Opinion
The elderly survivors who are still with us today testify that Our Lady Chrysolysiotissa, the miraculous Virgin Mary of Lysi, saved every single soldier on the battlefields of 1974 and protected the women and children fleeing what is now occupied Lysi. The tragic and wondrous stories of the people of Lysi are endless. They endured immense suffering but survived in ways that can only be called miraculous. Many believe they were saved by the prayers of holy people from Lysi who intercede for the children of their town and for children all over the world.
Journalist Panikos Petsas experienced his own miracle in the Pentadaktylos mountains. He recorded it in his gripping book, which you read in a single breath: "The Bullet Spared to Me: The Chronicle of the Heroic Battles at Aetofolia and Kotza Kaya of Pentadaktylos in 1974 Through My Personal Testimony." The book was presented a few days ago at the Events Hall of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation. Everyone there was deeply shaken by Panikos's intense emotion, as he even broke down in tears while speaking about his experiences. The title of the book is no accident, considering his friends and comrades were dying and getting wounded right next to him. By chance or by miracle, the bullet was spared to one soldier and not to another. Many soldiers lived through similar extraordinary moments. Some were wounded and saved, others were captured and survived, some hid but were killed, some could not take it anymore and surrendered, and others put their faith in the Virgin Mary to escape captivity by walking right through the invading hordes.
Distinguished speakers also brought out the underlying truth of Panikos Petsas's book by taking a scholarly approach to the work. Doctors Angelos Chrysostomou, Sotiroula Vasiliou, and Kyriakos Ioannou all shared their analysis. The heavy silence of memory was brought to the forefront by the Mayor of Lysi, Andreas Kaouris, the Lysi-born AKEL member of parliament Nikos Kettiros, and the master of ceremonies Giannakis Souroullas. The presentation balanced the heroic path of the 231st Infantry Battalion with the sheer agony and martyrdom of war. It contrasted the feats of superhuman soldiers who kept fighting like lions even after being wounded against the raw fear of death and the sight of fallen comrades. Archbishop Georgios, members of parliament, war veterans, and a large crowd of people from Lysi all attended, mentally reliving the harrowing journey and the miracle of Panikos Petsas. In the madness of war, everything comes to light. Both hell and miracles exist side by side.
The eternal question of why war happens always remains unanswered. Why did I make it out alive when my friend was killed? Why was I safely in the trench at that exact moment while my fellow soldier raised his head and got hit? Why was I captured and tortured while my buddy managed to slip away and escape? Why were we tortured and assaulted while other women got away? Why did we lose our homes and everything we owned while others grew rich from the refugee crisis? These endless questions have tormented every surviving soldier, every prisoner of war, and every refugee from 1974 down to the present day.
Only God and the saints can offer an answer to the endless questions of war and human suffering. Only those who look for a redeeming truth through prayer and fasting can take the next step to find meaning and joy in life. Holy people say that asking why is a trap because it simply destroys souls and bodies. It keeps people stuck in the past, strips away the joy of the present, and poisons the future. Along the same lines, psychologists and psychiatrists talk about the stages of grief that eventually lead to an end, whether that end is peace or the breaking point of a suffering person.
The bullet was spared to Panikos Petsas, but it was not spared to his brothers in arms. God alone knows the real reasons, and anyone who wants to understand must pray. Many people who were heartbroken and furious, even at God, turned to prayer and found answers to life's unanswerable questions. Everything begins and ends with the absolute certainty that God loves humanity passionately. Whether a bullet hits its target or misses, there is a reason for it in God's plan. Everything happens for the good, and solely for the good of mankind. When a person simply surrenders voluntarily to the omnipotence and abundant mercy of God, everything else becomes very, very easy.
