When Eldress Akylina Parmaxidou (+ 2006), first abbess of the Monastery of the Ascension of the Savior in the village of Taxiarches (Sipsa), which is in Drama, was thirteen years old, she settled in Drama with her family as refugees from Smyrna after the population exchange in 1922. Following the example of her pious grandmother and mother, she loved Christ from a young age and vowed to dedicate her life to Him. At fifteen she went to Sipsa for Holy Confession to Saint George Karslides, who greeted her by calling her "Mother Erasmia" (Erasmia being her name before receiving the Great Schema at 50 years old), thus foretelling that she would be the abbess of a monastery, and her motherly role within it. Seeing her deep love for God and desire to serve Him, Saint George taught her to be a chanter in his monastery.
