John and the Deacon

 Today John and I got up early and went to the Cave of the Apocalypse - the place where St. John had the visions that became the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible.  The cave is situated about a mile to the south of our hotel, up the hillside.  We have rented e-bikes so we got started early and rode up the hill to the place where the cave is.  When we arrived and looked out across the bay there were two cruise ships that had anchored outside the harbor, so going early was the right call.

You cannot take pictures inside the holy shrines, so no photos to share here.  The cave had been incorporated into a monastery and when we arrived the divine liturgy had started.  The front of the cave (to the left as you enter) has a wall built along it. In the middle is a ridge that stoops down.  It was here that John lay and had his visions.  To the right side of the cave is a shelf, where they had the Gospel of John enshrined on a cloth with a pendent of the eagle (The symbol of John's Gospel).  Along the back wall of the chapel is the Iconostasis (a wall of Icons), featuring the virgin Mary, Christ and an Icon of John's vision from revelation - the 7 lamp stands, the 7 angels, the 7 churches and Christ in the center.

Behind the Iconostasis the priest prayed the prayers of the liturgy while a choir of 1 man sang the peoples part from a spot on the left side of the chapel.  While it was all Greek to me, I did recognize the Nicene Creed and the Our Father.  

According to the Monastery of St. John the Theologist - (Who wrote the Gospel of John), asked the "Holy Foreigner (The Deacon) who was Prochorous - as mentioned in the Acts 6:5.  According to manuscripts which date back to the 6th century and are preserved in our Monastery, Prochorus is presented as a disciple and follower of the Apostle John in Asia Minor, in Ephesus and in Patmos. It is also mentioned that at the time of the vision of the Revelation he was present and recorded what John dictated to him. The presence of Prochorus, although not verified by an authoritative source, is reinforced by its depiction in Orthodox iconography, which in a way crystallizes the unrecorded tradition. After John's recall from exile, he accompanied him to Ephesus and then, upon John's recommendation, went to Nicomedia, where he was ordained Bishop and suffered a martyr's death. The Orthodox Church commemorates his memory on July 28.

After visiting the cave of the Revelation we then went to the Monastery on the Island - which is dedicated t the study of St. John and the Revelation.  The Monastery had a library which included several ancient texts, the oldest being an 8th century copy of the Gospel of Mark.  The Monastery was later reinforced a s a fortress to protect the islands from both the Turks and other invaders (Venice, Italy, Germany) throughout the last 2000 years.  Following the Monastery we had lunch and then rode to Petra Beach.  Surprise surprise - the beach is covered in rocks.  we took a swim and then climbed a rock which had stairs and shelters and carved into the sides - including an Icon of Mary.  There was also a cistern carved into the top of the rock to collect rain-water.  After climbing the rock we rode our way via the sea-shore back to our room in Skala.  Tomorrow we are going to attend the Divine Liturgy at the Cave of the Apocalypse and then we head back to sea to return to Athens and thence onto Corinth.

John and I in Chora, the town around the Monastery of St. John (Center background)