In Beroia of Macedonia there is a Metochion (an ecclesiastical embassy church within Eastern Orthodox tradition) of the Monastery. One or two times a year, always in the summer, we communicated by sea with a small boat from the Monastery. One time I was traveling with two brothers to the Metochion. But between Cassandra and Pelion, there was an unusual calm even though we rowed regularly. The annoying lull got me thinking of an inevitable great evil. My concern was lively, without reason. It was something like a premonition. And while the brothers begged me for all of us to take a break from paddling to rest, I urged them to accelerate, as if something was leading me away from imminent danger. We had to reach , as soon as possible, the coast between Pelion and Olympus. A slight breeze helped us considerably. We reached the shore, we disembarked, and we pulled in the boat.
Meanwhile a cloud appeared above Pelion, which grew increasingly dark. It was a harbinger of terrible evil. What a terrible outburst followed! A rare windy storm, a stove pipe as they say. As we arrived all the residents gathered, and they were amazed and perplexed, looking at us while doing their cross. They confessed that Saint Nicholas rescued us. We stayed a few days, equipped ourselves, got food, and departed. What a spectacle we saw when when we returned! Wherever we passed, shipwrecks. All the ships anchored in the ports of Livas and Garbi were stranded or submerged. The entire southwest side of Cassandra, Sithonia, and Athos were affected by the storm. As we reached the Monastery we saw a shocking sight: the Lithochorino ship full of timber was submerged.
Avoiding any comments, I can only emphasize the vague anxiety I felt as we went. Was it not a profound and vivid intervention of the Saint?