocrates lived secretly in Nicomedia, having survived the burning of 20 thousand Christians (December 28) in the Nicomedia Church in 303 and the suffering of the Hieromartyr Anthimus (September 3). From the window of a secluded house, Saint Hermolai repeatedly saw a handsome young man and shrewdly saw in him the chosen vessel of God's grace. One day the presbyter called Pantoleon to his place and began a conversation with him, during which he explained to him the basic truths of the Christian faith. From then on, Pantoleon began to visit the Hieromartyr Ermolai every day and listened with pleasure to what God’s servant revealed to him about the Sweetest Jesus Christ.
One day, returning from the teacher, the young man saw a dead child lying on the road, bitten by an echidna, which was wiggling right next to him. Filled with compassion and pity, Pantoleon began to ask the Lord to resurrect the deceased and kill the poisonous reptile. He firmly decided that if his prayer was fulfilled, he would become a Christian and receive holy Baptism. And by the action of Divine grace the child came to life, and the echidna scattered into pieces before the eyes of the surprised Pantoleon.
After this miracle, Saint Hermolai baptized the young man in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The newly baptized man spent seven days with his spirit-bearing teacher, absorbing the divinely revealed truths of the Holy Gospel into his heart. Having become a Christian, Pantoleon often talked with his father, revealing to him the falsity of paganism and gradually preparing him to accept Christianity. At this time, Pantoleon was already known as a good doctor, so they brought to him a blind man whom no one else could heal. “The Father of Light will return light to your eyes. True God,” the saint said to him, “in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, who enlightens the blind, receive your sight!” The blind man immediately received his sight, and with him the saint’s father, Eustorgius, also received his spiritual sight, and both joyfully accepted holy Baptism.
After the death of his father, Saint Pantoleon dedicated his life to the suffering, sick, poor and poor. He treated everyone who turned to him free of charge, visited prisoners in prisons and at the same time healed the suffering not so much with medical means, but by invoking the Lord Jesus Christ. This caused envy, and the doctors reported to the emperor that Saint Pantoleon was a Christian and was treating Christian prisoners.
Maximian persuaded the saint to refute the denunciation and sacrifice to idols, but the chosen passion-bearer of Christ and the blessed physician confessed himself to be a Christian and, in front of the emperor’s eyes, healed the paralytic: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, arise and be healthy,” said Saint Pantoleon, and the sick man immediately recovered. The embittered Maximian ordered the execution of the healed man, and betrayed Saint Pantoleon to the cruellest tortures. “Lord Jesus Christ! Appear to me at this moment, give me patience so that I can endure the torment to the end!” - the saint prayed and heard a voice: “Do not be afraid, I am with you.” The Lord appeared to him “in the form of presbyter Ermolai” and strengthened him before suffering. The Great Martyr Pantoleon was hanged from a tree and his body was torn with iron hooks, burned with candles, stretched on a wheel, thrown into boiling tin, and thrown into the sea with a stone around his neck. However, in all the tortures, the courageous Pantoleon remained unharmed and boldly denounced the emperor. The Lord repeatedly appeared to the saint and strengthened him. At the same time, presbyters Ermolai, Ermippus and Hermocrates appeared before the court of the pagans. They courageously confessed the Sweetest Lord Jesus and were beheaded (July 26).
By order of the emperor, the holy great martyr Pantoleon was brought to the circus and thrown to be torn to pieces by wild animals. But the animals licked his feet and pushed each other away, trying to touch the saint’s hand. Seeing this, the spectators rose from their seats and began shouting: “Great is the Christian God! May the innocent and righteous young man be released!” The enraged Maximian ordered the soldiers to kill with swords all who glorified the Lord Jesus, and even kill the animals that did not touch the holy martyr. Seeing this, Saint Pantoleon exclaimed: “Glory to Thee, Christ God, that not only people, but also animals die for You!”
Finally, maddened with rage, Maximian ordered the head of the Great Martyr Pantoleon to be cut off. The soldiers brought the saint to the place of execution and tied him to an olive tree. When the great martyr began to pray to the Lord, one of the soldiers hit him with a sword, but the sword became soft like wax and did not cause any wound. Amazed by the miracle, the soldiers shouted: “Great is the Christian God!” At this time, the Lord once again revealed himself to the saint, calling him Panteleimon (which means “much merciful”) instead of his previous name Pantoleon, for his great mercy and compassion. Hearing the Voice from Heaven, the soldiers fell to their knees before the martyr and asked for forgiveness. The executioners refused to continue the execution, but the Great Martyr Panteleimon ordered the emperor’s order to be carried out. Then the soldiers said goodbye to the great martyr with tears, kissing his hand. When the martyr's head was cut off, milk flowed out of the wound along with blood, and the olive tree to which the saint was tied, at that moment blossomed and was filled with healing fruits. Seeing this, many people believed in Christ Jesus. The body of Saint Panteleimon, thrown into the fire, remained undamaged, and then the Nicomedia Passion-Bearer was buried by Christians on the nearby land of the scholastic Adamantium.
Lawrence, Vassa and Provian, servants of the great martyr, wrote a narrative about the life, suffering and death of the great martyr. The memory of Saint Panteleimon has been revered by the Orthodox East since ancient times. Already in the 4th century, churches were erected in the name of the saint in Armenian Sebastia and Constantinople. The blood and milk that flowed during the beheading of the saint were kept until the 10th century and were given healing to believers.
The venerable relics of the Great Martyr Panteleimon were scattered in pieces throughout the Christian world. There are especially many of them on Holy Mount Athos. His honest and multi-healing head is kept in the Russian Athos Monastery of St. Panteleimon, in the cathedral church dedicated to his name.
In Nicomedia, on the eve of July 27 - the day of remembrance of the holy great martyr - a solemn religious procession is held with the miraculous icon of the saint. Thousands of people - Orthodox Christians and non-Orthodox - Armenians, Catholics and even Mohammedans come here and bring hundreds of sick people who receive healing through the prayers of the saint. The church book “kontakion”, kept in the Nicomedia Metropolis, records two thousand autographs of Greeks, Turks, Italians and Armenians who received healing through the prayers of the Great Martyr Panteleimon.
The veneration of the holy martyr in the Russian Orthodox Church has been known since the 12th century. Grand Duke Izyaslav, in Holy Baptism Panteleimon, had the image of the great martyr on his battle helmet and through his intercession he remained alive in the battle of 1151. Under the command of Peter I, Russian troops won two naval victories over the Swedes on the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr Panteleimon: in 1714 at Gangauze (Finland) and in 1720 at Grengam (a small harbor on the Åland Islands).
The name of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon is invoked when performing the sacrament of the Blessing of Unction, the blessing of water and prayer for the weak. His memory is especially solemnly celebrated in the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos. The cathedral in his name was built in 1826 according to the type of ancient Athonite temples. In the altar, in a precious ark, the main shrine of the monastery is kept - the head of the holy great martyr Panteleimon. 8 days before the holiday, the forefeast begins. On these days, after Vespers, prayer canons are sung in 8 voices; it is noteworthy that for each day there is a special canon. On the day of the holiday, a solemn all-night vigil is held and thousands of guests and pilgrims participate in the divine service. Based on the handwritten Athonite service, the choruses on the 9th song of the canon to the Great Martyr are printed. According to ancient tradition, pilgrims of the Russian Orthodox Church annually travel to Greece and to Holy Mount Athos on the day of remembrance of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon.

PATRAS.
In Christian history, the city of Patras, located in the north of the Peloponnese peninsula, is known as the place of martyrdom of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Patras is an ancient city; it has existed in its current form since the end of the nineteenth century. The fact is that in 1821, here was the residence of Archbishop Herman, who raised the flag of rebellion against the Turkish yoke over the Agia Lavra. Retreating under the pressure of the rebels, the Turks burned the entire city.
It is known that in ancient times the city of Patras flourished and was a trading center under the control of the Romans, who colonized it in 31 BC. Over its long history, the city belonged to one state or another: it was part of the Byzantine Empire until it was conquered by the Turks in the 15th century, in the 13th century it was owned by the Frankish barons, and later by the Venetians.
The dominant feature of the modern city is the Church of St. Andrew the First-Called. It was built in 1974 and is considered the largest in Greece. It contains a priceless treasure - the head of St. Apostle Andrew. This shrine, taken to Italy during the Crusades, was returned to Greece by the Catholic Church in 1964. To the right of the shrine with the relics are parts of the cross on which the Apostle Andrew was crucified.
A particle of the apostle’s relics is kept in the old church, standing next to the new one. Not far from the ancient cathedral, on the site where St. Andrew was crucified during the time of Nero, a holy spring flows.

THESSALONIKI.

