IC̅ XC̅ NIKA ☦
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A grandfather's nightly sign of the cross: a Cretan village childhood and a return to Orthodoxy
What the video says
The speaker marks three weeks of the account, which has grown to more than 30,000 people, and shares his life story. He grew up in a small village in the mountains of Crete, where his grandfather brought him close to God. Every night his grandfather made the sign of the cross over him and his sister and prayed the Our Father, and they would not sleep until he came.
On Sundays the family went to church, where the children helped in the liturgy, wore little church robes, and entered the altar where the priest prepares Holy Communion. He believed without doubt then, and though he left home at 16 and lost some of his faith for years, he never forgot those nights or the church, which is part of why he returned to Orthodoxy and named his son Manuel after his grandfather. He asks viewers who first taught them to pray.
Key moments
- The speaker notes the account reached more than 30,000 people in three weeks and begins sharing his life story.
- He grew up in a small village in the mountains of Crete, and his grandfather brought him close to God.
- Every night his grandfather made the sign of the cross over him and his sister and prayed the Our Father; they would not go to bed until he came and they called him to come and cross them.
- On Sundays the children of the village met at church, helped in the liturgy, wore little church robes, and went inside the altar where the priest prepares Holy Communion.
- As a child he believed without doubt; when told paradise exists, it was as real to him as life in the village.
- He left home at 16 and lost a little of his faith for many years, but never forgot the nights with his grandfather or helping in church.
- That memory is a big part of why he returned to Orthodoxy and why he named his son Manuel after his grandfather.
- He asks viewers: do you remember the first person who taught you to pray?
The speaker marks three weeks of the account, which has grown to more than 30,000 people, and begins telling his life story. He grew up in a small village in the mountains of Crete, and his grandfather was the one who brought him close to God. Every night his grandfather made the sign of the cross over him and his sister and prayed the Our Father.
The children would not go to bed until he came, and they called him to come and cross them. On Sundays the children of the village met at church, helped in the liturgy, wore little church robes, and entered the altar where the priest prepares Holy Communion. As a child he believed without doubt; when he was told that paradise exists, it was as real to him as life in the village.
He left home at 16 and lost a little of his faith for many years, but he never forgot those nights with his grandfather or the time spent helping in church. He says that memory is a big part of why he returned to Orthodoxy, and he named his son Manuel after his grandfather. He closes by asking viewers whether they remember the first person who taught them to pray.
Main points
- The account reached more than 30,000 people in three weeks, and the speaker begins his life story.
- He grew up in a small village in the mountains of Crete; his grandfather brought him close to God.
- Every night his grandfather made the sign of the cross over him and his sister and prayed the Our Father; the children waited for him before sleeping.
- On Sundays the children helped in the liturgy, wore little church robes, and entered the altar where the priest prepares Holy Communion.
- He left home at 16 and lost some faith for years, but returned to Orthodoxy and named his son Manuel after his grandfather.