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Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Saint Porphyrios on Disregarding the Devil (audio recording)

Monday, November 30, 2020

November 29-30 is Romania's Halloween


 
Since 1989 some parts of Romania, especially the region of Transylvania, celebrates Halloween on October 31st mainly as a western import due to its association with Vlad Tepes, who is said to have been Bram Stoker's inspiration for Dracula, becoming more popular after 2007 when Romania joined the European Union. The equivalent of Halloween for traditional Romanians is really celebrated on November 29-30, which is a public holiday known as Saint Andrew's Day. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Romania who is known as the Apostle who brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to the land.

The superstitious believe that on Saint Andrew’s Eve, November 29th, the border between the physical world and the invisible world vanishes, ghosts and ghouls come to life, magic is more powerful and therefore a series of charms and rituals must be performed to protect the household, animals, and people. On this particular day the future can be revealed: girls who want to dream of their future husbands hide a little branch of basil under their pillow, peasants plant wheat seeds and pray it will sprout so that the next year will bring plentiful crops, animals and especially wolves are said to be given the gift of speech but whoever hears their secrets will be cursed, and the weather on Saint Andrew’s Day is a preview of the winter to come.

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

New Book in Russian: "Conversations with the Dead: Stories of Parish Priests" (2019)

 

 
Annotation to the book "Conversations with the Dead: Stories of Parish Priests" 
("Разговоры с мертвыми: Рассказы приходских священников")

People sometimes encounter mysterious phenomena that they cannot explain. The authors of this book are Orthodox priests, and they talk about miracles associated with visitors from another world.

The main task of this unusual book is to testify about the truth of the existence of God, about the Creator of the visible and invisible world, the Creator of disembodied forces, some of which are bright angels, and others are crafty demons.

In all these events, there is undoubtedly the Providence of God, which does not leave a person throughout his life.

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

How a Plague Led to a Miracle That Converted an Entire City to the Christian Faith

 

 
St. Basil the Great says that when St. Gregory the Wonderworker became Bishop of Neocaesarea in the third century, there were only 17 Christians to be found in the city, but by the time he died, there were only 17 pagans left. St. Gregory of Nyssa, in his Life of Gregory the Wonderworker, explains one reason the city converted en masse to Christ during St. Gregory the Wonderworker's time, with a narration of the following miracle below. It basically explains that during a pagan festival, such a large crowd entered the theater that they prayed to Zeus to grant them some room. Zeus, who was really a demon, heard their prayer and sent a plague against the people to empty the theater. The plague caused sufferers great thirst, to the point they felt like they were going to die. For those who came down with this plague, a phantom appeared beforehand in the temple as a sign their prayers to the demon were being answered. When the people asked St. Gregory the Wonderworker to enter the temple and expel the phantom, he did so and they were delivered from the plague.

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Ghosts and Hauntings Resource Page

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

St. Kosmas the Aitolos on Vampirism and the Devil

 

 
When we hear the word "devil", it is he who was once the first among angels; it is he who moves people to pride, to murder, to theft; it is he who enters into a dead person, causing him to appear living, and we call him a vrykolakas.*
 
    - St. Kosmas the Aitolos (First Teaching) 
 
* A vrykolakas is the Greek equivalent to the traditional vampire of European folklore, and was a commonly accepted reality among the Greek population of the 18th century, especially in rural areas. It should be noted that this word is falsely translated as "ghost" in English translations of this First Teaching of St. Kosmas.



Thursday, October 29, 2020

The Case of a Greek Orthodox Nun Who Experienced A Terrifying Poltergeist in 1933

 

 
One of the strangest mental phenomenas is the mysterious stoning of houses and the unexplained movement of objects, which usually are investigated by the Police, without being able to discover anything at all.

In the past decades, in Athens in particular, similar mysterious incidents had occurred many times, which had given rise to the President of the Society for Psychical Research, Angelos Tanagras, to intervene, for example in Kallithea, Piraeus and elsewhere.

