Welcome to our blog! Today, we embark on a profound exploration into a divine calling—a captivating story of a Muslim’s journey into the embrace of the Orthodox Christian faith. Join us as we unravel the spiritual tapestry of this conversion, delving into the transformative moments and universal themes that accompany such a sacred transition. Stay with us to witness the power of God’s call and the beauty that unfolds when faith bridges diverse paths. Let’s dive into this enlightening narrative together!
He was born in 1926 on an island in the southern Aegean. He spent his entire childhood playing with Christian children, even though he himself was a Muslim. On the eve of Christian holidays, together with children from the village, he sang holiday songs and played his flute. The house he lived in was an ordinary barn. In it, on the night before Christmas, after Christmas Day, after he had gone to sleep, he felt a door open and Christ appeared in front of him. He had a white chiton, his face was smiling, and he said to him: “I came for you, you are my child,” and he disappeared. The same thing happened the next two nights.
The boy was then about thirteen years old. He found himself in doubt, whether to tell someone or not, and to whom. After thinking about it, he decided to tell that to the village headman, a venerable old man, Nikola. He went to his house, told him the whole incident and immediately asked to be baptized. The elder answered him smiling: “My child, have you thought it through”? The boy answered him: “Yes, I have thought about it, I want you to baptize me.”
The elder then explained to him that it was not simple, because he was a minor and his parents could object. In the end, he said to him: “If, my child, Christ has enlightened you so much and you really want it, be patient until you reach adulthood.” Then ask and you will receive.”
He worked mainly on boats that at that time had oars and sails. Then they often went to the opposite shores, especially to the bay east of the island of Ko. Once, while they were approaching the island full of fish from the bay, there were three of them in that boat, suddenly a strong storm started. The boat was sinking and he was trying to get the water out with a tin container. While he was throwing out the water, they suddenly saw an icon of St. Nicholas in the bowl. Immediately a voice inside him said to him: “Don’t throw me away!”. He took the icon, raised it high and said: “Holy Father Nicholas, save us, and if the time comes for me to be baptized, I will take your name.” Shortly afterwards they found themselves on one of the shores of the island of Ko.
Later he went to Asia Minor. He worked in a weaving mill for a while. On one occasion, he visited Smyrna and Cesme with other compatriots. He liked it there and stayed to make tobacco. In the evening, he fell asleep in a warehouse, which, however, used to be the Church of Christ. The other two, a brother and sister, Muslims, could not calm down until they decided to leave the church and go to sleep in the field. So he was left alone in the dark.
After taking a short nap, he opened his eyes and saw a light coming from the altar. He looked outside, it was dark, but the temple was shining. The next night the same thing happened. On the third night, along with the light, he also heard a voice: “Don’t forget your promise.” You are my child”. After this he thought about how to become a Christian in Turkey. When it dawned, he saw that the voice was coming from an engraved marble icon of the Lord, which was the only one left, built above the altar. On the same day, after an hour or two, an order was issued for all refugees to return to their homelands. The year was 1945. So he returned to Ko thinking to himself how he would be able to be baptized now. Until then, he had not said anything to any of his own.
Those islands were occupied by the English after the Italian occupation. He worked in the English gendarmerie until the liberation in 1947. Later, in 1949-1950, on the day when Muslims celebrated Eid, his mother said to him: “Get up and go down.” You became like a Christian”. Then he took advantage of the occasion and answered: “I am not a Christian, but I will become one when I am baptized, anointed and receive Holy Communion.” That same evening, he sees in a dream how the roof of his house is revealed, three Angels come down to his room and tell him that they want to take him with them. He asked them if he could fly with them, and then they saw that he began to fly with the Angels all the way to the shore. First, the front Angel, then the right and then the left, plunged him into the sea one at a time, and they all returned home.
In the morning he realized that the time had already come for him to be baptized. He went down to the port, he found an acquaintance of the sailor, and after he told him his intention, he took him as an assistant on his ship and they arrived at Kalymnos, in Metropolis. Then he went to the monastery of Saint John the Theologian on Patmos, looking for the elder Amphilochios Makris. Together with him came Nicholas Nikolaidis, who later became his godfather.
After the first meeting with Fr. Amfilochios and Fr. Meletius, it was determined that the baptism should be in the holy Cave of Revelation.
