The German Officer Who Was Punished
In the history of the Monastery of Panagia Prousiotissa it is mentioned that during the Turkish rule it was destroyed several times. But the last destruction, which turned the buildings into heaps of ruins, was done in 1944 by the Germans.
After the destruction of the buildings, an officer wanted to burn the church as well.
He tried many times, but to no avail. So while he was standing outside and giving orders, he was exemplary punished by the hand of the Panagia. An invisible force flung him onto the pavement.
The blow was strong, and the German unable to get up. The soldiers picked him up and put him on an animal to take him to Agrinio.
Thus the temple remained unharmed, as it was preserved intact through the centuries.
In the history of the Monastery of Panagia Prousiotissa it is mentioned that during the Turkish rule it was destroyed several times. But the last destruction, which turned the buildings into heaps of ruins, was done in 1944 by the Germans.
After the destruction of the buildings, an officer wanted to burn the church as well.
He tried many times, but to no avail. So while he was standing outside and giving orders, he was exemplary punished by the hand of the Panagia. An invisible force flung him onto the pavement.
The blow was strong, and the German unable to get up. The soldiers picked him up and put him on an animal to take him to Agrinio.
Thus the temple remained unharmed, as it was preserved intact through the centuries.
The Unknown "Nun"
Four years passed. Civil war was now raging in the Greek countryside. The inhabitants of Evrytania and mountainous Nafpaktia left their villages and sought safety in other parts of Greece.
Along with them, the miraculous icon of the Panagia was also a refugee. She followed the fate of her children and was taken by the monks of Prousos to the citadel of Nafpaktos. The monastery was completely deserted.
After a while, the army's operations began. The ninth division undertook clearing operations in Evrytania. Some sections went through Prousos. Some officers and soldiers approached the dark chapel of the cave and enter to venerate.
Inside they saw a paradoxical sight: In front of the iconostasis, to the left of the beautiful gate, there was a lit oil lamp and a kneeling nun.
The soldiers were amazed. How does this nun live here, at a time when Evrytania is completely deserted of inhabitants?
How does she maintain herself, what does she eat, where does she find oil for the lamp?
So they asked her, and she modestly and painfully answered them:
"My children, I have lived here, alone, for two and a half years now. For my own life I do not need food and bread. It is enough for me that I have my oil lamp burning."
The soldiers, tired from operations and in a hurry to leave, paid no attention to her words.
But the next day, when they brought them back to their memory, they understood that it was something wonderful. And when they later passed through Nafpaktos, they persistently asked permission from their commander to visit the Metropolitan.
Christophoros, the Metropolitan of Nafpaktia and Evrytania, welcomed them with love, and after listening to them with emotion, shed light on the mystery.
"The church," he told them, "that you visited, belongs to the now deserted Sacred Monastery of Prousiotissa, whose miraculous icon has been here for more than two years, in the chapel of our metropolis, in Saint Dionysios. Go venerate her, and you will understand."
They did go and venerate.
Then everyone was spontaneously given the explanation to their question: In the icon of Mother of God they recognized the nun they met in the small chapel of the cave, high up in Prousos!
Source: From the book Εμφανίσεις και θαύματα της Παναγίας. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Four years passed. Civil war was now raging in the Greek countryside. The inhabitants of Evrytania and mountainous Nafpaktia left their villages and sought safety in other parts of Greece.
Along with them, the miraculous icon of the Panagia was also a refugee. She followed the fate of her children and was taken by the monks of Prousos to the citadel of Nafpaktos. The monastery was completely deserted.
After a while, the army's operations began. The ninth division undertook clearing operations in Evrytania. Some sections went through Prousos. Some officers and soldiers approached the dark chapel of the cave and enter to venerate.
Inside they saw a paradoxical sight: In front of the iconostasis, to the left of the beautiful gate, there was a lit oil lamp and a kneeling nun.
The soldiers were amazed. How does this nun live here, at a time when Evrytania is completely deserted of inhabitants?
How does she maintain herself, what does she eat, where does she find oil for the lamp?
So they asked her, and she modestly and painfully answered them:
"My children, I have lived here, alone, for two and a half years now. For my own life I do not need food and bread. It is enough for me that I have my oil lamp burning."
The soldiers, tired from operations and in a hurry to leave, paid no attention to her words.
But the next day, when they brought them back to their memory, they understood that it was something wonderful. And when they later passed through Nafpaktos, they persistently asked permission from their commander to visit the Metropolitan.
Christophoros, the Metropolitan of Nafpaktia and Evrytania, welcomed them with love, and after listening to them with emotion, shed light on the mystery.
"The church," he told them, "that you visited, belongs to the now deserted Sacred Monastery of Prousiotissa, whose miraculous icon has been here for more than two years, in the chapel of our metropolis, in Saint Dionysios. Go venerate her, and you will understand."
They did go and venerate.
Then everyone was spontaneously given the explanation to their question: In the icon of Mother of God they recognized the nun they met in the small chapel of the cave, high up in Prousos!
Source: From the book Εμφανίσεις και θαύματα της Παναγίας. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.