However, despite all the simple explanations given by psychophysiologists, these phenomena, whenever they occurred, always worried people to the greatest extent, as was the case in 1933, with the strange phenomena that took place in a nun's house in Agia Barbara.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

"On Those Who Burn Vampires" (A Greek Orthodox Christian Manual from 1867)

 

 
In 1867 a popular 82 page manual for Greek Orthodox Priests was published to aid them in the administration of Holy Confession. This book was called Nomocanon: Various Prayers and Discourses (Νομοκανονικό. Εὐχὲς καὶ λόγοι διάφοροι), and it can be found in many old libraries of Greek monasteries and seminaries. On pages 67-69 there is advice on how a Priest ought to deal with those who burn vampires, with the section titled "On Those Who Burn Vampires" ("Περί των καιόντων τους Βουρκολάκους"). In Greek, a vampire is known as a "vrykolakas", though there are various spellings and pronunciations in Greek, and a Greek vampire may have certain characteristics not familiar to other vampires of folklore from other countries. For the author of this text, vampires were real. The issue was not that people believed in vampires; vampires obviously existed. The issue for spiritual fathers was how to deal with those who burned their undead bodies. Here is an excerpt from this chapter:

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

The 1933 Appearance of the Ghost of an Orthodox Priest Dressed in White in Thessaloniki

 

 
In the summer of 1933, the Depot district of Thessaloniki was in turmoil. After more than 35 years of rest and invisibility, the ghost of a Saint appeared, as some said, or a priest, as others claimed.

This strange story took place in the Depot district and specifically on Thermopylae Street, where a small hill was located. At the beginning of June, on Friday, at the time when the bells were ringing for Vespers, a ten-year-old boy, Takis Anagnostopoulos, was reading his lessons in front of the window of his house, which was directly opposite the hill, less than fifty meters away.

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Saint Gerasimos and the Woman Who Suffered from a Violent Demonic Possession

 
The Well of Saint Gerasimos

A short time after the repose of Saint Gerasimos in 1581, there came to his monastery a certain woman seeking to be cured of being tormented by an unclean spirit.  Daily she would go to the tomb of the Saint, fall before his relics, and fervently entreat him to deliver her from her oppression that tormented her by using violence.

One night, the spiteful demon, desiring only the destruction of the unfortunate woman, dragged her along the ground and cast her into the well which can found in the courtyard of the monastery. As this was being done, the nuns heard the voice of Saint Gerasimos say to them: "Come quickly, because the demonized woman is in extreme danger and needs help!"

Friday, October 16, 2020

Vasiliki Maliaros, the Greek Who Played a Pivotal Role in "The Exorcist"

 

 
"Dimmy, please Dimmy why you do this to me Dimmy?"

Anyone who has seen the horror film The Exorcist remembers well the face and especially the deeply Greek accented (even demonic) voice of Father Damien Karras' mother, but few know anything about her. Well, her name is Vasiliki Maliaros (Βασιλική Μαλλιαρού), and today would have been her birthday.

Vasiliki Maliaros was born on October 16, 1883 in Athens, Greece and emigrated with her family at a young age to New York City. Director William Friedkin "discovered" her in a Greek Bronx diner when she was 88 years old and invited her to play a pivotal role in his latest film which was to be released in 1973, The Exorcist, as Maria Karras. Friedkin had gone to many Greek diners before filming began looking for a woman who fit the Greek motherly role perfectly, and when he heard the voice of Vasiliki and saw her face, he knew she was perfect for the part. The only problem was, being in her late 80's, she had never acted before; of course, you wouldn't know it from watching her lovable yet sometimes creepy performance in the one and only film she ever made.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

When Saint Paisios the Athonite Spoke With the Rotten Corpse of a Tormented Old Woman

 

Saint Paisios related the following experience:

"I  knew  an  old  woman  who  was  very  stingy.  Her daughter was very good,  and  whatever  she  wanted  to  give  as  alms  she  would  throw  out  the window  so  she  could  leave  the  house  with  empty  hands,  because  her mother  would  always  check  to  see  if  she  was  taking  anything.  Then  she would  go  pick  up  whatever  it  was  and  give  it  away.  But  if  she  told  her mother  that  'the  monk'  (that  is,  me)  had  asked for something, then her mother would be willing to give it up.

After her death, I saw a young man (her guardian angel), and he said to me, 'Come, so-and-so wants you.'  I couldn’t understand what happened to me, but we were  standing in front of a grave in Konitsa. He moved his hand, like this, and the grave opened. Inside,  I  saw  a  grimy mess and the old woman, who had started to decay. She was calling out, 'Monk, save me.' My heart went out to her.

Friday, October 9, 2020

How Pious Christians Approach Stories of Evil Things of Wicked Persons

 

 
"For if history relates good things of good men, the attentive hearer is excited to imitate that which is good; or if it mentions evil things of wicked persons, nevertheless the religious and pious hearer or reader, shunning that which is hurtful and perverse, is the more earnestly excited to perform those things which he knows to be good, and worthy of God."

