votive cup clay

Frankincense Cups have probably existed since the 7th century BC. And indeed, for some time now, the orthodox monks of Buchhagen have been having such an incense cup produced by a befriended potter. Coal can be burned in this cup, without any need for sand. Nevertheless, you should be careful when taking hold of the cup by its handle.

"It is like a lever. If I want to lift a heavy stone to put it into a wall, for example, I need a long lever. If I stand on the stone myself, I cannot lift it. But if I stand on some other solid ground and have a good lever, I can move any stone to where it needs to be." This image, with which Abbot John describes the relationship between the monastery and the world, between time and eternity, and the position of the monk in it, is taken entirely from life. Twenty years ago, a stone was also moved in the tranquil town of Buchhagen, namely the foundation stone of the German Orthodox Holy Trinity Monastery. It was just on October 3, 1990, when there began to create a place from which to move the lever. To do this, many stones had to be moved. It is amazing how Abbot John managed to realize his dream of a German Orthodox monastery. Years earlier, on Mount Athos, he had immersed himself in the stream of lore of Byzantine monastic and world culture, and from the depths and rapids of this 1,500-year-old body of water, he had brought as treasures all the skills a monk needs: Faith, fidelity and enthusiasm, singing, painting, building, tilling the garden, bringing in the harvest - and many more. Thus equipped, he could dare to ship all this to Germany, but not as an exotic museum, but as a living monastery, which knows itself committed to the oldest Christian cultural heritage.