We celebrate on the 14th of this month [October] the commemoration of the wondrous miracle performed on the island of Chios by the Holy Venerable Martyr and Victorious Athlete of Christ Paraskevi, in the year 1442 after Christ.
Verses
Paraskevi of old saved Chios
From submersion through her intercession before Christ.
Paraskevi displayed a great miracle,
Saving Chios from the onrush of the sea.
A Beneficial Account of the Miraculous Deliverance Accomplished on the Island of Chios by the Holy and Glorious Venerable Martyr Paraskevi, Who Checked the Onrush of the Sea and Turned It Back
By St. Athanasios Parios
Verses
Paraskevi of old saved Chios
From submersion through her intercession before Christ.
Paraskevi displayed a great miracle,
Saving Chios from the onrush of the sea.
A Beneficial Account of the Miraculous Deliverance Accomplished on the Island of Chios by the Holy and Glorious Venerable Martyr Paraskevi, Who Checked the Onrush of the Sea and Turned It Back
By St. Athanasios Parios
It has been an ancient custom, originating in a commandment of God, to record the wondrous works of God for the benefit and instruction of those who come after us. Thus, we read in Holy Scripture how God commanded Moses, Joshua the son of Nun, and the other Prophets to write down the awesome and mighty wonders that He performed at that time, so that people might learn that there is a God in heaven who, by His almighty power, accomplishes such fearful and extraordinary works, and might thereby learn to fear Him and not disobey His divine commandments.
The ancient Prophets did this, and afterward the divine Apostles did likewise, as did the sacred Luke, who recorded the Acts and miracles of his fellow Apostles. After them, others recorded the divine wonders that God accomplished through His holy Martyrs and Venerable Ascetics. Thus, to this very day, the same holy and soul-saving custom has been preserved in the Church of Christ, and the miracles performed in various places by God, who saves souls and providentially governs all things, continue to be recorded.
Following the example of those who came before them, our predecessors likewise recorded the great and extraordinary miracle that the Holy and Glorious Venerable Martyr of Christ, Paraskevi, accomplished in Chios through divine power. The account is as follows.
In the year 1442 after Christ, when the Latin-minded John Palaiologos reigned, the emperor who had forcibly brought about the Union at Florence in Italy and thereafter strove to establish it everywhere, the compassionate Lord manifested great indignation against the island of Chios. It seemed as though He intended to submerge it in a partial deluge, in order to wash away the sins and transgressions of its inhabitants, which had provoked Him so greatly.
It was evening, and the fourteenth day of October was drawing near. On this day, our Holy Church celebrates the commemoration of the Holy Martyrs Nazarios, Gervasios, Protasios, and Celsus. A certain Hieromonk named Ambrosios went, according to custom, to chant Vespers at the church where he was carrying out his priestly duties, namely, the church of the Venerable Martyr Paraskevi, which is situated in the uppermost and farthest part of the Palaiokastro.
While the Hieromonk was chanting Vespers, rain began to fall so heavily, violently, and incessantly that it seemed not as though rain were falling, but rather as though rivers were pouring down. At the same time, there was a great crashing noise, and a terrifying tumult could be heard. Consequently, the Hieromonk could no longer make his way to his cell, but remained in his church. It seemed certain to him that this was divine wrath and that God intended to submerge the island. Seized with great fear, he began to pray there in the church, beseeching the compassionate Master to cease His anger and transform His righteous indignation into compassion and mercy toward His people. He did not yet know that the sea, too, had burst beyond its bounds and was surging furiously uphill toward the land in order to submerge the country.
As events subsequently revealed, that priest, the good Ambrosios, appears to have been a devout man who feared God and was truly a man of God—in other words, one worthy of beholding the mysteries of God. While praying there and entreating God throughout the night to abate His great anger, at a certain hour he lowered his stasidion and sat down to take a little rest from his great exertion. As he sat, he dozed off briefly. And behold, O the wonder! It seemed to him that the roof of the church had opened, and there, high above, was a most radiant cloud. Within it he saw a most venerable woman, her hands stretched upward toward the heavens in the posture and attitude of one praying.