- Venerable Bede (Eccl. Hist., Bk. 1, Preface)


Tuesday, October 6, 2020

A Once Popular Icon of Fear and Mortality

 
 
In Russian iconography during the 17th and 18th century there was icon to remind Christians that they are mortal beings and taught them how they ought to direct their fear. It tells about the futility of human transitory hopes and efforts, about the inevitability of death. The hero is a man endowed with power and wealth. This plot was popular throughout the 19th century.
 
There are two plot variations. The hero of the first image is a merchant known as a mortal man who has spent many years and efforts to accumulate earthly riches, as depicted before him. But on his face there is sadness, anxiety and fear of death. The image of Death with a scythe behind him and a coffin beneath him reminds him of the impending punishment for the mortal sin of greed. Christ is above, the Judge of all.

Friday, October 2, 2020

The Incorrupt Right Arm of Saint Cyprian in his Church in Bucharest and Some of It's Terrifying Tales


In the Zlatari Church, or Church of Saint Cyprian, of Bucharest, Romania is a wonderworking relic that faithful Christians flock to in order to be delivered from curses and spells - the right arm of Saint Cyprian of Antioch, a former magician of the third century who converted to Christianity and became a Christian Bishop.
 
The church itself, a Romanian historic monument known as “a church of miracles” due to the alleged powers of Saint Cyprian’s arm, got its name from the goldsmiths, or “zlătari,” who lived in the neighborhood and built the original wooden church in the 17th century. It was rebuilt in 1850, after nearly being destroyed by earthquakes earlier in the 1800s, and is known for the beautiful frescoes by Gheorghe Tattarescu that decorate the walls and the door.
 

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

The Frightening Vision of Saint Anthony the Great

The Vision of Anthony, 16th cent. Russian miniature

When [Anthony] once had a discussion with certain men who had come to him concerning the state of the soul and of what nature its place will be after this life, the following night one from above called him, saying, "Anthony, rise, go out and look." Having gone out therefore (for he knew whom he ought to obey) looking up, he beheld one standing and reaching to the clouds, tall, hideous, and fearful, and others ascending as though they were winged. And the figure stretched forth his hands, and some of those who were ascending were stayed by him, while others flew above, and having escaped heaven-ward, were borne aloft free from care. At such, therefore, the giant gnashed his teeth, but rejoiced over those who fell back. And immediately a voice came to Anthony, "Do you understand what you see?" And his understanding was opened, and he understood that it was the passing of souls, and that the tall being who stood was the enemy who envies the faithful. And those whom he caught and stopped from passing through are accountable to him, while those whom he was unable to hold as they passed upwards had not been subservient to him. So having seen this, and as it were being reminded, he struggled the more daily to advance towards those things which were before. 

From the Life of Anthony by St. Athanasius the Great, Ch. 66.


Monday, September 21, 2020

The Secret-Eater Monk


Painting: "The Secret-Eater Monk"
 
Location: Dochiariou Monastery, Mount Athos
 
About: The painting "The Secret-Eater Monk" hangs in the Archondariki (Guest House) of Dochiariou Monastery on Mount Athos as a warning of inappropriate eating habits. This is a modern painting based on a miracle that happened on Mount Athos in one of the monasteries. One of the monks who worked in the kitchen stole some food and secretly ate it in his cell in the evening. One day after Great Vespers, when everyone was going for supper, in the presence of many brethren, the earth opened and a serpent emerged from the earth, consuming the soul of the careless monk.   

Friday, September 4, 2020

Demons Fear the Power of Holy Relics - The Case of St. Babylas


By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

A saint's power after his death is often many times greater than in life. "That is why God left us the relics of the saints," says St. John Chrysostom in his unsurpassable homily on St. Babylas (Sept. 4).

St. Babylas was buried in the city of Antioch. At that time, Emperor Gallus - the brother of Julian the Apostate - was reigning together with Constantius, the son of Constantine the Great. Inspired by piety, Gallus translated the relics of St. Babylas to the outskirts of Daphne and built a small church, placing the relics of the martyr in it.

Thursday, August 27, 2020

The Woman Who Was Demon Possessed in a Greek Village for Eight Years


The following miracle was witnessed by many. It took place before the wonderworking Panagia Prousiotissa Icon on Friday the 24th of August in the year 1928, at six o'clock in the evening. A 38 year old woman, Katherine Niphoropoulos, from the village of Riolo Achaia in the province of Patras, had been suffering from demonic possession for eight years. After visiting one physician after another and finding no cure for what afflicted her, her family and acquaintances had her then begin to make pilgrimages to many monasteries as a last refuge and hope. Finally she arrived at the Monastery of Prousos in Karpenisi.

