Chapter 17: Mike and Elizaveta's Excellent Adventure, Part X

July 1, 1985, Athens, Greece

We had arrived in Athens very late in the afternoon on Sunday, and after making our way by bus from the train station to our hostel on Kafantari Georgiou, we had checked in, had dinner, then decided to just relax in the nearby Parkeren Athene. Having been cooped up in the train for the better part of two days hadn't been enjoyable, and everyone just wanted fresh air.

"Everyone refreshed and ready for our day?" I asked as we sat down to breakfast on Monday morning in a café near the hostel.

"I dread the train ride to Vienna," Sandy replied. "But I'm happy we're in Greece!"

"Any second thoughts about our plans after a good night's sleep?" I asked.

Everyone shook their head. Abby had not been thrilled with the suggestion we visit the Byzantine and Christian Museum, but both Pete and Sandy had expressed a desire to see it, and Clarissa had carefully agreed with us, causing Abby to relent. I'd have suggested they do their own thing, but it was fairly clear it was five against one, and I was thankful Abby hadn't protested once the group decision had been made.

We finished our breakfast of «σταφιδόψωμο» (stafidópsomo) — a Greek raisin bread — with butter, eggs, and coffee, then boarded a city bus which took us to Syntagma Square, where our full-day walking tour of Athens would begin. The brochure from the travel agent had listed the total distance of about 15 kilometers, including climbing hills, so we'd certainly get plenty of exercise, which was nice after sitting on the train for so long.

Our tour group, which consisted of twenty-one people, gathered near the departure point. There was a family with two teenagers, a family with two kids who looked to be about ten and twelve, a pair of couples who appeared to be on their honeymoons, and three gorgeous blonde girls who were around our age and very likely Scandinavians. Our guide came up to us and, after ensuring we all paid our fees, introduced herself by giving her credentials, then began with a description of the square.

Our first destination after the square was the Plaka neighborhood, which had developed near the ruins of the ancient Agora, or marketplace. We walked along labyrinthine streets until we came to the Agora, where our guide described the numerous buildings and structures, most of which were in serious disrepair, having decayed over the centuries. I tried to imagine what it might have looked like two thousand years earlier and wished it could have somehow been better preserved.

From there, we walked along Dionysiou Areopagitou Street to the Acropolis and climbed the hill to see the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. Some restoration work had been done, but according to the guide, there was much more work planned to attempt to undo some of the modern damage to the buildings. I learned something that I hadn't known — that during the Great Turkish War, when the Venetians had been trying to push the Ottoman Turks out of Greece, the Parthenon and the other buildings had been seriously damaged by a gunpowder explosion when a Venetian cannonball hit munitions stored in the Parthenon.

After the Acropolis, we toured the Agora, including the Temple of Hephaestus, then had lunch at a restaurant not far from the base of the hill and discovered that our stunning blonde tour companions were Swedes from Gothenburg. The two families were from England and were vacationing together. The couples, who were honeymooning as I'd suspected, were from Colorado. The Swedish girls were very friendly and very surprised that Elizaveta and I had married so young.

After lunch, we boarded a bus, which took us to the National Archaeological Museum, where we had a two-hour tour of what was claimed to be the greatest collection of artifacts from Greek antiquity in the world. For me, the highlight of the tour was the Mask of Agamemnon, followed closely by a fantastic statute of Asclepius, the god of medicine, whose name appeared in the Hippocratic Oath, which McKinley Medical School continued to use in its original form, though only ceremonially, as the actual oath I'd be required to sign was the modified version written by Doctor Louis Lasagna. That was fortunate, as an oath to 'other gods' would have been problematic.

After the museum, our tour continued with a walk to Lycabettus Hill. We rode the Lycabettus Funicular to the top of the hill, where we had a nice panoramic view of Athens. We also had a brief tour of the small Chapel of Saint George, which was situated atop the hill. When we exited the chapel, we descended the hill and walked to the National Garden, which we walked through to the Panathenaic Stadium, the site of the first modern Olympic games, where our tour concluded.

