Thursday 17 January 2019

O what a wonderful morning

17th January
the day dawned warm and sunny
so we toddled off to the little church down the road to take part in the celebrations of Agios (saint) Antonis and Agios Georgios (the greek St George)



We arrived just in time for a lecture on the lives of Sts Antoni and Georgios and the final blessing of the breads.

The service started around 7am but worshippers come and go as they please.  So informal.  Only half an hour of standing so it wasn't too tiring.  I usually get sore feet standing still for longer an am hopping about on one foot trying to give the other a rest.

I have never heard of this Greek St George whose name day is on the same day as Antoni.  He's a recent saint, from the 1800's and of course went through terrible torture at the hands of the Turks but came out smelling of roses and with all limbs intact.



Here the Priest is blessing the breads in the covered courtyard outside where most of us were standing


Icons of the two Saints and a container of sand for the candles on the left.  They had just been snuffed out at the end of the ceremony.  I enter, light a candle and find a place to stand as far back as possible.  The faithful light a candle or two, then cross themselves and kiss the icons


Inside the actual church.  There are about ten chairs in there.  The area at the front is I think called the Sanctuary in English.  Its where the priest goes about his business and women are strictly prohibited from entering at any time


This is the last of the Holy bread.  Our priest was carrying the basket around offering it to everyone, but me.  A couple of times we came face to face and he turned around quite abruptly.  He knows I'm a foreign devil!  




Her husband's name is Antoni so Kiki was handing out small sweet cakes she had made at home.  There were quite a few celebrating name days and we got a haul of sweet bread, sweets, chocolates and cakes.  This time I was ready and had a large handbag and two plastic bags to haul away the goodies.  They are pressed on you and there is no saying 'no'.  You either eat them then and there or balance them in one hand to carry  away for later.


A councillor who lives next door brought a tray of roast lamb and a couple of bottles of his own wine,  The vineyards are within spitting distance of the church ftoo ftoo ftoo.  Excellent wine and he owns a butcher's shop so naturally that lamb was just falling off the bone and very tasty.  We/I drank about 3 glasses of that rosé, at ten oclock in the morning.  Lucky I didn't have far to drive my quad bike.  We just picked up pieces of meat in our hands and a paper napkin to wipe off the fat.  The best way to start the day.





K and I were two of the last to leave, glued to that meat and wine.  The bones went to a neighbourhood dog and leftovers to the old man that looks after the church.  Yes, there were leftovers.

By this time they were telling stories of fiestas past.  Thirty years ago there were half a dozen 'Antonis' in the immediate area.  They started a bonfire at 6am and by the time the service was finished there were trays of lamb and pork hot and smoky.  Each had their own vineyard and made their own wine and brought more than enough to prove that theirs was the best in the area.

People came in hordes for these church fiestas, from Poros and all the villages across on the mainland, some hours away.  Friends and family gathered literally from far and wide, whatever the weather.  Rain or snow didn't stop anyone from enjoying themselves.


Saint Antoni looks on and I have no doubt he was blessing these people and their traditions



Brother Loukas from the monastery, it was announced from the pulpit, is rounding up numbers to travel to Athens on Sunday (after church?) to take part in the demonstration organised to protest the formalisation of the name of our neighbour to the north.  Previously called FYROM, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, it is now been officially confirmed by their parliament that they will be known as Northern Macedonia. The rest of the world has known them as Macedonia for years anyway. Who knows, who cares, except the greeks?  It's all to do with Alexander the Great.  Greeks say Alexander is Greek and woe betide anyone who disagrees.  Our neighbours claim Alexander as their own and now Albania says he's Albanian.  The Balkans are still boiling away, annoying one another and preparing for the next confrontagion.  








12 comments:

  1. Oh my!!! Lots of delicious food and celebrating. But snubbing of *certain people,* and no women in the sanctuary. Oh mercy! The Old lives on, in out of the way places.

    Again, thank you for sharing all this, with us. That the Old lives on in places, is quite comforting.

    Unless you are the snubbed one, of course. -evil giggggles-

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    1. Women are still second class citizens according to the greek church. Cover yourself from top to bottom, look after hubby, have lots of orthodox babies ...and more but some rules are relaxing very very slowly. Most churches now allow women to wear trousers, men's clothing, in church now

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  2. Oh, does the priest consider that blessed bread that he carries and hands out, to be Holy Communion? Oh mercy, no. Don't give That to non Believers.

    I guess...

    It's been a long time now, since I believed in such. Thankfully...

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    1. It is the communion bread. The basket he holds contains only the holy bread. I have been handed some at other churches but usually avoid the situation. This priest is young but has some very strange and strict ideas. He's .Good friend of my daughter's and did his naval service when my husband was an officer at the naval school so he knows us well. I did actually get married in an orthodox church and my old id card said I was greek orthodox. They don't note religion now. Really I don't give a damn. I go to weddings, funerals, baptisms and I go to fiestas like these so I can take photos and also k likes me to attend these occasions si I do now and again and pretend to be pious

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  3. My goodness you all seem to spend a lot of time at church!!!lol The weather looks beautiful over there. It has been snowing since last night here. -13 degrees C. Brrrr.

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    1. Church is a big part of greek life. I look upon it as greek tradition and take lots of photos

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  4. My mother is Macedonian my father is from the Greek islands l married a Macedonian and omg it’s been the bane of my existence this whole Greece/Macedonia crap
    Nope I don’t care either. I’m an Aussie
    Obviously you were not converted to the church so you are shunned. Devil woman you lol

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    1. Wooi, you're in the middle there, between greek Macedonia and Macedonia of the north lol. Really the rest of the world has been calling it Macedonia for the last 25 years. Back in Alexander's day the borders were a little different. Even Pakistan could call itself Macedonia!
      It's a done deal now. The church at least should let it be.
      I was married in an orthodox church and my old id card said I was greek orthodox. I wouldn't push it though
      I am definitely shunned by this priest. The other two on the island are far more relaxed about it

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  5. I like the relaxed attitude of many churches. I can remember a wedding here where a baby was crying, so the priest halted the service while everyone went outside for a while, and the baby settled. It was all so civilised. No roast Lamb though!

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    1. Our priest stops the service to tell everyone to stop talking! I love it.
      Church is the best place to learn all the gossip and news.
      A lot of these fiestas end with meat and wine but alas most times now it's at the taverna next door and not an impromptu feast in the church yarf

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  6. You always make me feel hungry reading your posts. Can't beat a good piece of cooked meat whether it be roast, steak or whatever.

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    1. This smelled fantastic and everyone just dived in with greasy fingers. I wasn't going to take any but in the end couldn't resist! The wine was good too!

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