At Prousos Monastery, Katherine's family and acquaintances requested that the priest, Father Cyril, read the exorcism prayers over her before the wonderworking icon of Panagia Prousiotissa. As he proceeded, Katherine cried out with a loud and mighty voice, though she was unaware of what she was saying: "O Virgin, I swear, I am going!" She repeated this over and over again. Katherine, meanwhile, was lying down on the stairs while the priest continued to read the prayers over her. At one point her head slipped from the step. She would open her mouth from time to time. Her eyes appeared cloudy and perplexed. Her arms were outstretched as though crucified. Katherine then gazed toward the holy icons. She stopped breathing. It appeared she was about to die. Then she closed her eyes as if she indeed died.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Saint Joseph the Hesychast and the Confession of Demons

Elders Joseph the Hesychast and Ephraim of Arizona

By Elder Ephraim of Arizona

Even the demons know quite well who Elder Joseph was. When exorcisms were being read over a possessed woman in Thessalonica, she began shouting: “That Joseph! He went to Philotheou. He’s protecting Philotheou Monastery, and I can’t do anything to them!” Everyone who heard this wondered how she knew about Elder Joseph and that his skull was at Philotheou. She herself, of course, didn’t know this, but the demon inside her did.

In 1982 Father Stephanos Anagnostopoulos in Athens was reading the exorcism prayers for a different possessed woman. He described what happened as follows:

Thursday, July 30, 2020

How Does the Devil Perceive our Prayers Yet Cannot Read our Thoughts?


By Lay Preacher Demetrios Panagopoulos (+ 1982)

A young monk had a question:

"How does Satan perceive someone's noetic prayer and turns away from them, but he does not have the power to know the thoughts they may have within them?"

That night, a certain female Saint appeared to him while he was sleeping, and she said to him:

"Niko (this was his name), you question how Satan perceives someone is praying noetically, while it is God alone who knows the thoughts of someone?

Listen:

Like the stove, which burns wood internally and we do not see the fire, but the heat tells us that the stove contains fire, so Satan may not see your prayer, but because he burns when he approaches you, he realizes that you are united with God, through prayer."



Wednesday, July 22, 2020

The Creepiest Scene in Jesus Film History


The King of Kings

(1927)

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille

Despite the odor of sanctity around the set and production, DeMille began his Jesus-epic with a thoroughly extra-biblical episode at the lavish pleasure palace of the high-living and scantily-clad Mary Magdalene, played by the beautiful Jacqueline Logan. When Mary Magdalene discovers that one of her lovers, Judas Iscariot, has forsaken her to follow a certain preacher from Nazareth, she leaves the party-in-progress, hops on her chariot, and rides off to gain him back. When she finally meets Jesus, there follows one of the most dramatic and frightening and in my opinion greatest scenes in Jesus-film history. The scene depicts the seven ghostly deadly sins reluctantly being exorcised from her body, by the use of simple double exposures. Up to this point, this is the high point in the film. After this dramatic and unusual opening, with its sexual lustiness, which DeMille knew would draw people into the story, the film begins its conventional and reverential treatment of the incidents of Jesus' life.

Friday, July 17, 2020

Thoughts on Watchfulness and Vigilance After Watching "A Nightmare on Elm Street"


I was at my local drive-in theater a few days ago watching the 1984 original A Nightmare on Elm Street, which I've seen at least a dozen times over the years, though this was my first time outdoors in the woods. For those who don't know, the movie centers around the spirit of Freddy Krueger, who in life was a serial killer that targeted children, and who now uses a gloved hand with razors to kill his victims in their dreams, causing their deaths in the real world as well. The more I see this film, the more I see Orthodox Christian themes of watchfulness and vigilance that one often encounters in its literature.

Sunday, July 12, 2020

St. John Chrysostom on Whether Disembodied Souls Wander the Earth


By St. John Chrysostom

(From Homily 28 "On Matthew))

Nor indeed is it possible for a soul, torn away from the body, to wander here any more. For "the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God" (Wisdom 3:1); and if of the righteous, then children's souls also; for neither are they wicked. And the souls too of sinners are straightway led away hence. And it is evident from Lazarus and the rich man; and elsewhere too Christ says, "This day they require your soul of you" (Luke 12:20). And it may not be that a soul, when it is gone forth from the body, should wander here; nor is the reason hard to see. For if we, going about on the earth which is familiar and well known to us, being encompassed with a body, when we are journeying in a strange road, know not which way to go unless we have some one to lead us; how should the soul, being rent away from the body, and having gone out from all her accustomed region, know where to walk without one to show her the way?

