Panagia Acheiropoietos is the church we call home in Thessaloniki, Greece. Here we received the Holy Eucharist from our priest, Fr. Spyridon, and became united with our new friends Stav, Anna, and Allie as close as Seattle and Jukka and Laura as far as Finland. And where we celebrated our Savior's resurrection on Holy Pascha.
A unique feature of Panagia Acheiropoietos you can't see from this photo is that the sanctuary is below ground. Built around 450AD, Acheiropoietos is Thessaloniki's oldest surviving church. Since its construction 1500 years ago, the city has steadily built up around it until today; in order to enter the church, you must descend a staircase on either end of the entrance.
These images are illustrative of the dilemmas we faced during our travels. The photos we shared on Facebook were highlights of what we saw at street level. But the real action was occurring below the surface: in Deana's and my heart.
We've had the opportunity to share some of these stories during coffee hour after church, or in homes and restaurants with friends.
What we haven’t done is share them online. We have so many more deep stories: from venerating the relics of St. Spyridon on Corfu to viewing the Acropolis from the vantage point of St. Paul on Mars Hill. Each of these encounters has shaped Deana and me in profound ways. And we are only sharing them in print here.
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Keep these insights and stories coming!