The following story was told by Elder Ephraim, Abbot of Vatopaidi Monastery, in a talk he delivered in Bucharest in 2002, concerning a wondrous event in the life of Elder Paisios, as it was related to him by the same:
One winter, just before sunset, I left the Stavronikita Monastery to go to my cell. At one hundred meters from the entrance of the Monastery, I met five students, who earlier were looking for me at my cell (it was close to the Monastery), and they had brought something to me from an archimandrite. Since they could not find me they left it at my cell and went to the Monastery.
When we met they asked me to talk with them for a bit. They showed great zeal for divine things. In this way, without realizing, the time passed. They would not unglue themselves from me. However it was getting dark and barely nothing could be seen, so I sent them to the Monastery before the doors closed on them. I hastened to go to my cell. It was very dark and I could not see the road. This is how I got lost. I had no flashlight.
Then I thought that with such cold and with one lung it was inevitable that I would die. Having no hope to live, I knelt and began to pray for my soul. As I was praying a light came out of me that was so strong that the sun of midday would appear to be dark. This light led me to my cell. As soon as I arrived at my cell the light was gone!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
