Please turn ON English subtitle! - Vă rog să activați subtitrarea în românește!
In the southern part of the Island of Kefalonia, in the area of the village of Markopoulo, there is a nunnery dedicated to the Virgin Mary of Lagouvarda. Due to some miraculous occurrences that are repeated (almost) year after year, the monastery came to be known rather as the OUR LADY OF SNAKES (Panagia Fidousa, in Greek). To be fair, snakes are not very well seen in Christianity, but here is an exception. According to legend, centuries ago when pirates (Barbarosa, in 1705, according to some) attacked the monastery, the nuns prayed to the Mother of God to protect them. The nuns were transformed into snakes, at the sight of which the pirates were terrified and fled. Since then, every year in August, during the fast of the Assumption (August 1 - 15), small (about 60 cm long), harmless snakes appear, having a cross drawn on their heads (according to some, and on the tongue). Snakes appear especially after the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, and begin to crawl everywhere in the church and especially around the icon of the Mother of God. If people sit still, the snakes will climb on them too, which is considered a good sign. They are visible until the Feast of the Assumption on August 15, disappearing immediately back into the desert after the Holy Liturgy. Their appearance is a good sign of divinity, and their absence has been associated with great disasters. Thus, snakes were absent in 1940 when Italian troops occupied the island and in 1953 and 2014 when the island was hit by devastating earthquakes.
It should also be mentioned that only 3 km away, in the church of the neighboring village, Pastra, similar miracles take place every year. Thus, the faithful bring white lilies, especially in May when they bloom, and place them in front of the royal icon of the Mother of God. After a few days, although the lilies dry completely, they are left in the church. Miraculously, during the same period of the fast of the Assumption (August 1-15), the lilies come back to life and bloom for the second time, but keeping the lower part of the stems dry, which is why the church is known as the church of the Mother of God with Lilies.
3 окт 2024
