Growing Up Greek Orthodox
With the start of Holy week, and being one week away from Easter, I wanted to pause and take a moment to fill you in on my childhood upbringing as an orthodox christian, and how Orthodoxy has shaped my understanding for nature and art.
I'm sure you've caught on by now that all of the artwork I create is spiritually charged. The presence of the holy spirt I experience in nature deeply influences each line I create.
From a little girl I remember always being super in tune with my senses. Noticing small details in the flowers, taking an extra moment to pause to admire the veins on each leaf.
My Yiayia Christina tells me the story of when I was three years old, I picked up a red leaf from the ground during the fall months, and I was so excited to show it to her. I picked up another leaf and insisted I give it to Fr. John, our parish priest at St. John the Baptist Church.
My Yiayia described the leaf as broken and almost crumbling apart. But as a kid I saw so much beauty in it that I just needed to share it!
So I did ran up to Fr. John and joyfully gave him the disheveled leaf from the ground, and he simply smiled and took the leaf and patted me on the head.
It's these small moments from our childhood that give us signs as to who we are as humans at our core. What do we value? What do we find beautiful? How do we share the beauty we see and create with others who we love?
I beg you to ask yourself these questions. To dig deep into who you were as a child, and come back to those moments now as an adult. What did you find beauty in when you were little? What brought you joy? What made you feel love?
These are the questions I began to ask myself right before I became an artist. And this investigation is what lead my to begin painting my memories of the water and Greece.
My Yiayia Christina was a huge influence to bringing us closer to Christ and the church. She did it without force or trying. She was simply being herself. Loving God, and sharing her love with us. Everyday she would have her prayer book out and she would read the paraklisis to the mother of God. And while she read she would say the prayers out loud and my sister and I would listen as we played with our toys. We never said anything or recited the prayers with her, we just listened.
Then one day, my yaiyia started saying a different prayer, and I stopped her and said, "yiayia, you're saying the prayer wrong." And she smiled and asked, "what is the right way to say the prayer?" and then my sister and I in unison started belting out the entire paraksis word for word. We had never said it before, but we were soaking up each hymn like sponges. Internally memorizing the each verse without my yaiyia even realizing.
After that our secret was out, our yiayia knew we knew all the prayers. So everyday when we came over, we would sing them together. And boy did I love singing them. I belted it out with so much excitement and passion.
My yiayia would often host travelers from Greece to stay at her house. We called Yiayia Christina's house the Holiday Inn. Her typical travelers to take in were either Priests or monks. One time when I was about 4 years old, 9 monks from Greece came to stay at my yiayias house.
Imagine like Buddhist monks meditating and praying all day. But make them all Greek, with long black beards, wearing floor length black robes instead of bright orange ones.
My yiayia was babysitting us, and we went to play outside on the playground. I look back at the pictures of me and my sister getting pushed on the swing by monks. Not your typical Tuesday at yiayias house.
(I'll do my best to dig up this picture to show you one day)
My Yiayia knowing our secret talent of reciting the entire parakisis by memory, she would ask us to sing in front of any traveler who came to say at her house. I remember my sister and I would proudly stand up on her fire place, pretending like it was our stage, and start chanting the entire service.
Needless to say, every guest was very impressed to see these two little American girls, belting out hymns in perfect Greek.
Most kids in Greece don't even practice these prayers anymore, or even go to church at all, so it was defiantly a rare experience to see.
I tell you all of these because from such a young age, my soul has been filled with the holy spirt, and I truly believe it is the holy spirt flows through me to create all the visual art that you see.
I went to the Montessori preschool at our church where we would sing traditional greek songs and hymns, and to this day when I see my old preschool teachers they still will never forget how I sang so loud and passionately in school!
Into middle school and the teenage years, I spent every Sunday chanting traditional Greek Byzantine music with the other young girls from my parish. It was such a lovely experience being able to sing every Sunday.
Ok, so you might be thinking to yourself, "wow this girl's family was a little extra with being Greek Orthodox," but keep reading because it gets even more extra...
Photograph captured by me on my trip to St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona in 2022.
Every single one of our family vacations always consisted of a visit to a Greek Orthodox monastery around the US.
That is where my family would go on vacation to. To visit these holy people in their place of worship.