Thessaloniki is the northern capital of Greece, located on the shores of the picturesque Thermaikon Bay.
The city was founded in 315 BC, and was named after the sister of Alexander the Great. The history of the city has known ups and downs, vanity and desolation. At this stage, Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece, one might say the cultural capital. In 1997, Thessaloniki held the title of cultural capital of all Europe. The fusion of many cultures makes this city unique. At various times it belonged to the Alexander Empire, then to the Byzantine Empire, and from the 15th century it was part of the Ottoman Empire. It was only in the 20th century that Thessaloniki again became a city in Greece.
The city of Thessaloniki is steeped in history and attractions. His beauty is undeniable and one day is enough to fall in love with him. True, you won’t have time to see everything in one day, and perhaps you won’t have time to see everything in a week, but it’s worth a try.
The main attraction of Thessaloniki is the White Tower (Levkos Pirgos). It is main not because of its historical significance, but because it is the calling card of the city. The tower was built in the 15th century by the Turks and served as a prison. It is located on the embankment and is a kind of museum where you will be offered a brief excursion into the history of the city. The downside is that you can only listen to it in English and Greek. But even without sound, it will be interesting to wander through the cramped staircases and chambers of the tower, look at old photographs and, most importantly, enjoy the view from the top platform of the tower. The excursion costs 3 euros, according to the latest data, the crisis.
Not far from the Tower you will see a monument to Alexander the Great. Of course, it does not claim to be a historical landmark, but take a photo with the majestic Bucephalus in the background...why not.
If you walk from the Tower perpendicular to the embankment towards the center, you will come to the so-called Arch of Galerius (Kamara). It was built by Emperor Galerius in the 4th century in honor of the victory over the Persians. Once it was connected to the Rotunda, which is located a little higher, but in our time only one span of the arch remains. It is decorated with battle scenes of the war with the Persians. The Rotunda is also worth mentioning here. It was built at the same time, at the beginning of the 4th century. And with the beginning of the Christian era, it was turned into a temple and decorated with magnificent mosaics.
If you are walking around Thessaloniki on your own, then it will be easy for you to walk from the Arch along the central street of Egnitia to Aristotle Square. This is the central square of Thessaloniki. Going a little towards the sea you will see a view of the bay and the port.
If you go up from Egnatia, through the park, you will come out right at the archaeological site. This is the Roman Agora (Romaiki Agora), built in the 2nd century AD. Here you will see paved paths, columns, arches and passages. Currently, this complex is being reconstructed to give it its original appearance.
If you walk a little up from the Arch (in the direction opposite to the sea), you will come out to the Basilica of St. Demetrius. It is known as one of the oldest temples of the Byzantine era, and also because it houses the relics of St. Demetrius. It was built in 315. It was destroyed several times by fires, but was restored.
Walking around the city, you will notice many temples of the Byzantine era, you will recognize them by their characteristic stonework. There are enough of them preserved and they are protected as historical monuments.
It is also impossible not to mention the fortress walls, the so-called Kastra. They were part of a single complex of defensive structures of Thessaloniki, built by the Turks. These walls are located at the very beginning of the Upper City. In principle, you can get to them on foot, it’s not difficult. Rising from the Arch in the opposite direction from the sea, you will pass through the campus and approach the cemetery. The road leading to the right and up will be just what you need. You will notice an ancient wall from afar. This complex is quite long and by climbing along the wall you will reach the Upper City. Even if you are not very interested in walls, you will definitely like the Upper Town. There are numerous taverns, cafes, and bars here, from which you can enjoy stunning views of the entire city, lying at your fingertips. And if you also happen to admire the sunset, it will definitely become a memorable event.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the entire city with such an ancient history is a tourist attraction. Everyone will find something of their own in it. History buffs - excavations, basilicas and museums; for romantically minded people - secluded restaurants overlooking the sea; cheerful youth - many bars and clubs, and shopaholics will enjoy entire avenues of shops. No one will be dissatisfied.

Basilica of St. Demetrius
North of the Roman agora is the main church of Thessaloniki. This five-nave basilica was built on the site of a destroyed Roman bath (its remains can be seen on the north side of the church). Until the 9th century it was known as the "Stadium Church".
Research carried out after 1917 confirmed the tradition that Emperor Galerius imprisoned a Roman official named Demetrius and executed him in 30. After this, Demetrius became the main patron saint of the city, so pilgrims from all over the Byzantine Empire came to visit his grave.
The church was originally built in the 5th century, and during restoration after a fire in the 7th century and a large destructive fire in 1917, the main features of its architecture were preserved. During Turkish rule, the church was converted into a mosque.
Notable features of the interior of the church, the largest in Greece (length - 43 m), are the exquisitely carved capitals of antique columns made of multi-colored marble, a huge chandelier in the central aisle, a small mosaic on the pillars in the apse and the large marble tomb of Loukas Spantounis (1481) on the north wall of the narthex.
In 1980, the relics of St. Demetrius were returned to Thessaloniki from the Italian city of San Lorenzo in Campo, and they are currently kept in a sarcophagus in front of the iconostasis.

Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica, myrrh-streaming
Great Martyr Demetrius was born in the city of Thessaloniki in Greece.
His parents, secret Christians, baptized him and instructed him in the faith. His father, the Roman proconsul, died when Demetrius reached adulthood. Emperor Maximian Galerius, who ascended the throne in 305, appointed Demetrius in his father’s place as ruler and governor of the Thessalonian region. Demetrius's main duty was to defend his region from external enemies, but the emperor also demanded that he exterminate Christians. Demetrius instead began to eradicate pagan customs and convert pagans to the faith of Christ.
Of course, the emperor was soon informed that Proconsul Demetrius was a Christian. Returning from a campaign against the Sarmatians (tribes inhabiting the Black Sea steppes), Maximian stopped in Thessaloniki. Preparing for death, Demetrius distributed his property to the poor, and he devoted himself to prayer and fasting. The emperor imprisoned the proconsul and began to entertain himself and the inhabitants of Thessaloniki with gladiatorial battles in the circus. Christians were searched for and dragged into the arena. The perky Leah, famous among gladiators, easily defeated meek Christians in battle and, with the rejoicing of the brutal crowd, threw them onto the spears of the soldiers.
The young Christian Nestor visited Demetrius in prison, and Demetrius blessed him to fight Leah. Strengthened by God, Nestor defeated the proud gladiator and threw him onto the spears of the soldiers. Nestor should have been awarded as a winner, but instead he was executed as a Christian.
By order of the emperor, the prison guards pierced Demetrius with spears in 306. The body of the Great Martyr Demetrius was thrown out to be devoured by wild beasts, but the Thessalonians secretly betrayed him to the ground. Dimitri's servant Lupp took the bloody robe and the martyr's ring and began to heal the sick with them. He was also executed. During the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great (324-337), a temple was erected over the grave of the Great Martyr Demetrius, and a hundred years later his incorruptible relics were discovered. At the tomb of the Great Martyr Demetrius, miracles and healings were performed. During the reign of Emperor Mauritius, the Avars living on the Don besieged the city of Thessaloniki. Saint Demetrius appeared on the city wall, and the 100,000-strong army of the besiegers fled. Another time the saint saved the city from famine. The life of Saint Demetrius tells that he freed prisoners from the yoke of infidels and helped them reach Thessaloniki.
From the 7th century, at the shrine of St. Demetrius, fragrant and miraculous myrrh began to flow, as contemporaries wrote about. In the 14th century, Demetrius Chrysologist wrote about it: myrrh “in its properties is not water, but it is thicker than it and does not resemble any of the substances known to us... It is more amazing than all the incense, not only artificial, but also naturally created by God.” For this reason, the Great Martyr Demetrius was called Myrrh-Streaming.

Venerable Theodora of Thessalonica
The Monk Theodora of Thessalonica was descended from Christian parents Anthony and Chrysanthus, who lived on the island of Aegina. At a mature age, Saint Theodora entered into marriage. Soon she had a daughter. During the Saracen invasion (823), the young couple moved to the city of Thessaloniki. Here the Monk Theodora dedicated her daughter to the service of God in the monastery, and after the death of her husband she herself accepted monasticism in the same monastery.
Through works of obedience, fasting and prayer, she pleased God so much that she received the gift of miracles and performed miracles not only during her life, but also after death (+ 892). When the abbess of the monastery died, they wanted to place her coffin next to the coffin of the Venerable Theodora. Then the saint, as if alive, moved along with the coffin and gave way to her boss, showing an example of humility even after death. Myrrh flowed from her relics. When the Turks took Thessaloniki in 1430, they crushed the holy relics of St. Theodora into pieces.

St Sophia Church
Local name - Ayía Sofía), located at the eastern end of Hermes Street in Thessaloniki, is one of the famous Christian churches. This three-nave domed basilica with a quadrangular cross dates back to the 8th century AD. In the 9th and 10th centuries, at the end of the iconoclastic period, it was decorated with new mosaics, including a beautiful image of the Virgin Mary in the apse dome (replacing an earlier image of the cross placed there during the construction of the temple during the iconoclasm period) and a magnificent scene of the Ascension of Jesus Christ in the dome. Also notable are the capitals of the columns, which were presumably borrowed from an older temple of the 5th century. From 1204 to 1430 Hagia Sophia was the capital's church. During the period of Turkish rule, this church became the Hagia Sophia Kamii mosque. After a fire in 1890 it was rebuilt and then suffered another big fire in 1917. The elegant Turkish portico was destroyed during an Italian air raid in 1941, and the church was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1978.

