I spent three nights in Kalambaka and I hiked the amazing Holy Rocks in Meteora, one of the highlights of Greece, I am told. In the process I visite six orthodox monasteries, and a 9th-11th century church, and made a new friend.
The rocks in Meteora were created by a unique blend of minerals resulting in almost a natural concrete, and shaped by unique forces into towering rock columns, more than a thousand of them, in a relatively small area north of the towns of Kalambaka and Kastraki in northern Greece. They are an awe inspiring natural phenomenon, but even more awe inspiring is the people who have come here to dedicate their lives, their whole lives, every bit of it, to their God
Six monasteries remain, at one point there were many more. Four have small numbers of men (1 to 3) and two of them house about a total of 40 women. The monasteries are available to tour, indeed the nuns make a good living off selling souvenirs and religious goods, but they do both, invite the public in and send them out with souvenirs, in the hope that God’s spirit will break into their lives, that their example of faith may spark faith in others.
And they are real about it. On finding out I was a Protestant minister, one nun spent a while in broken English, telling me about her favorite saint, and why he inspires her faith. Never mind that customers were waiting. She was so enthusiastic and so fully committed.
There is a lot of solitude here, but there is also community: around the dinner table, in the community prayer, just in living with each other. The monks and nuns at the six monasteries in the air are aware of the others who have come here, and who live there now. When the fog dips low over these structures, they surely live literally within that great cloud of witnesses
If my plans had gone as planned, I would have completely missed this. I came to Meteora only because I was not going to Israel. I wonder what other surprises are in store for me here
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