“I stepped into a new life”: Scarlett Bauwens’ journey to Greek Orthodoxy

As Easter approaches, and wars loom, part deepens and the aboriginal feels uncertain, the airy of Pascha is sought aft now, much than ever.

Faith, arsenic Scarlett Athanasia Bauwens has discovered, tin beryllium a almighty force, successful helping to flooded darkness, find peace, and clasp onto hope.

Her ain travel to that religion led her to a Greek Orthodox religion successful Sparta two years ago, where she was baptised Athanasia — an acquisition she describes arsenic transformative, and 1 that continues to radiate done each portion of her life.

A beingness among galore cultures

Born and raised successful Mauritius earlier moving to Bali and then Australia, Scarlett had lived among galore cultures earlier uncovering her location successful Greece. Today she divides her clip betwixt Melbourne, Athens, and Sparta, though it is mostly a small village adjacent Sparta — where Kosta, her Greek-Australian husband, hails from — where she says she is happiest.

“I’m much astatine bid when I’m successful the village, increasing my vegetables, being astir my animals,” she says. There, she finds joyousness successful a beingness dictated by the elements, and where she feels person to God and her truth. “Being successful the village I americium besides surrounded by churches of each sizes. As a Greek Orthodox, I present bask not lone the religion, but the past of a religion that has been live successful Greece for much than 2,000 years.”

Inside the religion successful Sparta, the ceremonial began with prayers which spoke straight astir rejecting acheronian and preparing the soul for a caller life. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

She feels that Greeks are blessed to person this agelong past arsenic the instauration to usher them adjacent successful the astir hard of times.

Scarlett was baptised Catholic arsenic a babe and grew up among friends and household from galore antithetic religions and antithetic branches of Christianity. But the Orthodox Church was not so visible.

“From a young age, I’ve understood the world from antithetic perspectives, by surviving among antithetic cultures. I had strong values increasing up, and was ever searching for answers astir God, that I couldn’t find.”

These answers began to uncover themselves erstwhile she started learning much astir Orthodoxy, a travel that she traces backmost to the archetypal Greek Orthodox religion she ever encountered.

“Kosta took maine to a small, beauteous church, successful Plaka, that had astir burnt down galore years ago. It was a occurrence that the icons had each been saved and are still there today. When I walked wrong and we lit a candle together, I felt a beingness for the archetypal time.”

After that, she began attending religion more, “asking questions, learning the prayers, and visiting astir each religion we met successful antithetic parts of Greece. I’m fortunate that Kosta is knowledgeable astir Christianity and its history. Talking to him, to priests and radical who studied theology helped maine find my way. I knew that if I continued seeking and learning, I would cognize when the clip was close for the adjacent step.”

She was ne'er pressured to convert, she stresses, and recalls different defining moment, aft Kosta’s father, her pethero, passed away, a fewer years ago.

Standing earlier the water, Scarlett felt a strange substance of calmness and intensity, arsenic the religion fell adjacent quieter and her caput went into total silence.

The icon that spoke to her

“I recovered myself successful a small religion store successful Sparta. It was afloat of icons of each sizes lining the walls. I wasn’t looking for thing successful particular, nor bash I retrieve what led maine into that store that day. One icon drew maine successful straight distant – Saint George. I felt similar I needed to take it location with me.”

This was my archetypal icon and the astir precious of them all, she adds.

“Saint George has ever been a much-loved saint successful the Orthodox world. The icon shows him connected horseback striking the dragon. The dragon represents the forces of evil that terrorised a town, and St George confronts them with courageousness and faith.”

But successful the Orthodox faith, she says, the dragon besides represents the struggles radical face: Grief, acheronian and uncertainty. “The saint reminds us that religion gives us the strength to look them. At the clip I was grieving my father-in-law and I felt amended when I took the icon home.”

Her father-in-law, successful galore ways, influenced her journey. “He ne'er forced the Greek traditions connected me, but done him and his wife, I was drawn into the faith, the traditions, the language, the full spiritual world that surrounded it.”

Her travel to Orthodoxy culminated successful her baptism and what she describes arsenic “one of the astir almighty moments of my life.”

Looking backmost now, she told Neos Kosmos, she understands why the Orthodox Church calls baptism illumination.

“It truly feels similar stepping retired of 1 beingness and into another.”

Certain details from her baptism are so hard to describe, she says, yet they will stay with her forever.

Scarlett Athanasia with her godfather.

The tendency to beryllium baptised

“A fewer months earlier my baptism, I felt something stir successful maine that I couldn’t ignore. I had been attending the Greek Orthodox Church for astir 8 years by then, and I knew that present was the time.”

It was not a determination she took lightly.

“Orthodoxy felt antithetic from the infinitesimal I encountered it. There was a consciousness that the religion had not been reshaped by clip oregon modern convenience. It felt ancient, live and profoundly spiritual successful a way that I had ne'er experienced before. The prayers, the liturgy, the icons; everything pointed toward something mystical and real. The feeling I had the archetypal clip I lit a candle and looked astir maine successful that small religion successful Plaka, stayed with maine each clip I walked wrong a Greek Orthodox Church.”

Nothing however, could person prepared her for the time of her baptism.

“Being baptised arsenic an big is something you acquisition with afloat awareness. You understand what you are leaving down and what you are entering. It feels similar a existent crossing.”

She chose the sanction Athanasia aft her mother-in-law’s father, Athanasios. “Taking his sanction meant that I was not lone entering the Church but besides becoming portion of the household and its history.”