Life of Saint Gregory Palamas
Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, was born in 1296 in Asia Minor. During the Turkish invasion, the family fled to Constantinople and found shelter at the court of Andronikos II Palaiologos (1282-1328). The father of Saint Gregory became a major dignitary under the emperor, but soon died, and Andronicus himself took part in the upbringing and education of the orphaned boy. Possessing excellent abilities and great diligence, Gregory easily mastered all the subjects that made up the full course of medieval higher education. The emperor wanted the young man to devote himself to state activities, but Gregory, having barely reached the age of 20, retired to Holy Mount Athos in 1316 (according to other sources, in 1318) and entered the Vatopedi monastery as a novice, where, under the guidance of the elder, the Monk Nicodemus of Vatopedi ( memory of July II), took monastic vows and began the path of asceticism. A year later, the holy evangelist John the Theologian appeared to him in a vision and promised his spiritual protection. Gregory's mother, along with his sisters, also became a monk.
After the repose of Elder Nicodemus, the monk Gregory went through his feat of prayer for 8 years under the guidance of Elder Nicephorus, and after the death of the latter he moved to the Lavra of St. Athanasius. Here he served at meals and then became a church singer. But three years later (1321), striving for higher levels of spiritual perfection, he settled in the small hermitage of Glossia. The abbot of this monastery began to teach the young man concentrated spiritual prayer - mental work, which was gradually developed and assimilated by the monks, starting with the great hermits of the 4th century, Evagrius of Pontus and the Monk Macarius of Egypt (January 19). After in the 11th century, in the works of Simeon the New Theologian (March 12), external prayer techniques for mental work received detailed coverage, it was adopted by the Athonite ascetics.
The experimental use of mental doing, requiring solitude and silence, was called hesychasm (from the Greek “peace”, “silence”), and those who practiced it themselves began to be called hesychasts. During his stay in Glossia, the future saint was completely imbued with the spirit of hesychasm and accepted it for himself as the basis of life. In 1326, due to the threat of an attack by the Turks, he and his brethren moved to Thessaloniki, where he was ordained a priest.
Saint Gregory combined his duties as a presbyter with the life of a hermit: he spent five days of the week in silence and prayer, and only on Saturday and Sunday did the shepherd go out to the people - perform divine services and deliver sermons. His teachings often brought tenderness and tears to those present in the church. However, complete detachment from public life was unusual for the saint. Sometimes he attended theological meetings of the city's educated youth, led by the future Patriarch Isidore. Returning one day from Constantinople, he discovered a place near Thessaloniki called Veria, convenient for a solitary life. Soon he gathered a small community of hermit monks here and led it for 5 years. In 1331, the saint retired to Athos and retired to the monastery of St. Sava, near the Lavra of St. Athanasius. In 1333 he was appointed abbot of the Esphigmen monastery in the northern part of the Holy Mountain. In 1336, the saint returned to the monastery of St. Sava, where he began theological works, which he did not abandon until the end of his life.
Meanwhile, in the 30s of the 14th century, events were brewing in the life of the Eastern Church that placed Saint Gregory among the most significant ecumenical apologists of Orthodoxy and brought him fame as a teacher of hesychasm.
Around 1330, the learned monk Varlaam came to Constantinople from Calabria. The author of treatises on logic and astronomy, a skillful and witty speaker, he received a chair at the capital's university and began to interpret the works of Dionysius the Areopagite (October 3), whose apophatic theology was recognized equally by the Eastern and Western Churches. Soon Varlaam went to Athos, became acquainted there with the way of spiritual life of the hesychasts and, on the basis of the dogma of the incomprehensibility of the being of God, declared clever work to be a heretical delusion. Traveling from Athos to Thessaloniki, from there to Constantinople and then again to Thessaloniki, Varlaam entered into disputes with the monks and tried to prove the creatureliness of the Tabor light; At the same time, he did not hesitate to ridicule the monks’ stories about prayer techniques and spiritual insights.
Saint Gregory, at the request of the Athonite monks, first addressed verbal exhortations. But, seeing the futility of such attempts, he set out his theological arguments in writing. This is how the “Triads in Defense of the Holy Hesychasts” appeared (1338). By 1340, the Athonite ascetics, with the participation of the saint, drew up a general response to Varlaam’s attacks - the so-called “Svyatogorsk Tomos”. At the Council of Constantinople in 1341, in the Church of Hagia Sophia, a dispute between St. Gregory Palamas and Barlaam took place, centered on the nature of the Tabor light. On May 27, 1341, the Council adopted the provisions of St. Gregory Palamas that God, inaccessible in His Essence, reveals Himself in energies that are addressed to the world and accessible to perception, like the Light of Tabor, but are not sensory and not created. Varlaam's teaching was condemned as heresy, and he himself, anathematized, retired to Calabria.
But the disputes between the Palamites and the Barlaamites were far from over. The second group included Varlaam’s disciple, the Bulgarian monk Akindinus and Patriarch John XIV Kalek (1341-1347); Andronikos III Palaiologos (1328-1341) also leaned towards them. Akindinus came out with a number of treatises in which he declared St. Gregory and the Athonite monks to be the perpetrators of church unrest. The saint wrote a detailed refutation of Akindinus's speculations. Then the Patriarch excommunicated the saint from the Church (1344) and subjected him to prison, which lasted three years. In 1347, when John XIV was replaced on the patriarchal throne by Isidore (1347-1349), Saint Gregory Palamas was released and elevated to the rank of Archbishop of Thessalonica. In 1351, the Council of Blachernae solemnly attested to the Orthodoxy of his teachings. But the Thessalonians did not immediately accept Saint Gregory; he was forced to live in different places. On one of his trips to Constantinople, a Byzantine galley fell into the hands of the Turks. Saint Gregory was sold as a captive in various cities for a year, but even then he tirelessly continued preaching the Christian faith.
Only three years before his death he returned to Thessaloniki. On the eve of his repose, Saint John Chrysostom appeared to him in a vision. With the words "To the mountain! To the mountain!" Saint Gregory Palamas reposed peacefully before God on November 14, 1359. In 1368, he was canonized at the Council of Constantinople under Patriarch Philotheus (1304-1355, 1362-1376), who wrote a life and service to the saint.

METEORA: BETWEEN SKY AND EARTH
There are amazing places on earth where heavenly grace is incomprehensibly combined with the beauty of creation, and the wealth of earthly gifts with the height of the ascetic spirit. This is Holy Meteora - a mountainous monastic country, the second center of Orthodox monasticism in Greece after Holy Mount Athos.
The rocks - stone giants - majestically froze between the earth and sky, as if representing an open living page of the Book of Genesis. According to the prevailing opinion of geologists, this unusual rock formation originates in the so-called “Deltogenic Cone”, which was formed from river stones and silt deposited by the waters of an ancient Thessalian lake. After the geological transformations of Olympus and Ossa, the lake waters went into the Aegean Sea, leaving in the middle of the Thessalian valley a bizarre ridge of vertical pillars, which were supposed to become a place of incessantly offered prayer.
The small town of Kalambaka, which has long become an international tourist center, is located at the foot of the majestic stone giants surrounding it. It seems as if there are more hotels and campsites in Kalambaka than residential buildings. Despite the late hour and darkness, we set off for a walk around the city. Souvenir shops are open everywhere, and midnight pilgrims are offered ceramic vases and figurines imitating antiquity, T-shirts with quotes from the Odyssey, cassettes with Greek folk music, sea urchins sparkling with lacquered needles, icons of Byzantine writing, crosses, rosaries. The streets of Kalambaka are surprisingly quiet, only occasionally this night silence is broken by a passing car or motorcycle. The air smells sweetly of blooming tangerines. And in the heights, above the measured and unhurried life of the town, stretched a bottomless black sky, dotted with southern bright huge stars, as if descending on the monastery peaks. Among the stars on one of the rocks there is a large luminous cross - in the nunnery of St. Stephen they light it every night as a consolation to travelers.
In the morning, all pilgrims begin to climb Meteora. Nowadays, making this ascent is not so difficult - a road runs along the mountain slopes, reminiscent of a Crimean serpentine, and stairs are cut into the rocks to climb to the monasteries. But all these conveniences are very recent phenomena, appearing only in the middle of the last 20th century. Until then, only a wicker mesh lift and fervent prayer so that the rope would not break helped those who wished to ascend to the inviolable monasteries.
According to historical evidence, the first individual hermits began to settle in rocky gorges starting in the 11th century. At the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th centuries, a still small monastic community was formed in the Dupian or Stagonsky monastery with a liturgical center in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first organized monastic community among the God-created peaks was founded around 1340 by the Monk Athanasius of Meteora (1302 - 1380). It was he who gave these rocks the name “Meteora,” which means “hanging in the air, between heaven and earth.” His associate and successor in establishing the monastery was the Monk Joasaph (1350 - 1423), formerly Emperor John Uresis Palaiologos. The monastery of St. Athanasius is located on the largest of the rocks of the stone forest, called “Great Platilitos”, or “Great Meteora”. It is from the moment of determining its charter that the mountain monastic “Republic” - Holy Meteora - began, which has existed unchanged for more than 600 years.
Along the stone stairs the road leads to the monastery of Great Meteora (its other name is the Transfiguration of the Lord, after the main cathedral). It’s early morning, the entrance is still closed, and there is time to study the signs with the Jesus Prayer and verses from the Holy Scriptures, which are found everywhere along the way in the Meteor monasteries for the edification of pilgrims, and to examine the famous lifting network on the monastery tower, which has become the symbol of Meteor. The cathedral has existed since 1388; throughout the history of the monastery, as the number of brethren increased, it was repeatedly rebuilt and expanded. The main part of the temple and the vestibule are decorated with frescoes that, according to experts, belong to Georgi, a student of Theophanes of Crete. We venerate the icons in the iconostasis (this is allowed in Greek churches), as well as two revered icons under the canopy - the Most Holy Theotokos Glykofilussa (Sweet Kiss) and St. Nicholas. Exit the cathedral and head towards the holy spring. On both sides of its stream there are large metal mugs chained on chains, which we fill with holy water.
From the open terrace of the monastery there is an unusually beautiful view of the mountains, the foothill village and neighboring monasteries. In total, throughout the history of the monastic republic, there were twenty-four monasteries in Meteora, along with many single cells, ascitariums, chapels, hermitages, caves, gates, pillars, scattered throughout the Meteora mountains. We can say that every rock, every cave, every stone is consecrated here through the prayer and labors of ascetics. Some of the monasteries have survived to this day only in the form of ruins (Holy Spiritual, Pantocrator, Gorniy, St. George Mandilas, Holy Sretensky, etc.). Currently, there are six active monasteries in Meteora: four for men - Great Meteora (Transfiguration of the Lord), St. Barlaam (All Saints), Holy Trinity, and St. Nikolai Anapavs (The Tranquilizer); and two women's - St. Barbara (Roussan) and St. Stefan.
The Monastery of St. Varlaam is next on our way. The ubiquitous souvenir sellers (one would like to say “matryoshka makers”, although here in Greece they, of course, have their own national assortment) are already greeting them, laying out their goods. Entering the monastery of St. Varlaam, we find ourselves in a heavenly ornate spring garden full of blooming fruit trees. The pilgrims are met by Father Feofan, one of the oldest inhabitants of the monastery. He found back in those days when the brethren in the monastery could only use rainwater, which was collected in large wooden barrels, now exhibited as museum exhibits. The walls of the Church of All Saints are painted with frescoes depicting the suffering of martyrs of the first centuries. The temple paintings, made in 1548 by the Theban artist Franco Catelano, are very accurate in detail and realistic. Among the church decorations here, as in other Greek monasteries and parish churches, we see numerous images of double-headed eagles: they decorate chandeliers, lamps, and icon frames.
Around one o'clock in the afternoon, all Meteor monasteries are closed to tourists and pilgrims for a fairly long break, lasting several hours. This is a feature of the local climate - most of the year at this time there is very intense heat. Before this break begins, try to visit one more monastery - St. Nicholas Anapavs. Having passed the monastery apiary, the ascent begins along the path to the monastery, located on a narrow space of rocks. Small church of St. Nicholas, located on the second floor of the monastery building, we venerate there the revered image of the Miracle Worker of Myra. In the vestibule of the temple there is a fresco of rare iconography, painted in 1527 by Theophan of Crete - “Adam gives names to animals.” We rise higher, to an open area next to the monastery belfry. And in the clear blue sky above the belfry, two flags flutter - blue and white - the state one, and the church one - yellow with a double-headed eagle.
Leaving Meteora, you will see a lot of tied multi-colored handkerchiefs in one of the caves. This is the ascitarium of St. George Mandilas, which is not active these days and is in a ruined state. According to legend, Saint George will certainly help the person asking if he gets to his cave (very difficult to access at first glance, which is a depression in a steep rock) and leaves a scarf there. We did not risk climbing the vertical wall, but we also prayed to St. George and all the Meteoran venerable fathers in the hope of returning someday to these God-blessed peaks, located between heaven and earth and representing the image of the ascetic ladder of spiritual ascent.

