Patmos, a place of great revelations – the secret of a new beginning

When I stepped into the Cave of the Apocalypse, “Σπήλαιο της Αποκαλάπης”, I experienced an unspeakable joy, as if eternity itself was welcoming me to that hallowed place, participating in the Holy Liturgy celebrated by a venerable, aged hieromonk, Isidoros, a former teacher in his youth on the small island of Patmos, the northernmost of the Dodecanese archipelago.

The most important detail among the few that is known about this island is that it was here that the most beloved of the Saviour’s Disciples, Saint John the Evangelist, was exiled, by order of the cruel Roman emperor Titus Flavius ​​Domitian (51-96 AD). At the time of his arrest, Saint John was already very old, and his exile occurred, of course, with the intention of condemning him to isolation and certain death.

The island was then deserted, without springs, without trees, and without fertile land. It seemed a place from which life itself had withdrawn. But right here, in perfect austerity, God would speak to His Apostle.

At his advanced age, about 90 years old, the beloved Disciple of the Savior always kept in his heart what he had seen when he was with the Lord on the high mountain, together with Peter and James. There, the Savior showed His Glory of Godhead, and the Disciples, blinded by the brightness of His face, could not peer into His radiant face.

This uncreated light Christ always had, but He covered it with the garment of human nature, which He had put on from the day when, in the fullness of time, He came to earth.

He became Man out of boundless love, in order to raise man to God, or, as some Fathers of the Church said, “to make man a god by grace”.

Having arrived in the wilderness of Patmos, the Disciple recalled the words that the Savior had spoken to him: “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also!” (John 15:20). He carried his cross of oppression, leaving himself in the hands of the Lord. He found a place of abode in a cave, a little above the sea, where, when it was cold and rainy, he took refuge from the fury of the times and that of men…

On that deserted island, where time seemed suspended, the light of the Uncreated One was to be revealed in words that would echo across the centuries: the Apocalypse. The Book of Revelation speaks of the heavenly vision that John received as a gift from God shortly before completing his mission as an apostle. He testifies, as we read in the first chapter of Revelation, that he was in the spirit on Sunday, hearing behind him a loud trumpet voice. Then he received the command: “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea” (Rev. 1:11). Turning to see whose voice it was, he saw “seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of them One like the Son of Man, clothed in a garment down to the feet, and girded with a golden girdle” (Rev. 1:13).

The face that John depicts surpasses all human measure. The one seen was dressed in a garment that reached down to his feet, girded with a shining golden girdle. “His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if they had been burned in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. He had seven stars in his right hand, and out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in its strength” (Rev. 1:14-16).

Overwhelmed by this divine apparition, the old apostle perhaps felt on the verge of destruction, but the Lord placed His right hand on him as a sign of mercy and strength: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, and I am the living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of hell. Write, therefore, the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (Rev. 1:17-19).

The first chapter of Revelation concludes with the interpretation of the seven stars, which are the Angels of the seven Churches, and of the seven candlesticks, which represent these Christian communities, witnesses to the history of faith and perseverance.

The old apostle understood exile not as a punishment, but as a moment of great revelation. In the harsh solitude of the island of Patmos, John wrote fiery words, urging the faithful to persevere in patience, to receive suffering as a crown of glory for the name of the Lord, not to waste their “first love” and to cultivate sincere repentance, which renews the soul. The mysterious words of the Book of Revelation have another meaning, which transcends time and place, urging all people, not just those of Asia Minor, to love good deeds and toil more than darkness.

Even though I did not have the Book of Revelation with me, the Icon from one of the two chapels of the cave was a Gospel in color to me. Looking at the painted face, I understood, in secret, something of the greatness of the One Who is, the One Who is alive and remains alive forever and ever (Rev. 1:18). As once, on Mount Tabor, Christ revealed His Glory of Godhead to the young apostle, so here, in the shadowy depths of the cave, the unseen lights of eternity seemed to reach out to those who sought with an open heart.

The Liturgy took root in my heart like a song of angelic hosts descending from heaven. I firmly believe that the Angels were there present, as they had been in the moments when John received the command to write the Revelation. Nothing was accidental: if the persecutors of Christians wanted John to remain in Patmos and end up alone on an island of the forgotten, the Savior decided that he should return to Ephesus, where he, who saw these things and who wrote about them, ended his days (John 21:24).

Therefore, we believe that his testimony is true…

We do not know how many years the island and the cave remained deserted after the Evangelist John found a ship that took him back to Ephesus. Perhaps the silence of that time preserved within it the echo of John’s footsteps and the words received from heaven. Today, however, this place is no longer deserted, but filled with the light of those who come to seek and receive, with humility, the unspeakable mystery of the Eternal King.

In Patmos, the winds that have swept the island over the centuries are not only of the air, but also of solitude. This harsh desert, however, became once again a land of revelations and prayer when another man of God, the monk Christodoulos, full of gifts, received from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Comnenus the entire island, with the duty of founding a monastery in honor of Saint John the Evangelist.

Thus, in the year 1088, at the end of the 11th century, a magnificent lavra was established, placed, according to archaeological research, on the foundation of an ancient Paleo-Christian Church. However, there are also testimonies that claim that, since the 4th century, in a secret corner of the island, where the Evangelist John performed the Sacrament of Holy Baptism for those who were returning to Christ, several Churches were built successively. The great founder Christodoulos remained in Patmos until 1118, when Arab pirates forced him to leave the island.

