Orthodox Christianity

After several questions regarding the blog photos of the girls' baptism, it appears many of you are not familiar with the orthodox church; and really before this trip all I knew was that they had the priests with long beards and black robes. So I have found a fairly easy to understand explanation of the religion below for those of you who are interested.

FYI - We are heading back to the United States later tonight but I have many photos and information to share with you about Macedonia and the trip so stay tuned. And please pray this trip is much less dramatic than the first.

The Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church[note 1] and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church,[note 2] is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number between 225 and 300 million members.[2] It is considered to have been established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles almost 2,000 years ago. The Church is composed of several self-governing ecclesial bodies, each geographically and nationally distinct but theologically unified. Each self-governing (or autocephalous) body, often but not always encompassing a nation, is shepherded by a synod of bishops whose duty, among other things, is to preserve and teach the Apostolic and patristic traditions and related Church practices. All Orthodox bishops trace their lineage back to the Apostles through the process of Apostolic Succession, in the same manner as the Roman Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and some other churches.
The Orthodox Church traces its development back through Byzantine and Roman empires, to the earliest church established by St. Paul and the Apostles. It clings tenaciously to its ancient traditions and practices, believing in growth without change (see below). In non-doctrinal matters the church had occasionally shared from local Greek, Slavic, and Middle Eastern traditions, among others, in turn shaping the cultural development of these nations.
Orthodox Christians believe that the ultimate goal of every Christian is to become like God, to love perfectly, to become “Little Christs” within Jesus Christ. This process is called theosis or deification.[3]
The Biblical text used by the Orthodox includes the Greek Septuagint and the New Testament. It includes the Deuterocanonical Books, which are generally rejected by Protestants, and a few texts that are not in the Western canon. Orthodox accept scripture as the inspired Word of God, believing scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit to its authors, speakers and editors. Orthodox Christians also utilize icons as focal points when venerating the Saints, in their daily worship while rejecting three-dimensional statuary. It should be fully understood that the icon is not venerated. But is a device to identify with the consciousness of the person represented therein. This is not idolatry, as the icon is used only as a means of identification of a God created person.

Baptism of "Elizabeth" and Ivana

Baptism of "Elizabeth" and Ivana

Baptism of "Elizabeth" and Ivana

Sveti Spas (Church of Salvation) in Skopje, Macedonia

If case you haven't already guessed Baba Ivana was the whirlwind behind the girls being baptized. However, I must admit after having visited several monasteries and churches over the last seven weeks I was intrigued by the idea. Macedonian culture, customs and history or so tied to Orthodox Christianity that it was something we could not leave without experiencing. You are talking centuries upon centuries of customs all topped off by the fact that their father, Dejan, was baptized in the exact same church as a baby.

As with everything else in Macedonia there was a list of procedures to follow and much preparation to do. It cost around $60 per child to have the baptism and then we also had to supply the church with a list of requested donations such as soap, towels and oil. Ok. Then we had to have a godmother and godfather for the girls. Of course, Baba calls upon her best friend, Ivana, who was also Dejan's godmother and her son, Igor, served as godfather. Igor's older brother, Ivica, had served as Dejan's godfather but he is now living in London so Igor took his place. As custom, they brought robes for the girls to be used during the baptism as well money.

It was ironic that on the way to the church Ivana was listening to her ipod and out of the 100 or so songs on it, she filled the car with the sound of her singing, Jesus Loves Me. The ceremony was lovely and there was no doubt the Lord's presence was felt in the room. Ivana wore a swimsuit rather than being nude. Truman was allowed jeans and a white t-shirt. I think we were all tense Ivana was going to burst out crying at the strangeness of the situation but she was a trooper - a true, stoic Macedonian. And you could tell Truman was moved by experience.

Sveti Spas is Baba Ivana's sister, Tica's church and the priest that did the ceremony, Goran, was a family friend, who had promised to try and be the one to perform the ceremony. Check. All just kept going on with seemingly divine intervention. The ceremony took around 30 minutes with the actual baptism taking place in a special room and concluding in the main church. (I also need to add this is the only time you can take photos of the inside of a church so I was thrilled). I obviously didn't understand the entire ceremony as it was in Macedonian. But generally it went down as the priest clearing any bad spirits from the girls, then blessing them in Christ. He took three small snips of their hair (which he gave us as a keepsake) to represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They also lit incense as the priest took them around the room bowing at certain points to represent them going forth in their walk with Christ.

I was hoping to be baptized as well but being pregnant omitted me from that experience. I guess I will be doing so someday with our newest family member. While they usually do this as babies, I really liked having the girls older and hopefully they will both remember the experience. This was also a time I wished my family had been with us to experience such a wonderful event.