Saint Charalampius Bishop of Magnesia
Saint Charalampios, bishop of the Thessalian city of Magnesia (north-eastern region of Greece), successfully spread faith in Christ the Savior. The news of his preaching reached the governor of the region, Lucian, and the military commander, Lucius, by whose order the saint was captured and brought to trial, where he firmly confessed his faith in Christ and refused to sacrifice to idols. Despite the bishop’s advanced age (he was already 113 years old), he was subjected to monstrous torture: they tormented his body with iron hooks until all the skin was torn off from head to toe. At the same time, the saint turned to the tormentors: “Thank you, brothers, you have renewed my spirit!”
Seeing the patience of the elder and his complete gentleness, two warriors - Porfiry and Vaptos openly confessed Christ, for which they were immediately beheaded with a sword. Three women who were present at the suffering of Bishop Charalampius also began to glorify Christ and were immediately tortured.
The angry Luki himself grabbed the instruments of torture and began to torment the holy martyr, but suddenly his hands, as if cut off by a sword, were taken away. The ruler who came to the place of execution spat in the face of the saint, and immediately his head turned back. Then Lukiy began to beg the saint for mercy, and through his prayer both tormentors immediately received healing. At the same time, many witnesses believed in Christ. Among them was Lucius, who fell at the feet of the holy elder, asking for forgiveness.
Lucian reported what had happened to Emperor Septimius Severus (193 - 211), who was at that time in Antioch of Pisidia (western part of Asia Minor), and he ordered Saint Charalampios to be brought to him, which was carried out with unprecedented cruelty: they dragged the holy martyr with a rope tied to his beard. .
The emperor ordered the bishop to be tortured even more, and they began to shoot him with fire. But the Power of God helped the saint, and he remained unharmed. In addition, through his prayer, miracles began to happen: a dead young man was resurrected, a demon-possessed man who had been tormented by a demon for 35 years was healed, so that many people began to confess Christ the Savior. Even the emperor’s daughter Galina, who twice crushed idols in a pagan temple, believed in Christ. By order of the emperor, they beat the saint on the mouth with stones, they wanted to set fire to his beard, from which a flame came out, scorching the tormentors. Full of anger, Septimius Severus and his nobleman Crispus raised a blasphemy against the Lord, mockingly calling on Him to come down to earth, boasting of their strength and authority. In anger, the Lord shook the earth, great fear fell on everyone, but both wicked men hung in the air, bound by invisible bonds, and only through the prayer of the saint were brought back down. The frightened emperor hesitated in his wickedness, but soon fell into error again and ordered the saint to be tortured, and finally condemned him to be beheaded by the sword. During his last prayer, the saint was honored to see the Savior Himself and asked Him to grant peace, fertility to the place where his relics would rest, and forgiveness of sins and salvation to people. The Lord promised to fulfill the request and ascended to heaven, taking with Him the soul of the holy martyr Charalampius, who, by the grace of God, accepted a peaceful death before execution. The emperor's daughter, Blessed Galina, buried the martyr's body with great honor.

VASILIKA.

MONASTERY OF THE GREAT MARTYR ANASTASIA
Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Pattern Maker (+ c. 304).
Damaged during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (284-305). Born in Rome, in the family of Senator Praetextatus. The father was a pagan, Favsta's mother was a secret Christian, who entrusted the upbringing of the little girl to Saint Chrysogonus, famous for his learning (+ c. 304; commemorated December 22). Chrysogon taught Anastasia the Holy Scriptures and the fulfillment of God's law. At the end of the teaching, Anastasia was spoken of as a wise and beautiful maiden. After the death of her mother, regardless of her daughter’s wishes, her father married her to the pagan Pomplius. In order not to break the vow of virginity and avoid the marital bed, Anastasia constantly referred to an incurable illness and remained pure.
There were many Christian prisoners in the prisons of Rome at that time. In beggarly clothes, the saint secretly visited prisoners - she washed and fed the sick, unable to move, bandaged wounds, and consoled everyone who needed it. Her teacher and mentor languished in prison for two years. Meeting with him, she was edified by his long-suffering and devotion to the Savior. Saint Anastasia’s husband, Pomplius, having learned about this, severely beat her, placed her in a separate room and placed guards at the door. The saint grieved that she had lost the opportunity to help Christians. After the death of Anastasia's father, Pomplius, in order to take possession of a rich inheritance, constantly tortured his wife. The saint wrote to her teacher: “My husband... torments me as an opponent of his pagan faith in such a grave conclusion that I have no choice but to surrender my spirit to the Lord and fall dead.” In his reply letter, Saint Chrysogon consoled the martyr: “Light is always preceded by darkness, and after illness health often returns, and after death we are promised life.” And he predicted the imminent death of her husband. After some time, Pomplius was appointed ambassador to the Persian king. On the way to Persia, he drowned during a sudden storm.
Now the saint could again visit Christians languishing in prison; she used the inheritance she received for clothing, food and medicine for the sick. Saint Chrysogonus was sent to Aquileia (a city in upper Italy) for trial before the Emperor Diocletian - Anastasia followed her teacher. The body of Saint Chrysogonus, after his martyrdom, according to Divine revelation, was hidden by the presbyter Zoilus. 30 days after his death, Saint Chrysogon appeared to Zoilus and predicted the imminent death of three young Christian women who lived nearby - Agapia, Chionia and Irene ((304; commemorated April 16). And he ordered Saint Anastasia to be sent to them. Saint Anastasia also had such a vision She went to the presbyter, prayed at the relics of Saint Chrysogon, then in a spiritual conversation strengthened the courage of the three virgins before the torture that lay ahead of them.After the death of the martyrs, she herself buried their bodies.
Saint Anastasia began to wander in order to serve Christians imprisoned wherever possible. This is how she received the gift of healing. With her works and words of consolation, Saint Anastasia eased the imprisonment of many people; by caring for the bodies and souls of the suffering, she freed them from the bonds of despair, fear and helplessness, which is why she was called the Pattern Maker. In Macedonia, the saint met a young Christian widow, Theodotia, who helped her in her pious labors.
It became known that Anastasia was a Christian, she was taken into custody and taken to Emperor Diocletian. Having questioned Anastasia, Diocletian learned that she spent all her money on helping those in need, and poured gold, silver and copper figurines into money and fed many hungry people, clothed the naked, and helped the weak. The emperor ordered the saint to be taken to the high priest Ulpian, so that he could persuade her to sacrifice to the pagan gods or put her to cruel execution. The priest invited Saint Anastasia to make a choice between rich gifts and instruments of torture, placed on both sides near her. The saint, without hesitation, pointed to the instruments of torture: “Surrounded by these objects, I will become more beautiful and more pleasing to my desired Bridegroom - Christ...” Before subjecting Saint Anastasia to torture, Ulpian decided to desecrate her. But as soon as he touched her, he became blind, a terrible pain gripped his head, and after a while he died. Saint Anastasia was freed and, together with Theodotia, continued to serve the prisoners. Soon, Saint Theodotia and her three sons were martyred by the anphipat (region commander) Nikitios in their hometown of Nicea ((c. 304; commemorated July 29 and December 22). Saint Anastasia was imprisoned for the second time and tortured for 60 days with hunger. Every night Saint Theodotia appeared to the martyr, approved and strengthened her in patience. Seeing that the famine did not harm the saint, the hegemon of Illyria ordered her to be drowned along with the convicted criminals, among whom was Eutychian, persecuted for the faith of Christians ((c. 304; commemorated December 22). The soldiers put the prisoners on a ship and went out into the open sea. Far from the shore, they got into a boat, and they made several holes in the ship so that it sank. The ship began to sink into the water, but the prisoners saw the martyr Theodotia, who controlled the sails and guided the ship to the shore. 120 people, amazed by the miracle, believed in Christ - Saints Anastasia and Eutychian baptized them. Having learned about what had happened, the hegemon ordered the execution of all the newly baptized. Saint Anastasia was stretched over a fire between four pillars. This is how Saint Anastasia the Pattern Maker completed her martyrdom.
The saint’s body remained unharmed; the pious Christian Apollinaria buried him. At the end of the persecution, she built a church over the tomb of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia.

Saint Theon labored in the 16th century on Mount Athos, first in the monastery of Pantokrator, and then in the Shersk monastery of the Venerable Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. Here his leader was the Monk Jacob of Iveron. After the martyrdom of his mentor, Saint Theona was the abbot of the monastery of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia within the village of Galatista. He was consecrated bishop and elevated to the metropolitan see in Thessaloniki. He spent the last years of his life in solitary exploits near the monastery of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Pattern Maker, which now houses his holy relics along with the head and right hand of the Great Martyr Anastasia and the heads of the three venerable martyrs who suffered from the Turks - Jacob, Jacob and Arseny.

MONASTERY OF SAINT DAVID OF EVBOE
Not far from the Church of St. John the Russian is the monastery of St. Venerable David of Euboea. Funds for the construction of the monastery of St. David, who lived in the 16th century, collected in what is now Romania, Moldova and Russia. The most valuable of these gifts are still kept in the monastery. The monastery houses the relics of its founder, the Venerable David of Euboea, as well as the Venerable Head of St. Basil the Great. The great saint of God and God-wise teacher of the Church, Vasily, was born in the city of Caesarea in 330. He was not only a pious believer, but also an educated man who knew secular sciences. His father was in charge of his education. Vasily traveled a lot in search of new knowledge; he was in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia. However, he felt that the main thing for him was not worldly sciences, but service to the Lord. Therefore, he went to Egypt, where monastic life flourished. When Basil the Great returned to Athens, he did a lot to establish the True Faith and converted many to it.
Funds for the construction of the monastery of St. David, who lived in the 16th century, collected in what is now Romania, Moldova and Russia. The most valuable of these gifts are still kept in the monastery. The monastery houses the relics of its founder, the Venerable David of Euboea, as well as the Venerable Head of St. Basil the Great.

