Copy Book Archive

‘I can walk’ A mother is determined to see that her disabled daughter gets the help she needs.
before 1944
The Kingdom of Greece 1832-1973
Music: Alexander Borodin

© Olaf Tausch, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0. Source

About this picture …

The iconostasis (icon screen) in the Church of the Ekatontapyliani, Paros, Greece. The miracle-working icon of Mary and the marble flags where the girl was laid can be seen to the left of the central doors. The present church dates back to the 6th century.

‘I can walk’
Fr George Skaramangás (1867-1944) was an energetic and popular figure on the Greek island of Paros, both as priest at the Ekatontapyliani (Church of the Hundred Doors) and as founder of the island’s Byzantine Museum. His adopted daughter married Spiros Mavris, a local hero of the Resistance. The following events took place in his time.

And the blind and the lame
came to him in the temple;
and he healed them.
Matthew 21:14

IT was August, the Feast of the Dormition of Mary,* and among the crowds was a mother and her seriously disabled daughter, aged twenty. After the services were over, with the priest’s blessing she tearfully laid her daughter on the marble paving right beneath the icon of Mary, and there day after day they remained, from morning service until late, in unbroken prayer.

At some stage, it occurred to the priest to cense the icon and sing the Marian hymn beginning ‘It is truly right’.* As he did so, he felt some inner force almost knock him off his feet. At the same time, he saw that the girl was standing up unaided, and whispering hoarsely, ‘I’m fine. I can walk. The Panagia told me so.’*

Soon the church bells were ringing joyously, and the clergy were chanting hymns of thanksgiving. The girl later married, and every August she and her husband brought her mother back to the place where her faith had been so richly rewarded.

On August 15th each year, the Church keeps the Feast of the Dormition of the Birthgiver of God, her ‘falling asleep’. According to Christian tradition, the Virgin Mary died surrounded by the Apostles and was buried, only for her body to have disappeared by the the third day. The feast is also known as the Easter of Summertime. See all posts tagged The Falling Asleep of the Theotokos (5), and for another miracle from Paros at this time, see The Miracle of Piso Livadi.

On the origin of this hymn, see The Voice of an Angel.

‘Panagia’ means ‘all-holy (lady)’, and is a popular address for the Virgin Mary.

Précis

A mother on the Greek island of Paros brought her disabled twenty-year-old daughter to church, and laid her in front of an icon of the Virgin Mary. She had done this for several days when, as the priest censed the icon, he felt a thrill run through him, and then saw the disabled woman was walking, completely cured. (58 / 60 words)

Source

From an article by Anna Mavri in ‘Pnevmatiki Kivotos (Spiritual Ark)’ Vol. 5 (90), 2nd Quarter, the magazine of the Metropolitanate of Paros-Naxos.

Related Video

Below is a video of the Church of the Hundred Doors at the time of the feast of the Dormition of the Birthgiver of God in August, with the bell-peals in full flow.

Suggested Music

Paraphrases (arr. Borodin)

Mazurka

Alexander Borodin (1833-1887)

Performed by Marco Rapetti (piano).

Media not showing? Let me know!

Related Posts

for ‘I can walk’

Lives of the Saints

The Holy Table of St Sophia

According to legend, when the Venetians tried to kidnap it the Holy Table of St Sophia in Constantinople made a dramatic escape.

Lives of the Saints

A Personal Favour

Over a hundred young Greeks were slated to be shot after resistance fighters and British forces sabotaged an airfield.

Lives of the Saints

The Spy

In 1910, Constantine Zervakos, a young monk from the Greek island of Paros, found himself charged with espionage.

Lives of the Saints

The Miracle of Piso Livadi

Three fishermen let their tongues run away with them, and were left counting the cost.

Lives of the Saints (186)
All Stories (1522)
Worksheets (14)
Word Games (5)