Meteora. A place of inexhaustible natural beauty, unprecedented energy and spiritual mysticism
The great center of Orthodoxy is a real miracle of the creation of God, a place of special natural beauty and a representation of the historical and cultural heritage of Greece. Meteora is undoubtedly a strange place, a glorious monastic state, which away from the worldly and landed on giant steep cliffs, which proudly stand on the northwestern tip of the Thessalian plain, creates one of the most paradoxical emotions in the world. mixed with awe and unlimited respect for nature and the Creator himself. Meteora is, in essence, a place of unbridled physical and spiritual mystagogy and an environment of unprecedented energy, where the journey of the human soul to an unprecedented spiritual ecstasy is achieved to the fullest.
Let us discover, then, the reasons why Meteora, to this day, arouses great interest among travelers and justifies its reputation as a monument of incomparable natural beauty, which in combination with the secrets of monastic life, the special symbolism of ecclesiastical art and the dynamic energy field, which it emits, lead the mind and the human senses to their apotheosis.
A unique geological phenomenon.
Looking at this majestic landscape, imposing, wild and wrapped in an eerie serenity, the visitor can not help but feel the majesty of nature, which as a great artist carved the stone figures of the high rocks, to host at the top their imposing monasteries. According to sources of the old ecclesiastical tradition, Meteora is nothing but the rocks sent to earth from heaven, in order to unite the earth with the celestial level, while helping man to get as close as possible to his Creator himself. As imaginative as this theory is, in the case of Meteora we are dealing with a highly impressive geological phenomenon, which does not exist in the whole world, highlighting the catalytic power of nature. The view of Meteora is so impressive that the visitor can hardly imagine that the whole area, millions of years ago, was covered with water, essentially a lake, where the waters and sediments of a large river ended. This huge volume of water, under intense geological turbulence, found its way to the Aegean, after the separation of the mountains of Olympus and Ossa, resulting in the light, the cluster of rocks, which under the erosive effect of strong winds and rain, have acquired the impressive form, which still amazes every visitor, as the life-giving power of nature is revealed, in the creation of a monument, pulsating with energy and beauty.
The monastic life. The modern hermits-ascetics of spiritual life.
The monasteries of Meteora, to this day, continue their long history as places of faith, reverence, peace, but also community service by monks and nuns, who dedicate their lives to God, live a spiritual life with prayer, offering and landlessness. The monastic life regime and the way in which the monks and nuns spend their lives, in an environment of absolute spiritual mysticism, cause great interest and emphasize, emphatically, the energy field of the monasteries. It is certain that the first ascetics-ascetics, who came to the area from Egypt, found, here, at the top of the rocks and in the natural pits of their rocks, the ideal reference point, to come as close as possible to the same God, far from the worldly, with their unique supplies, unceasing prayer and uninterrupted spiritual contemplation. As, gradually, the first monasteries are founded, inaugurating the organized coenobitic life in the region, the surreal way of their construction, which surpasses all imagination, the inaccessibility of their access and the way of their supply in earlier times, are elements that reveal the power of man's will to achieve, in whatever way he can, the spiritual approach with God himself. Reminiscent of invincible fortresses, the monasteries now host monks, who reverently dedicate much of their personal time to the production of goods, the promotion of all forms of art, but also to their charitable - social contribution and action. Discovering the secrets and peculiarities of monastic life, the visitor realizes, today, the work and contribution of monasteries in the promotion and preservation of Greek cultural heritage, while realizing their character as a place of unquestionable spiritual energy, which vibrates the soul of the monks, while it moves and charms every visitor.
Monastic art and its spiritual symbolism.
An unprecedented sense of awe and intense spiritual process awaits the visitor of Meteora, as he comes in direct contact with the masterpieces of art, which adorn each monastery and as they submit the senses, with their intense spirituality. The strong symbolism, which distinguishes monastic art, is immediately perceived, already, by the architectural form of the monastic temples, as all of them adopt the shape of the cross in their plan, the greatest symbol of the Orthodox faith. Peace and contemplation flood the visitor, as he gradually enters the interior of the temples, where the soft light of the candles idyllic illuminates the ascetic figures of the Saints, until the moment when the gaze is raised in the dome and faces the figure of the Almighty God, who, given, seems to embrace and protect everyone. The Byzantine icons, which complement the interior decoration of the churches, are transformed, symbolically, into a window of self-knowledge, which leads directly to the human soul, while the bright colors and the gestures of the Saints, in the religious scenes with their allegorical and didactic content , function as a channel of spiritual communication of the viewer with the divine element and as an open "book" of knowledge and transmission of universal messages, which the Christian faith advocates and leads to the spiritual purification of everyone.
