During the beginning of the year
nine hundred AD (tenth century) when the Byzantine Empire was at the height of
its development, the Saracen pirates were also at the height of their activity
in the Mediterranean. They would attack
the islands of the Aegean including Monasteries. They would plunder, burn, murder and take
hostage many of the inhabitants of the islands and the Monasteries. These hostages would end up in the slave
markets of the Middle East.
The story of the Monastery that is
to follow happened on the island of Lesvos
in the eleventh century. We learn
of the history of these islands from the local traditions which have been
handed down to us from generation to generation. The Monastery of the Archangel Michael was
built like a fortress with high thick walls and a tower. The pirates had taken notice of this
particular Monastery and they were determined to attack it. This particular attack took place during the
springtime when the monks were preparing the Monastery buildings for Holy Week
and Easter. The leader of the pirates
that wanted to attack this particular Monastery is called Sirhan. He was a giant of a man. He always looked fierce and angry. He gathered his men together and said to
them: “This time we will enter the Monastery.
The only thing that I want from the Monastery is the gold cup with which
the monks use for the Divine Liturgy.
You may have everything else that you find there.” Sirhan was armed with an ax and a sword. They set sail for Lesvos. They arrived at the Monastery about midnight
and hid amongst the trees surrounding the Monastery.
As we said previously, the monks had
been white-washing the buildings of the Monastery in preparation for the Easter
Holidays. The monks felt secure
because of the quietness of the winter and they did not assign a lookout to
protect their Monastery from the marauding pirates. At one point during the night, the simantron,
was sounded in order to call the monks to prayer. The simantron is a long carved piece of wood
that is struck with a mallet. Tradition
tells us that this is what Noah used to call the animals to his Ark. One could hear the footsteps of the monks as
they hurried on the wooden verandah as they came down to the Church. In a little while everything was quiet. At that very moment the leader of the pirates
gave the signal. One of the pirates
threw a hooked rope over the Monastery wall.
He climbed over the wall, jumped down into the courtyard and he
proceeded to unlock the large main door of the Monastery. The pirates entered
the Church while crying Ala Akbar.
Before the monks could come to their senses from the sudden attack, they
were quickly put to death.
A novice monk, Gabriel, was in the
altar with the abbot. He quickly exited
the altar through a window and ended up on the roof of the Church. The pirates saw the young novice exit the
altar through the window. They followed
him up onto the roof. Almost immediately
a load noise was heard. The roof of the
Church appeared to be transformed into a ragging ocean. Above the foaming waves appeared a huge and
angry Soldier. He was holding a sword
that was giving off tongues of fire. He
lunged at the pirates. The pirates fled
for their lives as they abandoned their weapons, the stolen items and fled in
panic. The novice Gabriel was the only
one that remained alive from the attack.
He was overwhelmed by the appearance of the Archangel Michael. When he came to his senses, he quickly ran
down into the Church to see if any of his fellow monks had survived the attack.
When he ascertained that they were all dead, he went up to the icon of the
Archangel Michael and asked: “What kind of a face was that that I saw on the
roof of the Church? “My beloved Archangel Michael intercede and pray to the
Lord that He will grant repose to the souls of my brother monks, also inspire
me to form the beauty of your face the
way that I saw you on the roof of the Church.”
Suddenly, as if enlightened by the Archangel, he sought out a sponge and
an earthen vessel. He knelt reverently
next to each of his brother monks and sponged up their martyred blood and
filled the container with it. He then
went outside of the Church and mixed the blood with some white sand. He took the mixture and immediately began the
task of shaping the face of the Archangel that he saw on the roof of the
Church. From the very beginning of this
endeavor, he felt the very physical presence and help of the Archangel. His hands felt as if they were being directed
by an invisible force. He quickly formed
the face of the Archangel. It was the
same angry face that also had a divine countenance.
As this drama was being played out
at the Monastery of the Archangel Michael, the people who lived nearby were
unaware of the horror that was taking place.
But there was a shepherd boy that night that could see the ocean from
high on a hill. He suddenly saw pirate
ships near the shore. He mounted his
horse and proceeded toward the Monastery in an effort to warn the monks. When he arrived at the Monastery the scene
that he found there caused him to faint.
