It was August 2006, when a devout Christian woman, together with her mother, went up to the cave of Saint Theodora of Sihla (Aug. 7) to pray, because she was going through a great sadness.
As they proceeded along the path that leads from the Monastery of Sichastria to Sihla, in the forest, they met a tall nun who was holding a walking stick and to whom she said:
"Your blessing, Eldress. Are you coming from Sihla?"
"Our Lord and our Panagia. Yes, I was in my house, in my cave, in Sihla, but now I am going to Sichastria because my fathers have built a house there too."
The woman didn't understand who she was talking to.
"Eldress, is the abbot of Sihla in the skete now? I need him very much."
"Yes, yes. Father Pachomios is there: Go, go, you will get great joy!"
The woman turned her head and said goodbye:
"Your blessing, Eldress!"
"May the Panagia bless you, my child," answered the nun.
The woman, at the moment she said goodbye, saw her white hair falling on her shoulders. Surprised, she thought: "A nun with loose hair?"
As they proceeded along the path that leads from the Monastery of Sichastria to Sihla, in the forest, they met a tall nun who was holding a walking stick and to whom she said:
"Your blessing, Eldress. Are you coming from Sihla?"
"Our Lord and our Panagia. Yes, I was in my house, in my cave, in Sihla, but now I am going to Sichastria because my fathers have built a house there too."
The woman didn't understand who she was talking to.
"Eldress, is the abbot of Sihla in the skete now? I need him very much."
"Yes, yes. Father Pachomios is there: Go, go, you will get great joy!"
The woman turned her head and said goodbye:
"Your blessing, Eldress!"
"May the Panagia bless you, my child," answered the nun.
The woman, at the moment she said goodbye, saw her white hair falling on her shoulders. Surprised, she thought: "A nun with loose hair?"
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| The path from the Cave of St. Theodora to Sihla. |
Suddenly she remembered that peaceful face, that hair, was familiar to her somewhere. After thinking a lot, she remembered that the figure is the same as the figure in the icon of the Saint in the cave!
Moved, she turned back calling for the nun, but she had disappeared.
She went up to Sihla and, crying, narrated the incident to Father Pachomios. She was so moved and the woman wept so much that her eyes were like two never-ending fountains that flowed continuously. I also saw her crying in the temple, so much so that she wet her feet with her tears. I asked Father Pachomios what was the cause of her tears and he told me:
"This woman personally met Saint Theodora as she ascended to the skete. Her devotion to the Saint is very great. The tears you see are due to the grace of the Holy Spirit that touched her through the presence of Saint Theodora."
Great are the miracles of Your Saints!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Moved, she turned back calling for the nun, but she had disappeared.
She went up to Sihla and, crying, narrated the incident to Father Pachomios. She was so moved and the woman wept so much that her eyes were like two never-ending fountains that flowed continuously. I also saw her crying in the temple, so much so that she wet her feet with her tears. I asked Father Pachomios what was the cause of her tears and he told me:
"This woman personally met Saint Theodora as she ascended to the skete. Her devotion to the Saint is very great. The tears you see are due to the grace of the Holy Spirit that touched her through the presence of Saint Theodora."
Great are the miracles of Your Saints!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.