My Around the World Adventure: Athens, Inoi, and Vilia

With Father Andy (more about him in the posting).

We arrived in Athens in the early afternoon after a short flight from Thessaloniki. We were then transported by our new tour bus to the town of Inoi (an hour's ride west of Athens), where there is a Jesuit Retreat House (Manresa). Half of our group stayed at Manresa. The other half stayed in a very modest hotel, The Verori, in the neighboring town of Vilia. I was at the Verori, but charity prevents me from commenting about the quality and nature of what is called a hotel in a small town.

After a brief time settling into our respective locations, we re-boarded the bus to visit a monastery of Greek Orthodox nuns, the Monastery of Osios (Saint) Meletios. Osios Meletios is buried in the crypt of the church inside the monastery. Father Andy greeted us at the monastery. Who is Father Andy? He is a Greek Orthodox monk (that is, unmarried priest) who is the pastor of the Greek Orthodox Church in the town of Inoi. He was our host and tour guide at the monastery. What is extraordinary about this hospitality, as I came to learn while in Greece, is that regrettably there is great antagonism against Catholics, especially priests, by Greek Orthodox priests. Father Andy goes against the grain and was a gracious host and is a wonderful person! Part of his education was in Boston at the Greek Orthodox seminary and one of his early parish assignments, for a brief time, was in a Greek Orthodox church in Jersey City. Talk about a small world! Father Andy gave us a tour of the monastery and explained each feature of an Orthodox church and its liturgy. He is a superb teacher.

The monastery is, as you might imagine, in an isolated area, distant from any town in the area. Here are some photos of the monastery...

Views from the front of the monastery.

A small shrine outside the monastery enclosure.

Inside a small cave to the right of the small shrine.

Part of a centuries' old fresco in the interior of the church inside the monastery.

After the tour of the monastery, in an unprecedented gesture of hospitality toward a group of Catholic priests, the nuns of the monastery invited us into their refectory and had prepared for us some pastries, coffee, and a small shot of something a wee bit stronger. You will see Father Andy in the rear right side of the photo. You will not see any of the nuns because they cannot socialize with men, especially Catholic priests!