The Shepherd, July 2009
DISTRIBUTION OF “THE SHEPHERD” IN THE U.S.A.
FOR many years Peter Nelson of the "Orthodox Benevolent Fund" has kindly distributed the magazine to our readers in the United States, for which we have been immensely grateful. When we left the then Russian Church Outside Russia, we asked Peter whether he was still prepared to do so, as he had remained with that Synod. He volunteered to continue until he was forbidden to do so. On 9th June, Peter wrote to us to tell us that his spiritual father had now told him he should no longer send out "The Shepherd," and so, when we obtain the American mailing list, we hope to make arrangements for send it out directly from Brookwood. We apologize to our American readers if there are any delays or hiccups during the next few months as we change the system of distribution. Please get in touch directly if there are. E-mail: <theshepherd@mac.com>
Also, in view of Fr Alexis' impending pilgrimage to Slatioara (26th June - 2nd July), we are preparing this issue a little earlier than usual, and so the news sections may not be bang up to date. Please accept our apologies.
A Pilgrimage to Fili, Greece
ARRIVING at Athens airport in the late afternoon, the clear blue sky and warm air were a pleasant contrast to the dull, showery and relatively cold day we’d left behind in England.
We looked around the arrivals area and spotted the welcome sight of Bishop Ambrose coming towards us. Soon we were whisked away to Fili for an introductory visit to the Cathedral, and then to our home for the next few days on the fringe of the local village in the valley below.
We were staying in a cottage where the mother of Metropolitan Cyprian used to live. There was a lovely warm feel about the place, with many photographs and mementoes of her time there. It was just as if she had gone out to the local shops for a few minutes.
The days passed quickly, church services started early in the morning to avoid excessive heat later on. The new Cathedral of Sts Cyprian and Justina, built to replace an earlier building damaged in an earthquake, is very imposing, just outside the monastery itself, clinging to the hillside high above the surrounding countryside and overlooking Athens in the distance. At night the monastery’s illuminated Cross is visible for miles around, a beacon of hope to all in a troubled world.
In the Cathedral, the Byzantine chant of the two choirs evoked a feeling of being in a heavenly place, and the prayerful silence of the people coming into the church and standing quietly in their places is something we’ll never forget. A sense of peaceful expectation hung in the air.
The shortest route to visit the Sacred Convent of the Holy Angels on the opposite of the mountain involved a roundabout journey through the outskirts of Athens. The Abbess, Mother Taxiarchia, and the nuns welcomed Bishop Ambrose warmly with a great clanging of bells and, after introductions, two English-speaking sisters showed us around their church, the workrooms with embroideries and icons in the making, the chapel and the cell of the first Abbess, Mother Kypriane of blessed memory, and her grave in the lower church. Situated in the lift of the workshops and accommodation building was an icon, simple yet profound in its wordless description of the dangers of judging one another. From the roof of that building we could see a nun sitting on a staging with a bucket of cement in front of her, pointing brickwork, applying finishing touches to the big church. We met the dog, the chickens and the goats too, nothing was left out. Our visit rounded off with a lovely meal in a reception house near the gates of the Convent.
Memories abound, climbing up on a very warm evening to the Acropolis overlooking Athens; the welcome and refreshments at the Synod in Resistance church in Athens - a remarkable conversion of a town house, formerly belonging to a niece of Mother Martha, who wrote the life story of St Papa Nicolas [Planas] - a short meeting with Bishop Cyprian, acting president of the Synod and his priest brother; the quiet and prayerful peacefulness at the shrine of St Nectarios on the island of Aegina and the kindness of a local lady who was determined that we’d miss nothing of interest; the kindness of so many people, the vast majority of whom we had never met before, and the joy of meeting again some of those who have visited Brookwood and the Convent of the Annunciation in London; the kindness and welcome of Bishop Ambrose and the time he gave us is shepherding us around; the pleasure of meeting Bishop Chrysostomos, Bishop Klemes, and Bishop Cyprian; also Sabbas who patiently and safely drove us around and came to our aid one afternoon when the water supply to our cottage failed.
Finally, our grateful thanks to everyone who made this pilgrimage a very special time in our lives.
Fr Stephen & Presbytera Joanna Fretwell
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