Revelations at Patmos: Visiting the site where the Apocalypse of John was penned

A chapel near the entrance to St. John the Theologian Monastery in Patmos, Greece that overlooks the sea. Sept. 22, 2021.
A chapel near the entrance to St. John the Theologian Monastery in Patmos, Greece that overlooks the sea. Sept. 22, 2021.


PATMOS, Greece -- When John wrote the final book of the New Testament, he bestowed a gift on the Greek tourism board, mentioning, early on, that he'd received his apocalyptic vision while "on the island called Patmos."

That one reference, in Revelation in 1:9, turned the small, sparsely populated isle into a tourist attraction, a pilgrimage site for well over a millennium.

Along the way, Patmos has been raided by pirates and ruled or occupied by Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, Venetians, Italian Fascists and German Nazis, among others.

In 1948, Patmos became part of Greece.

Like so many of the country's 227 inhabited islands, Patmos is lovely, but small. The 13-square-mile island, not far from the Turkish mainland, has a population of about 3,000 people. The medieval Monastery of St. John the Theologian occupies the high ground, hundreds of feet above sea level.

To get to Patmos, visitors must travel like John would have journeyed -- by boat.

The nearest airport is on the isle of Leros, roughly 20 miles to the southeast.

"It's a calm island and a lot of people come for the spiritual essence of it," said Doris Vasilos, a longtime resident.

Given Patmos' stunning views of the Aegean Sea and its mild weather, it resembles an oasis more than a place of punishment.

Grapes, figs, pomegranates and olives are abundant. Bananas are also sometimes spotted.

"Patmos has incredible beaches. ... They are beautiful and the sea is clear like crystal," said Theo Gonidakis, a businessman in Skala, the island's port village.

Church tradition holds that John received his vision after being forced into exile by Roman authorities.

In the text, John says he had ended up on Patmos "because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus."

Ben Witherington, a New Testament professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., said Patmos was a "Roman penal colony, and there appears to have been mines there that the prisoners would have worked."

"Rome had two sorts of exiles -- exiles to an island, and exile in confinement on an island. In the latter case one was incarcerated," he said.

Witherington, author of the New Cambridge Bible Commentary on Revelation, says the water made escape unlikely.

"Sort of like Alcatraz, the exile to a place that far off the coast of Turkey meant you were likely stuck there," he said.

Despite the isolation, the prisoners' fate was not hopeless.

"The way the Roman law worked was that when an empire died, the exile expired, and one could return from where you came," Witherington said.

APOCALYPSE OF JOHN

Little is known about the author of Revelation, which is also referred to as the Apocalypse of John. "Apokalypsis" -- Koine Greek for Revelation or Unveiling -- is the book's first word.

If the scholarly consensus is correct, it was written before the end of the first century.

The identity of the author has long been a matter of debate.

"John of Patmos is an apocalyptic prophet not unlike the exilic prophets -- Daniel, Ezekiel, and to some extent Zechariah. He tells us in the very first chapter of Revelation that is who he is. He does not call himself the Beloved Disciple or an apostle or one of the Twelve," Witherington said.

"There was a debate in the early church about his relationship to John son of Zebedee," Witherington said, referring to the New Testament apostle.

He considers that unlikely.

Not everyone was delighted to see the book included in the Christian Bible.

NEW TESTAMENT DEBATE

"There was major debate as to whether Revelation should be in the [New Testament] canon or not. Eusebius, the father of church history didn't much like it and talked about the church fathers who spoke against it," Witherington noted. "Nonetheless, it made the cut, and I'm glad it did. It is the only book of any kind of prophecy in the [New Testament], including any kind of Christian prophecy."

Skepticism concerning Revelation was not confined to certain Catholic saints and scholars.

Martin Luther also had initial misgivings, describing the writing as "neither apostolic nor prophetic."

Others, however, quickly embraced the book.

By the fourth century, Christians were building places of worship on Patmos. An ancient temple to Artemis was replaced with a Christian basilica.

It would eventually be destroyed as well.

Nearly 2,000 years after it was written, Revelation continues to fascinate readers, with its seven seals and seven trumpets, cataclysms and the Antichrist.