After experiencing the ceremony, Dejan and I were both moved to ask the priest for our own family saint to be chosen. Again, another Macedonian custom. Most families have their own saint and on the special day during the year your particular saint is celebrated, your family must also do the same.

Dejan and I had to go to the front of the church and the priest asked Dejan to open some special book to a random page three times. The priest told us two of the picks had been St. Mary (Sveta Bogorodica) and the other one was Sveti Nikola (yes, i.e. Santa Claus). Again, irony or better yet divine intervention abounded. Sveta Bogordica was celebrated by Dejan's father's family and Sveti Nikola is celebrated by Baba Tica's family. I had always thought Sveti Nikola would be cool as Ivana was born in December and the anticipated new family member is expected for December as well. But..... while traveling through all of these churches and monasteries over the last few weeks I was repeatedly drawn to St. Mary and even purchased two icons of her. So, St. Mary it was but I think we will always consider them both dear to our family.

I would without hesitation say this was one of the highlights our our trip to Macedonia. And I will even admit that once again, my mother-in-law was right.

Note: As with every "event" in Macedonia, it now means it must be followed by a celebration. Somehow we are going to host 30 plus people in Baba and Dedo's apartment tonight. God help me.

Sveti Naum Monestary (near Ohrid)

Sveti Naum (Macedonian: Свети Наум; English: St Naum) is an old Eastern Orthodox monastery in the Republic of Macedonia, named after the medieval Saint Naum. It is situated along Lake Ohrid, 29 km south of the city of Ohrid near the Albanian border. The monastery gets its name from the saint who founded it. The monastery was established in the year 905 by St Naum of Ohrid himself. St Naum is also buried in the church. A surface spring near the monastery feeds directly into Lake Ohrid.

St. Pantelejmon - Plaosnik (in Ohrid)

The monastery stands on a hill which is now known as Plaosnik (Macedonian: Плаошник) overlooking Lake Ohrid. Clement built his monastery on a restored church and a Roman basilica of five parts (the remains of the basilicas can still be seen outside the monastery). Judging by the architectural style and design of the monastery, researchers say that Saint Clement intended for his building to be a literary school for disciples, thus it is believed to be the first and oldest discontinued university in Europe.

Apart from the monastery's many reconstructions during the Ottoman empire, it has recently undergone extensive reconstruction and excavation. Reconstruction started on December 8, 2000 and the physical church was fully reconstructed by August 10, 2002. Most of Saint Clement's relics were returned to the church. A partially ruined bell tower was restored on the right side of the monastery and the floors of the interior of the church have been reconstructed with marble. Reconstruction was carried out by hand using materials used to build the original church in order to preserve the original spirituality of the monastery. Machines were only used to polish the interior during the reconstruction of the monastery.

The first excavations of the monastery were carried out in 1943 by Prof. Dimche Koco. Excavations inside the monastery have revealed underground tunnels and crypts. Further excavations have been planned to uncover more remains under the monastery, including more ruins of the Roman basilicas that stood there (the pillars outside the monastery support the idea of more remains).

On October 10, 2007, a depot of approximately 2,383 Venetian coins was discovered by archaeologists while excavating the monastery. A prominent archaeologist of the Republic of Macedonian, Pasko Kuzman, stated that the coins are of special significance because they indicate that Ohrid and Venice were commercially linked.

Macedonian Orthodox Christians gather at Plaosnik to celebrate Easter. As the monastery is the most sacred of all the churches in the Republic of Macedonia, thousands of Macedonian Orthodox Christians gather at Plaosnik during large religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas to celebrate and take part in the liturgies.

CITY OF OHRID

The ancient city of Ohrid, situated along the coast of the magnificent Lake Ohrid, is undoubtedly the most beautiful and most attractive Macedonian town, a pearl of old architecture and a treasury of valuable cultural and historical monuments. Located on the shores of Lake Ohrid, Ohrid could literally be called a city-museum - another typical mixture of the western and the oriental, a city with a special architecture, and modern, luxurious tourist facilities.

One should have heard of the long tradition in making the famous Ohrid pearl, as well. Ohrid is a town which has always been of interest to every visitor to Macedonia. Ohrid is one of the oldest human settlements in Europe.

The ancient name of Ohrid was Lychnydos, based on an ancient stone inscription that was found that reported of King Philip's II take-over of the city in 353 BC; the earliest evidence of the current name of the town is from 879.

