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November 13, 2014

A Recent Appearance of the Theotokos at Vatopaidi Monastery


Mr. Panagiotis had gone to Mount Athos and was given hospitality by the fathers of the Sacred Great Monastery of Vatopaidi. On October 26, 2014 he persistently requested of the fathers to go to Confession, and the fathers told him that the next morning, Monday, he could go.

On October 27, 2014 at 4:00am, when Matins had begun, he went down to the church, and having venerated the icons, he took his seat. There were other people in the church, and he went and took a seat in a stall, and there was a man next to him while the following stall after was empty.

He waited patiently, but time passed and still the monk was not seen to take him to the Confessor. At around 4:20am he turned and saw a nun in the previously empty stall next to the man who was next to him. The nun approached him and said: "Wait, everything will go well, you will confess; do not worry, wait a bit." He thought perhaps the larger monasteries have a certain nun to help in the church.

Some time passed and the impatient man thought about leaving to find someone to go and confess. It was 4:45am when he was preparing to leave. He took a step, and saw the nun coming to him again, and taking him by the shoulders she gently pushed him back into his stall, saying to him: "I told you to have some patience and wait. Now the Six Psalms are ending and a monk will come and take you to a Confessor to confess."

Indeed, two minutes later a monk came and accompanied him to the Confessor. Mr. Panagiotis did not say anything to the monk accompanying him because he did not want to seem suspicious.

He arrived to the Confessor, and after speaking to him for a bit, Mr. Panagiotis said:

"Fortunately you also have a nun here who encouraged me to have patience, so I waited."

"Which nun, blessed one? We don't have nuns here. This is the Holy Mountain. Women are not permitted here, not even nuns!"

"But how, since I spoke to her two times?"

"You were speaking to our Panagia and did not understand it, my child."

The Confessor asked him to describe her, and Mr. Panagiotis said: "She was tall, around 30 to 35 in age, and very beautiful!"

The above was written on the Saint Nektarios Facebook page in Greek (translated by John Sanidopoulos), whose moderator was told of this incident by a good friend of his over the phone. It was confirmed in the comments section by a man who was there at Vatopaidi Monastery when the miracle took place, who did not see the nun but heard the story while there and was moved by it.