The Gifting of the Holy Relic of Saint Anna »
Posted on July 28, 2010 in 2005 Pilgrimage to the Skete of St. Anna, Mount Athos - 0 COMMENTS
Processing Saint Anna
by Rev Fr Chris Flesoras
We begin our walk to the Chapel of the Three Hierarchs, about ½ hour away from the main courtyard. Although the moon is somewhat hidden behind the clouds, the sky is filled with stars that provide a bit of light for our trek up and down sets of stairs. Nonetheless, Fr. Theophilos walks with a lantern in one hand, a walking stick in the other, and carries the Holy Relic in a leather satchel, which hangs around his neck. I walk with a flashlight in one hand and a walking stick in the other, while carrying our exorasa (our outer black robes) over my shoulder.
Arriving at the house, we donned our exorasa, left our walking sticks on a bench, and prepared to enter the house. A few of the brothers came outside to greet us and then went on to announce the arrival of the Holy Relic of Saint Anna. The arrival of the Holy Relic was then formally announced to all the monastics and my fellow pilgrims with the joyous ringing of the bells of the Chapel.
We processed through the house to the Chapel of the Three Hierarchs. Fr. Theophilos’ advice and direction to me, a simple yet direct “stay close.” The numerous monks and pilgrims, whom we passed, bowed and crossed themselves, as we processed by, not for any righteousness or worthiness of ours, but because of the Holy Relic that was carried by Fr. Theophilos. Without question, this added another degree of anxiousness to my all ready overwhelmed person.
As we arrived in the Chapel, I was directed to venerate the festal icons and then to sit in a seat toward the left rear of the nave. In all, there were probably about twenty of us in the Chapel and another fifty monks and pilgrims in the narthex while yet others were scattered throughout the house preparing for other aspects of the feast.
The chanting was beautiful! A few of the brothers went back and forth with their singing of the psalms. Tactfully, I worked out an audio recorder to get a bit of the experience on cd; listening to it later, it unfortunately, just didn’t do the service justice. As we sat, we prayed and chanted the refrain to the psalms as the Abbot of the Great Lavra Monastery, which is the Monastery under which the Skete of Saint Anna is spiritually obedient, looked on.
Just as I was getting comfortable with this service, a priest monk passed by from the Sanctuary carrying the Holy Relic of Saint Anna. Fr. Theophilos directed me to the Narthex where a small table had been set up, on which were a large bowl of water, a blessing cross, and the reliquary of Saint Anna. As the service continued in the Chapel, we began the Service of the Blessing of the Waters in tandem.
At the close of our service the Abbot proceeded to venerate the Holy Relic. As we venerated the Holy Relics - visiting clergy, visiting monastics from their sister monasteries, the monks of the Skete, and lay pilgrims – a most fragrant piece of Sweet Basil was dipped into the Holy Water to dowse us as we then venerated his blessing cross. Joyously he greeted us with “A most joyous feast!”
The Holy Relic was processed back into the Altar as we rejoined the service in the Sanctuary. Fr. Theophilos retrieved the reliquary and we proceeded to exit the Chapel and the house. Again, the bells were joyously rung as we worked our way back to the courtyard of the house to remove our exorasa, fetch our walking sticks and our lamps.
As we walked back to the Kyriakon, about 1:30AM, we discussed many things. Amongst other things, I learned that there are approximately 35 priests in the brotherhood of the Skete. Each priest, as I would later learn, is ordained with the blessings of the entire brotherhood, to serve the liturgical needs of his particular house. In addition, each week, one of these clergyman, is responsible for celebrating services in the Kyriakon for visiting monastics and pilgrims. Again, it seemed like a most amiable way to share in the duties of the Skete.
The coordination of the services at the Kyriakon, is the responsibility of the Dikaios of the Skete. Selected from amongst the brothers of the Skete, this title is bestowed on one of the elders for a year term, which concludes on June 2nd (May 20th on the Old Calendar). This honor has been Fr. Cheroubim’s, our host, for the third or fourth time. In addition to the aforementioned task regarding the Kyriakon, the Dikaios extends hospitality to the pilgrims, administers the general affairs of the Skete, and cares for the relic throughout his tenure. Most evident through the labors of both Fr. Cheroubim and Fr. Theophilos, this position is both a blessing and a great responsibility. With a sigh of relief, Fr. Theophilos noted that Fr. Cheroubim would relinquish his responsibility in a matter of months.
About half way to our final destination, I mentioned to Fr. Theophilos how incredible it was to me to see him carrying the Holy Relic of Saint Anna as she processed from place to place. To my surprise, he stopped on the path, removed the leather satchel and placed it around my neck! Completely perplexed and emotionally overwhelmed, I pondered how I had only been at the Skete for less than 12 hours and now I find myself carrying their most prized possession? Fr. Theophilos hinted that this was a good introduction to my responsibility of carrying our Holy Relic of Saint Anna back to America.
We returned to the Kyriakon at 2AM. The readings from the Synaxarion, the text detailing the lives of the saints, will be read, telling us of the Three Hierarchs at 3AM followed by the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. I therefore walked back to our guesthouse to wake the dads from their snoring slumber.
The clock struck three o’clock and joyous bells were again heard. This time, tolls did do not resonate from the chapel, but instead from the Kyriakon where services would be celebrated.
We entered the Church, illumined by the strategically placed oil vigil lights and bee’s wax candles. Father Cheroubim stood at the chanter’s stand to the right of the icon screen reading the account of the Three Hierarchs. We venerated the icons, lit our candles and proceeded to our places for services…
