Elder Emmanuel of Gregoriou recounts the following miraculous incident with the Holy Unmercenaries:
"Do you remember, Elder, telling me about a miracle of the Holy Unmercenaries?"
"Yes. I heard about one that happened in my time. When I took over this Cell of the Holy Unmercenaries, the covers of the Holy Table were worn out. I had to change them. The issue was also financial and, moreover, I did not know anyone who could sew them. Fortunately, I remembered a woman from Thessaloniki. She had previously sewn three sets of covers for me for Holy Week. With the financial help of pious women, this woman, Amalia was her name, bought the covers and sewed them. However, from the exhausting work, she went blind.
When I met her on one of my outings in the world, she said to me:
'Elder, beg the Holy Unmercenaries, for whose church I sewed the covers, to heal me. In twenty days, as the doctors told me, I will have surgery, but my hopes of healing are minimal. Even if the operation is successful, I will see people merely as a black shadow.'
Driven by love and obligation, I made a special effort towards the Holy Unmercenaries. Candles, lamps, supplications and entreaties, I did not stop for many days: 'Holy Unmercenaries,' I told them, 'have pity on this poor soul who made the covers for us, who is concerned for our house. My Panagia, my good Panagia, tell the Holy Unmercenaries to perform their miracle.' In any case, the Saints got tired of me and they performed their miracle.
After 15 days of the operation, I received a letter from this woman, who wrote the following:
'My venerable Elder, with great joy I write to you that the evening before my operation, the 12 Holy Unmercenaries came and stood all around my bed, and they themselves performed the operation on me, which lasted for three hours. I was as if asleep and I could mentally see their shadows around my body. When they finished the operation, my sight was restored, and I am as before.
In the morning, the nurse came with the stretcher to take me to the operating room. I told him that there was no need, because the Holy Unmercenaries had miraculously cured me. He, saying that he must carry out the doctor’s order, was adamant. So we went together to the doctor, to whom I said the following:
\"Doctor, do you know that we have a religion and our religion has Saints who work miracles? A similar miracle happened to me last night. The Holy Unmercenaries came and operated on me.\"
Then the doctor, after ascertaining the health of my eyes, gave me a discharge saying: \"Go, my child, it is a miracle; I cannot say anything.\"'”
Source: From the book Gerontikon of Gregoriou by Monk Gregory of Damascus (HOLY MONASTERY OF GREGORIOU, MOUNT ATHOS, 2005). Translation by John Sanidopoulos.
"Do you remember, Elder, telling me about a miracle of the Holy Unmercenaries?"
"Yes. I heard about one that happened in my time. When I took over this Cell of the Holy Unmercenaries, the covers of the Holy Table were worn out. I had to change them. The issue was also financial and, moreover, I did not know anyone who could sew them. Fortunately, I remembered a woman from Thessaloniki. She had previously sewn three sets of covers for me for Holy Week. With the financial help of pious women, this woman, Amalia was her name, bought the covers and sewed them. However, from the exhausting work, she went blind.
When I met her on one of my outings in the world, she said to me:
'Elder, beg the Holy Unmercenaries, for whose church I sewed the covers, to heal me. In twenty days, as the doctors told me, I will have surgery, but my hopes of healing are minimal. Even if the operation is successful, I will see people merely as a black shadow.'
Driven by love and obligation, I made a special effort towards the Holy Unmercenaries. Candles, lamps, supplications and entreaties, I did not stop for many days: 'Holy Unmercenaries,' I told them, 'have pity on this poor soul who made the covers for us, who is concerned for our house. My Panagia, my good Panagia, tell the Holy Unmercenaries to perform their miracle.' In any case, the Saints got tired of me and they performed their miracle.
After 15 days of the operation, I received a letter from this woman, who wrote the following:
'My venerable Elder, with great joy I write to you that the evening before my operation, the 12 Holy Unmercenaries came and stood all around my bed, and they themselves performed the operation on me, which lasted for three hours. I was as if asleep and I could mentally see their shadows around my body. When they finished the operation, my sight was restored, and I am as before.
In the morning, the nurse came with the stretcher to take me to the operating room. I told him that there was no need, because the Holy Unmercenaries had miraculously cured me. He, saying that he must carry out the doctor’s order, was adamant. So we went together to the doctor, to whom I said the following:
\"Doctor, do you know that we have a religion and our religion has Saints who work miracles? A similar miracle happened to me last night. The Holy Unmercenaries came and operated on me.\"
Then the doctor, after ascertaining the health of my eyes, gave me a discharge saying: \"Go, my child, it is a miracle; I cannot say anything.\"'”
Source: From the book Gerontikon of Gregoriou by Monk Gregory of Damascus (HOLY MONASTERY OF GREGORIOU, MOUNT ATHOS, 2005). Translation by John Sanidopoulos.
