By Elder Paisios the Athonite
Once, at the Cell of Saint Spyridon of the Monastery of Koutloumousiou, the so-called "Kerkyraiko", as the feast of the Saint approached, the fathers were worried since they were having difficulty in catching fish for the festal meal. The monks told the elder to buy cod fish, since they found nothing else. The elder told them:
"Be patient. Saint Spyridon will bring us fish," and he kept praying with his komboskini.
While the fathers had lost all patience and were extremely upset, for it was time to start cooking, they suddenly heard a knock at the door. They opened it, and what did they see! Two fishermen, with two baskets full of fish, asking for the elder. The disciples called the elder, but the fishermen said:
"That is not the elder. Another elder came to us and said: 'Take the fish to the Cell of Saint Spyridon, for the feast, and you will get a good price for them. If you like, I will also give you an advance."
The elder realized it was a miracle and took them into the church to venerate the icons. As soon as they set eyes on the icon of Saint Spyridon, they said:
"There you are. That is the elder who told us to bring the fish here!"
The elder then said to them:
"Ah! What a shame you didn't take the advance from the Saint so that we could have it here as a blessing!"
From Athonite Fathers and Athonite Matters (Souroti, Thessaloniki, 1993; pp. 159-160).
