Frank Georgalis – Writer

Salome: The Secret Love Story of The Third Maria (The introduction Part I)

From the Holy Bible:   Salome’s Bloodline to Maria Magdalene and her relationship with Jesus

Book Introduction Part I

By the Editor

The author Frank Elias Georgalis is a Greek-born American. He spent the first 15 years of his life in his place of birth, a small fishing village on the shores of the Ionian Sea . As long as he can remember he was compelled to attend the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas. Coming from a long line of priests, he was subjected to their biblical teachings that often seemed far fetched and unbelievable to him. How slight doubts can disturb the equanimity of our frail minds. His head being very small and easily filled ran over with teaching which he could not sort the good from the bad, he became somewhat outspoken and was branded the black sheep of the family. His younger sister remembers Frank telling her that he believed that Jesus was crucified but he didn’t die at the cross. His sister told their father what her brother had said. The father called upon Frank and wanted to know if some local communists had gotten to him. He told his father that Jesus crucified by being nailed on the cross with four spikes. He went on to say that the four hours he spent on the cross and his wounds, although very painful, they were not lethal. The father, seeing the young boy’s response accompanied with a lot of tears from embarrassment, told his son that empty barrels make more noise than the full ones, but he was pleased to realize that his son was not going to be another Georgalis priest.

Frank remembers entering secondary school and studying religion, which was a mandatory subject, found much difference between the school teachings and the priests’ sermons, but he never lost his belief in God. Even though the subject of religion was not one of his favorite ones in school, his yearning of getting to the truth about religion, particularly Jesus’ life remained within him, which led Frank to study and research pertinent history.

Mr. Georgalis has written other novels and they are all sprinkled with some religious overtone from the Greek ancient religion to modern theological beliefs. He doesn’t preach; he simply mentions God’s existence by using nature’s laws and some religious events. These aforementioned comments and religious events which are results of long researches on the subject, Frank, as if somebody were whispering into his ear to get them out and be put on paper, decided to write the historical novel SALOME, The Secret Love Story of the Third Maria.

Frank, conducting much research and study on the first century life, targeting on historical and religious writings and the Holy Bible, managed to bring out a true and believable series of clear facts and logical theories.

It is to be noted that he was extremely careful to stay as close to the truth as possible. Garnishing his writings with a lot of fantasy, he says that he writes fiction based on truths. Writing the novel based on fact, faith and fantasy, he said that he came to understand Christianity a lot better. This is not a theological or ideological piece of literature; it is a book based on Biblical and other religious and nonreligious writings of facts and theories which have been misunderstood and misinterpreted for a long time.

The fishing village of Astakos

Five miles north of a small fishing village, Astakos, a Prophet Elias Monastery is sitting at the foot of a mountain. The monastery, built at the top of a rocky hill, like all the Prophet Elias monasteries and shrines throughout Greece, has a view of the sea; according to history, Prophet Elias, a forerunner of the Messiah 850 years BC lived on Mt. Carmel, waiting for the Messiah, who, according to Prophecies, would arrive to Israel by water.

Dimitri Georgiou, an American, born in Greece and a struggling novelist, took the two hour climb to the monastery with the hope of getting some information to write something about the neglected monastery.

Entering the small place of worship, he lit a candle, made the sign of the cross and his eyes fell upon an old man who was sitting on a straw chair, at the far corner of the church, reading the Holy Bible. They approached each other and the old man was the first to speak.

“My name is Socrates. I am not a priest or a monk. I am, one may say, Prophet Elias’ roommate. According to my family roots, I was born to be somebody’s servant, but finding no one more clever than I, I decided to be my own servant and my own master. I am 104 years old. I was born in the year of 1902 and I have been here for over eighty years,” said Socrates. “One may say that I am also the sexton of this monastery.”

The old sexton spoke with zest and zeal; it was difficult for anyone to guess his age but it was easy to see that he didn’t just live the life he celebrated it in his unique way.

Having exchanged a few more insignificant words, the old sexton tottered along the passage and out of the door he went with Dimitri following close behind.

“Take a seat, by the round table” said Socrates, “and I will make coffee for both of us. After a while, the two men, sat in silence by the round table, looking as if they were keeping company to the two small cups of coffee sitting on the table.

