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Daniel Bitsch-Düring, Orthodox Christian from Denmark
A tiny reflection on a pilgrimage in the Holy Virgin’s Garden (March 2023)
What to say, what to reply when people ask: how was your trip to Athos? One could explode with an array of stories, or one could implode simply because it is almost impossible to explain. And if not impossible to explain, at least it is almost on the verge of being irrelevant, simply because what the Mother of God has bestowed upon you through her merciful prayers to Her Son is for you personally; profoundly. You must ask her yourself to invite you in Her garden, so that Her Son can bless you with experiences both tangible and spiritual. The most precious treasures are always hidden, but that does not mean they don’t exist. In spite of the personal and mysterious gifts of God given through His All-Holy Mother, there seem to be a common theme which displays itself in an multifaceted way when dwelling on The Holy Mountain: Love!
If you receive her invite, and go with humility, and a strive for acquiring a taste of The Holy Spirit she will help you. She will send someone at the right moment, in the right place, when you need it the most; when you are anxious, lonely, fatigued, hungry, lost, despairing or despondent. No doubt this place is a place of wonders to the highest degree. This has been an experience that many seekers have been granted while striving on the Holy Mountain, and this is also what I experienced when visiting Lacu Skete. Both going to and from the skete which was honestly a bit stressful because I only had a vague idea about how to get there, and since I was travelling alone in the winter time…I will share one of many blessings that cemented Her tender love and endless help for us bewildered children during my stay at Lacu.
Two days after celebrating Christmas I was supposed to get a ride from one of the monks residing in one of the cells. In the morning he didn’t come out of his cell on the appointed time. I was worried. Later it turned out he had had heart problems during the night and couldn’t give me a ride to Karyes after all, due to his current condition. I had not seen a single bus around the skete for the entire week I had been there (this time of the year Athos is by far as well-visited as during other seasons), so I was perplexed on how to proceed. The monk from the cell send me to another cell 20 minutes away. I dragged myself and my backpack over there. I found it. The first monk I asked whether he spoke English answered my with a big smile: ‘Yes, of course.’ I explained him the pickle I was in and that I had no clue on how to get to Karyes from Lacu. He was with two layman and they jumped into the conversation and offered a ride with them! It turned out that they had literally just arrived and were going to leave in a van in 15 minutes! Such timing! While waiting in the gift shop, being VERY relieved, a monk suddenly came in and asked me in fluent Danish: ‘Do you speak Danish??’ You could see my jaw drop to the floor! What is the likelihood that you meet a Rumanian monk in an secluded skete, on a secluded peninsula within a time interval of around 20 minutes who speaks Danish (Denmark has a population of only 5 million people in total)?! We had a heartwarming conversation, and then I left with the two layman who refused to accept any money for the ride, and by the way also gave me a bottle of wine as an evlogison (blessing) before we parted ways…
Such uniting Christian love facilitated by the Holy Mother is a pronounced characteristic of the Athonite desert. Athos and Lacu Skete will always help my heart beat, even from as far away as Denmark. Glory to God for all things!
… photos from Daniel
