Firewalking is a dramatic and ancient practice that is an important part of the anastenaria tradition in Greece. Led by charismatic figures like Sotirios Gkaintatzis, the anastenaria celebrate their devotion to Saints Constantine and Helen through a range of rituals, including dancing, prayer, and shared meals.
The firewalking ceremony is the most spectacular and public of these events, drawing crowds of spectators who gather to watch as the anastenaria dance across burning coals, holding aloft an icon of Saints Constantine and Helen. The sight of bare feet stomping across hot coals, sparking and smoking as they go, is a dramatic and awe-inspiring one, and serves as a testament to the devotion and dedication of those who participate in this ancient tradition.
Beyond the spectacle of firewalking, the anastenaria also engage in other rituals and ceremonies that serve to reinforce their faith and bring them together as a community. From shared meals in the konaki, where the icons are preserved, to private prayer and meditation, these rituals help to connect the anastenaria to each other and to their spiritual beliefs.
Overall, the anastenaria tradition is a powerful and symbolic expression of faith, community, and cultural heritage, with firewalking serving as a dramatic and unforgettable centerpiece of the annual celebrations.
The anastenaria festival in Lagkadas, Greece, is an annual event celebrated by Greek Orthodox Christians. It involves walking across a heated bed of coals while holding the icons of saints. The festival serves as a form of communication with the saints and represents a manifestation of the participants’ faith. The festival holds additional significance this year as it marks the first celebration since the passing of the group’s former leader, who passed on leadership to his son. During the festival, participants engage in a variety of religious rituals, including making the sign of the cross, kissing the saints’ icons, and dancing with the icons to the accompaniment of drums, strings, and bagpipes.
Maria Luisa Papadopoulou, a participant in the anastenaria festival for over two decades, emphasizes that the most critical aspect of walking on fire is not the physical act itself but the spiritual meaning behind it. Despite the fear and anxiety she experiences, Papadopoulou believes these emotions reflect a deep respect for the tradition and its sacred significance. She further adds that every time she walks on fire, she feels a renewed sense of empowerment and emotional healing, enabling her to rid herself of negative emotions and embrace happiness.
For the anastenaria, firewalking is more than just a physical act; it represents a symbol of purification and healing. They believe that they are empowered by the intercession of the saints to put out the smoldering embers. This tradition is similar to other rituals found around the world, where devotees put themselves through dangerous and painful experiences as a way of gaining empowerment through belief. For Papadopoulou, walking on fire is a way to shed negative emotions and embrace happiness, hence, the symbolism of walking on happiness and burning sadness. As the sun sets, Papadopoulou and other firewalkers take off their shoes and socks, ready to walk across the coals.
As the ceremony draws to a close, the participants carry the icons in procession through the garden and onto the street where the bed of coals is burning. A small crowd gathers to watch in hushed, reverent silence. The tradition of firewalking originated in the late 1800s in Kosti, a small town located a few miles from the Black Sea in present-day Bulgaria. Gkaintatzis, whose ancestors hail from Kosti, reveals that his family was among the ethnic Greeks who were forcefully relocated to the region near Thessaloniki in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, which took place over a century ago.
The anastenaria’s ritual finds its roots in the miraculous preservation of the icons from the church of Saints Constantine and Helen in Kosti when the church burned down. Villagers walked through the flames to rescue the icons, believing it to be the result of the saints’ intercession. The festival is celebrated over three days and coincides with May 21, which is the feast day of Constantine and his mother Helen.
Constantine was a important historical figure; a 4th century Roman emperor who converted to Christianity and laid the foundations for the Byzantine Empire, an influential power in this region’s history.
Despite the importance of this tradition to the anastenaria, the Orthodox Church traditionally persecuted their devotion, perceiving the dancing and firewalking as resembling pagan rites. Even today, priests tend to avoid participating in the celebrations, as noted by Loring Danforth, an anthropology professor emeritus at Bates College in Maine, who has written about the rites in a book.
Despite the Orthodox Church’s persecution, the anastenaria participants maintain a strong connection to Christian doctrine. They believe that their unique manifestation of faith is a mystery that cannot be easily explained or taught. Gkaintatzis emphasized that walking on fire is a charismatic experience that gives the participants an inner strength that cannot be understood or replicated. Several other firewalkers referred to it as a calling or duty that they were mysteriously granted.
Konstantinos Kyriakides, a 12-year-old son of an anastenari, watched the rituals with rapt attention from the front row. He eagerly hopes to one day be called to walk on the coals when he turns 18. Before dusk, he helped set the fire with a foot-long, marigold-yellow candle, typical of Orthodox churches like St. Panteleimon, which stood at the end of the street where the festivities took place.
Outside, the small, single-story homes lining the street were alive with typical scenes of everyday life – children playing soccer, elderly people sipping coffee, and goats grazing – as the anastenaria community celebrated their unique manifestation of faith.
Kyriakides expressed his desire to honor his elders by following in their footsteps and participating in the anastenaria tradition. His father added that he could only do so if his elders allowed it and if he demonstrated kindness, virtue, and a good heart. Despite dancing on the coals, his father’s feet showed no traces of burns, except for the soot smudges.
After the coals were put out, the anastenaria returned the icons to the konaki, marking the end of the ritual with more dancing and swirling incense. The music played during the ceremony is unique to the anastenaria tradition and is often passed down through oral tradition, according to the musicians.
In the end, the anastenaria continue to maintain their unique manifestation of faith, marking the occasion with reverence and deep respect for their traditions and their connection to Christianity.
For some participants like Vasilis Mitkoudis, a bagpiper and college music major, the ritual holds more cultural than religious significance. However, drum player Giorgos Kormazos finds spiritual symbolism in the act of playing.
For Kormazos, the rhythmic pounding of the large double-headed drum recalls the steps of the villagers who walked through the burning ruins to rescue the icons from the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen in Kosti. He believes that faith can be found everywhere, including in the anastenaria’s traditional music and dance.