Not even the following centuries, harsh ones, comparable to the first century of persecution under the merciless reign of Domitian, managed to stop the missionary work in Patmos, which continues to this day.

A splendid monastery was built on the top of the hill that dominates the island. Although it is only a few hundred meters high, it is visible from afar. It looks like a fortress. The walls are high and have battlements, so that only from close up can you see the cross that protects the monastery, the island, and the entire Aegean Sea area.

The large church (katholikon) and part of the cells have been preserved from that period. There are also many chapels, such as the one dedicated to the Venerable Christodoulos, where his relics were placed, and other small churches dedicated to the Holy Cross, Saint John the Baptist, the Holy Apostles, Saint Basil, Saint Nicholas, and outside the enclosure, two more chapels dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr George and the Venerable Onuphry. Time has added to this holy place almost a thousand years of uninterrupted prayer, to which is added another millennium since the coming to the island of the son of thunder (Boanerges), John the Evangelist, the apostle who received the secret of divine revelation.

The monastery has remained a treasure trove of Orthodoxy through the beauty of the Icons, the objects of worship and the manuscripts preserved since the 12th century, but especially through the perpetuation of the tradition that comes from the Evangelist John and the blessing that the Lord has poured out on this place.

I received a testimony that can make you think, namely that the island of Patmos is the most important pilgrimage site in Europe. I asked: "Why?"

I was told that, apart from the Holy Land, the place where the Savior was born and brought us the words of the Gospel, Patmos is the only land where the Lord appeared after many years, indeed, to one of the apostles and commanded him to record everything he saw and what was said to him.

Once upon a time, John the Evangelist, leaning on the chest of the Savior, heard unspeakable words, which he, like the Most Pure Mother of the Son of God, once upon a time, kept in his heart.

The importance of these places is shown to us in human logic and the decision of UNESCO, one year before the two millennia since the Incarnation of the Son of God, when, in 1999, the Cave of the Apocalypse was declared a "world heritage site", together with the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian.

The beauty of the Church in the monastery with a history of almost a thousand years, the Icons, the holy jewels, the manuscripts and books, the way everything has been arranged during this time and especially the importance of the divine discoveries in Patmos bring much hope to such a troubled world, which needs the light and beauty of the words revealed to the Evangelist John during the time he was there.

Although it is still an island without the possibility of rapid communication with the outside world, without an airport, and, sometimes, in stormy weather, without being able to use ships or small boats, Patmos remains a place of great revelations, known only in part by postmodern generations.

Over 400 Churches, most of them small and humble, adorn this sacred space, testifying to the love of those who built them for God, even if the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated in all of them regularly. At the Cave of the Apocalypse, in the monasteries of Saint John the Theologian, of the Annunciation, and at "Ζωοδόχος Πηγή", there is a service daily, and sometimes on certain days of the week.

I was impressed by the testimony of a local, who told me that he preserves from his ancestors a Church built out of their love for God, as are most of the 400 that protect the island.

He also told me that on the days when they have a family feast and the patron saint of the respective Church, they call a priest who celebrates Vespers on the eve and the Liturgy the following day, participating in the service, even if not everyone can fit inside the place, up to 100 people.

Everyone is offered signs of brotherly love, snacks, drinks, and coffee, and, although the man in question has work and family obligations, he told me that he goes to that place at least three times a week to relight the candle in front of the Icons, regretting that he cannot do this every day.

This is also a seemingly ordinary, but nevertheless precious, legacy from John the Evangelist and from the great hermits who have been added over the years, until our time.

Patmos is, indeed, a place of priceless treasures. Here, the legacy of faith, the spiritual treasure, and the blessing that the Lord poured out on Saint John remained unshaken.

The Liturgy in the Cave of the Apocalypse and the encounter with these holy places brought me a deeper understanding of the words of the Evangelist, which urge us to fidelity and unwavering love for God.

Saint John is the disciple of love, the one who testified about all that he saw and received from the Lord’s command. The rumor spread about him among the brothers that he would not taste death, but the Savior did not say this; he spoke wisely: “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” (John 21:23-24). These words remained shrouded in mystery as a sign of love and the endless mission to which the Beloved Disciple was called.

The island of Patmos, therefore, remains not only a place of exile and great trials through which the Evangelist John passed, but rather a realm sanctified by the perfect love that the Disciple showed for the Lord. It is a topos of heavenly revelations, where the unwavering fidelity of Saint John was rewarded with visions that echo across the centuries.

In this blessed place, believers everywhere share incessantly in the greatness of divine revelations and in the words that heal the soul and lift it to heaven. At each Holy Liturgy, when with a humble heart we approach God, we also hear, as if in secret, the words that John received when, overwhelmed by the Glory of the Living One, he fell at His feet “as one dead.” And behold, the Lord stretched out his right hand upon him, saying to him: Fear not! I am the first and the last (Rev. 1:17).

These words remain an inexhaustible source of comfort and hope, which strengthen us in troubled times and call us to walk courageously on the path of faith.

The island of Patmos, this place where heaven opened, and God revealed Himself in light, is a sign of boundless love and victory over loneliness, suffering, and death. Here, in the encounter with the mystery of Christ, the soul falls into silence, and the heart receives the blessing of Him Who is Alpha and Omega, the One Who lives forever and ever.

Timotei Prahoveanul, Vicar Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bucharest