Power of the Cross

By S.Nilus

“…Abyss Dosithea onece told me this miraculous story….

It happened on September 8^th, when we were having a Vigil for the patron of our monastery – St.Peodosius. We all were in the church including some pious laymen. Suddenly we heard someone yelling very loudly right in the middle of the service:

-         Hands up! Don’t move! Will shoot!

The next thing we saw two robbers with guns appeared by the candle stand. The other robbers, with their leader, who was ataman Savitskiy, marched right into Altar and demanded the priest to show them where in the Altar he had hidden the money. The priest answered that he did not have money, they searched the Altar anyway but found nothing.

Then they took one of the sisters at gunpoint and went cell by cell in the monastery. They were breaking the locks wherever they were found, but sisters started to beg them not to break their scanty possessions and gave them the keys instead. They searched every room and every cell in the Monastery but could not find more than mere 150 rubles.

-         Where is your money? I know for sure you got over 40 thousand in here!

They also searched in the kitchen hoping to find some good food to eat but did not find anything except for some bread, made out of rye bread and water, took a bite:

-         O, disgusting! Do you really eat it?

-         Yes we do!

-         But how can you live like that? For what?

-         For God! – sisters said.

-         For God?

They entered one of the cells but did not let anyone else to come in. Then we heard something fell down and then someone started to sing a Troparion:

-         Before Thy Cross we fall down, O Master, and Thy Holy resurrection we magnify!

That was a beautiful, young, heartfelt tenor. One sister could not resist, opened the door and saw that the cross fell down from the wall, and Savitskiy carefully picked it up off the floor while singing the Troparion. Picked up the Cross, venerated it and then proceeded to reprimand his fellow for being so reckless. Sister forgot her fear…

-         Father, - she cried out to Savitsky, - repent, stop these evil deeds; you still have God’s sparkle in you!

-         Too late, Mother, too late, - he replied, - there’s no return…

There are no words to describe how touched we were. And we forgaveeverything to  Savitsky and his gangsters for that Troparion. And the whole gang left right away without doing much damage to us, except for maybe scaring us. And our service did not even stop, even though the chorus could not sing any more, but only was reading.

Some time has passed and we were having another vigil. And we noticed Savitsky in the crowd, together with one of his fellows. Both dressed like peasants. They stayed a little, and then, I guess, they realized that they got noticed and left.

One a niece of our Abbess came to visit and said she was riding on a train in the same cart with one reputable man, who asked where she was going, and after she said that she was on the way to  our Monastery, he replied:

-         I’ve been there twice and would give a lot if I had a chance to have just a cup of tea there.

By all the description we figured it was Savitsky.

Some more time passed and one of our sisters had a dream, and she saw Savitsky running away from someone. Savitsky was running towards our monastery, fell down on the stairs and screamed:

-         Save me! Only you can save me!!!

That sister went to Abbess, told about her dream, and Abbess said:

-         Right here is a newspaper, where they say that Savitsky was just recently killed…

That seemed strange coincidence. Mother remembered Savitsky and his gang, their assault of the monastery.

-         Well, they could have hurt us, but did not. – Then she remembered about the Cross and his singing of Troparion.

-         Shall we pray for this poor guy?

And she ordered us to remember him at Proskomidy for 40 days. And guess what? Another sister saw Savitsky on the 9^th day, and he thanked us for the prayers. On the 40^th day she dreamed as if he entered her cell, fell in prostration and said:

-         Thank you, sisters, greatly: I was saved by your prayers. – he said and became so illuminated; the ceiling in the cell vanished and Savitsky disappeared in the sky.

You see, what a great deal is the Cross of the Lord! It saved the robber for the eternal life!

Later however, the enemy of ours, created a slander against us: one of the newspapers, right after our forty days of prayer, published that Savitsky made a huge donation to our Monastery so that we would always remember his soul at our prayers. Devil could not but slander us for saving a soul, cleansed by blood and saved by repentance by the power of the Life-Giving Cross and the prayers of the Church and endless mercy of God”…