The holy miracle-working icon of Our Lady called "Evergetida" (Benefactress), is particularly revered by the pilgrims and monks of the Megali Panagia cell of the holy monastery of Koutloumousiou in Mount Athos. This cell was formerly a monastery that bore the name of St. Eustratios and later of St. Gomatos.
The icon is an exact copy of Our Lady of Kazan. The bronze setting that adorns it to this day was also created there.
The story of this icon takes us back to the bloody years of the Asia Minor catastrophe; to a dreadful night in September 1922, when beautiful, prosperous Smyrna was burning, while people were trying to save their lives and the things dearest to their hearts. The only thing that one of the residents of Smyrna managed to take with her was an icon of the Mother of God. Together with her husband and four children, this woman managed to leave the city. Arriving at the wharf, they tried to get into a boat, and further to one of the Allied ships, in order to reach Greece. In the midst of all this horror and despair, an armed chet [chets are Muslims in the irregular Turkish army of the period of the Asia Minor catastrophe, engaged in robbery and banditry] appeared in front of the woman and saw that she was hiding something under her handkerchief. He snatched the holy image out of her hands, broke the frame and the glass, and took all the gold with which the icon was decorated in gratitude for the miracles performed by the grace of the Mother of God. Finally, he threw the icon into the sea, after which it disappeared.
After a grueling journey full of hardship and privation, the family arrived on the island of Samos, where they settled. Nine years passed, and one day the father of the family went fishing in his small fishing boat. When he pulled out the nets, he found an icon of Our Lady miraculously caught in them. With tears in his eyes, he carefully picked it up and carried it home.
When his wife saw the icon, she fainted with inexpressible joy. When she came to her senses, she took care of the icon, placed it in the place of honor of a modest home iconostasis, lit a homemade candle in front of it and prayed for a long time. Then the family called the priest, told him about the great miracle and ordered a prayer service in honor of the joyful event of finding the icon.
Soon the Mother of God Evergetida was transferred to a convent near the village. The relic was given on the condition that if someone in the family became a monk, it would pass to him as a family relic. Years passed, and the icon was given to the great-grandson of the couple, who today lives in the holy cell of Megali Panagia of Mount Athos.
The icon has manifested many miracles: childless couples would get children, the sick would heal, the unemployed, turning to Her grace, would find work. There are numerous testimonies of believers about this. The grace of this icon never ceases to spread wherever it is invoked.
We wish that She who held the baby Jesus in Her pure, sacred hands, She who blessed the whole world, would lavish Her grace onto all who seek Her help and protection, and guide us onto the path of true joy and salvation, which is Her Son and God.
MIRACLES MANIFESTED BY EVERGETIDA
In 2019, a woman who came to Thessaloniki on vacation, had her purse with all her money and documents stolen. Her husband was on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos at the time and was in the cell of Megali Panagia, when he received a phone call from his wife who was desperate. The monks of the cell served a prayer service and lit a candle to Our Lady. In the evening of the same day, the stolen purse was found in the Dendropotamos neighborhood and handed over to the police safe and sound; Not even the money was missing.
During his visit to Mount Athos, a Greek named Konstantinos from the city of Chalkida, who was in his cell during Little Vespers, received a phone call that his eldest son Ioannis had been in a car accident. He didn't know if his son was alive, only that the car had turned into a mess. The monks began to serve the prayer service, and barely reaching the words "It is Truly Meet" ("Άξιον εστίν ως αληθώς") heard the phone ringing again. Konstantinos was informed that Ioannis was alive and well. He only injured his leg as he was extracted from the car. Since then, every year father and son have made a pilgrimage to the holy cell to participate in the Divine Liturgy, receive Holy Communion and offer thanks to the Blessed Mother of God for Her great mercy.
