By Nun Porphyria (Spyridoulas Moschou)
Because the Elder calls me on the phone every day from 4:00 to 6:00 in the morning and we read Matins, I thought that since the phone call is long-distance, he must be paying a lot of money to OTE [Hellenic Telecommunications Organization]. This is why when I got paid I put 50,000 drachmas in an envelope to give him.
"Elder, I brought some money, because your OTE bill must be big."
"What are you talking about, foolish one? Here we are building a church and we're gonna give so much money to OTE? Put it in the box we have for the building of the church."
I put it in the box. But my thoughts kept telling me: It seems like OTE granted him a line of communication or someone else is paying for it.
"Lift me up. Give me my shoes to put on and tie them."
He then took his cane and said to me: "Let's go."
I was surprised. As I held him I thought: Where are we going? We walked out of the balcony door and headed for the new building which was still a worksite. We went up some stairs and he showed me the new cells. He showed me the lightweight concrete that was being put as insulating material.
We then went up to a cell that had a built-in-bed where from the window was a view of the sea.
"Do you like it here?"
"Yes, it's very beautiful, ascetical."
"I love the ascetics very much. This is why my mind is constantly at Kavsokalyva, but they don't let me go. One day I will go and stay there."
We returned to the balcony door and I waited for him to want to lie down and rest. He proceeded however towards the entrance of the cell and said to me:
"Now we will go to the old cells that are empty."
Outside at the corridor many people were waiting and they thought I was in his cell with him all this time. They were waiting for me to leave that they may come in. When they saw the Elder standing in the corridor, they lost it. For some of them it was the first time seeing the Elder standing up. They were shocked and ran to receive his blessing. We proceeded forward and went up to the second floor. The doors of the cells were shut.
"In this cell they have incense."
I thought: Perhaps he smelled it. He read my thoughts and saw my lack of faith.
"Here they spread out washed wheat to grind it for prosphora."
Again my thoughts told me: Well, wet wheat also has a certain smell."
The Elder caught my thoughts again and said about the third cell:
"Here the toilet tank has rusted because we don't pull on it to flush. Go pour a little water inside."
Indeed, I opened the door and when I pulled on the toilet tank, the water came out rusted. So I thought: Rust doesn't smell.
As we returned I heard him answer a telephone call from someone.
"Hello, Go ahead! Yes, yes, do it like that...."
He was giving advice to someone. But there was no telephone in his hands. It was just the two of us. I was motionless. How is he talking to someone without a telephone? I asked myself.
"Alright, hang up now, and come by some day so we can see you."
He then said to me:
"See, foolish one. He had need of asking me something. He was calling me downstairs in my cell, but since I wasn't there, I answered it here."
Then I woke up. Then I understood that the Elder was not talking to me through OTE. He talked to me in a spiritual manner, which is why he told me to put the money in the box for the building of the church.
"Come on, let's go now."
Source: From the book Μαθητεία στον Άγιο Πορφύριο, έκδοση “Η Μεταμόρφωσις του Σωτήρος”, Μήλεσι, 2017. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.