By Journalist Loukas Dimakas.
A particularly moving and unexpected moment was experienced today at noon in a cafeteria, by a small group of people in Distomo.
Among them was the village priest, Papa-Apostolos, when a visitor of about 35 years old, obviously a tourist, approached their table.
He bowed slightly, greeted politely and, in English, said, looking towards the priest:
"I am an Orthodox deacon."
And immediately, approaching the Pope-Apostle, he added with obvious emotion:
"Your blessing, Father... Bless me, Father."
The Pope-Apostle gave him his blessing - and he, with a gesture, showed his respect and emotion!
And somewhere there, a simple coffee stop in Distomo turned into a small, but very human, meeting with special symbolism.
The people in the group introduced him to one of them, George Kastritis, a Greek-American geologist from Distomo, who has lived in Houston, USA for over fifty years and is a vicar at his parish church (Saint Basil)! The conversation began in English with G. Kastritis and soon the visitor's story was revealed.
His name is Kyriakos. Of Greek origin, with roots from Leonidio in the Peloponnese and Zakynthos, he was in Greece for the first time, along with his wife and two children.
They had already visited Zakynthos and were heading to Osios Loukas, to pay homage at the historic Byzantine monastery - there the deacon would enter the holy temple and venerate the relic of the Saint wearing his cassock... That was their plan. On the way, they stopped in Distomo for a coffee.
He saw the village priest and, as he explained, he thought he couldn't pass up this opportunity. He wanted to introduce himself to a Greek Orthodox priest and get his blessing.
Kyriakos has studied online and in person,
for three years at the Holy Cross School in Boston of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. He currently serves as a deacon in a parish in the State of Alabama in the United States, where he continues his ecclesiastical ministry, while working for an electric power company.
The most moving thing, however, was something else.
Although he is Greek by origin, he did not know Greek. He only knew a few, very few, words. In fact, he explained that now, through his ministry, he is trying to learn more Greek so that he can communicate better with his flock and feel even closer to the tradition and language of his ancestors and the Greek Orthodox flock.
His first visit to Greece had already deeply moved him. And in Distomo, the chance encounter with the Pope-Apostle and the people in his company seems to have taken on a special meaning for him.
He was visibly happy to be able to speak, even in English, with people from his ancestral homeland.
Also in the group was Christos Papanikolaou, who in his youth had also been a papadopaidi, while the photo of the meeting was taken by journalist Loukas Dimakas, also from Distom.
A photo of a cafeteria table in Distomo, therefore, captures more than just a pleasant summer meeting.
It captures the moment when a Greek American, on one of his first encounters with the homeland of his ancestors, met a Greek priest and asked for his blessing – and had a nice conversation.
And perhaps this was ultimately the most beautiful welcome that Greece could have given him.