When the Presbyter saw these things, he was afraid, and his heart trembled. And behold, a voice was heard addressing him and saying: “Ambrosios, do not be afraid. I am the Venerable Martyr Paraskevi; your homeland has been saved.”
When the devout Ambrosios saw and heard these things, he shook off even that brief sleep from his eyes, his heart filled with two utterly opposing emotions: fear and joy. He then began chanting Matins with even greater reverence. Meanwhile, day broke, and behold, people came from the lower parts of the town, for the rain had by then abated somewhat, and announced with fear and trembling that the sea had burst beyond its natural bounds and had reached as far as the Church of the Panagia called Eleimonitria. It appeared that the sea threatened to submerge the entire country because of the sins of its inhabitants. (The elders relate, on the basis of an ancient tradition, that the sea reached as far as [the church of] Christ and was surging upward with great force.)
Then the devout Ambrosios recounted his vision of Saint Paraskevi, and the account spread down into the town. Taking heart from the Saint’s promise, all the Christians placed their hope in God and the Venerable Martyr Paraskevi. They fell down in supplication before God and the Venerable Martyr Paraskevi, and, carrying the Saint’s icon in a communal procession and shedding fervent tears, they appeased the divine indignation through the acceptable intercessions of His victorious servant. Thus, the raging sea subsided and returned to its former place, and the city remained unharmed, in accordance with the declaration of the Venerable Martyr. In this way, having been delivered from the extreme danger of the most violent sea, the Christians glorified God and His Virgin Martyr servant, who had shown them great mercy through her bold and confident intercessions.
Since this benefaction was recognized as exceedingly great, the Christians of that time rightly and wisely decreed that the remembrance of that wondrous deliverance should be celebrated every year with a common feast and festival throughout the entire island. Thus, from that time onward, the commemoration of that great miracle has been observed on the aforementioned fourteenth day of October, with reverence and fervent devotion, to the glory of the Holy God and of the Venerable Martyr, our benefactress, Saint Paraskevi. Moreover, the Christians of that time did not merely bequeath to us, their successors, the observance of the annual commemoration of this miracle. To demonstrate the heartfelt reverence and love they had for the Saint, they also built a magnificent church dedicated to her honored name, that is, to Saint Paraskevi, down at the water’s edge. In a manner of speaking, they built it so that it might henceforth keep the sea’s fury in check, preventing it from surging forth again to harm its neighbor, and ensuring that it remain within the bounds originally set for it by God, the Creator of all things, who said: “Thus far shall you come, and no farther” (Job 38:11). That church remained standing for many years afterward, and many miracles and healings took place there, as the elders used to relate.
While the Hieromonk was chanting Vespers, rain began to fall so heavily, violently, and incessantly that it seemed not as though rain were falling, but rather as though rivers were pouring down. At the same time, there was a great crashing noise, and a terrifying tumult could be heard. Consequently, the Hieromonk could no longer make his way to his cell, but remained in his church. It seemed certain to him that this was divine wrath and that God intended to submerge the island. Seized with great fear, he began to pray there in the church, beseeching the compassionate Master to cease His anger and transform His righteous indignation into compassion and mercy toward His people. He did not yet know that the sea, too, had burst beyond its bounds and was surging furiously uphill toward the land in order to submerge the country.
As events subsequently revealed, that priest, the good Ambrosios, appears to have been a devout man who feared God and was truly a man of God—in other words, one worthy of beholding the mysteries of God. While praying there and entreating God throughout the night to abate His great anger, at a certain hour he lowered his stasidion and sat down to take a little rest from his great exertion. As he sat, he dozed off briefly. And behold, O the wonder! It seemed to him that the roof of the church had opened, and there, high above, was a most radiant cloud. Within it he saw a most venerable woman, her hands stretched upward toward the heavens in the posture and attitude of one praying.