Ohrid is the highlight of any trip to Macedonia. Its uniqueness is endorsed by its UNESCO World Heritage status and it is said there's a church for every day of the year here.

(Enjoy the only photo of my pregnant self on this blog)

Ohrid Pearls

The Ohrid pearls are one of the trade marks of Ohrid , is very famous in Europe and all over the world. They are esteemed because of the natural origin and being hand made. Its production is an art and unique.

They are made out of a shells found in Lake Ohrid and are covered with an emulsion made out of the scales of the local fish called “ Plashica “.

LAKE OHRID

Lake Ohrid is the largest and most beautiful of Macedonia’s three tectonic lakes. Its astonishingly clean, clear waters together with the serene stillness of its mountain setting have captivated visitors since prehistoric times. The lake is enormous, at some 30 kilometers (18 miles) long and up to 288 meters (945 feet) deep.

Lake Ohrid, that came into being between four to ten million years ago, is Europe's oldest lake, and is amongst the oldest in the world.

With its unique flora and fauna characteristic of the tertiary period (2-4 million years ago), Ohrid is one of Europe’s great biological reserves. Most of the lake’s plant and animal species are endemic and unique to Ohrid. The most famous among these are two types of Ohrid Trout (letnica and belvica, in Macedonian). Other unique Ohrid creatures include two types of eel as well as the bleak, whose scales are used for making the well-known Ohrid pearl. This treasured jewel is produced according to a secret method passed down from generation to generation. Sport fishing attracts many passionate fishermen from Macedonia, Europe and the world.

Most of the Lake's water bulk comes from numerous surface and underground springs. That is the reason certain researchers consider it unique in the world. Most of the surface springs lie along the southern shore, near the monastery of St. Naum on the Macedonian side, and near the villages of Tusemiste and Starovo and the town of Pogradec in Albania.

Photos From Sv. Jovan Bigorski (St. John Bigorski) Monastery or Sv. Jovan Krstitel (Saint John the Baptist)

Traveling to Ohrid

Normally the drive from Skopje to Ohrid takes around two hours but we took the scenic route to see more of the Macedonian countryside and two hours turned into almost six. Which of course included numerous potty breaks and even some alongside the road.

Truman got to experience traveling third world in style with a traffic jam out in the middle of no where. Everyone just got out of their cars and sat along the roadside for around 40 minutes until we could pass. (photo included)

Along the way we saw Mavrovo Lake and the monastery for St. Jovan Bigorski (a.k.a. St. John the Baptist). Truman tried to pull some fashion drama on me when she refused to wear the skirt provided by the monastery. Women cannot enter without a skirt and men without pants. They provided both for visitors. Getting her to agree to a photo took a few threats as well. I would hate to ruin her fashionista status back home but I think she looks pretty darn cute (smile).

Background information on the Monastary St. John Bigorski

Sv. Jovan Bigorski (St. John Bigorski) monastery is dedicated to Sv. Jovan Krstitel (Saint John the Baptist). It is located on the road between Gostivar and Debar, in the beautiful valley of the river Radika among the villages of Rostushe, Velebrdo, Bitushe and Trebishta.

It is mentioned in the monastery files that the Monarch Jovan started building it in the year of 1020 and when the monastery was attacked by the Turks in the XVIth century, only a small church remained. The rebuilding of the Monastery has been started in 1743 by the jermonarch Ilarion who was the first Igumen at the "Bigorski monastery".

Sv. Jovan Bigorski (St. John Bigorski) is famous for its iconostasis the most beautiful one in our country. It is done in tiny woodcarving by the magical hands of Petre Filipov - Garkata from the village of Gari.

The monastery is also famous for the Icon of "Sv. Jovan Krstitel" (St. John the Baptist) which is believed has a mysterious power. The Icon was found by the monarch Jovan in the year of 1020, on the same place where the Monastery was built later on, and it was floating over the river Radika. In the XVIth century, under the Turkish ruler Selim II, Turks burned the Monastery and the Icon mysteriously disappeared and returned later, again un-harmed, to the same place.

The old mansions with the spacious wooden balconies and the dining room furnished with authentic furniture from the time of the construction, late XVIIth and early XlXth century, add to the monastery's ambient.

BACK IN SKOPJE

We just spent most of the week at lake Ohrid. Probably my favorite place in the entire country. Beautiful and full of history. Unfortunately, we returned to even more ungodly temperatures than when we left. Daily temps are over 100. The city has stationed ambulances throughout the city to assist people with heat related issues. People have been passing out like crazy. Your only option is to stay inside all day (that is if you have A/C) and wait until it cools off to around 80 degrees at 9 pm at night and then go out.

