Farewell

Well, it's hard to believe that our pilgrimage is over. We just made it through security (no thanks to the guidebooks I printed and the Dead Sea salts that we bought...for some reason those items raised security suspicions!).

BUT, before we made it this far we had yet another blessed day, this time outside the walls of Jerusalem.

We started the day with an early breakfast then a long drive to the town of Nazareth. This amazing city was Christ's home for approximately 30 years of His earthly life. Our first stop was the Church of the Annunciation and the well of the Panagia inside. This is where she received the greeting of Archangel Gabriel and she was told that she would bear a Son. We read the Gospel account as well as the version of the account from the Protevangelium of James, sang the hymn from the feast, as well as Ti Ipermaho. It is in this place that we reflect on the obedience of the Panagia and the power of her call.

After boarding the bus we were treated to the Nazarene version of baklava that was absolutely delicious.

Next, we drove to Cana of Galilee to the Church that is on the site of the first miracle of Christ. There we learned that while Christ was attending the wedding of Simon the Zealot and turned the water into wine at the intercession of the Theotokos. Simon the Zealot became a disciple.

In commemoration of that miracle and how Christ blessed the wedding there, we had a small service on the grounds of the church and prayed for the married people on our trip and those back home as well.

After that we made an even longer journey into the middle of the desert where we had the blessing to visit the fourth century monastery of St. Gerasimos of the Jordan. He is an amazing saint that ended up befriending a lion by helping it remove a thorn from its paw. Appropriate to this story is the mosaic on the floor of the main church depicting how before the fall of Adam and Eve that we lived peacefully with wild animals. The other amazing aspect of this monastery is the cave below ground where the Theotokos nursed the infant Christ on their escape to Egypt.

We met a very special elderly lady who lives in Germany and volunteers her time several months of the year to the well-being of the monastery. She was very kind and welcoming.

This was the last place of pilgrimage and we had a tearful farewell to our amazing guide, Yani. We were truly blessed to be led by such a spiritual man who is an Orthodox Christian living in Jerusalem. The whole group hopes that he will come to visit us in New York.

We then packed our bags, had one last dinner then ventured off to the airport.

On a personal note, I feel extremely blessed to have realized a dream to visit the Holy Land and walk in the footsteps of Christ. I apologize to anyone for any mistakes or oversights I may have made in this blog, but all the entries were made after long days of touring. I also wanted to add many more pictures, but the data connections I had were spotty at best, leading to extremely long uploading (20 minutes a picture!).

I plan to share more pictures via facebook, so if you haven't done so, feel free to "friend" me.

In closing, I thank God for such a wonderful, uplifting, and spiritual experience. I look forward to my return to the Holy Land knowing now what to expect.

Please pray for peace in this beautiful place and the safe return of all of our group.

I can't wait to see my St. Paul's family this Sunday!!

Signing off...

God bless,

+Fr. Luke

Day 8: Too many places to remember for the title!

Wow! Another packed day for us that was spiritually uplifting tinged with sadness at the thought of the trip ending soon.

We decided to wake up early s0 that we could go to the Holy Sepulcher of Christ one more time to venerate in much less crowded situation than during the Midnight Liturgy. The enthusiasm of the pilgrims at this site is so great that crowds become very aggressive about getting close to venerate and see. Thanks to our experienced Parish Council Members we formed a perimeter in order to hold our group's place in line. Going to venerate the Holy Sepulcher is something so powerful that every Orthodox Christian should experience. While approaching the tomb, we chanted hymns from Holy Friday and from the Resurrection Service, and hymns from the memorial service. After venerating again and praying for everyone I could think of again, the priest overseeing the area gave us candles lit in the Sepulcher to break up and give to the sick of our parish.

We then climbed the stairs to Golgotha the place of Christ's Crucifixion. Emotions ran high as we chanted the beautiful hymn from Holy Thursday Evening,

Σήμερον κρεμάται επί ξύλου,
ο εν ύδασι την γην κρεμάσας.
Στέφανον εξ ακανθών περιτίθεται,
ο των αγγέλων βασιλεύς.
Ψευδή πορφύραν περιβάλλεται,
ο περιβάλλων τον ουρανόν εν νεφέλαις.
Ράπισμα κατεδέξατο,
ο εν Ιορδάνη ελευθερώσας τον Αδάμ.
Ήλοις προσηλώθη, ο νυμφίος της Εκκλησίας.
Λόγχη εκεντήθη, ο υιός της Παρθένου.
Προσκυνούμεν σου τα Πάθη, Χριστέ.
Δείξον ημίν και την ένδοξόν σου Ανάστασιν.

