Consulting the Oricale

We left Athens early in the morning and headed to Delphi. Delphi was the ancient city where the oracle to the gods lived.  It was believed that the god Apollo lived here in Delphi. People from throughout the ancient world come to Delphi to consult the oracle, to see what the gods wanted them to do. The people of this time were very self-motivated; the main objective of this consultation was personal gain. People would see how they could use this information to gain the most out of business transactions or wars, or at the very least, make their enemies lose more.  This is such an opposite world view to the Christian view where loving and caring for you neighbor is put above your own selfish interests. Delphi was situated in a beautiful mountain range, and the city is built into the side of one of the peaks with a view of the canyon bellow. The city is all in ruins today but the wealth and opulence the city must have had is evident. There are ruins of statues, temples, banks and other buildings from many different cities, groups nad individuals. Giving a statue or having a building here at Delphi was a sign of one’s power and prestige, and their rightness with the gods. Again we see such a striking contrast between this pagan culture and Christianity. In this society, wealth and status were to be praised and showed off. This is again so different to the Christian world view that humility is something to strive for, where showing of and displaying the power one has in the world is not looked upon favorably. All this being said, the ruins were beautiful. At the highest point of the city, there was a sports arena. We hiked up there and from here the view was astounding. The surrounding mountains were amazing and the filled with beautiful pine trees and other plants. I had some time to sit up here in the woods overlooking the ruins and the surrounding landscape and think. People had come to the oracle at Delphi for eight hundred years; people from across the nation had come here for answers and motivation; sacrifices and offerings were made in order for personal gain. Delphi was an important city to the ancient Greeks and their gods. It was amazing to sit there and think about the power and wealth this city must have had and to see the remnants of the city strewn across the ground. The power the city had faded away and the gods that “lived” there faded into myth and the one true God still lives and reigns! This is truly awesome! God reigns!

When we came back to Kifisia we all gathered together for worship. It is really a great when we can gather together to praise God. It is a nice reminder that even though we are on an academic program, traveling the world, making friends, God comes first. It really special to come together with the students and professors that I have got to know so well over the past four weeks, and worship together. Every time we gather together in this setting we sing the Doxology, and every time it moves me; it is truly beautiful. It has been great knowing that our focus and priority of this program is learning more and growing closer to God. Every morning before we head out for the day, we pray together as a group. This set the mood for the rest of the day and gets my mind focused rightly.  It has been such a blessing to be a part of this program, and have the chance to grow in my faith and in the community God has put me in.

The rest of the night was filled with games, conversations with people on the program and friends and family back home, and of course more World Cup soccer. It was a good ending to the day.

 

The City of the Athenians

Today was our day to explore Athens. The Greek name for Athens is more accurately translated into the city of the Athenians. This in a way at the stage for the mindset of the three people living here. The city was truly one that belonged to the people and there was a prominence of worship to the gods, especially Athena. We left early in the morning to try and bet the crowds. Our first stop of the morning was the Acropolis. As we talked about the site at the foot of the hill, I noticed how strikingly similar the Acropolis to the temple mount in Jerusalem. We talked about the historical context and culture of the ancient Greeks that would have been using the temples on the Acropolis. On top of the Acropolis there are a multiple temples to the gods, including the Parthenon. The architecture of these temples were stunning; they are truly works of art. We learned about the process the ancient Greeks would have had to go through to build all these buildings and it showed their dedication and engineering powers. The Parthenon was built in 9 years in ancient times, and the restoration of it in modern times has lasted for decades.

We went down to Mars Hill at the foot of the Acropolis and read the account in acts of Paul preaching to the people of Athens. Again it was powerful to read this account in the place where it took place. To look up at the Acropolis from Mars Hill, you are almost overwhelmed by the wealth, opulence and the perceived power of Athens and the Greek gods. For Paul to be preaching about Jesus would have been going against every aspect of the culture. The power and truth of the gospel is so evident here when you read that some Athenians, who could see all the wealth and power the gods had in their society, have all this up for the one true God. This account in Acts 17 shows us that Paul tailors the presentation of his message to his audience. To the Athenians, a people who believed in the importance of thought and worship of the gods, Paul gives an intellectual presentation of the gospel that deals with the worship of God and how God interacts with people.

We then went down to the ancient agora, where ruins still stood and there is a museum there as well. The agora would have been a place to congregate on ancient times, to conduct business and meet. The great philosophers such as Aristotle, Socrates and Plato would have come here to have their dialogs and discussions. It amazing to walk around in a place with so much history both to our religion and to our culture and easy of thought. We had some free time to explore downtown Athens. It was nice to be able to explore the city and to get off the tourist path. I just walked around for a few hours, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. On our way back home, we stopped at the stadium of the first Olympic Games! I got to run the track and get up on the award podium, it was super cool, I was pretty pumped up the whole time I was there.

