Learning about Greek Orthodoxy - A Primer

This entry should be consumed with a grain of caution.

Perhaps a handful of grains of caution.

I shall attempt to produce a primer on Greek Orthodoxy which forms the religious foundation for life on Crete.

This picture to the right is taken in Argyroupolis, a mountain village known for it's beautiful waterfalls.  The water for the village emerges in the back of this cave and then spills out into the villages waterfalls. This village's history goes to Mycenaean times as, according to legend, it was founded by Agamemnon, the king who led the Greek warriors against Troy about the same time Israel was in its first formative stage.

Eastern religion is not an area of study I can confidently claim much scholarly awareness about.  I studied it in seminary but it was quickly passed over in the interest of getting to western church theology, which is of more direct concern to Canadians.

As I explore Crete Orthodoxy I am becoming more familiar with it and patterns are emerging. Perhaps what I see, read and experience can be helpful to those of you equally curious about this large Eastern Christian faith.

Corrections of a factual nature to any of these entries will be most welcome!

The Christian Orthodox "Commonwealth", taken as a whole, constitutes the 2nd largest Christian body of believers in the world. In the past century migration has spread it to most countries. In Canada many of us now know people who are rooted in the orthodox traditions and still practice their belief through its traditions and rituals that may appear quite strange to us.

The icon is the most obvious distinguishing feature of Orthodoxy. I am coming to know that the icon is but one aspect of the Orthodox faith yet where my interest begins - so it shall be the focus of this first entry on Orthodoxy.


This icon is encased in a beautiful piece of carved woodwork, not uncommon in many churches. Notice the votives hanging on a string on the left side.

Votives  are   a form of prayer or request. This votive depicts a little girl. Is she ill, is  it a requested for a daughter? I have seen them for sale in numerous shops that offer religious items and these shops are common. Many shops offer icons or other religious items as a side aspect of the their business. 

The icons are ever present in Crete. Many stores offer them for sale. I can say, with some confidence, that most every home will have at least one icon placed in a spot of honour. We have one in our home in New Maryland, a gift from a devout friend who insisted it would bring us many blessings. Our farm cottage here has one in a beautiful niche in the living room wall, even though it is owned by a British ex-pat. Go into any store, restaurant, official building and look closely and the icon will usually be seen somewhere close by.





Yet if you had asked me a short time ago to explain the icon I would have been hard pressed to give an educated answer.

This is what I am beginning to appreciate about icons in general. We begin with the doctrine of the incarnation of Jesus the Christ. In this doctrine of faith Christians largely agree that God became particularly present in human form in the person of Jesus. Just how that was particular is an area of considerable debate but the agreement is generally accepted that Jesus embodied God in a human form.

The incarnation is the first step to understanding the icon.

In this church the icons are surrounded by murals - painting of religious scenes from the Bible or church history, especially Greek Orthodox history. Some are recognizable to me, such as the baptism of Jesus, or raising Lazarus from the dead. But others remain complete mysteries.




When we, or in this case Orthodox believers, accept this belief of Jesus embodying God as fact, yet also being present in human form, then it follows as a consequence of this logic, that the image of Jesus is reproducible.

Not only is Jesus' image reproducible but also the Saints of the Christian faith, the prophets, the Apostles, the ascetics, the martyrs, and theologians, patriarchs, matriarchs, leaders and heroes of the faith are all reproducible.

These are what the icons are. These are "portraits" of the persons who existed in historical time and yet whose lives point to the "world to come". These people existed in history but their faith and work was about that which is yet to be. This equation is vital to a proper understanding and appreciation of the icon.

This icon to the left is in a niche in a restaurant beside the fireplace and depicts Jesus and his mother Mary.




Greek Orthodoxy, like all the Orthodox faith, seeks to balance remembrances of concrete and factual history with the emotional, mystical and spiritual awareness or belief - or anticipation of the world to come.

The icons' function, I think, are similar to "touch stones" for this inter-relationship of this life and the next one.

However it remains unclear to me just how the average person understands these as it appears they are objects of veneration in and off themselves. Entering a church, most will kiss the icon - but not everyone approaches the same one. Different icons have specific meanings to the devout. Perhaps it is the icon for which a person is named, for example. Or the icon of a saint known to specialize in healing, or bringing resolution to conflict.

It seems to me that the image the icon represents is used somewhat as a go-between God and the person. Or, if this is fair, one does business with the icon of choice in anticipation of the saint or spiritual leader depicted intervening in some way on one's behalf.

How are these icons to be understood as reputable images we might ask. After all, who knows what Jesus looked like, or how Mary appeared?