Today is hung upon the Tree, He Who suspended the Earth amidst the waters. A crown of thorns crowns Him, Who is the King of Angels. He, Who wrapped the Heavens in clouds, is clothed with the purple of mockery. He, who freed Adam in the Jordan, received buffetings. He was transfixed with nails, Who is the Bridegroom of the Church. He was pierced with a lance, Who is the Son of the Virgin.

We worship your Passion, O Christ. Show us also Your glorious Resurrection.

Related to Golgotha, the Tradition of our Holy Orthodox Church teaches that levels below the Precious Blood of Christ ran down the Mount of Golgotha to the Tomb of Adam, washing away our forefather's sins.

We then moved to the stone where the Precious Body of Christ was Anointed. This stone is still fragrant to this day. I rubbed my prayer rope and some crosses that I bought for my daughters upon this stone and they still have the fragrance of the stone upon them hours later.

Descending into the depths of the grounds of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, we went to chapel of the finding of the Precious and Life-giving Cross. We reflected on Christ's words we He states that if we wish to follow come after Him that we must take up our cross daily and follow Him.

Leaving the Church of the Resurrection, we ventured out into the city to have a quick lunch and see the Western Wall after a semi-rigorous security screening by Israeli police.

We continued up the way of the Cross and stopped by the Greek Orthodox chapel at the Praetorium seeing the cell where Christ was imprisoned, beaten, spat upon and mocked for us and for our salvation. This was certainly another very emotional stop for us imaging in that small cell, our Lord, God and Savior in His Suffering.

Following this, we visited the Monastery of St. Anna. On these grounds are is the Pool of Bethesda where Christ Healed the paralytic man who was waiting for the angel to move the waters for healing. This is also the place of the birth of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. Our thoughts went to our Philoptochos Chapter which is named after St. Anna.

Something that I didn't realize until this pilgrimage is that Bethesda means Gate of Mercy, which takes on even more significance considering the birth of the Panagia God's mercy for each of us through his Divine Dispensation.

Our last day is tomorrow. It will certainly be a day of mixed emotions. As a side note, happy anniversary to Gary and Kathy Verderosa, celebrating their 29th Anniversary, we will pray for them tomorrow at Cana of Galilee.

Day 7

Well, we’re all pretty tired from our late night Liturgy experience, but we all realize that we may be experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime journey, so we are pushing forward...

After breakfast, we ventured forth once again into the holy city of Jerusalem strengthened by the Body and Blood of Christ going first to Zacharias’ house, that is the birthplace of St. John the Baptist, unfortunately the monastery was closed. Undaunted, we read from the Gospel and reflected on the birth of John the Baptist, the greatest man born of woman as we learned from the words of Christ.

We then traveled a short distance to the well of the Panagia, and read the Gospel account when Mary greeted Elizabeth and the infant John the Baptist leapt in Elizabeth’s womb at the realization of the Messiah’s coming. We also chanted a few hymns in honor of the Panagia.

Next, we went to the monastery of the Holy Cross. This was the site where Christ’s Holy Cross was elevated a second time after it’s return from Persian captivity. We were able to venerate the ground where the cross was placed after the elevation.

Another short hop on the bus and we journeyed to the Monastery of the Prophet Elias. It was a short stop but very powerful. Besides the beauty of the church, there are relics of a monk of the monastery and the chains which were used to martyr him, reminding us of the tensions and the witness offered by the people here in the Holy Land.

Strengthened by that image fresh in our minds, we traveled to Bethany to the monastery of Martha and Mary where Christ raised Lazarus from the dead. We venerated the very stone on which Christ stood. It is a wonderful monastery with 9 very friendly nuns (5 from Cyprus) who were very happy to welcome us.

The next stop for us was the site of the Last Supper, two appearances of our Resurrected Lord, and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The upper room was plainly decorated as it is a multi-faith site. The only subtle decoration was on the top of a column depicting a mother pelican piercing her own flesh to feed her children, reminding us Christ’s sacrifice for us and the feeding of our souls through Holy Communion.

We had the extra blessing of Fr. Ahilios coming to our hotel and speaking to us about life in the Holy Land.

Day 6...Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem Patriarchate, Shepherds' Field, Church of the Nativity, and the Holy Sepulchre

As I write this, it is about 3:30 in the morning Jerusalem time, but there is no way I'll be able to fall asleep for awhile. We just completed celebrating Divine Liturgy at the Tomb of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, and while I feel peaceful, there is no describing the high that I am experiencing right now.