And these places were talking about is not just like a little brick church. These monasteries were epic. I'm talking marble, gold, insane landscaping with flowers and trees. Beautifully hand carved wood alters, Hand painted icons of the saints. These places were so overwhelmingly beautiful that you felt like when you walked through the entrance gates, you left the world behind and entered into heaven.
As a little girl it was such a special treat to jump on a flight to Arizona to visit the first ever Greek Orthodox Monastery in the country that was established in 1994 by Elder Ephreim.
My sisters and I playing with dolls together at the airport while we anxiously wait to board our flight to Arizona to visit St. Anthony's monastery. We were ready with our headscarfs and skirts before we even got there!
Before Elder came from Greece, Orthodoxy was starting to fade away completely in the world.
The orthodox traditions were getting watered down and becoming like any other American Christian domination.
In America, the Greek Orthodox churches started to feel more like social clubs than places of worship and true spiritual connection.
My parents growing up knew nothing about ancient orthodox philosophies like fasting to practice discipline. Or confession to cleanse your soul from sins. These practices were forgotten, along with the core of what our true human experience is meant to fulfill, a personal relationship with God. And our ultimate goal to experience God by discovering theosis - Union with God.
All of these philosophies and traditional practices were almost lost completely. The monks in Greece holding on to these traditions were getting old and dying.
And Orthodox Christianity in America was present but not very strong.
Picture was taken by me at the funeral of Elder Ephreim on December 7, 2019 where hundreds of people gathered from around the world to witness.
Cue Elder Ephreim.
He came from Greece as a poor monk with nothing. Settled in Arizona and founded St. Anthony's monastery. When he first got to Arizona he picked the most random isolated spot in the middle of the desert with no water source. Everyone thought he was crazy, but he said, "Start drilling here" and they drilled and found a lake bigger than lake Michigan underground exactly where he decided to settle.
Now St. Anthony's monastery grows lemons trees, orange trees, olive trees, and all kinds of fruits and vegetables. When you walk around the property you truly feel like you entered a tropical oasis. There's no wonder the monastery has become one of the most visited tourist spots in Arizona.
Not only did Elder Ephreim establish St. Anthony's in Arizona, but he also established 21 other monasteries across the US and restored even more ancient monasteries in Greece. You can read more about the life of Elder Ephreim here!
My sisters and I right after we helped the monks pick fresh oranges off the orange tress at St. Anthony's monastery in Arizona.
My first cousin Nicoletta and I at the funeral of Geronda Ephreim on December 7, 2019.
Nicoletta later became a novice at the age of 21 at the Monastery in Washington state. A novice is someone who is training to become a nun. After going to school, traveling and living life, Nicoletta decided she wanted to dedicate her entire life to Christ. When I asked her why she wanted to become a nun, she told me that when she met her gerondisa (female elder nun) she simply just wanted to be close to her and didn't want to leave her side because her energy was so loving. She was radiating God's love. When I asked her what her favorite part of her day was while being at the monastery she said she enjoyed baking and creating with the other nuns, but above all she loved being in the church services. She said she felt like she was transported to another world every time she walked thought the doors of the church.
The moment we heard of Elder Ephreims passing, my parents and my sisters all booked flights to witness his funeral.
We flew in that same day and there were hundreds of people gathered from around the country.
What people don't realize about being in the presence of these holy monks, is that when you are near them it is like being near Christ. They have devoted their entire life to focused prayer and communication with God.
Being in their presence is like being present with the holy spirt.
They have this glowing warmth about their aura. An energy that brings you comfort and peace.
Elder Ephreim was a living saint. A human who was so connected to God's presence and is fully united with Christ.
Being around these holy people from such a young age has had a very profound influence on my life and my art practice.
I see painting and drawing as a form of meditative prayer. A time where I can fully disconnect from the real world and become united with God.
My mind becomes still as the brush lands on the surface of the canvas. My body is fully relaxed and any burden from that day thats laid heavy on my heart gets lifted away.
Drawing and painting is a tool for me to pray.
Yes reciting memorized prayers is helpful when you are learning. But in order for the prayers to work, your mind must be still and fully present with God.
When you are drawing and painting your hands are moving and your thoughts are able to become silent. And that is when there is space for God to truly speak to you through your heart.
There is room for the holy spirt to move through you. To influence each movement of the brush. To guide your hands to create. The subconscious mind taking over control. I believe part of your subconscious mind is your soul. And your soul is God living inside of you. It's up to you to become quiet enough to hear that part of yourself.