Day Six: Vlatodon Monastery, Acropolis of Thessaloniki - 09/27/13
It no longer houses monastics, but the Vlatodon Monastery of northeastern Thessaloniki still bears tremendous importance today as a center for research and cataloguing of manuscripts. Brothers Dorotheus and Markus Vlatadon, students of St. Gregory Palamas, founded the monastery in the second half of the 14th century in honor of the victory of hesychasm. It reputedly sits where St. Paul made one of his stops on his second missionary journey in 51 A.D.
The main church is named for the Transfiguration of Christ, which, unfortunately, has come into disrepair. The pilgrims saw the "picking" done to all of the icons done for at least two reasons: the Ottoman Turks could have cut into the frescoes to hang wood or slabs of rocks over them; or there could have been failed attempts at restoration in the past that would include hanging new icons. Fortunately, seasoned iconographers and experts are using new tactics to restore the church to its former splendor. They have even cleaned off some of the old grime from the wooden iconostasis to reveal the white-colored paint underneath.
The monastery has a peacock farm behind the church. In the Orthodox Church, the multi-colored feathers symbolize the eternality of the Resurrection of Christ because they never rot. They were also symbols of royalty in ancient times; Vlatadon was considered a "royal" monastery of the Byzantine Empire.
The delegation then took a tour of the Patriarchal Institute of Patristic Studies across the way from the monastery. Over 9500 manuscripts are kept in the archives from several monasteries, including those of Mount Athos. Researchers have gone to the Holy Mountain and elsewhere to photograph rare books and documents, page by page, and put them onto microfilm. Now, the researchers are trying to digitize what has been captured so far, as well as add to their collection for the benefit of scholars throughout the world.
The trip to the acropolis of Thessaloniki finished with a quick climb of the nearby fortress of Heptaprygion. Its name means "seven towers" but it actually has ten. Historians say Cassander founded it in 316 B.C., and it morphed from a Byzantine citadel to an Ottoman Turk fort to a prison to an historic site. The delegates got one last panoramic view of Thessaloniki from atop one of the towers. This day ended early, as the pilgrims prepared for an early-morning flight on Saturday to begin the second half of their journey in Serbia.