"Another whirlwind day in a European city!" Clarissa declared as we walked back towards the base of the Acropolis for dinner at a restaurant we'd spotted much earlier in the day.

"How are your feet holding up, Sandy?" I asked.

"So long as Pete gives me a good foot massage later, I'll be fine!"

"Tomorrow won't be nearly as bad," Abby said. "We have a ninety-minute bus ride to get to the Casino Mont Parnes aerial tramway that will take us up Mount Parnitha. From there we can walk as much or as little as we like before we come back to Athens. We have our choice of 3.2 kilometre, 6.5 kilometre, and 10.8 kilometre trails. The last one has lots of elevation changes, while the first two are more modest."

"Checking out the casino would be cool," Pete observed.

"The guide says 'formal dress required'," Abby replied, "so unless you plan to wear a suit, that's not going to work."

"Bummer."

"I think there's gambling on the ferry from Copenhagen to London," I said. "I remember seeing that listed in the amenities."

"Do you gamble, Mike?" Elizaveta asked.

"No. I've played poker occasionally, but it was only for fun. I never bet on sports or even played the Ohio Lottery. The odds always favor the person taking the bet, whether it's the casino, the State of Ohio, or a bookie, so it was never my idea that it was of a good use of my limited funds."

"It's not a good use of extensive funds!" Abby declared. "I suppose playing penny-ante poker with your friends is OK, but the casinos are designed to extract every last red cent from you, all the while promising you the possibility of untold riches."

"The psychology of that is interesting," I said. "We talked about it both in our stats courses and psychology courses. People do NOT understand probability properly, and that lets the casinos do their thing."

"I might play some blackjack," Pete said. "But we'll worry about that in a couple of weeks."

"Speaking of tomorrow," Abby said. "We need to stop and buy some fruit and drinks for our hike."

We had a wonderful dinner where we each ordered something different, and everyone shared so we could taste as many things as possible. When we finished dinner, we went to a bakery and had baklava and coffee, then walked to Pireos Street, where we found a place with live music and Greek dancing. We enjoyed the show and had a few drinks, then headed back to the hostel.

July 2, 1985, Athens, Greece

Our second morning in Athens was spent on the bus ride to Mount Parnitha and hiking the four-mile trail before descending the mountain and returning to the city by bus. We'd had lunch, then walked to the Byzantine and Christian Museum. I had spoken with Clarissa the previous evening, and we'd agreed that if Abby grew bored with the museum, they'd find something else to do so that Elizaveta and I could spend as much time as we wanted there.

That turned out to be the case about an hour into our time there, as I spent a lot of time reading plaques and examining displays. Clarissa and I agreed we'd meet up at 7:00pm for dinner, and they left the museum. Pete and Sandy elected to leave at the same time, and Elizaveta and I continued on alone.

"You're not bored by this, are you?" I asked.

"No," Elizaveta replied. "And even if I were, I'd stay with you. You changed our entire plan so I could have my gondola ride!"

"I'm just glad I talked to Clarissa last night and basically pre-arranged an escape for Abby. I don't want to cause conflict, but this was something I didn't want to compromise."

"I think Clarissa would have stayed longer."

"Probably, but I think she made the right choice. We still have sixteen days together, and it would suck if there were too much tension."

"You like it when I suck!" she teased quietly.

"I do," I replied with a grin.

"It's too bad we have to share a room," Elizaveta groused. "But I got my period on the train, so it wouldn't make too much difference. But it's almost done, so maybe on the train to Vienna..."

"Those berths aren't exactly comfortable," I chuckled. "But I'm sure we'll manage!"

"We will!"

We continued walking through the museum hand-in-hand. The highlight of the tour was a temporary exhibit of icons, some of which were several hundred years old.

"Mike," Elizaveta asked when we eventually left the museum, "did you notice those Swedish girls checking you out yesterday?"

