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Published by
Prawostawny Serwis Internetowy,
August 2005
The
Transfiguration on the Holy Mountain Grabarka |
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As
every year on the 18 – 19th of August, thousands
of Orthodox faithful took part in celebrations
on the Holy Mountain Grabarka, the most
venerated Orthodox holy site in Poland. Many of
the people made pilgrimages from the nearby
towns and villages. They carried crosses which
were placed on the mountain for the intentions
of health and spiritual regeneration.
The all night vigil of the feast of
Transfiguration was celebrated by Metropolitan
Sawa – the head of the Autocephalous Church in
Poland - with the assistance of other bishops.
During the night, several services were
celebrated – there was an akathist in memory of
the dead at the cemetery by the monastery,
Divine Liturgies (at 1.00 am, 4.00 am and at
7.00 am). The main Divine Liturgy of the feast
of Transfiguration was served by Metropolitan
Sawa at 10.00 am. At the end, the procession
around the church occurred.
The
Holy Mountain Grabarka has a rich and long
history. It became famous after the miracle that
had happened there in 1710, when lots of people
in the region were dying. At this time one of
the men had a vision - that the only cure can to
be found in the forest on the Holy Mountain
Grabarka. As the people came to the mountain and
put a cross there, a miracle happened. People
started to recover. After that, the news spread
among the people and they began coming to the
mountain with the pilgrimages. The same year,
people who survived built the wooden chapel on
the mountain.
The
female monastry was established in 1947 and in
that time it was the only female monastery in
Poland. For many years, the monastery on the
Holy Mountain has been a very important
spiritual centre in Poland. Especially since
the sad event in 1990, when the old, silent,
wooden church was set on fire, the Orthodox
people in Poland mobilized. Afterwards all the
Orthodox and many non-Orthodox helped by
rebuilding the church. It is now reconstructed
in the style of the old one.
Two
times a year, there are big gatherings on the
Holy Mountain. The first is a youth, paschal
pilgrimage, which takes place in May. Another
one is the feast of Transfiguration in August,
which gathers thousands of people from
throughout the country.
There
are about 500,000 Orthodox people in Poland, 1%
of the whole Polish population. The church has 8
monasteries – five male and three female. There
is a theological seminary and an ecumenical
university with a faculty of Orthodox theology.
From the early 80’s, the youth are especially
active in the Church, now acting within the
structures of the Fellowship of Orthodox Youth
(established in 1980) - a member of Syndesmos.
Written and translated from
http://cerkiew.pl/en/index.php
by Karina Skiepko and
Anna Siegien. |
