[Below is an account of a wondrous miracle that happened last year on Andros on May 3, 2009 on the Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearers, when myrrh-streaming skulls were discovered underneath the Church of the Holy Transfiguration in a crypt amidst hundreds of other relics. More can be read about this fascinating discovery in the May-June 2009 issue of The Orthodox Word which contains the article "Secret Garden of the Saints: The Holy Monastery of the Panagia Panahrantos, Andros, Greece" by Lawrence Damian Robinson (who also provided the photos). - J.S.]
Account of a Miracle at the Monastery of the Panagia Panachrandos on the Island of Andros, as Related to Me by Eye-Witness Martha Zisimou
I spoke with my sister-in-law, Martha, about the event that happened at the monastery in Andros, and I'm going to try to write down as many of the details as I can while it is still fresh in my mind. She was so excited that she was speaking a mile a minute and there were so many things she told me that I hardly know where to start. But first let me just provide a bit of background about the monastery that I gathered from what she told me.
First of all, this monastery is not one of the well-known monasteries on Andros (St. Nicholas or St. Marina). This is a monastery dedicated to the Panagia “Panachrandos”, which was founded in 961 AD after the Byzantine emperor Nicephoros Fokias, who was a military commander at the time (and not yet emperor) visited the island. The circumstances of the visit and the founding of the monastery appear to have been miraculous in themselves, from the account Martha gave me. It seems that Nicephoros Fokias was sent from Constantinople to Crete to quell a rebellion there, but on the way his fleet encountered rough weather and he was forced ashore on Andros. Near the present monastery, there was a skete made up of a number of monastic cave dwellings, and when the monks heard that Nicephoros Fokias was on the island, they went to pay homage to him (as a high commander of the Byzantine empire). They told him that they had a miraculous icon of the Panagia, which was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist,[1] and since they were living in cave -dwellings, they told him they would pray for him daily to have a speedy victory in Crete, if he would only come back and give them money to build a monastery. It is said that he agreed, and when he went to Crete, before even going ashore, he was visited by the Panagia in a dream and she told him exactly what he had to do in order to secure the peace without even having to fight; but she told him to be sure to return to Andros and build a monastery there. He listened to the vision and everything went as the Panagia told him – he quickly pacified the island without any bloodshed, and returned to Andros and donated a large sum of money for the construction of a monastery on the site where the icon had been found. Apparently the hegoumenous of the monastery at that time had prophetic sight and told Nicephoros Fokias that he would become emperor, which pleased him so much that he gave them even more money for the monastery. As a result, the monastery that was built was huge and basically like a fortress. (I have not seen it, but this is how Martha describes it, and it actually is an important detail for the rest of the account).
Account of a Miracle at the Monastery of the Panagia Panachrandos on the Island of Andros, as Related to Me by Eye-Witness Martha Zisimou
I spoke with my sister-in-law, Martha, about the event that happened at the monastery in Andros, and I'm going to try to write down as many of the details as I can while it is still fresh in my mind. She was so excited that she was speaking a mile a minute and there were so many things she told me that I hardly know where to start. But first let me just provide a bit of background about the monastery that I gathered from what she told me.
First of all, this monastery is not one of the well-known monasteries on Andros (St. Nicholas or St. Marina). This is a monastery dedicated to the Panagia “Panachrandos”, which was founded in 961 AD after the Byzantine emperor Nicephoros Fokias, who was a military commander at the time (and not yet emperor) visited the island. The circumstances of the visit and the founding of the monastery appear to have been miraculous in themselves, from the account Martha gave me. It seems that Nicephoros Fokias was sent from Constantinople to Crete to quell a rebellion there, but on the way his fleet encountered rough weather and he was forced ashore on Andros. Near the present monastery, there was a skete made up of a number of monastic cave dwellings, and when the monks heard that Nicephoros Fokias was on the island, they went to pay homage to him (as a high commander of the Byzantine empire). They told him that they had a miraculous icon of the Panagia, which was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist,[1] and since they were living in cave -dwellings, they told him they would pray for him daily to have a speedy victory in Crete, if he would only come back and give them money to build a monastery. It is said that he agreed, and when he went to Crete, before even going ashore, he was visited by the Panagia in a dream and she told him exactly what he had to do in order to secure the peace without even having to fight; but she told him to be sure to return to Andros and build a monastery there. He listened to the vision and everything went as the Panagia told him – he quickly pacified the island without any bloodshed, and returned to Andros and donated a large sum of money for the construction of a monastery on the site where the icon had been found. Apparently the hegoumenous of the monastery at that time had prophetic sight and told Nicephoros Fokias that he would become emperor, which pleased him so much that he gave them even more money for the monastery. As a result, the monastery that was built was huge and basically like a fortress. (I have not seen it, but this is how Martha describes it, and it actually is an important detail for the rest of the account).
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