"I really wasn't paying attention to them," I replied.

"Neither was I, but it seemed like every time I looked at them, they were looking at you."

"Does that bother you?" I asked.

"Not if you weren't paying attention to them!"

"I wasn't, beyond noticing they were pretty when they first joined our group. And truthfully, Kitten, they don't hold a candle to you!"

She beamed, "I love you, Mike!"

"I love you, too, «Котёнок» (katyonak)." ("Kitten")

July 3, 1985, Saronic Gulf, Aegean Sea, Greece

Our final full day in Greece began with breakfast, then a bus to Pieras, where we boarded a boat which would take us out into the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea and to the island of Poros. There, we walked through the town and saw the clock tower and the monument to the Greek Revolution before touring the Archaeological Museum.

We re-boarded the boat and enjoyed a buffet lunch while we were entertained by musicians and dancers before arriving at Hydra, an island which prohibited motor vehicles. We sailed into the crescent-shaped harbor and docked. Our first activity was a donkey ride, which was a lot of fun and led to lots of laughter amongst the six of us. Both Abby and Elizaveta snapped pictures of all of us looking completely goofy on the backs of donkeys.

We rode past several churches and got good views, at least from the outside, of several monasteries, including two which overlooked the harbor — the Monastery of the Prophet Elijah and the Monastery of Saint Efpraxia, with whom I was unfamiliar. The latter was a convent housing nuns, while the former had been founded by refugees from Athos. There was also the Cathedral, which was the former Monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin, which was right near the docks.

We had a snack in the town, then boarded the boat for our final destination, Aegina, where we had a tour of the ruins of the Temples of Aphaia and Apollo. We finished our time on the island with a walk through a pistachio grove and bought small bags of pistachios to munch on our walk back to the boat.

"Our guide didn't talk about Saint Nektarios of Aegina," I said.

"OK," Abby said, "I have to ask, but how do you know some obscure saint from an obscure island in the Aegean?"

"Because he did something VERY controversial," I replied. "Around 1910, he ordained two women as deaconesses to serve in the convent on this island."

"How the heck could that be controversial?" Abby asked.

"Because they served liturgically," I replied. "There's quite a bit of debate amongst scholars of the precise duties of women called 'deaconesses' in the early church, and by the medieval period, the term wasn't used, except for a deacon's wife in the Greek Church. Elizaveta's title will be 'Matushka', which in Russian means, effectively, 'little mother', while I'll be 'Father Deacon Michael'. It's a joint ministry, even if she's not ordained, but only I will serve in the altar. It's the rest of the duties we share."

"Sexist and misogynistic," Abby declared.

"I could spend hours explaining theologically why it's not, but I think it would be wasted breath. That said, I think there IS historical and traditional support for female deacons."

"Seriously?" Elizaveta asked.

"Certainly, in the early church, they taught female catechumens and participated in the baptismal ceremonies of women to preserve decorum. It's not a big deal to baptize babies naked, but doing so with adults presents certain problems. In modern times, we generally have white robes with bathing suits underneath. That wasn't the case in the early church.

"There's also quite a bit of evidence, both from the Bible and from history, that women organized and maintained the early church. Of course, I'd say that's still true for the Orthodox Churches! But anyway, those women were very much involved in actual ministry and worship, though we don't know their exact roles."

"Do YOU support the idea?" Abby asked.

"I believe the question is one for the Synod of bishops to answer. I don't have a specific problem with it, but I'm also not in a position to advocate for it publicly because I have to be obedient to my bishop. That said, if I wanted to research it and write some kind of analysis piece, I could, with Vladyka ARKADY's permission."

"So you just do whatever he says?"

"Yes, but remember, I voluntarily accepted that condition of ordination. And our bishops are neither ogres nor are they fools, so I won't be told to do something harmful to myself or anyone else."

"But he controls what you think!" Abby protested.

