Father Metrophanes reports:

Father Metrophanes reports: “One of our Chilandarians went to Jerusalem in 1992 and found himself at the patriarchate at the same time that a busload of Serbian pilgrims arrived. They were happy to see him as a Serbian Athonite - he was happy too. They said many things. In the conversation, the monk told them, among other things:

“Only that which we give to others is ours.” Among the company was an elderly woman, who was tired from the journey and was sitting aside. She heard these words and could not be quiet. She was very rich. She lived in Belgrade.  Her son lived in France and her daughter in Vienna. She and her husband were very well-off before the war. In fact, they spent the large sums of money they earned in other countries. After the Holy Lands, she returned to Belgrade and sent to Chilandari —by order of the Dresdner Bank in Frankfurt— 100,000 marks in September, 100,000 in October and 100,000 in November. 300,000 marks. We covered a 1,700 sq.m. roof of the Monastery, which was leaking, we built a kitchen when we began a communal life.  All this, from these words: "Only that which we give to others is ours". If her children did not understand her, she would have given others. However, they did understand her and stopped her, because they could not understand why she was giving these things... This woman had something very positive inside her, but no one had "opened" it until then to make it externalize. You see, these words unlocked her heart"

Bibliography. Archimandrite Ioannis Kostof. A day in paradise with a Diachronic calendar. Holy Monastery of Saint John of Damascus Publications. Oropos Attica 2025.