NICHOLAS Mogilevsky liked to pronounce blessings. He blessed every member of his congregation after holy communion, over a thousand of them. He blessed every passenger who stepped onto his train. And he blessed every passenger sharing his plane to Moscow in 1947, bound for a church synod.
‘No need to be afraid’ someone sniggered, ‘there’s a saint on board!’ For which everyone received a blessing.
Some miles had passed, when one of the engines sputtered and fell silent. Panic set in as the plane banked alarmingly. ‘Pray!’ urged Nicholas. ‘Not a soul will perish!’ Then as an afterthought, ‘Only we’ll get a bit muddy’.
Steeper dived the plane; yet the babel within subsided. Soon Nicholas’s soft voice could be heard in prayer. Then, as if resting on a cushion, the aircraft levelled out, glided serenely onto a shallow lake, skipped, and stopped.
The passengers, shaken, tumbled out to safety. Not a soul had perished!
But they did get a bit muddy.
Précis
Bishop Nicholas Mogilevsky liked to bless fellow-passengers on public transport, and on one flight to Moscow he was rather teased for it – until the plane started to get into difficulties. Nicholas promised no one would die – they would just get muddy – and prayed until the plane landed safely in a lake. So no one was hurt, and everyone got muddy. (63 / 60 words)