Dimitri looked at the sexton and who was drinking the last drop of his coffee and hinted that the sexton and the monastery must have had some secrets to tell. It was evident to Socrates that Dimitri knew of something that had happen a long time ago.

“The secret is why I am still alive and I dido’t get killed a long time ago.”

Uttering these words with much difficulty, Socrates’ face turned pale and to all appearance his mind went back and was busily occupied with the preparations of confessing the dreadful secret.

Continuing his story, he told Dimitri that during the German occupation, in the year of 1944, here were thirteen monks, including him and an eight year old orphan who lived at the monastery. It was morning when he saw a group of about thirty German soldiers climbing and heading for the monastery. Socrates was told by the arch monk, Athanasios, to run and ring the church bell for help from the Greek guerrillas who were always around the area.

By the time he reached the church bell, he saw the Germans had already arrived and spread themselves around the courtyard and the monastery. Being afraid that if he rang the bell would upset the Germans, he hid.

Shortly thereafter, he heard machine gun fire. After a little while he understood that the Germans were gone. He came out of his hiding place and found most of the monks and the little boy were dead and the rest were moaning as the pain of death was coming upon them. Eventually the moaning stopped and the dying were dead. That was the time that he lost faith in God and roamed around like a wounded animal. He lived in the land without God, he told Dimitri with a broken voice. It was an hour later when the toiling field laborers came to help, but help was only confined to the burial of the little orphan and the twelve monks. Nobody asked him why he was still alive and not dead like all the monks. He turned against God telling him that he knew that life will never leave us in peace, but why the additional suffering. He was stricken with the earth’s worst ills. He said that he only knew three ills in life; hate, anger and guilt and he was stricken with all three of them.

Upon learning two years later that the Germans had left Greece , he was stricken with one other of life’s ills, revenge. One day, three months after the German army’s departure as Socrates came out of the church holding a loaf of bread, he came face to face with a German officer, standing in the rain, with his whole body shivering.

Socrates, disregarding the German’s visible suffering and evident hunger, headed for his cell after he told the soldier that he was going to do to him what he and his friends had done to the young boy and the monks. The old sexton looked back and saw the German still standing there, as if he were telling the sexton that he wished to die. Socrates, thinking that no one can punish a man by killing him if the man wished to die, he thought to fatten him up, make him love life again and then kill him. Shortly thereafter Socrates came out of his cell carrying a twenty five feet long thick rope. He took the German to the almond tree in the back of the monastery and secured him there with the rope several times wrapped around his limps and body. Socrates told Dimitri that he left him there and went into the church to get the pistol that was hidden there. He picked up the Bible and headed towards the drawer where the pistol was hidden and at that moment everything went dark, the wind blew violently and he heard a voice behind him. “Where are you going Socrates?” He turned to see where the voice was coming from and he saw briefly the face of Jesus. The old sexton threw away the pistol, grabbed the Holy Bible and ran out to release the German. Coming out and getting close to the German, he saw that the German was gone. He had escaped without untying one single knot or cutting one single stitch; a scientific impossibility.

“That was a miracle. The German was Prophet Elias who came down to show me the light” said Socrates.

“A miracle?” asked Dimitri sarcastically, with a vague smile on his face

“Do you believe that there is God, American?” demanded the old man. “I am not going to preach to you. I am not going to make irresponsible statements like Saint Paul the Apostle, together with Barnabas, Silas and Apostle Luke, the “Happy foursome”, preached to the world that “If the people don’t believe that Jesus was resurrected, it is useless to believe in God.” Dimitri, if you believe in God, you must believe in miracles. If you don’t believe in God everything in life is a doubt.”

After a few minutes of what seemed to be meditation, Dimitri said in a low voice, “I believe in God, but I have some doubts, but fortunately my belief is stronger that my doubts.”

“That is what I had hoped to hear,” uttered the old sexton, hammering the table with his fist. “Can you imagine what world we would be living in if God appeared before us? The earth would be empty from people who would do their best to die and go to heaven. The ancient Greeks knew that Zeus had Atlas holding heaven away from the mortals’ view; Atlas doesn’t carry earth as some have believed. Pay attention to what I am going to tell you. Remember, the more you watch, the more you see, and the more you listen, the more you hear.”

It was clear that Dimitri listened to Socrates; he knew the old sexton was an extraordinary man and all his stories were garnished with his philosophy and political beliefs.