Dervenochoria, Boeotia, Greece, July 27, 2023
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
Many Orthodox faithful have been flocking to a village about 25 miles north of Athens to see a church that was saved from raging wildfires by the power of prayer.
The Church of St. Paisios the Athonite, next to the Monastery of the Holy Infants in the village of Dervenochoria was saved, as well as the surrounding area, in which not a single house was burned, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
This can be no mere coincidence the outlet writes. Ever since the fire broke out on July 17, it approached the church several times, but through the prayers of the gerontissa of the Monastery of the Holy Infants and “the icon” (presumably a wonderworking icon at the monastery), which was facing towards the flames, it was averted every time.
This account was reported by an eyewitness, Spyridon Koutochristos. He concludes his report:
Fr. Meletios Stathis, priest of the Monastery of the Holy Infants, Protopresbyter Fr. Evangelos Papanikolaou and Fr. Angelos Kyriakos—a former firefighter—told me when the fire was approaching: “Spyridon, the power of prayer is great... It works miracles!”
Another inspiring story comes from Dr. Timothy Patitsas, a well-known author and professor at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. He writes about the Holy Monastery of Panagia Ypseni on the island of Rhodes, which, as OrthoChristian reported earlier this week, was severely damaged by wildfires:
Our niece Sister Philothei was rescued along with her whole monastery on the island of Rhodes by three firefighters who came to fight the fires there. Things were looking very bad, and at one point the nuns saw from the monastery that the three firemen were completely surrounded by the forest fire. Through the fire, they saw the men kneel down and offer their lives to God, for there was no way out. After some time, the wind shifted a little, a path opened up for the men to escape, and they... just went back to work on the fires... Miracle? Certainly, that such men exist is itself sufficient miracle in these times.
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