From May 9-25 Mka. Marie and I were on an Orthodox pilgrimage to Italy, where we visited many churches, holy sites, and places of historical interested. A particular blessing was to pray at the relics of St. Luke the Evangelist, which are located in Padua, shortly after our arrival.
We saw many wonderful things during the course of our pilgrimage, including the 5th and 6th century Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna, the relics of many saints, as well as ancient archeological sites. Here is a smattering of what we witnessed. A most amazing church is the 11th century Basilica Benedettina Sant’Angelo in Formis, covered with frescos painted by Greek iconographers and their Italian students.
Below is a photo of the altar of cathedral in Salerno dedicated to St. Matthew. His relics are under the alter table.
Here are small statues of three holy martyrs whose relics are at the cathedral
Right next to these statues is this short pillar, which was one of the pillars used by the Romans to execute Christian with the sword
Rome left me with the impression of the power of the Roman Empire.
Back in Milan at the end of the trip we were able to meet Fr. Silouan, the rector of the Orthodox Russian Church of Saints Sergius, Seraphma dn Vincenzo Martir. Fr. Silouan showed us a myrrh streaming icon of St. John Maximovich.
After the coffee hour on Sunday, I was able to chat with the clean-up crew.
By the way, the ancient Roman has fast food restaurants. Here is one that specialized in soup.
Italy has a rich Christian heritage of special significance to Orthodox Christians. Our pilgrimage was a wonderful spiritual experience.