Elder Jacob of Euboea lived a pious, but very difficult life full of bodily suffering. He was born on November 5, 1920 into a devout family that was closely associated with the Church. As a child, Jacob and his family had to leave their homeland Libya due to oppression by the Turks. By the will of God he was destined to end up on the island of Euboea. There he went to school and there he began to lead a righteous and ascetic life. Even as a child, his favorite toy was a censer, which he made himself. All the neighbors were proud of him and saw in him a real man of God. Soon he was entrusted with the keys to the temple: the village did not have its own priest, he came from a neighboring village once every two weeks. Residents of neighboring villages, when they had any difficulties, turned to him for help. Jacob was called to anoint with oil and say prayers over the sick, women who were having difficult births, over the possessed, and for other needs. Jacob could not continue to study at school, as he was forced to work to help his family.
His path to monasticism was long. First he lost his parents and was forced to take care of his sister, then he had to do his duty to his country and served in the army. After his return, he took on any job to collect a dowry for his sister Anastasia. It was only when she got married that he felt ready to become a monk. He began to think about returning to the Holy Land. One day St. appeared to him. David said that Jacob’s destiny was to revive the monastery that he once founded here. His tonsure took place on November 30, 1952. And he devoted his entire life to serving God and restoring the monastery. When she approached fifty, he began to be overcome by illnesses that had tormented him since childhood. However, what bothered him most was his heart. He was sick for a long time. Having restored the monastery of St. David, who chose the elder as his spiritual heir, bringing healing and peace to thousands of suffering souls, Father Jacob passed away on November 21, 1991. His cell and many personal belongings have been preserved in the monastery, which contain information about the life of this holy man.

“So we departed from Troas and came straight to Samothrace, and the next day to Naples...” (Acts 16:11).

According to the legend preserved on the island, the Apostle Paul landed at the port of the ancient city, modern Palliapoli. In memory of this event, a three-aisled early Christian basilica was subsequently built on this site, during the construction of which fragments of architectural details of ancient buildings were also used. Paleopolis is located 7 km northeast of modern. port of Kamariotis. The island's main resort, Therma, has been in use since Roman times. There are hot springs here.

Kavala (ancient Naples). The temple is holy. Nicholas, which is located near the port on the spot where the Apostle Paul first set foot on shore. Behind him stands a low cylindrical column commemorating the landing of the Apostle Paul. “So, starting from Troas, we arrived straight to Samothrace, and the next day to Naples.”(Acts 16:11).

Ancient city of Philippi- archaeological reserve. “From there to Philippi: this is the first city in that part of Macedonia, a colony. We stayed in this city for several days."(Acts 16:12). From Naples, the Apostle Paul walked to Philippi along the ancient road Via Ignatia and, most likely, entered the city from the eastern side. This road consists of large stone blocks.

Chapel of St. Lydia standing by the river in which she was baptized. This river is called Gaggiti. A temple now stands on the site of the prayer house. The place traditionally considered Lydia's home is now built into Lydia's Hotel, which is located at the entrance. “On the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the river, where, as usual, there was a house of prayer, and, sitting down, we talked with the women who had gathered there. And a certain woman from the city of Thyatira, named Lydia, a merchant of purple, who worshiped God, listened; and the Lord opened her heart to listen to what Paul said. When she and her household were baptized, she asked us, saying: if you have recognized me as faithful to the Lord, then enter my house and live with me. And she convinced us"(Acts 16:13-15).

The place where the Apostle Paul healed a maid possessed by a divinatory spirit is located not far from the ancient square. The young maidservant, the soothsayer, owed her strength to the spirit of the Serpent who possessed her. This serpent is associated with the ancient Greek Mantle at Delphi, known throughout the ancient world thanks to the prophecies of the god Apollo, speaking with the voice of the Pythia. “It happened that when we were going to a house of prayer, we met a servant girl possessed by a spirit of divination, who through divination brought great income to her masters. Walking behind Paul and after us, she shouted, saying: These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation. She did this for many days. Paul, indignant, turned and said to the spirit: In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her. And the spirit left at that same hour. Then her masters, seeing that the hope of their income had disappeared, seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the square to the leaders.”(Acts 16:16-19).

The ruins of the prison where the apostles Paul and Silas were imprisoned are a small cave-like building, not far from the entrance to the ancient square. It was in the ancient square that the apostles Paul and Silas were beaten with sticks. “The people also rebelled against them, and the governors, tearing off their clothes, ordered them to be beaten with sticks. And, having given them many blows, they threw them into prison, ordering the prison guard to guard them tightly.”(Acts 16:22-23).

"After passing through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue"(Acts 17:1)

The Apostle Paul passed through these cities when he went to Thessalonica on his second journey.

Vlatadon Monastery in the old town. On the territory of the monastery there is ancient chapel of St. Pavel. According to the first version, there was a synagogue on this site, where the Apostle Paul preached “...they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. Paul, as was his custom, went in to them and spoke to them from the Scriptures for three Sabbaths, revealing and proving to them that Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that this Christ is Jesus, whom I preach to you. And some of them believed and joined Paul and Silas, both of the Greeks who worshiped God, a great multitude, and of the noble women not a few.”(Acts 17:1-4).
According to the second, here stood the house of Jason, where the Apostle Paul stayed and prayed in the courtyard “But the disbelieving Jews, being jealous and taking some worthless people from the market place, gathered in a crowd and disturbed the city and, approaching the house of Jason, tried to bring them out to the people.”(Acts 17:5).

Agios Pavlos area outside the walls of the Old City. The most ancient temple stands at the intersection of Kastron and Leoforos Ochi streets in a green area, nearby there is a chapel, a holy spring and a cave where the Apostle Paul stayed when leaving Thessaloniki. According to legend, the holy spring arose from the tears of the Apostle Paul - he spent the night here, outside the city walls, and prayed with tears. The new church rises above the entire area, located behind the old park. It contains part of the relics of the Apostle Paul.

Veria. In Veria, near Platia Orologia, behind the school building on Mairomixali Street, there is an open chapel in memory of St. Apostle Paul. Four ancient marble steps lead to the main icon, on which the Apostle Paul stood while preaching. “The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas by night to Berea, where they arrived and went to the synagogue of the Jews. The people here were more thoughtful than those in Thessalonica: they accepted the word with all zeal, daily examining the Scriptures to see if this was exactly so. And many of them believed, and there were not a few honorable Greek women and men.”(Acts 17:10-12). “But when the Thessalonian Jews learned that the word of God had been preached by Paul in Berea, they came there too, stirring up and disturbing the people. Then the brethren immediately released Paul as if he were going to the sea..."(Acts 17:13-14).

According to local tradition, he was sent from Veria by ship, first to Aigignon (present-day Kalindros), and then to the coastal city of Methoni (today called Eleutherochori). From there he sailed by ship to Athens.

Athens. By the time the Apostle Paul arrived in Athens, life in that city was far from its former glory. Here he first preached to the pagans on their territory. In Antioch, he addressed them in the synagogue, and in Athens, which had long ceased to play the role of a large thriving trade center, there was no Jewish community; it moved to new colonies: Patras, Nicopolis and Corinth. The Apostle Paul was the first Christian missionary to preach in this illustrious city, the intellectual stronghold of the Greco-Roman world. Indeed, Athens was still the main university of the empire; they enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a city of philosophers, on the streets of which one could hear arguments between Platonists, Stoics and Epicureans. Other intellectual centers had already emerged - in Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and Tarsus - but Athens held the palm of undisputed primacy. Despite the loss of spirit, the outward appearance of the city was as beautiful as ever. He held fast to his ancient traditions and monuments, festivals and sacrifices. While waiting in Athens for the arrival of the apostles Silas and Timothy, the Apostle Paul must have had time to look at the temples sparkling with gold and rich colors, and at the statues of a host of Greek and foreign gods, erected on high pedestals in the temples, in the courtyards of rich and noble citizens, in public buildings and on the streets. He begins his famous address to the Athenians with the words: “Athenians! From everything I see that you seem to be especially devout: for, passing and examining your shrines, I also found an altar on which it is written: “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD...”.

H.V. Morton notes that, having mentioned the altars dedicated to the Unknown God, the Apostle Paul, as always, adapts the form of expression of Christian teaching to the peculiarities of the perception of his listeners. In this case, he did not quote Jewish texts, which meant little to the Athenians, but offered them something that they could understand. It was a great start, imbued with local flavor and promising an unusual continuation. For everyone who listened to him that day, altars with the inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD were part of their daily life. Everyone knew the story of the plague that struck Athens six centuries before Christ. Then, having made sacrifices to all known gods and seeing that the plague was not abating, the Athenians asked for the help of the Cretan prophet Epimenides. He drove a flock of white and black sheep to the Areopagus and allowed them to wander wherever they wished. He waited until the sheep lay down to rest in places of their own choosing, and in these places they were sacrificed to a “suitable god.” The plague stopped, after which it became a tradition to erect altars to unknown deities, and not only in Athens.

Descending from the temple mount along the ruins of the Propylaea (ancient gate), a large rocky outcrop is visible at the bottom right (it is separated from the temple mount by a path starting at Plaka area and winding along the northern side of the Acropolis). An ancient, rock-hewn staircase of fifteen or sixteen steps leads to the top of a rock with a smooth, polished surface dotted with crater-like holes. This peak was specially leveled many centuries ago. This is Apec (or Areopagus), the ancient site of the famous meetings of the Athenians, to whom the Apostle Paul preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. According to some, he may have addressed the assembly from the agora (market place) below, but according to local Orthodox tradition and the assertion of many historians, he stood on the Areopagus itself. If so, then the Apostle Paul climbed these stone steps and, standing on a ledge of rock above Athens spread out under his feet, told his listeners that God “does not live in temples made with hands” (while pointing to the marble temples crowning the Acropolis behind him , and on the thirty-foot statue of Athena, whose golden spear sparkled so brightly with its tip that it was visible even to sailors off the coast of the southern tip of Attica).

For a pilgrim who wants to remember the words of the Apostle Paul while on top of the Areopagus, it is best to come here early in the morning or late in the evening, when the sun sets behind the Acropolis, shining with the splendor of colors - very special shades of red and gold, so characteristic of Greece - and it seems as if the words of the Apostle still ring here. “While waiting for the apostles Silas and Timothy in Athens, Paul was troubled in spirit at the sight of this city full of idols. He reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, and daily in the marketplace with those who met him. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to argue with him; and some said: “What does this fuss want to say?", and others: "It seems he is preaching about foreign deities" because he preached Jesus and the Resurrection to them. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and said: Can we know what this new teaching is that you are preaching? For you are putting something strange into our ears; so we want to know what it is? The Athenians and all the foreigners living among them did not spend their time more willingly than in talking or listening to something new.

