37030 - History of Meteora

N. Lygeros
Translated from the Greek by Vicky Baklessi

When they arrived, the night still dominated, because the sun appeared only on time. So the Monastery remained hidden within the darkness which covered it in a siege-like manner. The entrance code hadn’t changed. They passed through the stone bridge to walk over the unthinkable and to find the wooden door open with the nun who immediately gave them the instructions of the elderess. The liturgy would take place at the other church, built even deeper within time. They knew of it, they had seen it but never in this way. They showed them a secret passage and they arrived at the entrance. There an unbelievable spectacle awaited them. After they lit their candles she led them inside the church which was full of nuns. They crossed silently the vestibule and reached the level of the double arch with the hagiographies of the Evangelists. There she showed them the edge, on the side of Christ and they remained standing within the black of blacks, the gaze oriented towards the sanctuary. The wounded hagiographies couldn’t be seen but they knew they were with them. The beauty of an extraordinary liturgy touched the truth of the chanting. The nuns’ movements with the candles around the light shone suddenly and that is how they discovered the other light of the black. The church was alive or rather it had become alive with the liturgy. That was the first gift of the monastery. And the sun appeared immediately after.