Thursday, June 25, 2020

The Confession of a Demon During an Exorcism Regarding Saint Kallinikos of Edessa

St. Kallinikos of Edessa

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

What I will describe next is authentic, because it is revealed by a serious and central figure of this event.

The late Kallinikos greatly loved Archimandrite Iakovos Pachis, preacher of the Metropolis of Arta. He knew him and appreciated him, when Metropolitan Ignatios of Arta was the locum-tenens of the Holy Metropolis of Aitolia and Acarnania. Many times he tried to get Fr. Iakovos elected as Metropolitan. But his desire was not fulfilled as long as he lived. Eventually, Fr. Iakovos became Metropolitan of Argolis one year after the repose of Kallinikos (in 1984). He himself did not seek such a thing, so he did not know who helped him to be elected.

An important incident is narrated in writing by Protopresbyter Demetrios Kostopoulos, priest of the Church of Saint Basil in Argos, who was an eyewitness:

"On the Sunday of Pentecost in 1986, after the Divine Liturgy, I was with our late Metropolitan Iakovos at the Holy Monastery of Saint Marina, which is on the hill Larissa (Castle) of Argos.

The purpose - at the request of their family - was for the Metropolitan to 'read' exorcism prayers over their two daughters, who were 17 and 18 years old, who had been tortured by demons for years.

During the 'reading' the demons were vicious against the Metropolitan, and at one point said to him: 'Twice I tried to kill you, but you were saved by your Lady (the Panagia) and that toothless elder of yours (Fr. Athanasios Hamakiotis)!'

After a little while, suddenly, the two demons began to scream in terror: 'Go away, Kallinikos, you're burning us, you're twisting us, leave us alone, go away...!'

Surprised, I asked the Metropolitan: 'Which Kallinikos are they seeing, Your Eminence, that is burning them?'

'Of Edessa,' he replied.

'And how did he get here, Your Eminence?' I asked.

'I invoked him mentally,' he answered.

The Metropolitan then asked the demons: 'Do you know Kallinikos?'

'Yes,' said one of them, 'he had removed me years ago from a young man in Agrinio.'

'Ahh,' whispered the Metropolitan, 'that explains the matter.'

'What matter, Your Eminence?' I asked him.

'I'll tell you as soon as we're done,' he replied.

When the exorcism was completed, our late Metropolitan narrated how the late Metropolitan Kallinikos of Edessa, when he was a preacher of the Holy Metropolis of Aitolia and Acarnania, had mentioned in one of their discussions that two clergymen in Agrinio (he did not reveal their names), were called to pray for a young demon possessed man. After reading the exorcisms, one of them left. The other, sympathizing with the tortured young man, stayed with him almost all night praying and finally the demon left!

The two young demon possessed girls - as our late Metropolitan had told us a few months later - were released from the demons at the tomb of Fr. Athanasios Hamakiotis, where they had gone to venerate at the suggestion of the Metropolitan." (Argos, April 25, 2013.)

Metr. Iakovos of Argolis

Metropolitan Iakovos of Argolis many times told me about this incident. In fact, he told me when many people accompanied me on a visit to Nafplio. In addition to what Fr. Demetrios writes, Iakovos had told me that the demon, among other things, said:

"You're burning me. But it's not your fault, it's the fault of the one who made you a Metropolitan." Immediately Iakovos asked: "Who made me a Metropolitan?" The demon replied: "Kallinikos (it should be noted that the young woman did not know Kallinikos, who had died a few years prior). He loved you, he wanted to make you a Metropolitan, but he made you one now when he is in heaven. He had removed me some years ago from a man (indeed he had healed a demon possessed man) and I fought him all his life. I managed to eat his flesh (with sickness), but he shines in heaven. His empty wallet sanctified him. He protects you. If I see you without him, I will hurt you."

Metropolitan Iakovos himself said many times that this scene was shocking and creepy.

From the book Καλλίνικος Μητροπολίτης Ἐδέσσης. Μιά "ὁσία μορφή". Translated by John Sanidopoulos.



Tuesday, June 16, 2020

The Possessed Woman and Holy Communion (Fr. Ioan Iovan)


Fr. Ioan Iovan, a survivor of torture in communist prisons, gives his testimony of a miracle healing that happened around 1950 when he was the spiritual father of Vladimiresti Monastery in Romania. The miracle shows how God works through Holy Communion and how He cast out a devil from a possessed woman.

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Synaxarion of the Venerable James, Who Was Beguiled to Worship the Devil

St. James, Who Was Beguiled to Worship the Devil (Feast Day - June 13)

Verses

Haughtiness is not the most severe passion,
But through it the enemy beguiled James.