Let me recap, however, everything that we had the blessing to experience today.

Our first stop was the Mount of Olives. This is the place of the Lord's Ascension where He blessed his Disciples and then ascended in glory to sit at the Right Hand of the Father. At this location is a Greek Orthodox Monastery with a priest-monk Fr. Ahilios. He has an ever-present smile and a kind nature that made us feel so welcome. Fr. Ahilios' kindness is amazing considering the stressful nature of the location of the monastery. Fr. Ahilios' predecessor, Fr. Ioakim fought the authorities to build two churches on the grounds (against their orders). When those in authority learned of the construction they sent bulldozers to destroy the churches. The bulldozers succeeded in destroying the church that was above ground, but when they tried to break through the ceiling of the underground church, an icon of Christ rolled out of the church blocking the way and the bulldozer broke...this sent a clear message and the church has remained intact, with the damage still showing from where the unsuccessful attempt took place. We prayed and chanted with Fr. Ahilios and said our goodbyes.

Outside of the monastery is a beautiful panoramic view of the city of Jerusalem. While gazing upon this city of tension, war and peace, our guide Yani offered beautiful thoughts on the importance of love and peace...we were so inspired as we thought of being in the same place of where the Lord is said to return on his Second Coming.

After taking some pictures we traveled to Gethsemane and the tomb of the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. This was a place of mass pilgrimage and we followed the throng through the slow moving line to venerate her resting place before her assumption into heaven. We gathered outside the tomb and sang hymns from the Paraklesis before the icon of Panagia Ierousalimitsa bringing all of us to tears.

Completing that emotional experience, we went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Christ prayed in agony to the point where his sweat became like drops of blood. Christ's prayer was simple and powerful, surrendering His own will for the will of God the Father and allowing Himself to be betrayed by Judas in that very Garden with a kiss.

The next stop was to receive the blessing from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos. His Patriarchal lineage traces all the way to back to St. Iakovos (St. James the Disciple). His Beatitude was gracious, humble and very well spoken. He shared uplifting words about the area and the truth of our Orthodox Christian Faith. After speaking, he gave us all generous gifts and his Patriarchal blessings. There was a group from Ukraine received at the same time as well, so I was excited that my wife's heritage was represented so well. The Patriarch said about the Ukrainians that they are a people in whose faces we see the Crucifixion and Resurrection (referring to their Communist occupation by the Soviets). The Ukrainians were excited to learn about Marusia, and I got to try out some of the Ukrainian that I know. It was just a wonderful, uplifting experience from start to finish at the Patriarchate.

We then had lunch at a Christian owned restaurant in Palestine where we enjoyed Filafel on our way to the Shepherd's field.

At Monastery of the Shepherd's field, the grounds were immaculate. One monk is there, Fr. Ignatios. Fr. Ignatios has an interesting history as he was involved in hotel management. He was considering marrying, but made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and visited the monastery. The abbot at that time told him that he would become the abbot in the future, so eventually Fr. Ignatios stayed. Fr. Ignatios was another kind and gentle man with a wonderful disposition, chanting with us, praying with us and talking to us without regard for time. Everyone enjoyed visiting.

After departing the field where the shepherds heard the hymns of the Angels announcing Christ's Birth, we went to the place of His Birth. The Church of the Nativity was inspiring and another emotional stop. While waiting in line, we were taking turns with the Romanian Pilgrims chanting various hymns. It was a beautiful moment where our mutual Orthodox Christian Faith surpassed any language and cultural boundaries. While venerating the spot of Christ's Birth we emotionally sang Orthodox Christmas hymns imagining the beauty of the Silent Night.

Completing that amazing part of our pilgrimage we then went back to the hotel to rest and prepare for midnight Liturgy at the Tomb of Christ. I can't really present what the group experienced as I was taken to the altar immediately. But I can tell you that this was one of the most emotional experiences of my life. To celebrate Liturgy in the place where Christ rose from the dead is something I will never forget. I was completely humbled to wear vestments that bore the mark of the Guardians of the Tomb of Christ and to be allowed out of dozens of priests to serve close to the altar and our Lord's Tomb. I was rendered fairly useless in the altar as I couldn't control my tears when the gifts were lifted. The most powerful moment came when we were preparing for the distribution of Holy Communion and the people spontaneously began singing Resurrectional Hymns from Pascha in various languages. Christ's Resurrection was made even more real for us this morning. I was given the blessing of distributing the Body and Blood of Christ to hundreds of faithful.