And indeed, the next morning the baptism was performed by Fr. Jeremiah in the holy Cave, and he was named Nicholas. When he returned to the monastery of St. John, he went to worship the holy relics of Venerable Christodulus, which were fragrant, while the previous day, before baptism, he did not feel anything when he worshiped them…and now he did. After they took the blessing from Fr. Amfilochios, Fr. Meletios and Fr. Jeremiah, they returned to Kalymnos.
He stayed there in the house of Fr. Kyrillos, where the following happened to him on the third night after his baptism: young Nicholas was still wearing the chiton from his baptism and went to sleep in a room used by Fr. Kyrillos for icon painting, by the sea. The door to the room facing the sea was slightly open. Suddenly he heard his mother’s voice, he opened his eyes and said to her in Turkish:
Mother, where did you come from, what do you want?” And she answered him: “I came to take you with me.”
“Mother, I am now baptized and anointed, leave, I cannot go with you,” Nikola tells her. However, she said to him in a strong voice: “Get up, you are coming with me”, jumped on him and grabbed his shoulders to lift him up. He pushed her away shouting:
“Mother, don’t dirty me”, and his eyes fell on an icon of Christ. Then he cried out, crossing himself: “Christ, save me.” She then got up and said to him: “You have defeated me”, and going out the door jumped into the sea, splashing even the door. However, while the mother was leaving, they saw an animal’s tail behind her, and when she was lost in the sea, he realized that it was not his mother.
In the morning, Fr. Kyrillos, who heard shouts during the night, asked and found out what happened. Then he said to him: “Don’t worry, Nikola, my child.” It was the devil, he came to tempt you.” The newly enlightened Nicholas stayed for a while on Kalymnos, where he got married, and later returned to the island of Kos.
Nicholas had many divine interventions in his life, and protection from divine grace. With simplicity and faith in difficult moments of life, he asked for help from God and received it.
The following happened to him on Ko: It was Great Tuesday, there had been a storm in the previous days, and Nicholas, who was engaged in weaving baskets but also using dynamite for fishing, came into a difficult economic situation. He could not even buy an Easter lamb, and in agony he tried to catch at least some fish to celebrate Easter. Ever since the evening he prayed to God: “My Christ, I have no one else to whom I can tell my suffering, only You will help me, my Christ”, and then he fell asleep.
Then he saw that he was in a bushy area and some Light was coming towards him. Christ appeared in a chiton and with a crown of thorns, while blood dripped from his face. Nicholas runs towards him ready to fall down to worship him, and Christ blesses him. He fell to his knees, crossed himself and said: “My Christ, help me to catch some fish to celebrate Easter”, and then he heard Christ say to him in a sweet voice: “Go, my child, to Kythira”, and he disappeared. Suddenly he felt his wife wake him up saying, “What’s going on?” You slept and crossed yourself?” “I don’t know, it was a dream,” he answers her, without explaining anything.
On Holy Wednesday in the morning, he took two dynamite and, in heavy rain, set off to the place the Lord had indicated to him, more than an hour’s drive away. During the journey, he crossed himself: “My Christ, I am coming, help me.” About 200 meters before reaching Kythira, he sees three fish spawning.
Nicholas rushed there exclaiming: “Thank you, my Christ”, threw two dynamite and the sea was filled with fish. He continued to thank the Lord by filling the only sack he had, and with the help of two beasts of burden they gave him, he took the fish to the market and sold them.
Several years later, the following happened: His father was seriously ill in the hospital on Kos island, and according to the doctor, he was dying. Nicholas worriedly going down the stairs looked at the icon of Saint Panteleimon, stopped and asked him from the bottom of his heart: “Saint Panteleimon, give him another two or three years of life.” The next day early in the morning, before going to work, and at that time he was working in the Municipality, he went to the hospital and saw his father sitting and said to him: “Thank you, son, for sending the doctor.” A young doctor came and asked me:
– How are you?
– I’m not well, I told him. Then he reached for my head and said to me:
– Open your mouth wide and stick your tongue out. He immediately touched it and said to me:
– There is nothing, everything is fine. Leaving he said to me:
– Your son Nichola sent me to examine you. I felt better very quickly.”
Nikola realized that it was the Saint and asked him: “Would you know him if you saw him?”. He brought the icon of Saint Panteleimon to his father, and he recognized the doctor in the face of Saint Panteleimon.
From the book “Ascetics in the World”, Mount Athos 2008, p. 351-358.