Because he loved Christ, the blessed James hated the world and parted with all of his belongings, without needing any of these things. After this, however, through his cooperation with the misanthropic devil, he became prideful, to the point where he dared to say: "Who knows my salvation better than I?" He therefore pursued many and great struggles, not by asking the experienced, as the divine Fathers teach, but by his own will and self-indulgence, and through this he was beguiled by the demons.

Friday, June 12, 2020

The Demon Possessed Village


After the repose of Saint Peter the Athonite (June 12) in 734, two grave-robbing monks stole the relic of the Saint, and having fled Mount Athos they came to the village of Photokomi which is located in Thrace. In this village was a well, where the monks sat down to eat bread after a weary journey. The relic of the Saint, meanwhile, was hanging in a sack on the branch of a nearby olive tree.

Saturday, June 6, 2020

The Authenticity of an Eerie 1932 Photograph from Mount Athos of Two Dead Excommunicated Monks


By John Sanidopoulos

In the monasteries of Mount Athos, when a monk dies, they are buried for three years until they are completely decomposed, then when only their bones are left bare they are placed in an ossuary to be stored with the bones of the other monks of the monastery. It is believed that a monk who lived a righteous life will decompose in three years, but if they are not decomposed then they are reburied and prayed over that their decomposition will soon come to pass, for it could indicate that there was a more nefarious reason behind the lack of decomposition.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

One of the Best Biographies of St. John of Kronstadt Was Written by a Contemporary of His Who Was an Occultist


The following was written by someone named Nadejda, whom I believe was Madame Nadejda Fadeef, the aunt of Madam H.P. Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society. It was published in the Theosophical magazine she founded called Lucifer in volume 11, September 1892 - February 1893. The author was clearly acquainted with Father John of Kronstadt, and it is known that Madam Blavatsky herself admired Father John and seemed to want to show people that they approved of each other. Nonetheless, this is one of the best biographies written about Father John, and he was still alive at the time when it was published. In 1902, the same magazine published a retrospective of this article and updated information about him, which can be read here.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Singing Toy Bear


The following is the testimony of Panagiotis Betses from the village of Kypseli in Zakynthos:

"On Christmas Eve in 1998, I was working late at my bakery. I went home very tired and lay down to sleep. My wife told me to get dressed so we could go to church, because it was the holy day of Christmas. I refused, due to my exhaustion. My wife was upset and she decided also not to go to church.

Suddenly at that moment, a little toy bear from the other room began singing on its own, without there being a clock to set. It shocked us both. We then both immediately got dressed and went to church.

Later when I asked a spiritual father at Mount Athos about this, he told me that the devil was happy that he achieved in preventing us from going to church on such a day, and he demonstrated this happiness by starting the song from the toy bear without anyone having touched it."

Source: From the book Ascetics in the World, vol. 1. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.


Monday, April 27, 2020

Of the Death of the Old Man Heron, Who Was Deluded by the Devil


By St. John Cassian

(Conferences, 2.5)

And so by the judgment of the blessed Anthony as well as of all others it has been laid down that it is discernment which leads a fearless monk by fixed stages to God, and preserves the virtues mentioned above continually intact, by means of which one may ascend with less weariness to the extreme summit of perfection, and without which even those who toil most willingly cannot reach the heights of perfection. For discernment is the mother of all virtues, as well as their guardian and regulator.

And to support this judgment delivered of old by the blessed Anthony and the other fathers by a modern instance, as we promised to do, remember what you lately saw happen before your very eyes, I mean, how the old man Heron, only a very few days ago was cast down by an illusion of the devil from the heights to the depths, a man whom we remember to have lived for fifty years in this desert and to have preserved a strict continence with special severity, and who aimed at the secrecy of solitude with marvelous fervor beyond all those who dwell here. By what device then or by what method was he deluded by the deceiver after so many labors, and falling by a most grievous downfall struck with profound grief all those who live in this desert? Was it not because, having too little of the virtue of discernment he preferred to be guided by his own judgment rather than to obey the counsels and conference of the brethren and the regulations of the elders?

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Holy Martyr Athanasios Who Was a Sorcerer, Converted by Saint George

St. Athanasios the Martyr (Feast Day - April 23)

Verses

Athanasios the sorcerer was beheaded,
The ailing soul found a strange medicine.