And, standing among the Areopagus, Paul said: Athenians! From everything I see that you seem to be especially devout; For, passing and examining your shrines, I also found an altar on which is written: “to an unknown God.” This, Whom you, not knowing, revere, I preach to you: God, who created the world and everything in it, He, being the Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made with hands and does not require the service of human hands, as if He had in need of anything, Himself giving to all things life and breath and everything; From one blood He brought forth the whole human race to inhabit the whole face of the earth, assigning predetermined times and limits to their habitation, so that they would seek God, lest they sense Him and find Him, although He is not far from each of us: For we By Him we live and move and have our being, just as some of your poets said: “We are His generation.” So, we, being the race of God, should not think that the Divinity is like gold, or silver, or stone, which received its image from the art and invention of man. So, leaving the times of ignorance, God now commands people everywhere to repent; For He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed, giving proof to all by raising Him from the dead. When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said: We will listen to you about this at another time. So Paul went out from among them. Some men came to him and believed; among them was Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damar, and others with him.(Acts 17, 16-34).

Out of all these thousands of idolaters, philosophers and orators, there were only a handful of people who believed his words. We know only three of them by name: the holy martyr Dionysius the Areopagite, who, according to legend, was a judge of the council of the Areopagus, which consisted of only nine members; St. Hierotheus (possibly also a member of this Council), who later became the first Bishop of Athens, and a woman named Damarius.

Corinth. After preaching in Athens and his famous speech on the top of the Areopagus, the Apostle Paul set off along the coastal road to Corinth. Corinth during the time of the Apostle Paul was a unique city that was part of the Roman colonies in Greece. In Corinth, the holy Apostle Paul stayed in the house of a Jewish couple, Aquila and Priscilla. They, like him, were engaged in the manufacture of tents and sails, and the holy apostle began to work with them, earning food for themselves. Aquila and his wife had only recently arrived in Corinth in response to Claudius' order for "all Jews to leave Rome." Roman historians explain this expulsion by the desire to put an end to the speeches of the Jews “at the instigation of a certain Crestus,” which involuntarily suggests that already at this stage we are dealing with disputes among the Jews regarding the Gospel.

In the spring, Silas and Timothy finally joined Paul. They saw him preaching in the synagogue with great enthusiasm, and his success, as might have been expected, stirred up the Jews. Their hostility became so intense that they blasphemed Christ in the middle of the synagogue. In response, Paul “shook the dust from his clothes” (a symbolic gesture of rejection among the Israelites, known since the time of the prophet Nehemiah) and exclaimed: “Your blood is on your heads; I am clean; From now on I am going to the pagans.” And he left this synagogue forever. From that day on, Corinthian Christians gathered in the house of the Roman Titus Justus. Among the Jews who followed the apostle were Aquila, Priscilla and Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, who was baptized by Paul himself and who later became the head of the local Church. Turning to preach among the Gentiles, Paul preached with no less enthusiasm than in the synagogue, and it was in the Gentile environment that he reaped a bountiful harvest. The greetings in his letters to the Corinthians sound more like lists of citizens of a Roman city-state than an address to the inhabitants of a Greek-Jewish colony: Titus, Gaius, Fortunatus, Tertius.

That night, when the Apostle Paul left the synagogue forever, the Lord spoke to him in a vision: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will harm you, because I have many people in this city.”(Acts 18:9-10). Perhaps foreseeing the beginning of the vengeful confrontation that pursued him all the way through the land of Asia Minor and most of Greece, Saint Paul thought to leave Corinth in the same way as he left Thessaloniki, Philippi and Berea. However, he remained here for a year and a half, which turned out to be his longest stay anywhere since the beginning of his missionary travels. The Jews, who rejected the good news of Christianity, waited at this time, looking for the right moment to strangle the newborn Church and expel the apostle from Corinth. Finally, with the arrival of the new proconsul of Achaia, Iunius Gallio, they decided that now they had such an opportunity. They realized that it was unlikely that they would be able to influence the proconsul by making accusations of attacks on Jewish traditions, and they decided to oppose Paul. Gallio was not just the ruler of a Roman colony, but the brother of Seneca, the famous philosopher and teacher of Nero, as well as the uncle of the Roman poet Lucian. Well-educated, from a good family, and a wonderful speaker, Gallio was considered among his contemporaries as a charming, friendly person and an astute leader. Unlike the rulers of Philip and Thessaloniki, he could not be frightened by a crowd that started religious strife. The Jews, having brought Paul to him for trial, shouting: “He teaches people to honor God not according to the law,” hoped that the law, which officially protects Judaism, would be on their side. In addition, they hoped that the performance they staged would make a great impression on Gallio as a new person in a new place. However, he answered coldly: “If there was any offense or malicious intent, then I would have reason to listen to you; but when there is a dispute about doctrine and about names and about your law, then sort it out for yourself: I don’t want to be a judge in this.” And he drove them away from the judgment seat. They did not have time to leave the courtroom when the Greek pagans who had gathered there, enraged by these fictitious accusations, surrounded the leader of the synagogue, Sosthenes, and thoroughly beat him. Gallio paid no attention to this.

Near the temple built in honor Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Corinth, there is a marble monument, in which the so-called "Hymn of Love". It is also necessary to visit the market square - the place where the Apostle Paul preached. The first letter to the Corinthians was written by him three years after he, along with Aquila and Priscilla, left from there to Ephesus; the second - about another year later, when he was in Macedonia, before his last visit to Corinth.

After visiting Corinth, the Apostle Paul continued his missionary journey and came to the eastern port of Corinth (it has survived), which is called Kechreon (Cenchrea), where shaved his head as a vow(Acts 18:18). Here, having made a stop at the Corinth Canal, which was built at the end of the 19th century to connect the two seas of the Aegean and Ionian, one should definitely remember the holy martyr Galina of Corinth, who suffered in 258 under the emperor Decius. She was drowned with a stone around her neck in the ancient port of the old city of Corinth. Then the Apostle Paul returned to Asia Minor, to Jerusalem, and again to Macedonia. In Jerusalem he was taken into custody and sent to Rome. Eusebius writes that after two years of imprisonment in Rome, St. Paul was released, and he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ for another ten years. Then he returned to Rome. Here the Apostle Paul suffered martyrdom. This happened on June 29, 67 or 68 AD.

Ancient Nikopol, where the Apostle Paul preached after his release in Rome, “When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, hasten to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there” (Titus 3:12). The activities of the Apostle Paul turned Nikopol into the largest Christian center of its time. The picturesque ruins of Nikopol are located near Preveza.

Research by Alexey Mishin.

HOLY SITES OF GREECE

It is impossible to visit all the Christian shrines of Greece in one trip. There are many of them and they are scattered throughout the country, including on numerous islands.
Greece was and remains the guardian of Orthodoxy. 98% of believers adhere to the Orthodox religion.

Worship of holy places shows that a person still has something higher in life, besides caring for his daily bread. A believer or a person who finds himself in a difficult life situation and does not know where to look for a way out, as a rule, goes to a religious, mystical point like a pilgrim, paying little attention to the inconveniences.

The first city that welcomes pilgrims is the northern capital of Greece, Thessaloniki (in Russian - Thessaloniki). The heavenly patron of the city is the holy great martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. In the 4th century, Demetrius was the son of the Roman proconsul in Thessalonica. His parents were secret Christians, baptized their son in the house church and raised him in accordance with Christian principles. After the death of his father, Demetrius was appointed in his place by Emperor Galerius. Having received the appointment, Demetrius showed himself to be an open Christian, preached in the city and converted many of its inhabitants to Christianity. For this he was killed by order of the emperor.

What forced the holy martyrs to go to their deaths? Faith? No, a deeply personal belief based on personal experience!

The Apostle Paul stayed in Thessalonica. He even wrote two letters to the Thessalonians. “We also beseech you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient in everything. See to it that no one repays evil for evil; but always seek the good of each other and everyone. Always be happy. Pray without ceasing. Thank you for everything..."

Among the shrines that pilgrims visit in Thessaloniki is the Cathedral, where the holy relics of the great saint of God, the ascetic of hesychasm, St. Gregory Palamas, are kept. And also the monastery of St. Theodora the “obedient” of Thessalonica, where her holy relics and the relics of the holy Venerable David the Stylite of Thessalonica, who lived in the sixth century, are located.

We also visited the revered Christian shrine, the source of St. Paraskeva. Saint Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa is a Christian great martyr of the 3rd century. There is a bridge across the gorge, along which you can go to the rock church of St. Paraskeva. The source with healing water itself is located deep in a narrow passage in the mountain.
It is curious that the springs of St. Paraskeva in Russia are still opening. In the Central district of Krasnoyarsk, a square with the source of St. Paraskeva-Friday was solemnly opened. The source is named in the name of St. Paraskeva-Friday and under Malysheva Mountain in Staraya Ladoga.

I especially remember visiting a small church in Kastoria. In total, there are more than 70 churches from the Byzantine era in Kastoria. In addition to the Church of Mavriotis, the following are known: the Church of the Holy Unmercenaries (XI century), the Church of St. Athanasius Muzaki (XIII century), and the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Archangel (XIV century).
We were lucky enough to attend a service that was booked by one family in attendance. I liked the simplicity and some special soulfulness of the service, devoid of formalism, pomp and ritual constraint. One could feel real, genuine faith coming from the heart.

The decoration of Greek Orthodox churches, in comparison with ours, is more than modest. The church shop (if there is one) is located nearby, but not in the temple premises itself. There are candles in the temple without any price tags. Everyone can take and put as much as they want. There is only a bowl for voluntary donation.

I especially liked the small chapels that can be found everywhere. They also stand on the sides of roads in memory of those killed in road accidents.

One of the most visited holy places in Greece is Athos (translated from Greek as “Holy Mountain”). This is the third peninsula of Halkidiki. For Orthodox Christians around the world, Athos is one of the main holy places, revered as the earthly Destiny of the Mother of God.