What else can I say? I prayed for everyone that I can think of and for those that I may have forgotten at the place where Christ rose from the dead. May our Risen Lord watch over all of us and keep blessing you all. Χριστός ἀνέστη! CHRIST IS RISEN!!!!

Days 4 & 5: St. Katherine's & the Dead Sea

I feel like I haven't blogged in days!

I wish I could express properly in words the emotions that we experienced over the last two days.

I truly count myself blessed that I was able to venerate the relics of St. Katherine and serve Divine Liturgy at the Holy Monastery on Mt. Sinai dedicated to her.

But, before I go into detail about that, let me describe our journey to get there...

Yesterday morning we departed early from our hotel in Jericho to make the long drive into Egypt. We left at 8 a.m. said our morning prayers, read from the Psalms. The scenery of the mountains and desert made the Psalm readings come alive as we re-lived them.

At about 2:45 we reached the border of Israel and Egypt. We then made our way through Israeli Passport control and customs and walked across the border to Egypt.

Once in Egypt, we boarded a new bus with the goal of making it to St. Katherine's before Vespers that starts at 4 p.m. We barely made it, just catching the end of the Artoklasia service that they celebrating for St. Iakovos.

We then had the amazing blessing of venerating the skull of St. Katherine and her hand. The priest (from England) then gave each pilgrim a ring from the monastery reminding us of the vision St. Katherine had when she was promised to be the bride of Christ.

After the veneration of the relics we wer

e taken into the museum of the monastery and saw so many amazing things, including one of my all time favorite icons, the Christ Pantokrator from Sinai.

Now, the group split up...some wanted to ascend Mt. Horeb to go to the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments (an arduous climb that lasted all night) and some wanted to attend early morning Liturgy at St. Katherine's.

I received the blessing to serve, so the choice was easy for me! I had the great joy of co-celebrating Divine Liturgy in one of the oldest monasteries in the world!

Nine of the group ascended the mountain(including our oldest and youngest members: James, 85 and Polydoros, 18), and the rest of the group worshiped at the monastery.

After a quick breakfast, we re-boarded our bus, traveled back to the border and crossed over into Israel again.

We drove for a few hours and just finished our stop at the Dead Sea. Our guide Yani gave more significance to the Dead Sea by explaining that the reason Christ was baptized near the mouth of the Dead Sea was that sin was washed in the Jordan's living waters and taken to the Dead Sea where nothing can live. Our group enjoyed their time in the Dead Sea, floating and even Greek Dancing!

Day 3: Jericho

I am writing this post from the oldest city in the world, Jericho. We have officially entered Palestinian territory, and had another amazing day.

Before we ventured to Jericho, we started out by journeying up Mount Tabor. There we visited the Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration at the top. The bus only took us part of the way, then we had an adventurous taxi ride up to the top.

Once at the top, we enjoyed a spectacular view and the hospitality of the nuns of the monastery.

Inside the beautiful church, there were many spectacular things to see including the stone upon where Christ was transfigured. Pilgrims who tried to photograph the stone directly, could not.

We listened to the Gospel lesson of the Transfiguration and remembered all of our friends and families who celebrate their nameday on the feast of the Transfiguration (all of the Soteroulas, Soterias, Soterioses).

We then moved on to Jericho, where we had the blessing to gather around the sycamore tree that Zaccheus climbed to see Christ as well as a well of Elliseos.

We read the Gospel lesson of Zaccheus, sang his apolytikion and discussed the importance of rising above the crowds of our distractions and focusing on Christ.

We enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant which included some awesome filafel!

Upon departing there we went to the Monastery on the Mount of Temptations (Sarantarion Oros). We had to take cablecars to the to monastery which is certainly at one of the highest points of the city. After a rigorous climb up the rest of the way, we met the two monks who are serving the monastery, who are spiritually uplifting in their service to the Church.

At the monastery we saw the rock where Christ prayed during his 40 day fast before He began His sacred ministry and the cave of St. Elias (the entrance to the cave was narrow and low...extremely humbling).

We discussed the importance of fasting and prayer following Christ's example and also talked about the role of the Prophets.

After sampling the local wares, we adjourned for the hotel to get some rest for our journey to Mt. Sinai tomorrow.

This may be the last blog entry until after Egypt, as the internet coverage will be spotty at best.

Day 2: Afternoon...Capernaum, Holy Apostles, and Jordan River

With our bellies full of St. Peter's fish, we continued our journey...

We went to Capernaum (Kephir Nahum, that is the home of the Prophet Naum) and saw many things.

