It’s a place we all want to go to. And I’m not just talking about Orthodox Christians – or believers of any kind. How many ads have you seen showing a sun-filled beach in Hawaii, or elsewhere in the tropics, with a headline that reads, “Welcome to Paradise”? And all you need is a plane ticket to get there!

I am convinced of one thing – latitude has nothing to do with it. I can say that because I once experienced Paradise at an Orthodox monastery in Estonia, not far from the Russian border. It was a monastery for women, and I was only a visitor there, part of an ecumenical delegation including many kinds of Christians from America.

I recall how our driver carefully eased the bus through a narrow gateway in the monastery walls. Once inside we drove slowly to the guesthouse, catching glimpses from time to time of black-robed nuns going about their duties, talking only to God.

For me, the experience didn’t really begin till I stepped off the bus onto the monastery grounds. The feeling was both unexpected and indescribable. One thing for certain - this was a place like none other. As it turned out, there was a very good reason why it should be.

Centuries earlier, when this was simply a forested landscape, shepherds were passing by when suddenly through the trees they beheld a vision. It was the Mother of God herself, walking through a clearing just beyond them. It took time for the shepherds to get up their courage but at last they entered the clearing itself. In one sense, the Lord’s Mother was nowhere to be found. But in another sense, she was there indeed.

To their astonishment, the shepherds found an icon of the Falling Asleep of the Theotokos, stuck in the branches of a tree. They reverently took it down, and gave the precious image to the Church. This of course is why the monastery was built on that very spot.

Before our visit ended, I was able to enter the monastery church and venerate the same icon those shepherds found. For a moment, I felt transported to another world. I had no trouble believing pilgrims had come here infirm or crippled to kiss that icon, and gone home well.

Paradise is not a geographical location, it is a state of being. It has been experienced in every orthodox country on earth, for there are holy places wherever there are holy people. Paradise is not about warm sunshine and sand that is hot to the touch. Instead it’s about hearts afire with the love of God.

Every person longs to experience the true Paradise, even though millions in our modern world always look for it in the wrong place. Still, we all want to be there because we all began there.

That’s why we say in the prayers of the Memorial Service – “Make me again a citizen of Paradise.”