Athonite monks created a whole doctrine of prayer - “hesychasm” (from the Greek calmness, silence, solitude). The philosophy of hesychasm is based on the idea that a person who spends a long time in prayer and asks God with his heart can see spiritually divine energies. This point of view was defended by Gregory Palamas.

On the second Sunday of Lent, we remember Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, who lived in the 14th century. “He made his insightful conclusions not on the basis of book learning, but on the basis of the real spiritual experience of his own, and many other hermit monks on Mount Athos. Who, through fasting, through solitude, through prayer, overcame passions and vices in themselves, and opened the path to the knowledge of God,” Patriarch Kirill said in a recent sermon.

Did the Athonite monks really see “divine light” as a result of prayer?
Where is a person closer to divine energies - in “holy places” or anywhere? does it all depend on the place or the heart?!

I believe it all depends on the attitude and faith of the person himself; not on the place to which he makes a pilgrimage, but on the state of his heart!

Man is a programmable creature. Faith can be perceived as programming consciousness. What a person believes in, he creates.

The monasteries in Meteora impressed me with their restraint and fullness. It seems that Orthodoxy should be like in Greece - internally meaningful and externally modest.

I have always been tormented by the question: is it necessary to decorate a place of worship?
After all, the Lord hears a person, but does not see, hears all his unutterable prayers.
The temple is in the soul! And the church is a community of fellow believers.
So is it worth decorating a place where a person communicates with God, if the main thing is the state of the soul at the moment of prayer, when the purity of the soul corresponds to the vibration frequency of your prayer, which yearns to be heard.
After all, hermits (hermits) pray wherever they can in the forest. The main thing is to live in a state of prayer, always be turned to God, always be in contact with Him!

“A man is not from his heels to the top, but from his head to the Sky”!

The more I travel to "holy places", the more I get the impression that although there was once truth here, it is now 99 percent a well-established business.

In general, ideas about the special holiness and chosenness of God of this or that people are the same fiction as national states are an invention of ambitious politicians.

It seems absurd when believers quarrel with each other, forgetting about the love they profess. Shouting “God is with us,” Christians in war go to kill each other.

There is a Russian monastery on Mount Athos - Panteleimonovsky - the most beautiful!
Monasteries have always been the stronghold of the church. They served not only as “inns” for wanderers. Monasteries were centers of intellectual thought. They were also sent there to eternal imprisonment. The wealth of the church was also kept there. It was on the basis of the monasteries that the banking system arose.

Money has always been an integral part of power. Our guide spoke about the recent scandal in Greece that erupted in connection with the alleged financial fraud of the Athonite hierarchs.
Money is the Achilles heel of any church.

Recently in Sestroretsk I visited the Church of Peter and Paul. There was a terminal attached to the wall, reminiscent of one of those through which people make utility payments. I inserted the bill, the machine swallowed it and gave me a “receipt” stating that I had made a donation in a certain amount, while the inscription “God loves a cheerful giver” appeared on the screen.

Three main questions remain relevant for the Russian Orthodox Church:
1\ Will trade be removed from the temple?
2\ Will the service be conducted in modern Russian?
3\ Will fees for church services such as baptisms be waived?

In the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, I saw that the most ordinary candles are available for free, and everyone can make a donation voluntarily, and not through the purchase of candles.
Our church is not so poor as to see a source of income in the candle trade.
A person can donate more than the cost of a candle.
Let's remember whose donation is more valuable: the one who gave little of the last, or who gave a lot of the excess?

I was baptized in the Orthodox Church in infancy, and I cannot refuse this as a fact of my biography. But I am against the imposition of any beliefs, especially religious ones.
Faith is a deeply personal path of a person, his personal experience, only personal.
Faith is from God, religion is from man!

One cannot help but rejoice when watching how the church, often together with the state, is engaged in the restoration of Orthodox churches (this despite the fact that, according to the Constitution, the church is separated from the state).
But is a temple primarily a building?
Do people require less care than stones?
Will it not happen again that the monasteries will be rich and the people poor?
After all, our main wealth is people!

It seems to me that it would be more correct to restore Orthodox churches and monasteries not at state expense, but with public donations! This would demonstrate the unity of the people around the church, for the church is a community of fellow believers!

The success of the church, in my opinion, should be measured not by the number of revived monasteries and churches built, but by the improvement in the moral state of society.

The task of the church is to help people in the difficulties of our lives to choose good and create love, drawing strength from faith in the commandments of Jesus Christ.

For me, the criterion for assessing the activities of any person and the church is only one thing: it helps to create love and goodness or incites intolerance and anger.

In my opinion, the church should maintain its distance, be a moral and spiritual authority, and not get closer to the state, which inevitably leads (as history shows) to the subordination of the church to the state.

If the church does its immediate business - instructing people on the path to God! – this is more than enough, since no one else is doing this.

Otherwise, someone saw a connection between the failure of our Olympic team in Vancouver and the blessing of Patriarch Kirill before the trip.

Many people reproach the church that it is becoming more and more like a state-public institution. Many are put off by the excessive gilding and external pomp of the services.

Every Saturday I watch The Shepherd's Word on TV. While someone is discussing the Patriarch’s new luxurious robes, I personally listen carefully to his sermon.

I agree with the Patriarch when he says: “What should be the attitude of the church towards the outside world, including the authorities? The Church is called to preserve God's truth and proclaim it. It is not her business to share secular power or participate in political struggle. It is not her job to direct the anger of the masses in one direction or another. The job of the church is to proclaim God’s truth.”

Holy places are, first of all, holy people in these places!
The saint has always been distinguished by: 1\ ascetic modesty and simplicity 2\ silence 3\ love no matter what.

Why was Seraphim of Sarov recognized as a saint?
Because he lived his life in solitude and asceticism, did no harm to anyone, and loved everyone: both wild animals and the robbers who attacked him. That is why he possessed the warmth of grace, which did not allow him to freeze, and which he generously shared, including with N.A. Motovilov, who visited him.

Some people don't believe it. Sri Aurobindo was also an atheist. When his brother fell ill and all medical means were powerless, they turned to a wandering Indian “saint.” He collected dirty water from a puddle and gave it to his dying brother to drink. After this, the brother recovered. Well, Sri Aurobindo became a believer.

It seems to me that the main problem in our life is the lack of faith.
It seems that modern people have no faith in the ideal at all.
It is unlikely that any of today's young pragmatists has as their ideal the likeness of Christ.

The authorities are not interested in having people in society who are independent spiritual authorities.

Spiritual authority is a vigilant conscience!
Spiritual authority speaks out loud about what others only think about to themselves!
Spiritual authority is not the one who tells how to live, but the one who lives as he says!
Spiritual authority is not the one whose words are oriented, but whose deeds!

I recently made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. People cannot help but notice what kind of limousines the hierarchs drive, what kind of watches and mobile phones they wear...

However, despite all the shortcomings, we must admit that in modern Russia there is no other force that helps people create love and goodness, except the church!

Don't you think that faith in God is self-deception?
- Even if faith is the result of self-hypnosis, then those good deeds that are done by faith in love are worth living in such self-deception. After all, by and large, we have nothing but faith. Everything is based on faith and revolves around love. Faith is stronger than knowledge because it is open to any new information, while knowledge does not accept not only faith, but also information that does not agree with existing facts. When a person knows, he always doubts, and therefore will not apply the same strength that opens up in him when he believes. For example, if a person does not believe that he will recover, he will never recover. Knowledge relaxes, allowing doubt, while faith mobilizes. Knowledge brings sorrow, faith comforts the soul. The unbeliever needs arguments based on common sense, while the believer knows with his heart. By and large, only those who know believe. Because believing is the same as Knowing! However, you cannot demand faith from people. A person demands evidence and craves denial, and therefore it is necessary to give him the opportunity to verify the truth of God’s Law, first of all, through his own experience. And the point is not at all about responsibility before God for one’s behavior and not about posthumous reward for good deeds. Man wants rewards in this life. It is the belief that by doing good for others, you thereby do good to your own soul - this is the earthly reward for love. For most people, what they call faith is just hope. Faith is a conviction, hope is just a guess. Hope orients towards help from without, while faith mobilizes a person from within. Many people know that everything in the world is interconnected, but the Mystery of the world lies in how, in what way everything is connected to each other. Faith is the only way to become familiar with the Mystery, a kind of key, but not for deciphering, but rather for launching a mechanism, the purpose and principle of operation of which is unknown to us. This is the LAW OF FAITH, when if you don’t believe, you won’t see, hear or understand anything. Faith is not an escape from reality, but rather a way to return to it, seeing the world from a different angle and realizing that everything is interconnected and there are no coincidences.” (from my novel “Stranger Strange Incomprehensible Extraordinary Stranger” on the New Russian Literature website http://www.newruslit.nm.ru

My video “SANCTIES OF GREECE” can be viewed here:
http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/1287574/post122687619/play

LOVE CREATES NECESSITY!

P.S. Watch and read my notes with videos about traveling around Greece: “Mysteries of ancient Greece”, “Ancient Athens today”, “Socrates is my friend”, “The Legend of the 300 Spartans”, “Acropolis and Parthenon - a miracle of faith”, “From Greece with love”, “At the Oracle in Delphi”, “Wonder of the World - Meteora”, “Holy Mount Athos”, “Apostle in Thessaloniki”, “Therapeutic Theater Epidaurus” and others.

© Nikolay Kofyrin – New Russian Literature – http://www.nikolaykofyrin.ru

About Orthodox shrines: Christian shrines, Orthodox shrines of Greece, Orthodox shrines of Crete, the most famous shrines, Temple of St. Titus the Apostle, Paliani Monastery, Kaliviani Monastery, shrines photo, map, how to get there

If we talk about Orthodox shrines, then the first thing we need to do is look at Jerusalem - the cradle of Christianity. In addition, there are also Christian shrines on modern territory, but not every believer knows this. I would like to remember about and (it houses the Chapel of the Burning Bush). We have already talked about these holy places in our posts. Today he invites you to visit holy places, let's get acquainted with Orthodox shrines.

Orthodox shrines of Greece

On the territory of present-day Greece, a great many ancient Christian shrines have been preserved, dating back to the time of the apostles of Christ. In addition, in Greece there are temples built during the Byzantine Empire - the cradle of Christianity. One of the closest Apostles of Jesus Christ - Paul - came to Greece to preach Christianity and had one of his best students here - Titus, who was born and raised on the island.