We came back home, the Athenian suburb Kifisia, had dinner and then had more free time. I decided to go out in the suburb we were staying in and have a look around. I ended up finding a gelato, coffee shop that was showing the Greece game in the World Cup. It was fun to be in the country of the team playing, especially a country that cares about soccer. Unfortunately, Greece got slaughtered, but the crowds weren’t too upset. I made my way back as the game ended in order to make it back for the Greek dance lessons we were going to have. One of the members of the church was a dance instructor and he and his wife taught us four traditional Greek dances. We learned war dances, wedding dances, and dances for all occasions. It was a blast, everyone was really into it, including the professors. I was pretty good at it, if I say so myself, I really got a hang of the snapping accompanied by hip movements. It was a really fun time!

From Monks to Spartans

We went up into the mountains of Meteora, outside of the town of Kalambaka. The mountains looked unreal, almost as if they were painted in the sky. It almost looked as though pillars of rock were shooting up into the air. The whole valley that the mountains are in used to underwater until an earthquake shifted the ground just enough to drain the lake and expose these beautiful mountains. Starting a few centuries after Christ, the monastic movement came up into the mountains to be removed from society. Today there are still six working monasteries perched on the top of these cliffs and as we drove up through the mountains, we could see the remains of others and the caves in which some monks would live. We went to on the oldest and largest monasteries, the Holy Monastery of the Great Metero, which commemorated the transfiguration of Christ. I can even imagine how dedicated the original monks must have been to build in such a remote location. After I walked up the stairs carved into the cliff, and entered the monastery, I was stuck by how calm and beautiful it was inside. We first entered the narthex, which had all of its walls covered with icons of martyrs. This was to show that the Christian life is not an easy life and it is not without its consequences. To follow Christ one must be willing to give up certain privileges and aspects of society, as in the case with the martyrs, it may even require your life. It would have been quite a powerful message to the ancient monks as they entered the chapel, after distancing themselves so far from society. It still is a powerful message; as Christians we need to understand that we can't live as society does, we have to give certain things up. With these thoughts in mind, we entered the sanctuary. The walls were again filled with icons, but this time of Bible scenes and of Jesus. I was really glad that I have had a lot explanation about icons and there significance in the Eastern Church, so that I could really appreciate this church for what it was. I think a few weeks ago I would have been a little put off by being in this church, but now I could see the beauty and tradition in it. As we walked around the monastery, enjoying the views and gardens, we stumbled upon an art gallery of religious art and paintings of important Greek wars, military personnel, and politicians. Dr. Kalantzis was explaining to us that the separation between church and state which we think is so fundamental in the United States, is not the case in Greece. In fact, I the church and the state is very connected.

As we drove out of the mountains, we stopped and climbed out onto a rock were we could see five of the six monasteries all perched on the their separate rock pillars.

On our drive back to Athens we stopped at Thermopylae, the locations of the battle between the Persian army and Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. It was cool to be there and all the guys, jacked up on testosterone, ran around reenacting the scenes from 300.

We came back to Athens and had a relaxing night watching the world cup and then My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It was really funny to watch this movie in Greece and watch the reactions of the Greeks in the room, especially Dr. Kalantzis.

Factory Worker

Last night we were all pretty exhausted, even the professors. So we were all relieved when we heard that we would not be leaving until the late morning. I had stayed up talking with a few people, sitting outside on the beautiful Greek night. I was luckily able to turn in relatively early and sleep in. I really needed this, the travel and the full days were starting to take their toll. It was nice to have a leisurely breakfast and then read on the beach.
We left the resort and headed for the ancient city of Dion, a holy site for the ancient Greeks. Dion was a city at the base of Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. The city had been destroyed by earthquakes and flooding in the 5th century, and the ruins are still swamping when it's not summer time. We walked around the ancient city, which is an archeological park, and saw the remnants of Greek and Roman culture. We passed many temples of the gods, public baths and the public forum. Most likely, Paul would have sailed from Dion to Athens on his missionary journey. The park also had a museum of all the artifacts that were found throughout the city. There were so many beautiful statues, carvings and vases. It was amazing to see such artistic masterpiece that have lasted thousands of years! We left the northern territory of Greece, Macedonia and headed for central Greece.

