Late last week, I wasn’t nudged or guided nearly as much as I was told that I needed to go to Rila and the Monastery of St. John of Rila (St. Ivan Rilski) on Saturday. In fact, it was rather emphatic. So, I found a tour that would take me there that offered two things I needed: to do my own thing for an extended time at the monastery, and to visit the cave where St. John lived and died.
A bit of background for you. St. John was a hermit who for a time lived outside of modern Sofia in a hut, said hut being in the area referred to as the mini-holy mountain. In what I suspect was his dismay, his piety and prayers became highly regarded and people began seeking him out. This eventually included people like the Tsar, who wanted to meet him. Agents of any crown are not necessarily noted for subtlety or taking no for an answer, so he literally had to evade them. In turn, this fueled his decision to flee to the area outside of Rila, where he hoped to regain his solitude. Eventually, those who wanted to be his students found him, built a small church in front of his cave, and shielded him from most visitors. Eventually, a full monastery was established nearby. There’s a lot more and it is worth your time to read up on him as this really doesn’t do him or his story justice.
Now, St. John of Rila has an icon in our Church, but it is in some ways secondary to some other saints. He is also not one of those saints who speaks to me, at least not in a way I recognize as such. That said, I did ask him more than once to guide me on this pilgrimage, particularly on my journey to his monastery and to visit him. I do think I got what I asked for.
After a stop at a museum here in Sofia, we started the hour-plus (two hour?) journey to Rila. I was prepared, but I will say that when the tour guide emphasizes several times that bathrooms will be limited on a trip you should pay attention.
When you first leave the valley and start into the foothills, some of the terrain reminds me very much of NE Georgia. So much so it actually makes me a bit homesick for it. Then you get just a bit further, and I am far more reminded of the Rockies. From what (little) I have seen of it so far, Bulgaria is a beautiful country and I would love to explore it further.
Now, I have heard it said that the insides of Orthodox churches are effectively graphic novels of the life of Christ. In this case, these photos are all of the exterior of the church at the center of the complex. The fresco’s are amazing, and you get not only the life of Christ, but also a bit of the Old Testament precursor stories. You can spend an hour or two just looking at these details.
I want to share these with you because I did not take photos inside the church. They ask you not to, but even though you can get some of the gorgeous interior from outside, it just isn’t right to share such in my opinion. Especially given what was to come.
Inside, I did my usual of lighting candles, as I pray for several members of our Church everywhere I go. I also pray for guidance for me on this pilgrimage and my spiritual journey. On this trip, some additional things happened that I did not plan or anticipate.
I won’t go into all the details, but I was given the opportunity to venerate relics of St. John of Rila directly. They are kept in a small casket that was opened by a priest so a few of us could venerate them.
After that, I was blessed by the priest and had the opportunity to take a cotton applicator that had been blessed while on the relics. This will go home to my priest so it can be used to anoint members of my Church.
A few minutes after that, I was anointed by that same priest. None of this was planned. It was not something expected or that I had asked to have happen. However, even as dense as I am, I figured out this was part of the reason I had been told to get there. Some more time was spent in prayer, then it was time to return to the bus so that those of us who had opted to go up to the cave could do so.
Now, the photo above does not give you a good idea of how steep, long, and narrow (and rough) the path up to the cave is. In fact, it makes it look rather sedate and easy, with the shadows suggesting steps that are not there. Of course, just after our guide told us to be careful and I passed that sign, I managed to fall flat on my face.
St. John’s cave.
This is something the physical therapist worked with me on last summer, when I finally got the physical therapy I should have had four years earlier. A lot of what is going on is reminding the brain that it has done this before, and can do it again. I used to run up and down hills that were as steep or steeper for years. The more I did, the more the brain began to remember. It was not pleasant in some respects, as my balance is no where near what it used to be. I also thought I was going to get in trouble, as it was up the trail a ways that I admitted to the guide that I had been hit by lightning. Some people apparently seem to think you should mention that when the tour booking and then the tour guide ask about medical conditions. Huh. Go figure.
Not sure if she was resigned about things at that point, or just a good sport, but I wasn’t in trouble. I did, however, have a nice young Italian couple from the tour stay with me and make sure I got up and down the hill without falling off. That, too, seems to becoming a theme for this trip, nice young couples being very nice to the old man. I am not old, I am still a teenager (in my mind).. Quit laughing. The tour guide got this shot of me coming out the upper exit of the cave, called the narrow way. Supposedly, only the pure may pass through and/or all sins are scraped off. It is interesting, as at one point your legs are sorta hanging out in space inside the cave while you pull yourself through a very tight opening.
For me, the problem wasn’t my gut, but my shoulders. The only way to get out was to put one arm and shoulder out, while reaching for my toes with the other arm. Once I got far enough, a partial roll and a twist let me work the other shoulder then arm out. The photo earlier was taken just after I had gotten my feet under me. And, yes, I did wear my fedora through the cave along with my Scott-E-Vest. And, yes, you also have to do some ducking, twisting, and almost crawling getting in as well.
As I said earlier, still processing what happened in the monastery church. This trip has brought several such moments already, but that one really hit home for me. In some ways I’ve got even more questions than before; but, I am also more sure I will be guided to that which is right.
Onwards.
If you would like to help me with this trip, seminary courses, and more, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. I’ve added Cash App ($CliffPow7) and Venmo (@Clifford-Powers-5). There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. Getting hit by lightning is not fun! It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.