THE
APPEARANCE OF SAINT PARASKEVI TO NUN
CHRISTONYMPHI
During the time of the civil war in
Greece 1946-1950 between the communists and the government of Greece the
communist guerrillas would often come down from the mountains, hide in the bush
near the Monastery of St. Paraskevi looking for food. The cell of nun Christonymphi was located on
the ground floor of the Monastery.
Nearby there were four or five other cells of other nuns. There was also a dining room and a large room
whose walls were filled with icons. This
room was being used as a Church by the nuns.
The sisterhood of nuns would gather in this room at midnight to read the
monastic midnight service. After the
service the nuns would rest for a while and then wake up early in the morning
to chant the matins service. Nun
Christonymphi usually would go to the Church which was some distance from the
monastic cells and light the kandylia (votive lights). She would do this before the start of the
midnight service. At one point the
Monastery ran out of olive oil because the nuns did not have any olive
trees. For nun Christonymphi, it seemed
unnatural not to have the kandylia lit.
The nun went to the local bishop and requested permission to go to the
Island of Thasos in order to get a supply of olive oil. It did not take her very long and she soon returned
with a lot of fresh olive oil that was donated by the faithful of the island.
In spite of the availability of the
olive oil at the Monastery, the Abbess directed the nun not to light the kandylia
at night for fear of the communist guerrillas who were nearby. We should be aware that absolute obedience to
the abbot or abbess of a Monastery is a cardinal rule of monastic life. The nun
did not fear the guerrillas because she felt that she had the protection of
Saint Paraskevi. But in obedience to the
directives of the Abbess, she sadly did not light the kandylia. One night she woke up early to begin reciting
her usual prayer canon. She prayed: “Oh
wouldn’t it be nice for me to light the kandylia in the Church. Please forgive
me Holy Saint; I do not have permission from the Abbess to do this.” While she
was thinking about this, she heard a knock on the door and a voice saying:
“through the intercessions of our holy fathers.” Who could it be at this
hour? The voice responded: “Open up Sister,
I am Sister Synglitiki.” She opened the door and asked her: “What is wrong Sister
that you are out at this hour of the night?”
The response was: “Sister Christonymphi why are not the kandylia lit in
the Church?” “Excuse me, dear Sister; I do not have the blessing from the Abbess
to light them.” The response was: “No,
that is wrong. You must go and light the
kandylia.” After saying this, the other nun left.
Nun Christonymphi agreed with the
request of the other nun but obedience is a cardinal rule in a Monastery. The nun lost no time after this encounter she
had and in the morning she went directly to the Abbess and said: “Sister
Synglitiki told me last night to light the kandylia but I told her that without
your blessing I cannot light them.” The Abbess
got upset when she heard this and she immediately called Sister Synglitiki and
said to her: “What right do you have disobeying my orders?” Sister Synglitiki was startled at hearing
this and said: “Your blessings Abbess, are you serious about what you are
saying? I never even visited the cell of
Sister Christonymphi last night. I have
no knowledge about what you are saying. I would never tell Sister Christonymphi
to light the kandylia without your blessing.”
The Abbess at this point realized that
the visit was not made by Sister Syngklitiki.
It was Saint Paraskevi who spoke with Christonymphi. The Abbess said to Chrystonymphi: “Since
Saint Paraskevi protects you my child, who am I to hinder you from lighting the
kandylia? You have my permission to
light them every day.” Imagine the joy
that Sister Chrystonymphi had when she heard these words. Her joy was not only because she now had
permission to light the kandylia but she was made worthy to see with her own
eyes and speak to Saint Paraskevi. From
that moment on throughout the duration of the civil war she lit the kandylia without
fail and she never saw any of the communist guerrillas threaten the Monastery.
A
postscript to this miraculous event is that all Orthodox Christian homes should
have an eternal light lit (kandyli) before the icons in their homes.
Translated
from the Greek by:
+Fr.
Constantine (Charles) J. Simones, Waterford, CT. USA, July 14, 2014, cjsimones300@gmail.com
http://apantaortodoxias.blogspot.gr/2014/07/the-appearance-of-saint-paraskevi-to.html
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