Saint Nicholas of Porto Lagos on Lake Vistonida is an old monastery dependency of Vatopaidi Monastery on Mount Athos. The complex of the monastery is built on two small islands in the lagoon of Porto Lagos. A wooden pedestrian bridge connects the two islands and a second one links them with the mainland. On one island resides the Church of St. Nicholas and on the second one the more modern Chapel of Panagia Pantanassa where there is a copy of the miraculous image whose original resides at Vatopaidi Monastery.
In August of 2005 a great miracle happened at the Chapel of Panagia Pantanassa that made the newspapers in Greece. It concerns a little girl named Anastasia, who was buried in Cyprus after a battle with cancer, yet seen in Porto Lagos walking the bridge of the church later that day holding the hand of a nun.
Fr. Nimphonos of Vatopaidi Monastery, an eye-witness, relates his experience as follows:
"We are moved because these past days we were chanting Supplications to our Panagia, for the feast of her Dormition, especially on behalf of a nine year old girl from Cyprus, little Anastasia, who was suffering from lung cancer.
On Sunday little Anastasia fell asleep in the Lord, and on Monday was her funeral in Cyprus. At 4:30 in the evening a pilgrim from Kavala, unknown to us and not knowing anything about the little girl, went to venerate the Panagia in our church. Coming out of the church he met on the bridge of the church a nun who was holding the hand of a little girl. The nun told him that the little girl was not hers but was taking her with her, and she went towards the church.
The young man was confused and thought that the nun was taking the little child to the monastery to become a monastic. He followed her to ask her from which monastery she was from. He waited fifteen minutes for her to come out, but seeing that she was taking a long time he entered the church, but the nun and the little girl had disappeared. He looked everywhere, even in the altar area, but all in vain for she was not to be found.
He then ran to me, told me what happened, and asked me to search even hidden corners of the altar area. I asked him about the little girl and what she was wearing. I showed him photographs we have here from other Supplication services, and once he saw young Anastasia, he told me with conviction: 'This is the little girl'. I asked him: 'Are you sure?' He emphatically answered: 'YES!' I explained to him that this little girl was buried this morning in Cyprus and explained the whole story. I was moved to tears, as was the young man, and he asked me: 'And who was the nun?'
'It must have been the Panagia', I told him, and it was then that the young man was very moved and began to cry hard and continually.
We know the Panagia is always present in this place and it is our only boast that she comes near us."
From the newspaper Χρόνος (Hronos) out of Xanthi. The photos in the newspaper article below first show the copy of Panagia Pantanassa, and below is a photo of Fr. Nimphon and another of little Anastasia.
