Surroundings of Nafpaktos (One Day Pilgrimage)

In the morning after breakfast we take a bus to the city of Nafpaktos. We will pass through the Gulf of Corinth along the Rio-Antirio Bridge , which length is slightly less than three kilometers and the width exceeds 27 meters. This is the longest cable-stayed bridge in Europe; it is one of the top ten bridges in the world.

The monasteries that we will visit in the vicinity of Nafpaktos are founded by a modern ascetic - archimandrite Nektariy Mulatiotis.

“Monasteries are particles of Heaven, corners of a lost paradise, created on earth by God for people ... Monasteries are the most important part of the Orthodoxy, these are its lungs,” says Father Nectarius. He still spiritually feeds the monasteries created over twenty years ago - male and female, and in the male one he is a rector.

During a pilgrimage we will visit both of these cloisters, which are not far from each other. Founded in 1991, today they are popular pilgrimages in the vicinity of Nafpaktos.

The monastery is dedicated to Saint Augustine and the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. Elder Seraphim signaled that the monastery should be dedicated to him too - on the day of his memory in 1990, light came down from heaven to the place where the monastery was supposed to be built.

In the monastery of St. Seraphim the largest bell tower was erected, not only in the vicinity of Nafpaktos and in Greece, but throughout the world with 400 bells and 62 bells. A similar bell tower - the church of St. Sophia in Constantinople - was a symbol of the glory of Byzantium. Pilgrims will be able to listen to the unique sound of many bells.

High reliefs depicting the milestones of the life of St. Seraphim are installed on the territory of the monastery. A copy of the Holy Sepulcher was created here, modeled on the cave in Jerusalem.

Pilgrims will be able to worship a fragment of the Cross of Christ, particles of the holy relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Augustine, righteous Anna, mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and many other shrines.

On the territory of the monastery there is a small zoological garden where various animals and birds live.

Another holy place in the vicinity of Nafpaktos - located nearby, on a hillside, a convent in honor of Saints Nectarios and Fanuria. It looks like a fairytale castle or palace and impresses with its beauty. From the monastery offers a wonderful view of the Gulf of Patria. Nowadays 16 sisters live here.

The entrance to the monastery is through labyrinths  created after the image of the early Christian catacombs. Here, pilgrims will plunge into the atmosphere of those ancient times when persecuted Christians were forced to worship in the dungeon. These catacombs are a monastery cemetery, they are decorated with wall paintings, as in the time of the first Christians.

The sisters of the monastery produce incense, do beekeeping, make wax candles, paint icons, knit rosaries. The monastery has its own farmyard, where sheep, cows, hens live. Dairy products are made from milk - the best in the vicinity of Nafpaktos.

Remember!

Visiting holy places provides a certain form of clothing: for men, long trousers and covered shoulders; for women - a skirt below the knee, a covered line of the neckline and shoulders (it is not necessary to cover the head). We advise you to go on a pilgrimage in comfortable shoes.