After driving for a couple hours through the Greek country side, we stopped at an icon factory.  It was strange, in my mind when I heard that we were going to an icon factory, I pictured a stone building, seclude resembling church or monastery. However we pulled up to a strip of industrial type shops, and the factory was on the second floor in the middle of the building. We walked into the first room, and every wall was covered with icons. During this program we have had readings, lectures, and discussions on Orthodoxy and specifically icons. An icon is not drawn or painted, it is written; the icon is the writing of theology. The icons we see today are the same images that have been used for centuries; the icon writer does not have the freedom to add their own creativity because every aspect of the icon tells part of the theology. That was something that really stood out to me, every aspect of the icon is telling part of the theology and is drawing the viewer to God. It is actually a very beautiful way to see theology drawn on a canvass. It is cool to think back to a time when most people were illiterate, and one could look at an icon and be able to see the theology they believed. I definitely have gained more respect for icons over the past few weeks. I’m still not on board with the level of veneration that there is for the saints, but I have come to really appreciate icons and what they represent, what they can do and what they have done for the church, and the beauty they have. While looking through the factory, I was really struck by an icon of Jesus. On either side of Jesus it said “all powerful” in Greek and in his halo it said “I AM.” One of his hands was giving a blessing, two fingers touching, signifying the two natures of Christ, and the other three outstretched, signifying the trinity. In his other hand was an open Bible, with the words “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest,” (Matthew 11:25) written in Greek.  I loved the juxtaposition of the Bible verse and the words above Jesus. One hand it is saying that Jesus is all powerful in the universe, He has the ultimate power, but on the other hand he cares for the weak and the lowly.  I have always loved this verse and to see it in this context, with its connection to God’s ultimate power was really special.

We got to look around the workshop and see the wood carvings and designs strewn around the desks. In one of the rooms a priest was writing an icon depicting Jesus and Mary. It was amazing to see his talent as he was painting their faces. We were able to ask him questions about icons, the process of writing them, and his thoughts on icons. It was a very informative experience.

We got to the small town of Kalambaka which is at the foot of the Meteora monasteries.  We were able to walk around the town, and enjoy what a small town in Greece was like. We were able to walk explore the city and the local deserts.

In the evening Drs. Kalantzis and Cohick lectured on monasticism and Mary respectively. Dr. K gave us a history of the monastic movement through the church and an idea of what it means to be monk. This was helpful especially as we plan to go to a monastery tomorrow.  One thing that I found very interesting was the different reasons for celibacy in the Western and Eastern traditions. In the East it was a means of controlling the passions that separate us from God. However, in the West, celibacy was followed in order to give up the family one would have had in order to be closer to God. It was a very interesting lecture that helped me understand this way of life. In Dr. Cohick’s lecture, she addressed Mary, and how we should think of her, because as Evangelicals we are often cautious in our approach to Mary. By looking at the Biblical text, we can see Mary described as prophet, mother, and disciple.  It was very helpful to have this discussion after seeing many icons of Mary just a few hours earlier.

Going Down To the River To Pray

      We left Kavala early this morning and headed to Philippi. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians to the Christians living here. We first went to a river outside of the ruins of the ancient city, which is remembered to be, and probably is, the site of Lydia's conversion and baptism, Acts 16. At the river there is an orthodox church of St. Lydia. There is a focus of baptism in this church. Under the dome, in the center of the church is a large baptismal fount and on the dome are beautiful mosaics of Biblical baptisms and the baptism of Saints.

We went down to the river, and listened to Dr. Cohick lecture on Philippians as the water rushed by. Again it was so awesome to read Paul's letter in the city it was intended for! We read though the book and again discussed the historical context and some different theological takes on certain passages. One thing that really struck me was in our discussion of chapter two. In verses 7 and 8 Jesus', "being made in human likeness" I'd linked with His obedience to the Father, and His, "obedience to death." This obedience to the Father is essential to our humanness, and in verse 12, Paul commemorates the Philippians' obedience, and later, in verse 14, reminds them to do so without grumbling. This is a good reminder, that we should obey God without arguing about it. However, this is not done on our own strength but by the power of God in us. We also talked about Paul's emphasis on unity in this book. In chapter 2:1-5, Paul describes how we should live in unity with fellow Christians. This does not mean that we have to all think the same but that we bring our differences together to be unified in Christ. After we finished our lecture, I had some time to sit by the river and think and pray. I reflected on God's continuing faithfulness and love, even in hard times; I could see God could see the love and grace that God has shown and put in my life these past few months even though I was going through some hard times.

We went to the ruins of the city of Philippi, and where able to walk around the forum. On the eastern edge of the city saw the first church in Europe, and it was awesome to see the changes in architecture and size as the church grew and developed it's liturgy over time.

We then drove to the ruins of Amphipolis, were we saw the ruins of five different churches. There were five churches because they were all, in a sense, of different denominations. This again brought up what seems to be a reoccurring theme, that the unity of the church. The presence of the five churches here is evidence, as well as the history of the church, that this "division" in the church is not a product of the Reformation and not solely a Protestant phenomenon. This division may not as severe as we think. As I saw in the Holy Sepulcher, what can first seem like disunity and division, can actually be seen as something beautiful and a great sign of unity if you look at the situation with Christ in the center. We have to learn to recognize that, as Christians, we are all rooted in Christ. We have to look for the unity instead of looking for the differences. As Protestants we are often too eager to accept that we are divided, that our division is an accepted fact about Christianity. However, our unity in the body of Christ so strongly unites us, that the differences we do have are not so important.