In John's vision, the sun turns black as sackcloth and the moon red as blood. Stars fall from the heavens, the earth quakes, the mountains and islands move, and death and hell are unleashed.

Finally, the dead, "small and great" alike, stand before the throne of God and are "judged according to their works."

The righteous enjoy "a new heaven and a new earth."

Others are consigned to a lake of fire.

VISITING PATMOS

In Patmos, visitors go to see the Greek Orthodox monastery and its chapels, decorated with centuries-old murals. Later they can follow a windy road to the Cave of the Apocalypse, roughly 1.5 miles away, and glimpse the place where tradition says the writing actually took place.

At the monastery, candles burn, roses bloom and the smell of basil sometimes wafts through the air.

"Patmos is a holy island. It's the second place where God showed himself," my guide, Ioannis, explained as he showed me around the chapels.

In Exodus, "Moses saw the back of God," he said. In Revelation, "it was a vision. This is how St. John saw God."

The Monastery of St. John the Theologian has existed for nearly 1,000 years.

"A monk from Asia Minor called Christodoulos came here in 1088 to build a monastery for him and his brotherhood ... and it's still an active monastery nine centuries [later]," Ioannis said.

Built to ward off attackers, it resembles a fortress more than a cathedral.

Inside its walls, the monks offer prayers and praise.

"It's still very active, the church, in Greece. It's very important for us," Ioannis said.

Jesus, he said, "gave us a new purpose for ... life and all this meaning."

"'Love each other.' This, I think, is the base of the message of Christ," he added.

Before leaving, visitors are encouraged to visit the Monastery museum, which features ninth-century parchments, 15th-century books, and a variety of paintings, icons and various ecclesiastical items.

Saint Christodoulos, who is sometimes referred to as The Wonder Worker of Patmos, is also credited with helping to protect the Cave of the Apocalypse, the isle's other major tourist attraction.

THE CAVE OF THE APOCALYPSE

Outside the site, weathered signs in Greek and English declare "Please be aware that you are in a holy place of worship. Proper attitude and dress are therefore requested."

Newer signs, inside, declare: "Disinfect Hands" and "Please Wear Mask."

The Cave of the Apocalypse was decorated with frescoes early in the 12th century; a chapel was added on five centuries later, a sign on the wall explains.

Some visitors pause to pray. Others stop to take pictures or buy souvenirs. A 200ml bottle of olive oil, made by the monks, cost 6 Euros. The soap they manufacture sells for 3 Euros per bar.

Visitors from across Europe and the United States flock to the site, eager to see what John saw nearly 2,000 years ago.

The views, now as then, are extraordinary.

Nicholas Verdaris, the priest in charge at Little Rock's Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, portrayed a visit to Patmos as "a moving and transformative experience."

"The early Christians were very aware that they needed to preserve and protect places that would bind Christians together throughout the ages," he said. "That place in Patmos was protected and preserved so that future generations ... would be able to come in contact with the earliest moments of the Christian faith."

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who leads tour groups across the region, has visited the island from time to time.

"I love Patmos," he said; Huckabee's most recent stop was in October. "[It's a] very special place in part because it's not over-developed with gaudy commercialism. [There's] a lot of small-community charm left there."

Patmos is worth savoring, he suggests.

"[It] would be the kind of place I'd love to go and spend a month just enjoying the beauty, the people and the serenity," Huckabee said.


  photo  Since its founding in 1088, the Monastery of St. John the Theologian has withstood plagues and pirate attacks; due to covid-19, workers have donned masks as they go about their work. “Patmos is a holy island,” Ioannis (above) said as he led a visitor through its sacred sites. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Frank E. Lockwood)
 
 


  photo  A bell tower looms above the entrance to the Cave of the Apocalypse in Patmos, Greece, where John is said to have received the vision recounted in the book of Revelation. Photos, immodest apparel and boisterous behavior were not allowed within the cave itself and visitors were reminded that they were entering “a holy place of worship.” (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Frank E. Lockwood)
 
 



 Gallery: Photos of Patmos, Greece



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