A Message from Patmos!

Yes! I just received a reply from Jason Kefalas from the website Patmos Island!
Thanks for taking time to send me this email, Jason, it's great to hear from you and I really appreciate your help - please also read my first comment on this entry...

This is Jason's message from Patmos today - not a new revelation but an interesting read nonetheless,

Hi Paul,
sorry for the delay, things are picking up here for the tourist season and I have been thinking about this email and trying to see where to start from.
I would have to start from Patmos has become a tourist destination, tens of thousands of pilgrims show up with the cruise boats and visit the monastery of St. John and the cave of the Apocalypse, all in high speed, not having enough time to absorb our island.

Our island is dry, there is not enough water to go around so we import water from neighbouring islands, it has been dry as long as history can tell, its dry and rugged terrain is one of the reasons Patmos was a place of exile hence the arrival of St. John.

As for Christianity, all the locals are Greek Orthodox, things get very holy around Easter time but lost during the summer were locals work hard to gather as much money as they can to cover there expenses over the long winter, busy season is July and August for all the island, although some people are busy already.

To speak about the island of the Apocalypse would be like talking about The Book of Revelations, its very personal, you can read it a hundred times and have a different feeling at the end, different people either theologians or professors from around the globe come up with there own theory about what St.John wrote about, the truth is that St.John didn’t write a word, his student Prohoros wrote The Book of Revelations, St. John was in a daze and tried to explain as much as possible of his vision.

I could go on and on, but one things for sure the Apocalypse has a different meaning for every reader and so does the island it was written on. The only way to see what it means to you, is come and read it on the island it was written and see for yourself.

Jason Kefalas

Please click on this link to read all about my quest for information about the Greek island of Patmos!

A Message from Patmos to our Orthodox Brothers in the West

I came across this interesting website from the Orthodox Research Institute. In the first comment on this entry (see below) you can read the text of my email to this organisation. Now... let's wait and see if I can get an answer from them! In the meantime, feel free to let me know what you think of this next stage of my world-wide virtual island hopping tour. By the way, I could use some help with this quest. Please join me in trying to get in touch with people who live on Patmos or who have been there as a tourist. I haven't received any replies from this island yet, so your help with this will be highly appreciated!
Please click on the labels Patmos or Virtual Island Hopping to read all related posts.

Revelations from a visitor to Patmos

The small island of Patmos, rocky and barren, is the site of the famed Monastery of St. John the Theologian, high above the modern port of Skala. Most of the islands' approximately 2,500 people live in three villages: Skala, Medieval Chora, and the small rural settlement of Kambos. Skala, the island's main port, is its commercial center and the location now of almost all the hotels and restaurants. Its also a popular port of call for cruise ship, and, in the summer, huge liners often loom over the town for several hours everyday. There is not much to see in the town, but strict building codes have been enforced and even new buildings have traditional architectural detail.

If you are physically able, I strongly recommend taking the long hike to the top of Patmos to discover St. John's Grotto and Monastery. The Grotto is where God spoke to St. John. The story has it that the three cracks in the ground represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A priest is located inside the Grotto to over see the building. Please know that pictures are not allowed in the church.

Further up the hill is St. John's Monastery. Here is where you'll find a small yet very ornate church. As you walk in, the front wall is comprised of 24 karat gold. Frescoes adorn the walls dating back to the late 11th century. Many have been restored, but some as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries are still the originals. Source

Click on the labels "Patmos" or "Virtual Island Hopping" below this entry to see all related posts!
Caroll L. Douglas wrote an interesting comment on my first Patmos post - check it out!

Monastry of Saint John and Cave of the Apocalypse on World Heritage List

I just found out that the historic centre of the town Chorá on Patmos with the Monastery of Saint John "the Theologian" and the Cave of the Apocalypse on the Island of Patmos are inscribed on Unesco's World Heritage List.

The small island of Patmos in the Dodecanese is reputed to be where St John the Theologian wrote both his Gospel and the Apocalypse. A monastery dedicated to the 'beloved disciple' was founded there in the late 10th century and it has been a place of pilgrimage and Greek Orthodox learning ever since. The fine monastic complex dominates the island. The old settlement of Chorá, associated with it, contains many religious and secular buildings. (Read more here)

MONASTERY OF SAINT JOHN
The fortified Monastery of St. John the Divine towers majestically, both physically and spiritually, over the whole island. It stands on a hilltop opposite the port of Skala, clasped tightly by the brilliant white medieval town of Chora. Source

Patmos today - let's see if we can get there!

The bible is the worlds' best selling book. All reading enthusiasts know of the Book of Revelations, but not everyone is aware that it was written on Patmos or why a book about so much destruction was written in a place so beautiful and peaceful.

Saint John the Divine (also known as the beloved disciple of Jesus) was sent here in exile, Patmos in those days was a place for criminals because it was so inaccessible.

This is what I just read on this site about Patmos. This is the official site from Patmos - and I am still trying to find a church or Christian community on this famous island that I can get in touch with via email.

Let's see if we can get an answer to these general questions...

• What is it like to live on Patmos?
• Can you describe the natural environment for us (animals, plants, trees)?
• Please tell us a little bit about the people from Patmos...

...and to these more specific questions for Christians living on Patmos today!

• What are your fellowships like are they informal?
• Do you meet in homes?
• Do any of you have a vision for the church today?

Mike, thanks for your questions that I can ask fellow believers living on Patmos today - if I manage to find them!

PATMOS
37°20”N 26°34”E.
INHABITANTS: 3,000 approximately.
AREA: 34 square kilometers.
COASTLINE: 63 kilometers

Some websites that I have found...

• Patmos Times (local news paper - in Greek!)
• Official website of the Monastry of Saint John - if you open this link, you will see an opening page, you must click on the single Greek word below to enter! But than again it's al Greek to me... But - and this is really cool - you can also listen online to the choir from this monastry!
• More Patmos links

The shape of Patmos reminds me of a seahorse!

Let's hop on to... Patmos!

Well, it looks like there are not too many people living on Isla del Coco. I only received one friendly comment from a Dutch couple living in Costa Rica (which is highly appreciated, but not really what I was looking for). Never mind, I did enjoy the virtual visit to Cocos Island and if I still receive any comments from scuba divers, wild life rangers or hammer sharks - you will be the first to know.
But... there are more islands on this beautiful planet to explore, so let's move on to Patmos!



Right now I am studying the book of Revelations - written by John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos. So now I want to go to the beautiful Mediterranean area to find out whether there are still some fellow believers living on this small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Maybe they even have an internet connection and who knows they will be kind enough to get in touch with us and share their visionary insights with the rest of the world by leaving a comment on one of my postings about Patmos.

Dear blog readers! If you have any questions about Patmos - please feel free to leave a comment. I will think about some questions myself and next month I will try to get in touch with somebody living on Patmos today. Please join me during the next part of my exciting virtual island hopping world tour and let me know what you think! You can read more about Patmos on Wikipedia.