The answer exists in the heart of the faith of Orthodoxy, which hold that the there is an uninterrupted continuity of history and theology between the earliest church, namely the church in Jerusalem, the church of Peter and Mary, and today.

That is important.

The genuine tradition of the image has been passed on in a manner similar to Apostolic Succession in the Roman Catholic Church.

Thus, it is a matter of faith that these are accepted as actual likenesses.

This icon is in Chania





To the right are a series of icons displayed in the little chapel in the harbour at Almyrida. This chapel is only large enough for one person. Two would be a very very cozy fit.

How the accuracy of the images is conveyed still remains unclear to me but I now appreciate this is the premise that gives foundation to these images as genuine.

These are copies of copies of copies just as our scriptures are copies of copies of copies. An ancient icon attracts particular attention, not only for its age and artistic quality, but for the power vested in it through centuries of simple veneration. Similarly some artists are noted for their particular skill at reproduction. This area remains unclear to me.

Now if you are perceptive and your critical mind is in gear you may have perceived the question of idol worship. Are icons idols?

Well the Orthodox church first acknowledges that this is a risk and secondly a strong assertion that these are not idols and the Orthodox church does not participate in idol worship.

I learned today from a local retailer, when he became aware I was a protestant minister, that many western evangelicals are finding Crete a hard place as they try to convince the Cretans that they are idol worshippers and should abandon this tradition.

So again one Christian imposing beliefs of a certain variety on another continues. So sad.



So again, Jesus embodied God but that embodiment was not God.

Jesus pointed to God. His words pointed to God.
His actions pointed to God's kingdom to come.

This picture is from the Blessing of the Seas taken on Epiphany Sunday last January. For the full story on this scroll down through this blog archive to January 2013.

Notice here however the icon being held immediately behind the priest as he prepares to bless the waters of the harbour by throwing the gold cross far into the harbour.


To worship the image of Jesus is just wrong on every level but to look upon the iconoclastic image of Jesus and let your mind travel to God and God's kingdom, God's promises in life - that is the point.  In my mind, it is no different from singing a hymn or hearing sacred music that allows our minds and hearts to travel to God and the thoughts of God's kingdom.

The icon is a symbol to be engaged in such a manner as it points you to contemplation and engagement with God.

Does it really work this way - I do not know. But I am aware that many people I see on a regular basis have rather disjointed and foggy ideas about how prayer, worship and the basics of protestant theology actually work.

In conclusion I offer you these three pictures and side stories that are in addition to the story of the icons.

This is a photo of a church in Argyroupolis. Notice the step up to the gate. You see the the stone  step and on top of it a white marble raised stone. This marble stone is actually the cover for a sarcophagus in which a child was buried. To enter the courtyard of the church one has to step on it. It leaves an odd feeling as I whisper the thought "sorry little one."

This icon is of the "Five Virgins" buried in a tomb adjacent to the church site many years ago. According to legend they were five young unmarried women who refused to abandon their Christian faith during the persecutions and were executed. However archaeologists have determined that the remains buried here probably predate Christianity so whatever the story of these women and this site, it has evolved.  The fact that the site has been venerated for whatever reason or story, now infuses it with a evolving sense of sacredness.

This is the outside of the church of the Five Virgins which is reached after a several 100 meter walk down an old Roman road. Notice the tombs cut into the rock wall on the left. There are many hundreds of these tombs throughout this hillside. In the time of the civil war between Octavian and Anthony- 40 years before Jesus' birth, this village supported Octavian so Anthony had the village destroyed. 

Each day as I travel and explore more of these sites, as I read the books and engage the topics at hand I realize how incredibly rich this land is with history. Each bend in the roads and each village I visit, releases its rich history of life. What privilege it is to be able to explore this island and its treasures in peace. The Cretan people are wonderful hosts, proud of their history, culture and faith and only to pleased to share it with anyone who takes an interest.

Perhaps this is an image you would rather not see. This is me, writing this very blog, on this very warm evening on our patio in Perivolia. We have just returned from Falassarna, a wonderful 3 km long beach on the western shore where we spent this very hot, 30 degree Saturday afternoon swimming and reading.

As we lay on the beach the ground began to roll back and forth with quite some power and this continued for quite some time- perhaps 30 seconds. Earthquake! We wondered where the epicentre might be. Returning home our neighbour, bringing in winter wood, asked if we felt the earthquake. It registered 6.5 he said. We said yes and asked where it was centred, expecting Athens or Santorini.

Falassarna,  he said!