When the Presbyter saw these things, he was afraid, and his heart trembled. And behold, a voice was heard addressing him and saying: “Ambrosios, do not be afraid. I am the Venerable Martyr Paraskevi; your homeland has been saved.”
When the devout Ambrosios saw and heard these things, he shook off even that brief sleep from his eyes, his heart filled with two utterly opposing emotions: fear and joy. He then began chanting Matins with even greater reverence. Meanwhile, day broke, and behold, people came from the lower parts of the town, for the rain had by then abated somewhat, and announced with fear and trembling that the sea had burst beyond its natural bounds and had reached as far as the Church of the Panagia called Eleimonitria. It appeared that the sea threatened to submerge the entire country because of the sins of its inhabitants. (The elders relate, on the basis of an ancient tradition, that the sea reached as far as [the church of] Christ and was surging upward with great force.)
Then the devout Ambrosios recounted his vision of Saint Paraskevi, and the account spread down into the town. Taking heart from the Saint’s promise, all the Christians placed their hope in God and the Venerable Martyr Paraskevi. They fell down in supplication before God and the Venerable Martyr Paraskevi, and, carrying the Saint’s icon in a communal procession and shedding fervent tears, they appeased the divine indignation through the acceptable intercessions of His victorious servant. Thus, the raging sea subsided and returned to its former place, and the city remained unharmed, in accordance with the declaration of the Venerable Martyr. In this way, having been delivered from the extreme danger of the most violent sea, the Christians glorified God and His Virgin Martyr servant, who had shown them great mercy through her bold and confident intercessions.
Since this benefaction was recognized as exceedingly great, the Christians of that time rightly and wisely decreed that the remembrance of that wondrous deliverance should be celebrated every year with a common feast and festival throughout the entire island. Thus, from that time onward, the commemoration of that great miracle has been observed on the aforementioned fourteenth day of October, with reverence and fervent devotion, to the glory of the Holy God and of the Venerable Martyr, our benefactress, Saint Paraskevi. Moreover, the Christians of that time did not merely bequeath to us, their successors, the observance of the annual commemoration of this miracle. To demonstrate the heartfelt reverence and love they had for the Saint, they also built a magnificent church dedicated to her honored name, that is, to Saint Paraskevi, down at the water’s edge. In a manner of speaking, they built it so that it might henceforth keep the sea’s fury in check, preventing it from surging forth again to harm its neighbor, and ensuring that it remain within the bounds originally set for it by God, the Creator of all things, who said: “Thus far shall you come, and no farther” (Job 38:11). That church remained standing for many years afterward, and many miracles and healings took place there, as the elders used to relate.
Beloved Christians, this is the account of the wondrous and extraordinary miracle performed by the Venerable Martyr Paraskevi, and this is the sacred subject of today’s feast. Therefore, as we commemorate that miracle, we ought to reflect that God is the same today as He was then, and that He has always hated and turned away from a lawless way of life. Those who trample upon the commandments of His holy gospel and perform the works of the apostate devil, He chastises by His decree, both here in this present life and in the life to come, with punishments that are unavoidable and endless. When we engage in such reflections and celebrate in this manner, we are led to sin less, keeping the fear of God dwelling in our souls. Our feasts then become acceptable to God, who rewards our reverence with His divine blessings.
Therefore, Christian brethren, let us strive to live as our Christian profession requires. Let us celebrate with fervent devotion and reverence this annual commemoration of the great benefaction bestowed upon Chios by the Venerable Martyr and victorious athlete of Christ, Paraskevi, so that she may continually intercede for us, we who stand condemned, before the compassionate Lord, to whom belong glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Therefore, Christian brethren, let us strive to live as our Christian profession requires. Let us celebrate with fervent devotion and reverence this annual commemoration of the great benefaction bestowed upon Chios by the Venerable Martyr and victorious athlete of Christ, Paraskevi, so that she may continually intercede for us, we who stand condemned, before the compassionate Lord, to whom belong glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
