159 – dag 3: Profitou Eliou

As described in post 134 we saw the view of the skiti unfolding in a magnificant way:
309 Athos 2007 Skiti Prof Eliou
Over this road we closed in to the Skiti:
310 Athos 2007 Skiti Prof Eliou
and while walking along the gardens we saw Pantocratoros lying beneath us:
311 Athos 2007 Pantocratoros v.a. Skiti Prof Eliou
On arriving we got very friendly welcome by the Greek monk Filemon, whho spoke perfect English (he lived in London during the Punk times in the 80-ties). We were treated good with tsiporou, fresh watre from the well and candied apricots, walnuts and raisins.313 Athos 2007 Skiti Prof Eliou

312 Athos 2007 Skiti Prof EliouThe Skiti is well kept and beautifull maintained with fresh paint everywhere. Filemon told us the whole stoty of the skete and he seemed to like us visiting the spot, because he was joking all the time: to start he had some trouble with our Dutch names. Wim or William wasn’t that difficult, but the Frisian name Jizte was to much for him: Filemon decided to call my friend Jeltsin! “William and Jeltsin”, he said, while hitting our shoulders in a comeradeship way, “there is to much misery on earth, that why there should be a lot of laughter!

The Skete is in 1992 taken over by the Greeks. At that time two old Russian monks lived there, who like the zelotes of Esfigmenou, did not see patriarch Bartholomeus from Constantinopel as their highest in rank, but an abbot from a church in New York. The Skete was acqiured by 10 Greek monks, what happenend to the old guys Filemon did not tell….
314 Athos 2007 Skiti Prof Eliou
As told Filemon spent his younger years as a punk in London, but now he “was breading fresh air of Athos” and he was completely happy.  In the winter he paints icons en in summertime he takes care of the guests. He knew by the way the Pachoumaiou”- brothers (the ones who painted my Nicolas icon), see nr 31: 12-2006). It was said that they were in the US at the moment and the were famous in the meanwhile. According to Filemon their works were very valuable nowadays …………. An icon painted by Filemon would cost about € 1.000,00.
315 Athos 2007 Skiti Prof Eliou
The church is beautiful and can host about 2000 visitors. He proudly mentioned that guesquarters were fully restored and that there is space for 1000 visitors ! Unfortuanately the abbot wouldn’t allow non-orthodox pilgrims to use these facilities…….
De Skete was founded some years ago with money from Odessa. In the church hangs a wonderworking icon of the Panaghia that was donated by a Russian general who served under the Tsar.
317 Athos 2007 Skiti Prof Eliou
The icons belong according to Filemon to the Kretan school. Many of the relics in church were bought.
318 Athos 2007 Skiti Prof Eliou
Filemon told us that if you look at the feet of the painted figures they will turn towrds you if you change possition, like in old Dutch paintings. Filemon asked us to send him a book af the Dutch “icon-painter” Rembrandt, agian one of his jokes! (which we did after our visit to Athos).
Incidentally, he had bad experiences with photos taken from him by visitors, hence no picture can be seen here from our humorous friend. His sister once called him because she had seen him in a Sony advertisement, and a photo of him was used without permission(!). Since then, he had become more cautious, and rightly so.
316 Athos 2007 Skiti Prof Eliou 2000 kg goud
a iconostasis with 2000 kg gold!

Courtyard of Skiti Prof. Eliou
320 Athos 2007 Skiti Prof Eliou
Outside the Skiti

In his shop we bought some small things, like this home-made tsiporou.
Cimg6053
for contact met de Skiti write to:
Holy Skete of Prof. Elias
P.O. Box 68
63086 Karies
Mt. Athos

Wim, 3 aug. (translated 29/10/14)

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2 Responses to 159 – dag 3: Profitou Eliou

  1. Hans Overduin says:

    Was het door de monniken gebrouwen drankje raki ? Of wellicht tsipouro, wat ik er in 1995 ook te drinken kreeg. Tsipouro smaakt na de eerste kennismaking naar terpetijn, maar na even doorbijten valt het best mee. Het is goed voor de maag en je krijgt er geen kater van. Met de juiste hapjes erbij (gr. mezes, met name vis) is het best te pruimen.
    OK, ik kan me belangrijker reacties voorstellen, maar ik vroeg het me gewoon even af.

  2. Wim says:

    Het smaakt naar terpetijn, dus je hebt waarschijnlijk gelijk. Het brouwsel was inderdaad op de skiti zelf gemaakt. Overigens vind ik alle reacties op de weblog welkom.
    gr Wim

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