Heaven’s Joy.
During the festal services, there are specific moments when the chandeliers are set in motion by the monks. The effect is quite stunning, since the church is illumined only by the ‘flying’ candles. Simultaneously, the joyful Athonite chant from both the left and right choirs, accompanied by the delicate tinkling of the deacons’ bells as they cense the church, unite all the senses into one great, majestic spiritual moment, a moment which foreshadows the eternal kingdom.
At the same time the sounds of the choirs are projecting joyful hymns from both the left and right, and the deacons are incensing with ritualistic majesty.
In this photograph, the exact moment is captured in which the chandeliers are being set into motion and the monk who will announce the verses of the canon awaits the blessing from the Patriarch of Alexandria Theodoros the 2nd who sits on throne. The photo is taken at Feast of the St Gerasimos at Vatopaidi.
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