Practical advice from the Traveler's Assistant: when going to holy places, be sure to wear formal clothes; women need to cover their heads with a scarf, as a sign of respect for faith and believers.

We will begin our story from the island of Crete, Greece, where more than seven hundred ancient Christian monasteries and temples have been preserved. The most visited of them are located in Heraklion and its surroundings:

The most famous:

• Temple of St. Titus the Apostle (Heraklion)
• Paliani Monastery (Panagia Paliani, near Heraklion)
• Agarafu Monastery (near Hudetsi)
• monastery of Kera Kardiotissa (near the Lasithi plateau)
• Vrontisio Monastery (near Zaro)
• Monastery of St. George Sgiou Illumination (Monofotsi)
• Monastery of Pallianis (Venerato)
Monastery of Our Lady of Yuveniotissa (Khudetsi)

Temple of St. Titus the Apostle in Heraklion

In this temple (Cathedral of the Heraklion Archdiocese of the Cretan Orthodox Church) today the remains of the face of St. Titus, the Apostle, who saw Jesus Christ and was in his immediate circle, are kept. It was the Holy Apostle Titus, a native of Cyprus, who “had the indescribable happiness of seeing Jesus Christ, hearing the Divine teaching from His own lips...”. Also, on behalf of the Apostle Paul, Titus monitored the spread of Christianity on the island and appointed elders of the Church.

The first Temple, built in honor of the Apostle Titus in 961, was very simple, was rebuilt many times and was destroyed in the middle of the fifteenth century. In 1446, the construction of a new temple on the site of the old one was completed, but in 1508 it was badly damaged by an earthquake, and in 1544 by a fire. However, after these disasters, all the relics of the temple and the Holy relics were carefully preserved. We are talking primarily about the face of St. Titus, as well as about the icon of the Mother of God “Panagia Mesopanditissas”.

In 1557 the temple was rebuilt from scratch. He was great! In 1669, the city of Khandak, where the Temple of St. Titus was located, fell under the pressure of the Turks. The holy relics had to be saved again. This time they were hidden in Venice. And the temple was converted into a mosque.

In 1856, the island was again hit by an earthquake and the temple was completely destroyed. The Grand Vizier of the Empire, Ali Pasha, ordered the construction of a new one (Geni Zami), while preserving its old name - the Temple of St. Titus. In 1922, this magnificent example of a Christian shrine was returned to the Orthodox Church, and in 1925 it was consecrated by the Metropolitan of Crete.

The Temple of St. Titus is an architectural monument in which elements of Ottoman art and skillful architecture of Byzantine masters of architecture are intertwined. Its style is very reminiscent of the temples of Constantinople, decorated with decorative crowns carved from stone.

In 1966, Venice returned the Holy Relics - the remains of the face of St. Titus. But the Holy Icon of the Mother of God "Panagia Mesaponditissas" has not yet been returned to the Temple, and continues to remain in Venice (Cathedral of Della Salute).

The church honors St. Titus on August 25 (old style), or September 7 - new style. He lived for 94 years and was always distinguished by meekness, love for his neighbors and mercy.

Monastery of Panagia Paliani

This Orthodox shrine is a very ancient nunnery. It is located approximately 25 km from Heraklion.

It is said that the first records about it appeared much later than it was built. For the first time in the chronicles there is information about the monastery, dating back to 632 AD. Why is he so famous among Christians?

At the place where the monastery was built, the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos - Panagia Faneromeni - appeared to the world. Before the construction of the monastery, there was an impenetrable forest in these places. One day it caught fire. The people who put out the fire found a miraculous icon in the place of the burnt trees. Praying to the face of the Mother of God, over time, believers began to notice that the tree depicted on the icon began to sprout and take on roots. Time passed, the tree grew, and the icon began to disappear in its branches.

Today, next to the Paliani Monastery, built on the site of God’s miracle, a magnificent ancient myrtle tree grows, in the branches of which only children can see the face of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And the branches, bark, and leaves of myrtle are considered healing. A copy of the icon of Panagia Faneromeni, painted from the original in ancient times, is today kept in the monastery and helps pilgrims around the world.

The Monastery of Panagia Paliani was destroyed several times throughout its existence, but was restored again thanks to the labors of believers and prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos.

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Orthodox shrines Kaliviani Monastery

In the very south of Crete, on the coast of the Gulf of Messara, in a place of the same name, 40 km from the city of Mires, there is the oldest Orthodox shrine - the Kaliviani monastery.

Today it is a nunnery, but during Byzantine times male monks prayed here and had their own monastery. On the territory of the monastery, the temple of the miraculous image of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Life-Giving Source, dating back to the fourteenth century AD, has been preserved.

The icon of the Mother of God, bearing the same name, is considered the main shrine of the monastery. The cathedral church of the Kaviliani Monastery also houses a copy of the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Root of Jesse. In the icon case there is a board imbued with the world from the original icon, which is currently kept on the island of Andros.

Orthodox Holy Places of Greece. Pilgrimage tours, churches, monuments and religious sites in Greece.

• Last minute tours to Greece
• Tours for the New Year Worldwide

The basis on which both the church and society itself live is tradition. Much in our life is subject to traditions: a person is baptized, gets married, goes through a certain growing up, receives upbringing and education. And, despite difficult periods in the lives of people and society as a whole, traditions continue to be observed. What does the word tradition even mean? It's very simple. Tradition is historically established and passed on from generation to generation forms of activity and behavior, as well as accompanying customs, rules and values. This is the basis of any journey, which is carried out by pilgrimage services and travel companies for religious tours.

Greece has always been not only the custodian of ancient culture, but also a stronghold of Orthodoxy. About 98% of the country's population are Orthodox Christians.

From time immemorial, pilgrimage to holy places has been one of the most revered and important traditions of our people. Even in ancient times, many people went on long journeys to venerate especially significant Orthodox shrines. For what? To receive a blessing or just to see family and friends living in the monastery. That is, pilgrimage journeys were not just an abstract tradition, but an important part of the life of Orthodox people. We want to dedicate the current material to pilgrimage trips to Greece, and not without reason: many spiritual traditions still connect us with this country.

Greece has always been not only the custodian of ancient culture, but also a stronghold of Orthodoxy. About 98% of the country's population are Orthodox Christians. There are many places in the country that are holy for Orthodox pilgrims. In addition, it is Greece that is the country where the first Orthodox churches began to be built and from where the Orthodox faith began to spread, including to our land. Now, after many centuries, Russian pilgrims, traveling through modern Greek soil, are surprised to discover how closely intertwined the paths of our peoples still remain. Let us dwell in more detail on those places that Orthodox pilgrims in Greece primarily seek to visit.

Almost no trip around the country is complete without visiting Athens - the personification of Greece. There are the ancient Byzantine church of St. George on Mount Lycabettos, as well as the famous Areopagus hill: it was from this place that the Apostle Paul preached his first sermon.

Just 14 km from the city of Loutraki, at an altitude of 700 meters above sea level, rises the majestic active convent of Blessed Potapius, built in honor of St. Potapius, who dedicated his life to serving God. About 40 nuns now live in his monastery cells.

Corinth is an ancient city whose history begins before the birth of Christ. In this city, the Apostle Paul preached the word of God from an oratorical pedestal, which has survived to this day. Here, pilgrims usually first visit the Cathedral of the Apostle Paul and the exceptionally beautiful Daphne Monastery.

On the way from Corinth to Kalavryta there is the monastery of Mega Spileon, one of the most ancient monasteries in Greece. The monastery is famous largely due to its miraculous icon of the Mother of God, created, according to legend, by Apostle Luke from wax. It is surprising that despite the huge number of fires and destruction that the monastery suffered, this icon has survived to this day. And very close to the town of Kalavryta is the Holy Dormition Lavra. The main shrine of this monastery is the venerable head of St. Alexia, donated to the monastery during its heyday by Emperor Emmanuel Palaiologos.

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In the town of Aigio, not far from Patras, one of the most revered shrines in Greece is kept - the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Tripiti. A temple was built next to the cave in which the icon is kept. In the city of Patras itself, in the Cathedral of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, the honorable head of the Apostle Andrew and the cross on which, according to legend, he was crucified, are kept. Since ancient times, Apostle Andrew has been considered the patron saint of the city, and City Day is traditionally celebrated on December 13, the day of remembrance of the saint. In addition, the cathedral is the cathedral church of the Metropolitan of Patras, one of the most authoritative and respected hierarchs of the Greek Church.

Speaking about the Christian shrines of Greece, one cannot fail to mention Meteora and the Meteora monasteries, which, justifying their name (“meteo” in Greek - air), seem to have frozen between heaven and earth. Monks chose these secluded places for prayer back in the 13th and 14th centuries, and the first of the monasteries was founded by a native of Athos, a faithful disciple of the hesychast fathers, Reverend Athanasius.

The relics of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki are kept in Thessaloniki: “The Canon of Demetrius of Thessaloniki” was the first composition in the Slavic language of the saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius after they created the Slavic alphabet. Many of the very first monasteries in Kyiv, Vladimir and Moscow were founded in honor of this particular saint. In addition, the city preserves places associated with the preaching of the Apostle Paul when he visited Thessaloniki during his missionary travels.

On the island of Corfu, pilgrims visit the site of the victory of the Russian fleet over the French under the command of Admiral Theodore Ushakov, canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. The relics of St. Spyridon of Trimythous also rest there.

On the island of Evia, travelers venerate the relics of our compatriot, the righteous John the Russian - a Christian who was taken into Turkish captivity and became famous in a Muslim foreign land for his holy earthly life and many miracles after death.

The island of Patmos is certainly known to every Orthodox Christian. It is there that the Cave of the Apocalypse is located, in which the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian heard the Voice of God, and it was there that the Apostle wrote the Book of Revelation.

And, of course, one cannot fail to mention Holy Athos - the only Orthodox monastic republic in the world with a thousand-year history and an exclusively male population. It occupies the territory of the third “finger” of the Halkidiki peninsula. Today there are 20 monasteries on Holy Athos, including one Russian, one Bulgarian and one Serbian. At the time of its glory, Holy Athos was home to 180 Orthodox monasteries.

We would like to thank the Radonezh Pilgrimage Service for their assistance in preparing the material.