It was midday on Good Friday on Areos Street in downtown Athens’ historic Monastiraki district, and some 2,000 worshippers – Greek and foreign – waited patiently in a line so long that it started many meters before the entrance to the Museum of Modern Greek Culture, across from Hadrian’s Library. They were there to pay their respects at the Epitaph in the Church of Saint Elissaios, a tiny chapel that is part of a block of 18 restored townhouses that make up the museum quarter. The 17th-century chapel, where the famed Greek writer Alexandros Papadiamantis once served as a chanter, only seats 20 at a time, so many of those waiting in line did not make it inside. They were, however, amply rewarded by the procession of the epitaph bier around the foot of the Acropolis that followed. It was a small chapter in this year’s celebration of Greek Orthodox Easter that was indicative of the eagerness of Athenians and visitors alike to participate in something truly special, given that this tiny church spring to life only 10 times a year, during services held by the Holy Archdiocese of Athens on major feast days.

One element of this year’s Easter that struck many of us who spent the holidays in Athens was the enthusiasm with which so many foreign visitors participated in our rites and customs.

During the Resurrection service at the Church of Saint Nicholas Pefkakia in Exarchia, I watched as a group of Americans arrived with their candles already lit. “Not now, later, later – the priest will give the light!” kindly strangers standing nearby guided them. Fortunately, they were also prepared for the barrage of fireworks and firecrackers that followed the joyful peal of the bells. As the sky turned into a kaleidoscope of color, they stood enchanted, repeatedly exclaiming, “Wow!” Being Presbyterian, they had never experienced anything like it back in North Carolina.

On Easter Sunday, conversations in foreign languages filled the air in the streets of Pangrati, where restaurants and other local businesses were serving lamb. Those unfamiliar with our customs wondered when baskets of bread and red eggs arrived at their tables, but within a few short minutes, they began mimicking our own friendly “egg battles.”

Truth be told, many tourists seem to be profoundly moved by Greece’s religious ceremonies and its deep-seated devotion to tradition. It’s not just the tight-knit sense of community and family that strikes them, but the fact that every generation joins in with the very same fervor. They are joined by our own expats, for whom spending this landmark holiday – so synonymous with the Greek spring – anywhere else is practically unthinkable.

“Imagine what our country would be like if all these young people who left were still living in Greece,” a friend remarked wistfully.

Beyond Greece

Those of the “brain drain” generation who couldn’t make it back home, even for a few days, flocked to the Greek Orthodox churches in their new homes in London, Paris, New York, Berlin and elsewhere. For them, the church is the umbilical cord that keeps them tied to their roots.

Of course, the show was stolen by – who else? – Tom Hanks. Like a true Greek patriot, he once again helped carry the Epitaphios at Saint Sophia in Los Angeles, showing Hollywood that few spectacles can beat good, old-fashioned tradition.

Source: Ekathimerini.com