I shook my head, "Not at all. I have to be careful what I say in public, but I'm free to express my opinions in private, so long as the people I'm talking to are not going to be scandalized themselves nor use what I say to cause scandal."

"So, if I promise not to tell or make an issue of it, you'll answer the question?"

I nodded, "Yes."

"OK, I promise. Should there be women priests and deacons?"

"My personal opinion is that women deacons are something the church should consider, but I don't support the idea of female priests or bishops. Those two are tied together, really. The biblical offices are deacon and bishop, with support for female deacons from the earliest times, as I said. The office of bishop is different in that he is the icon of Christ, and Christ was male.

"As for priests, that developed later when it became unwieldy to have bishops in every church and as more and more churches sprang up in the same city. That's when bishops began assigning priests to act in their stead, with an antimens on the altar signifying that the priest was acting in the bishop's stead. Given that, a female priesthood is out of the question both theologically and practically."

"Do you think that's going to happen?" Abby asked. "I mean, female deacons?"

"Not anytime soon," I replied. "Well, in the parishes, anyway. It's far too controversial. I could see it being restored as Saint Nektarios envisioned it — to serve in convents alongside whichever priest is assigned to the convent to perform the liturgy."

"Elizaveta, do you agree with Mike?" Abby asked.

"No," she said firmly. "I don't think women belong in the altar. Period. I think it's a really bad idea. I'm not harmed in any way by ordained clergy being limited to men, and I can minister next to Mike in every other way."

"You're Orthodox?" our guide, Niki, who had obviously been listening, asked.

"My wife and I are Russian Orthodox," I said.

"And you're going to be a deacon?"

"Pretty much as soon as I return from this holiday," I said, using the word I knew substituted for 'vacation' in British English, which our guide used.

"Are you already ordained?"

"I've been a subdeacon for some time," I replied. "Do you attend church?"

"On Pascha, my name day, and the Feast of Saint George."

Which was very typical of Greeks I knew back in the US, including Sophia, though she had been going to church a bit more often than most before we met and now attended about half the time.

"Nicholas of Myra?" I asked.

"Yes, of course!"

"Go on, Petrovich," Clarissa teased. "Tell your story!"

"I bet she knows!" I replied.

"You mean about Saint Nicholas slapping the heretic Arius?" Niki asked with a soft laugh. "Of course!"

We arrived at the boat and boarded, finding seats towards the front.

"I think I need a shower after that donkey ride," Abby declared when she plopped down in her seat.

"I think I need a butt massage!" Sandy declared.

"Too much information!" Clarissa declared.

"Not cut out for all the physical activity, Sandy?" Abby asked.

"I'm more of a 'relax on the couch' kind of person," Sandy said. "I think I've lost at least five pounds despite eating so much rich food!"

"Being in good shape will help with surviving medical school and Residency," I said.

"That's for sure!" Abby agreed. "Nursing school and practical training aren't as crazy as Residency, but I was out of shape when I started. I quickly got into exercising three times a week, which made all the difference in the world."

"I'm going to start some kind of exercise routine when we get back," Clarissa said. "I'm not sure what, but something. Mike, are you going to start karate again?"

"For now, I'm just going to run," I replied. "Elizaveta and I will run together each day before school."

"I think they have a good point," Pete said. "Sandy, we should talk about this when we get home."

"Sure," she agreed.

When the boat arrived back at Pieras, we boarded a bus which took us back to the vicinity of the hostel. As Abby had suggested, we all showered, then went out to enjoy our last night in Athens.

July 4, 1985, Greece and Yugoslavia

We had left Athens early to ensure we could catch the night train from Sarajevo to Vienna. We'd ruled out going via Thessaloniki and Belgrade, as the timing simply didn't work, and we'd increase our travel time by more than ten hours. As the train moved north, Elizaveta and I sat cuddled together in a pair of second-class seats in the second-to-last car. Sandy and Pete were in the dining car, and Abby and Clarissa were in the seats behind us.