I will fill you in on the trip to Ohrid tomorrow.

"SUPER FAMILY"
The family visits part 2 - Eating, Drinking, Chatting. We begin doing round two of family visits for the arrival of Saint Dejan. Wonderful time! Macedonian hospitality is endless!

TURKISH COFFEE - AN ESSENTIAL FOR DAILY LIFE IN MACEDONIA

History of Turkish Coffee

The Europeans got their first taste of Turkish Coffee from the Ottoman Turks, who brought coffee to the West. They were great coffee drinkers, both at home and in public houses, the forerunners of our cafs, which started to spring up across the Islamic countries. Turkish coffee became part of the Turks life known as the "Wine of Islam" and the "Milk of Chess Players and Thinkers".
Turkish coffee is derived from the famous Arabica coffee bean, often the addition of the aromatic Cardamom spice is added to the coffee while it is being ground. Another method boils seeds with the coffee and lets them float to the top when served.
Traditionally Turkish Coffee has six levels of sweetness from ranging from very sweet to black. Sugar is not added to the coffee after it has been served. As the coffee begins to heat, it begins to foam. A rule of the traditional Turkish coffee ceremony states that if the foam is absent from the coffee, the host loses face. Turkish coffee is served hot from a special pot called a cezve.
In order to make your own brew of "Milk of Thinkers", heat water in a pot, add coffee and sugar to taste. Bring to boil. Pour half of the coffee into demitasse cups and return the remaining coffee to the heat and bring back to boil. Spoon off the foam and gently place without stirring. You'll need 1 1/2 cups of cold water, 4 teaspoons of strong dark roast coffee and about 4 teaspoons of sugar.

Telling Your Future From Turkish Coffee Readings

Leave to drain on saucerCoffee Readings are psychic readings done by using a cup of coffee as though it's a crystal ball. Ground Turkish coffee is mostly used when cup readings are done. The residue is left at the bottom of the cup after the coffee is drunk, when the cup is then covered with a saucer, shaken, and turned over (up side down) into the saucer, and left to dry.

The patterns formed on the inside of the cup trigger psychic insight; and are interpreted according to what they mean to the seer. Once you allow the information to flow intuitively, and with little training you can soon be well on your way to reading your own cup.

Firstly, the coffee should be drunk only from one side of the cup. When the coffee is finished, the saucer is placed on top of the cup, and a wish is made. With the saucer still covering the top, the cup is held at chest level and turned counter-clockwise a few times. Following this, the cup is turned upside down onto the saucer, and left to cool. Sometimes a coin may be placed on top to make the cup cool faster and to dispel bad omens that could be read from it. When the coffee cup is cool enough, someone other that the person who drunk the coffee opens the cup, and starts interpreting the shapes for divination.

Coffee cup reading is a widespread and popular fortune telling method, which speaks of both the past and the future. For divination purposes, the coffee cup is considered in two horizontal halves. The shapes in the lower half talk of the past, whereas shapes in the top half talk of the future. The shapes that feature on the right side are usually interpreted positively, while shapes on the left are interpreted as signs of bad events, enemies, illnesses, troubles, and the like. According to another belief, the coffee cup can tell the past but it can only foretell forty days into the future. Hence the practice of coffee cup reading cannot interpret the future that lies beyond forty days. In addition, if, at the reading stage, the cup and the saucer are firmly stuck, and the person is having trouble separating them, it is believed that this particular cup should not be read. This is a case of “prophet’s fortune telling,” where it is assumed that the person who has drunk from the cup is lucky, and does not need to have their fortune read. Similarly if a large chunk of coffee grounds should fall to the saucer as the cup is being separated, the interpretation is that the owner of the cup will soon be rid of all troubles and sadness. According to another standard interpretation, if coffee drips onto the saucer as the cup is opened, the person who drunk is to soon shed tears.

After the interpretation of the shapes within the cup, it is time to interpret the shapes in the saucer, where the majority of the coffee grounds have dripped. The saucer is generally interpreted as the home of the person whose cup is being read, and it is said to give clues about their domestic life. If there are large blank areas on the saucer where the coffee has not touched, the interpretation is a sense of relief that will be experienced in the person’s home. If however the shapes on the saucer are confused and disorderly, this is taken to mean that there will be a funeral or illness-related crowd in this person’s house. During the reading, the reader holds the saucer straight and waits for coffee grounds and coffee to flow. At the end of the reading, the saucer is flipped over once. At this stage, if a drop of coffee manages to get behind, and half way into the saucer’s radius, this is taken as a sign that the wish made will come true. Another important consideration while reading someone’s coffee cup is not to say things that will make a person too happy or too sad.