We stopped at Vergina, a site of ancient Macedonian tombs. The museum there was really well done, the excavated tombs were cover in a building with the artifacts found there displayed around. The tomb of Philip the second, father of Alexander the great, was there. The artifacts were so extravagant, everything was covered in gold.

            We spent the night at a resort right at the foot of Mt. Olympus and right on the water in a town called Leptokarya. It was so beautiful! We were able to swim in the sea for a little while after we had finished dinner. In the later evening, we had worship on the beach. We sang a few songs as one of the girls played the violin. It was so beautiful to sing and praise God as the waves crashed softly in the background. One of the songs we sang was “All Who Are Thirsty,” and the line, “let the pain and the sorrow be washed away in the waves of his mercy,” really stuck out to me as the waves were crashing. This reminded me of what I’ve been thinking about a lot recently, learning to let God’s love overflow in my life and know that his plan is what is best. God’s love can wash over and cleans us of all our pain, troubles and worries. I really needed to be reminded of this once again.

To Macedonia

            We had an early start to the morning, leaving the compound before seven in order to get the airport. After only spending a few days in Athens, we are already off on a four day excursion to northern Greece. We flew out of Athens and landed in Thessaloniki in the early morning. This is the city of the Thessalonians, whom Paul wrote two of his letters to.  We entered this crowed city of 2.5 million people still early in the morning. As we went through the streets of the city, it was so interesting and bizarre to see ancient ruins, churches and buildings dispersed throughout the modern buildings, streets, technology and people.  All the modern buildings in the city had been built after WWII, when the city had taken a heavy toll. We first went to the ruins of the Roman forum, we sat in the amphitheater, and Dr. Cohick lectured to use on 1 and 2 Thessalonians. While we were here, we read through both letters, discussed the historical background, and went through the theology of the books. It was a really helpful experience to go through these texts in some detail and it was awesome to be in the spot these letters were written for. As we were reading through 1 Thessalonians, I was really struck by a note I made in my Bible in chapter  5. I had made the note after one of my readings from “My Upmost For His Highest.” The note was in response to verse 17, “pray continually,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. God always answers prayer, and He answers it perfectly. This is often hard for us to see because God will answer the prayer in His own time, not our own. God will answer our prayer with His infinite wisdom, which may not make sense to us at the time.

We went to St Demetrius church, which was in the heart of Thessaloniki. It is the oldest church in the city. The church was a beautiful Greek orthodox church, and that still resembles the original church. The inside of the church had icons on most of the walls and was ornately decorated. While we walked through Dr. Kalantzis explained to us some of the meaning of the architecture and design of the church and he also explained the significance of some of the icons. It was a really great experience to learn about the Eastern Church hands on.
We made a quick stop for gyros before going to a Macedonian history museum in Thessaloniki. The museum was filled with ancient Greek and Roman sculptures and jewelry. It was really incredible!

We left Thessaloniki and drove to Kavala, a nice seaside town. Our hotel was right across the street from the water, and after dinner we got to explore the city. A small group of us went out to see what we could find, heading towards the remnants of an old fort on top of the hill by the water. Along the way we passed the church that remembers Paul's arrival to Europe from Asia and the spreading of the gospel to this new continent. A mosaic represented the story of this travel that is in Acts 16. We got up to the top of the hill near the fort, climbed down the cliffs to the sea, and explored for a while. We hung out there at the water as the sun set and then slowly wandered back to our hotel through the long way back through the city.

Lecture Day

Dr. Kalantzis lectured in the morning on Nestorianism. When we try to define who God is, we always end up in heresy. By definition, to define something is to shape and control something, and so by trying to define God we are trying to control God. At this point, God is not God, but an idol. This is a bottom up definition of God. We can only describe who God is through His revelations of himself, top down.

     Dr. Cohick lectured on Acts, which was fitting, as we are preparing to follow Paul's journey. We discussed whether Paul was called or if he was converted as well as the historical context of various stories in acts.

We were lucky to be able to Skype interview Dr. Kassis, a Lebanese Christian, living in Lebanon, and talk to him about Christianity in the Middle East. It was very informative and helpful to talk get the perspective of a native of the area on such an important issue. He said that there needs to be pressure from the church and the United States on the Israel Palestine issue. He also said that he feels as though he needs to stay in Lebanon, he still has a mission to do.
Later in the evening, we were able to walk to the downtown area of the suburb of Athens we are staying in and look around. Because we with Dr. Kalantzis, we obviously got coffee and dessert. It was nice to explore a bit with a local. It was nice to walk around the suburb that we are staying in and see part of daily Greek life.