During the trials of the Holy Great Martyr George, Dadianus the governor wrote a letter in which he thus said, "I write to the whole world, greetings. Let any sorcerer or magician who can put an end to the magic of this Christian come here to me, and I will give him much wealth and any territory that he shall ask for, and he shall be second in the kingdom."Saint George had miraculously emerged unharmed from his tortures by divine grace, and because of his miracles the stubborn pagans believed he was a magician, and only another magician could defeat him.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene and the Exorcism of Theodora in the Year 2000


By Athena Peglidou
Department of History, Archaeology, and Social Anthropology, 
University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

During the winter of 2000, Theodora, thirty-eight, a housewife and mother of a thirteen year-old daughter, having undergone psychiatric observation for four years, and been diagnosed as suffering from depression, finally decided to have herself exorcized. It was her confessor, whom she had consulted for five years, who suggested it. During her treatment — it was a difficult case — the priest contacted the abbess of the Saint Raphaël convent on Mytilene, an important center of pilgrimage, in order to ask her to pray for Theodora. The abbess soon came to the conclusion that the convent’s three saints (Saint Raphael, Saint Nicholas, and Saint Irene) could help to cure her soul. The personal diary kept by Theodora, to which she gave me access, was a particularly interesting document as far as following the conflict between the different treatments as she experienced them was concerned. Her husband, Giorgos, always accompanied her to the Mytilene convent.

Sunday, March 22, 2020

The Power of the Cross Against Demons and Magic (St. Athanasius the Great)


By St. Athanasius the Great

(Excerpts from On the Incarnation)

- "Since the Savior has come among us, idolatry not only has no longer increased, but what there was is diminishing and gradually coming to an end: and not only does the wisdom of the Greeks no longer advance, but what there is is now fading away: and demons, so far from cheating any more by illusions and prophecies and magic arts, if they so much as dare to make the attempt, are put to shame by the sign of the Cross."

Friday, March 20, 2020

A Warning to Those Who Abstain from Holy Communion for Five Weeks in a Row

St. Makarios the Great of Egypt (Feast Day - January 19)

By Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis

(Lausiac History, Ch. 17 - Makarios of Egypt)

A certain Egyptian, enamored of a lady married to a husband, and being unable to seduce her, consulted a magician, saying: "Lead her to love me, or contrive that her husband reject her." And the magician having received a sufficient sum, used magic spells and arranged for her to take the form of a horse. The husband having come in and seen her was surprised that a horse lay on his bed. He wept and lamented; he talked to the animal, but received no reply. He called in the priests of the village. He brought them in, showed her to them, but they did not discover what happened.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

How Saint Paul the Simple Overcame a Most Powerful Demon


By Palladius of Helenopolis

(Lausiac History, Ch. 28)

So a year after Paul the Most Simple came to live with him [Anthony the Great] he was highly experienced in a disciplined way of life and was found worthy to battle against the demons and against all kinds of diseases.

One day there was brought to Anthony a young man vexed beyond measure by one of the most powerful and savage demons who railed against heaven itself with curses and blasphemies.

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Holy Martyr Theokletos the Sorcerer

St. Theokletos the Martyr (Feast Day - February 26)

Verses

Theokletos was called towards divine knowledge,
He glorifies that he is called to be an athlete.
Known prior as Lampadios, he was a servant of magic,
As a martyr of Christ, receive Your Theokletos.
On the twenty-sixth the neck of Theokletos was cut by the bronze.

Commemoration of the Holy Martyr Theokletos on February 26th is mentioned in the Parisian Codex 1578. This seems to refer to the sorcerer Lampadios who tried to poison Saint Photini, and being unsuccessful he was in turn baptized with the name Theokletos. Archimandrite John Demetriados of Katounakia composed a Divine Office in his honor (here).

Monday, February 17, 2020

Saint Auxibios and the Forty Demon Possessed Men


After the death of Saint Auxibios (Feb. 17), Bishop of Soli in Cyprus, many miracles began to take place at his grave. Word of these extraordinary events reached Paphos, southwest of Soli. Forty men gathered together from Paphos. All forty of these men were troubled and possessed by unclean spirits. As a group they traveled to Soli in search of being cured.

Monday, February 10, 2020

Saint Ioannikios as a 19th Century Russian Exorcist


The feeling of compassion for the sick and the suffering was especially strong in Father Ioannikios (+ 1882, Feb. 10), Father Confessor of the Dormition Holy Mountain Hermitage in the Kharkhov Province. Very many pilgrims came to Holy Mountain Monastery from everywhere in the summertime. People from all walks of life, from peasants to those who were educated; and many of these were afflicted or possessed, and were brought to the monastery by relatives in the hope of a cure from the wonderworking icon of Saint Nicholas. He saw the suffering of these unfortunates, who often screamed loudly with tumultuous voices, or went into convulsions, especially in church during the Divine Liturgy. Knowing that prayers of exorcism are to be read in such cases, Saint Ioannikios was motivated by faith, and he began to pray in this manner over the possessed, anointing them with holy oil in the name of the Lord.