(Photo: This was Dejan's coffee cup one morning and he swears it looks like a baby. I think he just has baby on the brain.)

Macedonian Heat

I think the gates of hell have opened up and the front door is here in Skopje. Temperatures have hovered close to 100 degrees most of this week. You cannot go comfortably outside until at least 7pm. I am told this is normal summer weather for Macedonia. Note to self: Go to Macedonia in April or September. Truman and Tea' wanted to do some "Wal-Mart" shopping Macedonian style in the gypsy bit bazaar this morning. More power to them. This pregnant chick stayed home in the A/C. They took off with Biba and Rade around 9 am and Biba said sweat was just pouring off them. Can you imagine the Muslim women here wearing a head dress, long sleeves and long dresses in this crap? The prices are even better in the gypsy bit bazaar than at the Turkish one but it is an adventure in itself. (I will include some photos of just when we drove through it last weekend.) Biba said she told Truman to only speak Macedonia there or the price of what she wanted would go up immediately. Truman and Tea' went to visit Tea's friends near her Dad's house after going to the gypsy bazaar and now they are on their way back to the apartment via the bus. No A/C there either. I dare to summarize Truman will appreciate many of her American luxuries when she returns home.

And while I'm here, I think I will vent about two of my biggest Macedonian pet peeves. Hot water. If you want to have hot water you have to turn on the boiler an hour ahead of time. Talk about scheduling and believe me I am generally one organized gal. But it is no fun when you are dog tired, hot and sweaty and just want to hop in the shower. Or your little one is about to pass out from exhaustion and you are trying to keep her awake long enough to throw her in the shower that she so badly needs. It also makes me think of my grandmother who had to heat hot water up on the stove in order to bathe. I now truly feel for her how that would have sucked.

My second complaint is public restrooms. To find a public restroom in this country is like a scavenger hunt. Every time I go out of course either 4 year old Riley or pregnant me have to pee. I ask if there is a restroom and always the solid answer is "No." So then I just started carrying a roll of toilet paper in the car. Yes, they do have public restrooms, but many are not up to "acceptable" standards. However, when you are pregnant there is not much that isn't acceptable when it comes between you, a hole in the floor or coping a pee squat along the side of the road.

Gypsy Kids -

"Daj Mi Pari"

In case I haven't mentioned it already there are a lot of gypsies in Macedonia. I have been explained there are gypsies all around the world. Generally they travel from place to place, sometimes they stay longer at one place than others. Daily you see them going through the trash looking for "treasures", even eating out of trash cans, or just begging for money. It's not that they can't work but it is just how they are raised. They choose this way of life. Yes, they can be very pitiful and pull at your heart strings at times. I think this was the hardest thing for Truman to understand when coming here.

After one month here I can only summarize that when they get up in the morning their "job" is to take off on foot, donkey, horse, cart, whatever and forage throughout the city trying to see what they can find. Maybe an old washing machine, maybe food or plastic bottles they can turn in for recycling.

As for the kids, I have visions of the mothers saying, "Hey, what have you been doing all morning? Playing? Get your butt out there and make some money!" You see these children in the middle of highway traffic, begging as cars slow at the intersections or sometimes sitting alongside the road playing. I have to ask, "Where are their parents??!!" I asked my brother-in-law what if someone tried to hurt them? He said, "Why would anyone want to hurt them? They have nothing?"

One night we were walking around the shopping center and this little gypsy child, I swear he must have been around 1 as he looked like he had just learned to walk. He was dirty with soiled shorts and was calmly walking up to people asking, "Daj Mi Pari" - "Give me money". I am freaking out. Where is this baby's parents? Is he lost? Shouldn't someone be helping him? I walk on a hundred yards down the street and there sits his mother in the grass next to his probably 3 year brother. He runs over and hands his Mom the latest money he has acquired.

While not the most PC of jokes, but awful darn funny, Riley has gotten to where when she wants money from her grandparents, me and generally anyone who will listen; she puts on her most sad, "gypsy" face and holding out her hands out cries "Daj Mi Pari". (LOL)

"Pool Day near a lake in Veles, Macedonia"

The whole family went for a day trip to a resort near a lake in Veles (about 45 minutes from Skopje). It was an extremely hot day - perfect for swimming. I don't think Riley ever got out of the pool by choice. She has made a new friend, her cousin, Martina (age 7) who also joined us for the day.

I also noticed during the drive there were very few cars on the highway, which for Americans is unusual. But here, very few can afford to travel regularly and most depend on public transportation or my personal favorite - walking.