Eating with the Monks

Today's topic is eating with monks on Mt. Athos.  They have only two formal meals a day, one after the nine-a.m. service at around 9:30 and the other after the six-p.m. service at around 7:30.  With rare exceptions, these are extension of the services in the sense that formal robes are worn, prayers said, religious texts read, and so on.  The monks, guests, and pilgrims stand at their tables until the abbot signals that they should sit down by tapping on the table.  No one eats until he rings a bell and no one drinks until he rings it a second time.  A second tap by the abbot signals the end of the meal and a third ring the time to exit.  The abbot and the monks go first.  Given the pace of things, it doesn't pay to chew your food as often as your grandmother taught you to.

I posted this picture before.  This is the trapeza (refectory, dining hall).  Monks and visitors, generally separated, are seated ten to a table.  A special table for the abbot and occasional special guest is at the far end.  I has better food.

Meals are simple and without meat, but fish is allowed.  This day we had some sort of vegetable pie and a salad of lettuce and green onions.  In addition to the individual servings, there are usually bread, olives, water, and a modest amount of wine to share.  The sort and amount of food served would suggest that all the monks would be lean, but many are...shall we say...quite stout.  In addition to eating a lot of bread, they partake enthusiastically of the treats sent to the monastery by mothers, sisters, and supporters or brought in as gifts by pilgrims.

Monks cook for everyone, sometimes with the help of supporters.  For fuel, the sometimes use wood.  The food is very plain, but it went down fine for me, and I always cleaned my plates.  I will confess that I was not very happy when I saw broad beans the third time.  They pick them young and cook the whole pods, which tend to be a mushy and stringy.

The monks grow their own food.  This is the closest of the several gardens of Xenophontos, situated between the outer wall and the sea.

They have tractors and other equipment from all over Europe and beyond.  This is a 20-something-year-old Italian.  The main operating it is the happiest and most cheerful monk I met.

This monk, who is tying up tomatoes, is the head gardener for the year.  Although he was a sailor before he joined the monastery, he came from a farming family.

In addition to vegetables, the monks grow quite a few varieties of fruits.  Here is a picture of a Russian pilgrim picking cherries, which were delicious.