Living Next Door to a Saint
How many of us can say with certainty that we live next door to a Saint? Elder Porphyrios of Kavsokalivia, who passed away in the Lord in 1991, was recently canonized a Saint of the Orthodox Church by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on November 27th 2013. He was a truly great Saint of our times who lived amongst us!
A man who lived for many years very near to the home of the Saint, and whose wife had become paralyzed, went to see him one day. When he entered the place in which the Saint lived, he was told that the Elder had left for Mt Athos. This man was so devout that he was not upset at hearing this, but said: “That’s all right. It is enough just to come here to the place where he, a Saint, lives and breathes. That’s plenty for me!”
When he returned back to his wife, to his astonishment, he found her not only standing up, but carrying out regular duties in the kitchen, no longer paralyzed! With amazement, he asked her what had happened. She told him that while he was away, at some instant she became able to stand up! This instant was exactly when he was at the home of the Saint!
The man’s faith was so great, that through the honour he showed to a living Saint of our Church, God made Him worthy of so great a miracle!
Source: February- March 2014 Lychnos Edition
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Source: Elder Porphyrios – Testimonies and Experiences, by Klitos Ioannides. Published by the Holy Convent of the Transfiguration of the Savior, Athens, 1997.