Orthodox Parables and Stories: "I will take care of your family."

At the request of the Minister of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Serbian, Mr. Dragan Davidovic, and of the Head of the Liaison and Cooperation Section with the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Mirko Maric, and with the blessing of the Bishop of Valjevo, in July 2014, took a trip to Greece with Mr Maric's relatives.

The purpose of our trip was to meet with Archimandrite Nectarius (Vitalis) in the village of Kamariza (Attica) and visit the Holy Trinity Monastery on the island of Aegina (Monastery of St. Nectarius of Aegina).

Returning from Aegina, we visited Thessaloniki to worship the relics of St. Demetrius the Peacekeeper. Then, at the urging of my companions, we headed to Paralia (a resort town 70 km from Thessaloniki) to spend the night there.

It was the first time in Paralia. It immediately struck me that there were many Serbs there. My companions explained to me that the town is one of the most famous resorts in this part of Greece and 90 percent of the guests here are Serbs. I have to say that every restaurant and shop spoke to me in my native Serbian. Believe me, I felt at home.

You might be wondering what I doing at restaurants and shops? For some circumstances, I was looking for fresh mackerel. And this fish is nowhere to be found. (I've traveled dozens of places and found nowhere ...)

I was about to stop searching when I noticed another fish restaurant called "Medtka".

I asked the old lady who greeted me, if they sell fresh mackerel? To my delight she answered me in Serbian (obviously my strong Serbian accent gave me away).

"Yes, Father," she told me. "But you have to wait until tomorrow morning. Our fishermen catch mackerel at night: they use flashlights and the fish attracted by the light come to them ... They come at seven in the morning. Come then. My name is Sofia and I own this restaurant."

I returned to the hotel. Opposite the main entrance, I saw a small church, rather a chapel. I was struck by its beauty; I went inside and - oh, what a miracle! For my great joy I found out that the chapel is dedicated to St. Nectarios, the one for whom we came to Greece for!

My companions said to me, "Do you see, Father Nenad, how St. Nectarios arranged everything. He set us up for the night near this chapel and is now protecting us. And you, father doubted: should we stay in this resort, full of tourists, where one can only bathe in the sea and bake on the beach… Here we have found grace and this little chapel.”

In the morning, I went to the tavern to buy my promised fish. But the fishermen had not yet arrived and Mrs. Sofia invited me to wait for them.

She seated me at the table, giving me kind hospitality. The conversation was accompanied by a wonderful feast: cashew with honey, Greek desserts and cold water.

“My companions and I are from Aegina, and I am very pleased that we came across a hotel right next to the Chapel of St. Nectarios. Do you know when it was built? I asked.

“How can I not know… My family has been taking care of this holy place for many years. We clean it, light the candle, decorate the icons when the priest from our parish temple comes to serve, read the saint's akathist and pray for health ... This is our greatest shrine. The chapel is small, but St. Nectarios is great in his intercession! According to his prayers, we have this restaurant and also the land on which the hotel was built. So we are the co-owners of the hotel.

My astonishment had no boundaries, and I asked her, "How did St. Nectarios help you find a restaurant?"

“Father Nenad, thirty years ago this land was an abandoned, desolate place. Our family was very poor. Often we had no money even for the home-made and ate the fish that were caught by the men of the family without bread.

When I was little, my father became very ill. A few days before his death, he asked us to give him an icon of St. Nectarios. He kept it under his pillow and often prayed in front of it.

Our mother was very worried - what about us when their dad dies?

Once, Daddy called us all to his bed and told us: “Do not be afraid. The Lord God and Saint Nectarios are taking care of us. We will get a plot of land near the chapel. Saint Nectarios himself told me this, he appeared to me in a dream.

We didn't believe that, we thought that Dad was losing his mind ... After three days he died. Half a month after his death, our mother was summoned to the municipality ... At first, she did not want to go because she was still mourning for our father, praying for him every day, and going nowhere but in the temple. But the grandmother (Dad's mother) said to her, "Go, daughter, this is not a leisure trip." And mom went.

It turned out that Dad was right - the municipality gave us a plot of land next to the chapel of St. Nectarios.

After a while, construction of hotels began. In Paralia, tourists were envied. Our plot was in the very center of the resort. We sold part of it, and for the rest we received a share in the ownership of the hotel built on it (ie several rooms in it). With the proceeds of the sale and lease of the land we found a tiny tavern, and now we have this great restaurant for fishery products and our business is going very well. My daughter graduated from medicine in Nis and is now a doctor, and my younger sister is married to Prokuple. This is where I know Serbian and love Serbia ... Another miracle happened to us, I'll tell you ...

After our father's death, even after we received the land, we were poor and undeveloped. But we had the blessing of the priest to look after the chapel of St. Nectarios. Once, on the eve of the day when the Church commemorates his memory, it turned out that there were only half a bottle of olive oil in our entire home. Mom was given a choice: either to pour that olive oil into the lampadas, or to leave it for us, the children.

On the night before the feast, St. Nectarios appeared to her in a dream and said, "All the olive oil you have on you, pour it into the lampadas - let them shime on the feast for the blessing of the people. I will take care of your family myself. " In the morning Mom told us this and we agreed.

And here's a miracle: on the same day, our cousin from Volos (Volos is 200 kilometers from Thessaloniki) came to visit us. We hadn't seen him in many years. He gifted us two large casks of freshly squeezed olive oil! His family was wealthy and today they have extensive olive groves ...

Hearing the story of Mrs. Sofia, I made the sign of the cross.  I became involved with the story of the living presence of St. Nectarios in Paralia, this small Greek village.

… Fishermen soon arrived and brought fresh mackerel. They had received a good catch that night. And how can they have no catch when, every time before they go out to sea, they sincerely pray to St. Nicholas and St. Nectarios, lighting a candle in honor of these great saints.

I also introduced my companions to the pious Mrs. Sofia, and they also listened with awe to her account of the wonders of St. Nectarios.

When you happen to visit Paralia, stop by this chapel, it's right by the beach…

source: “The Rise of the Sorrows - Saint Nectarios of Aegina”, Kipyatok Creative Team, Yekaterinburg, 2018