When he came to his senses, he proceeded to inform Alexi, the village
leader of Stenaka, what happened at the Monastery. Alexi immediately left for the Monastery
accompanied by fifty others on horseback.
When he entered the Church he could not believe what he saw. He found the slaughtered monks. They were bathed in blood. The abbot was found dead in front of the
altar table. He clinched his teeth as he
went into the courtyard desiring very much to avenge the killings. The men mounted their horses and followed the
trail of the pirates. They approached a
high point on the trail. They stopped
suddenly. The scene they saw before them
made them shudder. They saw those whom
they had been chasing dead and scattered all over the hill. They had been
killed by one thrust of a sword. The
thrust of the sword went from the forehead all the way down to the belly. Their bodies had been literally cut in
two. The cut of the sword was exactly
the same on each of the pirates. They
all believed it was divine retribution meted out by the Archangel.
In the meantime, two pirates who had been
waiting on the shore for their fellow pirates to return from the Monastery
began to worry about their delayed return.
They decided to climb up the hill and look for their brother
pirates. When they reached the hill and
saw the dead pirates they immediately returned to their ships. Their leader was also waiting for them to
return. They informed him about the
tragedy that had befallen their fellow pirates.
As soon as he heard the news, he hit the table with his hand and pledged
to someday seek revenge. This revenge
came the following year when he put a plan together to capture the village of
Stenaka. A year later the pirates disembarked
quietly on the coast and prepared themselves to attack the city at
sunrise. They believed that the
residents were sleeping without being aware of the impending attack.
During this very crucial moment for
the city of Stenaka, the Archangel Michael intervened again. Stephen, the son of the mayor Alexi, who had
just prepared to retire for the night, suddenly saw before him the Archangel
Michael. He was very striking in his
silver attire. His blond hair fell upon
his shoulders and the reflection of his silver clothing shined upon his
wings. He held a fiery sword in his
right hand. His left hand was lifted up
and outstretched. He smiled at the young
man and with a sweet voice said: “Get up Stephen. Go immediately with your father to prepare for
the defense of the city. The Saracens
are coming to obliterate you. Do not be
afraid! I and your patron Saint will be
at your side. We will protect you and we
will direct you. The pirates have
anchored their ships down below where your city is. A few of them will attack the castle first so
that you will think they are not attacking the city. They will then unlock the doors to the
castle. Then they will attack you at sunset. You should be prepared
to defend the city.”
Everything unfolded just as the
Archangel had said it would. When the
pirates attacked they found the defenders at the ramparts of the city. At that very moment, a group led by Stephen,
who had quietly gone down the embankment to the shore, set fire to the pirate
ships. The pirates saw the light from
the fires; they panicked and ran for their lives. The panic that followed is beyond
description. As they were running toward
the ocean the defenders of Stenaka pursued them on horseback and the pirates
were decimated. One group of pirates led
by Sirhan, managed to escape the attack and attempted to hide themselves in the
wooded area. But the group of defenders
from the city that set fire to the ships encircled and annihilated them.
Since that time many centuries have
intervened. The Monastery was eventually
destroyed by the constant attacks of pirates.
In the eighteenth century an old small Church was replaced with a new
and larger one. But the bust of the
Archangel Michael has been preserved there since the eleventh century. It is the very same one that was created by
the novice monk Gabriel. It continues to
have the same life-like features. It has
been unscathed over the centuries in spite of the fact that thousands upon
thousands of pilgrims reverence it by kissing it. Some of the faithful try to
take chips from the bust. These of
course leave marks on the face. But
miraculously these marks quickly heal themselves. You must remember that the bust has been
created from the mixture of human blood and fine sand. Also remember this is not ordinary human
blood it is the blood of martyrs. Every now and then the eyes of the Archangel
become filled with tears. The faithful
gather up these tears with cotton balls. To this very day astounding miracles
are performed for those who hasten to the shrine with faith.
Translated
from the Greek by:
+Fr. Costas
J. Simones, May 16, 2014, Waterford, CT, USA
I and my wife
have visited the shrine of the Archangel and it is truly awe-inspiring to see
it up close.
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