Читать книгу Apocalypse. Interpretation of the XXI century - Valeriy Sterkh - Страница 10

The island of Patmos can only be reached by sea. The most convenient way to get there is from the island of Kos, which is one of the closest airports connecting the island to the outside world. It has a regular ferry connection with Patmos. You can also get to the birthplace of the Apocalypse from the continental port of Piraeus or from one of the nearby islands.

On my way to Patmos, I stopped at the island of Rhodes. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands, and Patmos is one of them. From the east, Rhodes is washed by the calm waters of the Mediterranean, and from the west by the stormy Aegean sea. In the northern part of the island, there are lots of mooring piers. The one that is more known is called Mandraki Harbor, where the famous Colossus of Rhodes once stood. It was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The history behind the Colossus made me think of Daniel’s prophecy about the giant idol…

In 305 before New Era (BNE), Antigonus, the king of Syria, sent his son, the renowned commander Demetrius Poliorket, to capture Rhodes, but after a year-long war, Demetrius abandoned the siege equipment at the fortress walls and returned home without any success. The Rhodians sold the equipment and used the money to hire Hareth, the sculptor from Lind, to erect a triumphal statue of Helios. It took him 12 years to build the statue, which was 70 cubits high (over 30 meters). Yet, the majestic Colossus did not survive for more than half a century. A powerful earthquake of 226 BNE broke off the legs of the statue, and it crashed. The Сolossus remained in ruins for centuries. Its shattered pieces were pillaged in 653 NE.

The sea ferry which took me to Patmos set off from Rhodes at 5 pm. As it slowly pulled off, a trail of propeller-foamed waters stretched far behind, gently swaying in the piercingly azure waves. The ferry set its course, and the foamy trail behind made a slight curve, stretching out in a nearly straight line, churning from inside. On the left, one could see Rhodes vanishing in the distance together with the high walls of the Old City fortress, and on the right loomed the rocks of Asia Minor. Soon they were out of view, and everything around me was one endless sea with specks of small islands scattered here and there, bare and mostly uninhabited. Just a few of them had visible signs of life – the isolated abodes of solitary monks. From time to time, we saw pleasure boats, barges, sailing yachts.

At about 7:30, a larger and more populated island loomed on the horizon. The loudspeaker announced: the island of Kos. The ferry slowed down and, turning astern to the shore, began to moor. We spent considerable time loading and unloading RV trailers, the passengers coming in and out. It took us about an hour to finish up with the process. In the meantime, I could enjoy the beauties of the visible part of Kos in an unhurried manner. It was almost twilight.

By 10 pm, the ferry reached the island of Leros. By this time, the darkness was almost complete. Illuminated with hundreds of street lights and bright-lit windows of the local houses and hotels, Leros was a fabulous night scene. Again we had to wait for a while, but there was enough time to enjoy the stunning illumination of Leros.

I will also add that on the way back I hopped on a catamaran ferry, which made the stops much shorter. So, the return trip was significantly quicker.

It was around midnight when I, with a trembling heart, stepped on the shores of Patmos. In the deep darkness, the port of Scala shone brightly with its many lights, and on one side of a low mountain, the walls of the Monastery of St. John the Divine were lit with spotlights. The hotel agents met the pilgrims at the port gate. One of them gave me a ride to the hotel, which happened to be not too far away. After a long sea voyage, I could finally take a shower and get a good night’s sleep.

The next morning, I left my hotel and went for a walk to explore the area. Patmos is a small rocky island, shaped like the head of a seahorse. The highest elevation of the island is Mt. Saint Elijah, 269 meters above the sea level. Between the mountain peaks, there are picturesque green valleys. The austere rocky terrain is somewhat softened by the citrus orchards, vineyards, pines, cypresses, strawberry trees, eucalyptus trees, pomegranates, olive trees, and other green patches. The largest villages on Patmos are Chora, Scala, and Kambos. The local population, for the most part, lives in one or two-story houses, usually painted white. The main architectural attraction of the island is the medieval Monastery of St. John the Divine, located at the highest point of the village Chora.

The distance from the port of Skala to the Monastery of the Cave of the Apocalypse is 2.2 kilometers following the road to Chora. There is also a stone-paved trail for pedestrians between these two locations. It is a bit shorter, but has a steeper climb and leads somewhat away from the Cave.

The entrance into the Monastery of the Cave of Apocalypse begins at the gate with metal doors. On the low masonry walls, there are two plates on each side of the gate – one in Greek on the left and one in English on the right. There are only two phrases. The one above says: “Holy Cave of the Apocalypse”. The one below is a quotation from Revelation: “I was on the island of Patmos (Apoc. chap. A.9)”.

Further, there is a short alley leading up to the monastery. The monastery is a whitewashed stone building set on a rock, as if over the Cave. Above the entrance to the monastery, there is a mosaic icon of John the Apostle, dictating the text of the Apocalypse to his disciple Prokhor. Prokhor was one of the seven deacons appointed by the apostles. He was exiled to Patmos just like John and later became the bishop of Nicomedia.

I went inside. Ahead of me, on the right, there was a church shop. On the opposite end, to the left, I saw an exit to the stairs leading to a lower level. After several flights of stairs, I found myself at the entrance to the Holy Cave.

The internal space of the Cave is divided into two parts. On the left, there is a Temple of St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin, erected in the 11th century by archbishop Christodul. On the right, there is the Temple of the Holy Cave of Apocalypse, separated only by the stony overhangs from the ceiling. In this Cave, John the Theologian received his Revelation.

<…> At this point, I will pause the story about my pilgrimage, because even the most accurate description cannot adequately express the feelings of an Orthodox believer when he or she finds himself in the presence of a great mystery. One has to experience it to understand it.