At the Monastery of All Saints lived a very holy man, Fr Hierotheos Kourounis. He lived a very ascetic life for many years. This holy man placed the first seed of piety and prepared the way for St Savvas.
This blessed man had the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and, because of his pure and virtuous life; he received the Gift of Foreseeing. Before his falling asleep, he encouraged the nuns saying:
“Do not be disturbed and sad, for another one will come, who will be greator than I”!
St Hierotheos, then, left his eyes to wonder towards the Aegean Sea, towards the island of Cos, as like he was expecting someone to arrive.
The blessed Abbess Thekla, saw a dream in which St Ierotheos took St Savvas, guided him to the upper parts of the Monastery and said to him:
“Build here. You hear, Geronda, here you will build”.
At this point I would like to state, that St Hierotheos, in the conscience of the people of Kalymnos is considered to be a “holy man”. His relics are preserved and issue divine fragrance. They are kept in the small Chaple of St Savvas. Yet, he is not recognized officially by the Orthodox Church as a Saint. The local ecclesiastic authorites, the Holy Metropolis of Leros, Kalymnos and Astypalaia, should examine this issue. Nevertheless, it is indisputable fact that, according to eyewitnesses, during St Hierotheos’s exhumation, his relics and the entire surrounding area were overwhelmed with divine fragrance.
Truthfully, St Savvas (+ 1948) arrived at the island of Kalymnos and headed for the Holy Monastery of All Saints. Thus, Kalymnos added to its list of pious and virtuous priests the ascetic personality of St Savvas.
But, from the first day he was troubled. As an ascetic, he desired quietness. The noise of the many people who were visiting the Monastery would disturb him and would distrack his attention from prayer. He decided to visit other places on the island. He visited the Holy Monastery of St Katherine and the Church of St Nicholas at Chali; but, in the end he could not find the place which his heart desired for quietness. This, unfortunate event, would encourage him to decide to leave Kalymnos. But, after fifteen days he returned to fulfill the words of Abbess Thekla:
“It is the will of God to live and die there."
From the book Saint Savvas of Kalymnos by Metropolitan Panteleimon Lampadarios of Antinoes, which can be read here.
