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Embark on a soul-stirring journey with Mother Chrysovalanti as she recounts a divine encounter at the monastery. In this captivating video, she shares the awe-inspiring story of a young boy named Kostakis, saved by Panagia’s intervention. Discover the miraculous chain of events that unfolded, from a tragic cliffside incident to the gift of an exquisite chandelier. Experience the transformative power of divine stories, where faith triumphs over darkness, and the intercession of Panagia brings hope and healing. Dive into this captivating narrative and let the warmth of Mother Chrysovalanti’s words resonate in your heart.
Video source: Ιερός Ναός Αγίου Δημητρίου Δήμου Αγίου Δημητρίου
Watch the full interview here: Church of Saint Dimitrios, Athens, Greece, October, 2023
Mother Chrysovalanti:
A bus arrived on the first of November [to our monastery]. I won’t reveal which place in Athens [it came from]. On the 1st of November, it’s the feast day of St. David [of Evia]. The priest and [almost] 50 people that visited us sat in the room [of the monastery].
I thought about telling them something that had shocked me and had just learnt about that summer. I will tell it to you.
The whole time I was talking, a man and a woman were signing their mouth with the sign of the cross continuously. I thought, “The poor ones, they must have woken up early. They must have had a hard time coming [all the way] here, and they want to yawn. That’s why they are signing their mouth with the sign of the cross. That was my interpretation.
Listen to what I told them.
I told them, “Some pilgrims came to [our] monastery who had spent the feast of the Theotokos [probably means the feast of the Dormition of Theotokos] in Karpathos. There is a big church of the Panagia there. A very beautiful one. All around her are cliffs to the sea and you can only enter from the front where there is a square and the people of Karpathos sit there. As soon as the Liturgy ended, the priest said, “Do you see the polyeleos [chandelier]?” An exquisite one. We haven’t seen it in any church in Greece. I asked the man who gifted it to us, to stand up and say the story behind it.
The man stood up and said, “I am 46 years old. 40 years ago, when I was six, my mom died. My father was working on ships, so it was difficult for him to raise me.”
Shortly, he married another woman and they visited the square of the church of Panagia [I described to you].
As soon as it started getting dark, the stepmother took him by the hand, lead him [to a place] where nowhere else was present, and threw him down the cliff.
She went back with crocodile tears and cried, “I lost the child! The child fell!”
The father went crazy. Meanwhile, it got dark, there was no way to approach the cliff. The jackals started screaming. The father, along with the president, the policeman, the teacher, and everyone else were standing at the edge of the cliff shouting,
“Kostakis, do not be afraid. We will come get you in the morning.” This is what was going on the whole night.
As soon as it was morning, they heard the voice of Kostakis.
“Father, I am okay,” and he named the beach at which he was waiting.
They lost their minds. They gathered the ropes from the whole city. A young man was tied with a rope from a tree. He descended and brought him back.
“As soon as my father saw me, he told me, ‘My Kostakis, why did you leave us worrying all night since you were alive?’”
“Dad, when Mother threw me…” The policemen were present and arrested her. She died in prison.
“An ‘aunt’ took me in her arms.”
“My Father did not understand.”
“And why did not the aunt scream since you were silent?”
“She closed my mouth and said, ‘Not now, my boy, because they will be killed.’”
“However, when it was morning, she told me, ‘Now, scream.’ And ‘the aunt’ left.”
The priest understood [right away]. He took me by the hand, he took me inside the church and started asking,
“Is that ‘the aunt? [The priest showed him the holy icon of] St. Irene, [then] St. Catherine, [then] St. Paraskevi.”
“No, I said.”
“As soon as we reached the temple and the iconostasis and I saw Panagia [Most Holy Theotokos, Mother of God] …”
I said, “That’s ‘the aunt’ who was holding me in her arms all night.”
“This Panagia of ours, who became a mother of mine at the difficult time, did she not deserve a gift? I went to Canada, I studied chemistry and my first money is this polyeleos.”
I was so moved that whoever [was visiting our monastery] that year 1, 2, 50, 100 [persons], I would tell them, “Sit down and let me tell you a story.” Our Panagia rushes [to our help], before we even call her.
As I was saying this to the people [that had visited us], as soon as I finished the narration,
I went on, “See, my Christians, how our Panagia …”
Before I was able to utter another word—the ones who were signing their mouth with the sign of the cross were possessed—I did not know it, but the rest of the people with them, knew it.
They grabbed them because they rushed to beat me. Me feeling safe as they were holding them, I said, “Look at that. Did the devil get offended because we were talking about Panagia?”
And the possessed ones said, “You, old hag, [how dare you] ruin my plans in this ‘dirty’ monastery?
“I am the one who tells them to swear at her, I am the one who tells them not to listen to her, I am the one who tells them not to listen to her Son.”
They were so ready to beat me up. But since I was safe [with the rest of the people holding them],
I said, “Since it bothers you so much, I will keep saying it [to people] all the time.”
When I left the monastery [to talk here and give the homily], one of the sisters [nuns] told me,
“Do not say the story with the little boy [Kostakis], because every time you tell it to people, a new temptation arrives at the monastery. Who knows what will come next this time?”
It is so much that the devil is angered [with this].
Let us make the devil angry, [instead of] making God angry [all the time].
Let us make him angry!
He can do absolutely nothing to us. “Because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” [1 John 4:4].
I tired you, I am sorry about that. We agreed on sharing our sorrows.
May all of us who are here, be [together] in paradise as well.
And alongside us, may all baptized Christians and all unbaptized ones get to know God.
