Travel

Stavrovouni Monastery

Gideon and I visited one of the oldest monasteries in the world, the Stavrovouni Monastery (built in AD 327 by Constantine’s mother Helena), and was welcomed by an Orthodox monk named Makarius, who explained all the frescos inside the church (no photos allowed) and also let us see the Silver Cross which contains a minute piece of the True Cross.

The gate of the monastery. Only male visitors are allowed in after this point. Tiffany and Carina waited outside, while Gideon and I journeyed on and had a profound pilgrimage experience being welcomed by an Orthodox monk named Macarius.
The True Cross, according to legend, miraculously appeared on top of the Stavrovouni after a shipwreck. St Helena decided to build a church on top of the mountain.
The silver cross is a container of a small piece of the True Cross. Macarius explained to us the meaning behind kissing the icons and holy objects. “It is as if kissing the photo of a loved one”, he said. To the Orthodox believers, it is an act of showing affections towards the person being represented in the icon. Calvin went ahead and kissed the True Cross.

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