A St. Sophrony Story
St. Sophrony of Essex is a newly canonized saint in the Orthodox Church, and I just happened to hear a beautiful account of a miracle he worked from the mouth of the recipient himself. This past weekend, my family and I had the pleasure of traveling down to Washington D.C. to attend the episcopal ordination of His Grace Alexis, Bishop of Bethesda (for the OCA). Because of that event, I was able to meet some incredible new people, and hear this wonderful story about St. Sophrony. Now, this whole story was related to me by a Greek man, who struggled to relate this story in English. So, I will do my best to gloss my understanding of the story into English.
"I was driving from the northern part of Greece down to Athens, and that is a very long drive. I was driving on the high-speed highway, when all the sudden, I was hit with vertigo. The road was moving all around; the world was spinning; I had no idea how to drive the car or what to do with the steering wheel.
"My first thought was a prayer to my beloved Elder Sophrony. 'O Father Sophrony! I do not know what to do. Please help me.' And instantly, I felt a hand firmly grab my forehead. Then, slowly, the hand gently slid back along my head, to the back. The vertigo was totally gone! My mysterious illness was healed.
"A couple hours later, the same thing happened: I was hit with vertigo. Everything was spinning. This time, I only said the word, 'Father...', and instantly it was gone! I did not want to doubt my healing, but I considered stopping. It was the middle of nowhere, and I felt fine now, so I figured it did not make sense to stop here. So, I continued.
"An hour or two later, it happened a third time. I called out to St. Sophrony a third time, and he healed me again. I made it to Athens. I went to a doctor and asked him what to do about the vertigo. He told me that the treatment would normally take months, and especially since I did not have any sign of any problems now, there is nothing he can do. 'Go back to your saint and let him take care of you.'
"I have not had any problems in the years since. St. Sophrony is near to us. Call on him."
"I was driving from the northern part of Greece down to Athens, and that is a very long drive. I was driving on the high-speed highway, when all the sudden, I was hit with vertigo. The road was moving all around; the world was spinning; I had no idea how to drive the car or what to do with the steering wheel.
"My first thought was a prayer to my beloved Elder Sophrony. 'O Father Sophrony! I do not know what to do. Please help me.' And instantly, I felt a hand firmly grab my forehead. Then, slowly, the hand gently slid back along my head, to the back. The vertigo was totally gone! My mysterious illness was healed.
"A couple hours later, the same thing happened: I was hit with vertigo. Everything was spinning. This time, I only said the word, 'Father...', and instantly it was gone! I did not want to doubt my healing, but I considered stopping. It was the middle of nowhere, and I felt fine now, so I figured it did not make sense to stop here. So, I continued.
"An hour or two later, it happened a third time. I called out to St. Sophrony a third time, and he healed me again. I made it to Athens. I went to a doctor and asked him what to do about the vertigo. He told me that the treatment would normally take months, and especially since I did not have any sign of any problems now, there is nothing he can do. 'Go back to your saint and let him take care of you.'
"I have not had any problems in the years since. St. Sophrony is near to us. Call on him."
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