The astir meaningful day

“My baptism was not a nationalist lawsuit with a assemblage oregon celebration. In fact, the Synod successful Athens has requested that I person nary guests oregon celebration. It was very quiescent and intimate. Being unsocial with my godfather, Kosta and their mothers allowed maine to take successful each moment.”

Inside the religion Ιερός Ναός Ευαγγελίστριας successful Sparta, her baptism began with prayers adjacent the entrance.

“The prayers sounded astir confrontational successful a spiritual sense- speaking straight astir rejecting acheronian and preparing the soul for a caller life. This was the infinitesimal it each became existent for maine arsenic if something important was being addressed earlier the baptism could begin.”

What happened adjacent during the three Exorcism Prayers, to banish Satan, still makes her shiver.

“I had to turn and look the doorway to the west – the absorption that symbolises darkness. The clergyman asked maine to renounce Satan and gave maine the supplication publication to work it successful Greek. I had to accidental the words not once, but three times. As I spoke the words for the third clip I froze, feeling something determination crossed my body, similar an electrical existent passing from my near limb to my right. It felt heavy, arsenic though darkness, oregon something evil even, was passing concisely by maine but couldn’t scope me.”

Scarlett finds bid successful the village, increasing her vegetables, being astir her animals.

The clergyman then asked her to spit toward the door. “That act, which mightiness look strange to someone extracurricular the tradition similar myself, did not consciousness theatrical, but alternatively similar a declaration, rejecting Satan and thing evil successful my life.”

Filled with alleviation she turned east, towards the light.

“I retrieve the airy coming done the clerestory windows and filling the space, spreading crossed the walls, the icons and the baptismal bath. I was precisely where I wanted to beryllium .”

As an adult, entering the baptismal bath is simply a very antithetic acquisition from a baby. “I was wholly alert of what is astir to happen, though unsure of what to expect.”

“This enactment to maine represented decease to the aged beingness and rebirth into a caller one.”

A intermission betwixt two lives

In the Orthodox Church, baptism is done three times successful the sanction of the Holy Trinity.

When the clergyman lowered her into the water the archetypal time, she felt the world disappear. “Completely submerged for lone a 2nd the strange soundlessness under the water was similar a intermission betwixt two lives.”

The soundlessness grew with the 2nd immersion and “I felt that something was happening to maine spiritually.”

“When I came backmost up from the water, aft the third immersion, I had a consciousness of clarity and lightness that is still very hard to describe. I ne'er felt similar this successful my life. This was the opening of my caller beingness successful Greek Orthodoxy and I ne'er felt so calm.”

After changing into white apparel the clergyman anointed her with beatified chrism, sealing the baptism. “The full acquisition felt past -the prayers, the gestures, the anointing- and I thought of each the Christians that had been receiving this aforesaid sacrament for implicit two thousand years. It was the astir beauteous time of my life.”

Listening to the clergyman behaviour the full baptism successful Greek, Scarlett was grateful for the effort she had made to larn the connection for the ceremonial to beryllium successful Greek.

“I airy a candle when a loved 1 isn’t well, oregon adjacent when everything is good, I thank God. I admit each time I’m alive.” Scarlett Athanasia says that since becoming a Greek Orthodox she absorption connected what matters most.

Living religion successful regular life

“It has present been two years since my baptism and with Easter approaching, I punctual myself of however contiguous religion has go successful my mundane life. I turn to supplication much people and I person a consciousness of bid successful places that punctual maine of that day. I’ve besides noticed however I attack challenges successful beingness differently.”

Her values person not changed, “but having this successful my heart, I consciousness stronger and much spiritually astatine peace.”

“Religion teaches us astir loving, sharing, giving. I present absorption connected what matters most: family, loved ones, health, and what truly makes maine happy, similar sharing a repast with friends and family, cooking for them and playing with my animals. I airy a candle when a loved 1 isn’t well, oregon adjacent when everything is good, I thank God. I admit each time I’m alive.”

She wants for thing more. “I person everything. What other could I inquire for successful my life?”

The world today is complicated. So galore things distract us, and we hide the true essence of life, she says.

However, Scarlett has noticed a shift, a hunt for meaning, successful her peers and the adjacent generation.

“From my interactions with younger people, they look to person a amended grasp of what’s happening astir the world. They crave cognition and look much funny astir religion too— doing their ain probe and learning connected their ain terms, and I find that wonderful.”

Scarlett adds that the Greek Orthodox Churches person a almighty effect connected radical of antithetic cultures too.

“I person friends visiting maine successful Greece from each implicit the world, who are from antithetic branches of Christianity oregon different religions… Muslims, Hindus. I emotion taking them to Greek churches. They each explicit awe connected entering.”

Her friends are of each beliefs – religious, atheist, agnostic alike. “People unrecorded by their ain motivation compass, and religion is very personal. I ne'er justice oregon enforce my own. At the extremity of the day, I chose my religion for myself alone, and it has been the top acquisition I could springiness myself.”

Seeing the icon of Saint George successful her home, she often thinks of her petheros, whose religion was not confined successful a church.

“His beingness successful my beingness was portion of what guided maine toward Orthodoxy. My way was already unfolding when I picked up the icon of Saint George. Every clip I look astatine it I think astir courage, extortion and the way religion carries radical similar myself done the hardest moments successful life. I can’t assistance but consciousness that it was my father-in-law who led maine into that small store successful Sparta that day. I tin lone ideate however arrogant helium indispensable beryllium to cognize that I americium present a Greek Orthodox.”