The gates of Capernaum are powerful calling it the "Town of Jesus." Inside the city, we meditated on some of the miracles of Christ that occurred in Capernaum outside of the house of Sts. Peter and Andrew. We also saw the Synagogue where Christ taught. It was amazing to imagine the crowds of people that Christ healed in this area.

After departing the main city of Capernaum, we visited the Monastery of the Holy Apostles. The church was beautiful with a powerful icon of the Last Judgment as we exited.

Next, we traveled to the Jordan river listening to hymns from Epiphany reminding us of the humility and revelation experienced in the Baptism of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ. Truly words fail to describe the emotion and beauty experienced by all of our pilgrims at this astounding event. We re-affirmed our baptisms by renouncing satan again and joining ourselves to Christ while chanting "En Iordani Baptizmenou sou, Kyrie" (The apolytikion of Epiphany).












Ater this emotional experience we enjoyed an outdoor barbeque at the hotel. On this cool evening we will enjoy memories created today that will definitely last a lifetime.

Day 2: Church of the Apostles, Mount of Beatitudes, Primacy of Peter, Multiplication Site, Kabutz, Sea of Galilee

We have had a very busy Tuesday morning so far.

We started out by going to the Church of the Holy Apostles in Tiberias (right down the road from our hotel). There we met Fr. Timotheos, prayed together and enjoyed the serenity of the site.

In the Church there are three altars, one dedicated to Sts. Peter and Paul, one to the Holy Apostles, and one to St. Mary Magdalene. We sang hymns to each of them.

After that we moved on to Mount of Beatitudes. This a Roman Catholic site and is beautifully maintained. We read the Beatitudes in Greek and English and meditated on the powerful words of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ.

We then departed to the Catholic church of the Primacy of Peter and the site of Multiplication of the loaves and fish. Where over 5,ooo men (and also women and children) were fed from only 5 loaves and two fish.

It was at this site that we bumped into a group led by Fr. Justinian from Romania. It was a blessing to see fellow Orthodox Christians.

At the site of the multiplication, we ventured to the shore of the Sea of Galilee where a few brave souls walked into the shallow part of the waters. We also saw one of the seven springs.

We read and reflected on the multiplication and what this means to us in our lives, and how Christ can multiply the many gifts that we have been blessed with.

After this, we stopped at a traditional kibutz, then boarded a boat on the Sea of Galilee. The crew raised the American and Greek flags accompanied by the National Anthems and we moved into the middle of the body of water.

There we read the Gospel passage where Christ calmed the storm and walked on the water and discussed how Peter was able to walk on the water when his focus was on Christ. As soon as Peter was the distracted by the storm and took his focus off of Christ, he started to sink. The same can be said for us and our lives. Our focus needs to be on Christ or else we will sink in the storms of troubles that we face. The good news is if we start to sink, we just need to look for Christ's hand reaching out to us.

Finally, before lunch, we stopped and saw the ruins of the village of Magdala, which made me think of my middle daughter, Magda who is named after St. Mary Magdalene. It was amazing to see a small portion of the village of St. Mary Magdalene's birth. Yani was quick to remind us that while this is commonly overlooked site, it is a place that Christ Himself visited.

Ok...whew...now it's time for lunch! Just wanted to jot some of these things down while they were fresh in memory!!

I will update the blog again after our journey to the Jordan River. I also will add photos later.

Day 1: Arrival & Monastery of St. George

Upon arrival we met our guide Yani. He was born in Jerusalem, moved to Crete, and now has returned to the Holy Lands where he is studying for his Master's Degree in Biblical Studies. He is a person of great joy and enthusiasm, whose greatest joy is to take pilgrims on a spiritual journey. He is fluent in many languages including Greek!

After we left the airport we went directly to the Monastery of St. George in Lod (Lydda). This was an amazing experience and a great way to start our trip. Fr. Sofrony was the priest who opened the main church for us which is divided in half (the other half being a mosque).

The neighborhood surrounding the church is rough around the edges to say the least. Poor housing and a definite element of poverty and the desperation that accompanies this.

Inside the church is nothing but beauty and amazement. We had the great blessing to venerate the chains of St. George as well as his tomb. After venerating we were permitted to have a small prayer service and pray for our loved ones over the tomb of St. George.

One of the most amazing elements of the visitation to this site was the amazing and beautiful fragrance that hits you as descend the stairs to this holy martyr's tomb.

We have many Georges (and a Georgia) so we truly began our trip in a most appropriate way.

We are now returning to our hotel for an Israeli dinner then to get rest for what promises to be an incredible day tomorrow (including a renewal of our baptism in the Jordan River).