Friday, January 31, 2020

Saint Nikita the Solitary, Who Had Been Seduced By the Devil and Thereby Became Famous as a Prophet

St. Nikita of the Kiev Caves, Bishop of Novgorod (Feast Day - January 31)

(Paterikon of the Kiev Caves Lavra, 25)

While the venerable Nikon was superior [of the Kiev Caves Lavra], there was a brother named Nikita. He wished to be honored by men and conceived a great deed, but not for God’s sake: he began to ask the superior to allow him to withdraw into solitude. The superior forbade him to do so, saying, “My son, it is not profitable for you to sit idle, since you are young. It is better for you to stay among the brethren and work for them. You will not risk losing your reward. You yourself have seen how our brother the holy Isaac the Cave-Dweller was seduced by demons. Had he not been saved by God’s grace, through the prayers of the venerable fathers Anthony and Theodosius, who to this day work many miracles, he would have been lost.” Nikita said, “I will certainly not be seduced by such a trick. I will ask the Lord God to grant me the gift of working miracles.” Nikon answered, “What you are asking is beyond your powers. Take care, brother, lest you exalt yourself and then have a fall. Our humility orders you to serve the holy brotherhood, for whose sake you will be crowned as a reward for your obedience.” Nikita remained unmoved by the superior’s words and did exactly what he wanted: he shut the door behind him and remained in the cave without going out.

Monday, January 27, 2020

The Tale of Saint Natalis and the Ossory Werewolves


Saint Natalis of Ulster (also called Naile) died in 564 A.D. He was a monk, abbot of monasteries in northern Ireland and disciple of Saint Columba. According to legend, Saint Natalis placed a curse on a clan which transformed their members into werewolves. Here is the tale:

The Tale

An unnamed priest was traveling from Ulster to Meath on an important mission with his assistant, a young boy. The two stopped for the night near woods at the edge of the See of Ossory. As they lay down to sleep, the priest hears a human voice calling from the nearby forest. He gets up and looking out into the darkness he sees a giant wolf draw near. The priest and boy draw back in horror, but the wolf speaks in a human voice and tells them not to be afraid.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Testimony of How a Demon Possessed Monk Was Healed at the Tomb of St. Euthymios the Great


Life of Euthymios

Ch. 50

By Cyril of Scythopolis

In this same period a monk called Paul, who came from the village of Tomessus in the first province of Cilicia, and who was grievously troubled by an impure spirit, was brought along from the monastery of Abba Martyrius and placed in the burial vault by the tomb of our holy father Euthymios. After a few days Euthymios appeared to him in the middle of the night and expelled the impure spirit. Going to the church at the hour of the night office, Paul made confession to God in the presence of all, announcing the miracle that had happened to him. Hearing of his cure, the members of his own cenobium came to fetch him; he, however, did not consent, but with eagerness joined in the labors of the cenobium. Once, when we were outside in the desert to collect faggots, we asked Paul about the nature and cause of his complaint and how he had been cured. Deriving confidence from his frank love for us, he gave us the following account:

Friday, January 17, 2020

The Church of Saint Anthony the Great in Melnik, Bulgaria - Popularly Known as the Church of Miracles


They call it the Church of Miracles because it helps those who have lost hope find healing. The church was built in memory of St. Anthony the Great in the small Bulgarian town of Melnik, more famous for its natural surroundings and fine wine than its churches. Yet thousands of pilgrims flock here every year from all over the world, the sick and the healthy, to visit the famed Church of Miracles.

Реорlе ѕееkіng ѕаlvаtіоn frоm еvіl dеmоnѕ аnd vаrіоuѕ аddісtіоnѕ, ѕuсh аѕ аlсоhоl аnd drug аddісtіоn, vіѕіt Меlnіk tо ѕееk hеаlіng from Ѕt. Аnthоnу thе Grеаt.

Тhе еldеrlу оf Меlnіk саn tеll аt lеаѕt а fеw ѕtоrіеѕ оf реорlе whо hаvе lеft healed аftеr hаvіng ѕlерt іn the сhurсh оr рrауеd fеrvеntlу fоr Ѕt. Аnthоnу tо gіvе thеm hеаlth аnd hеаlіng. He especially helps those who suffer from mental illness and demon possession. In the church is a column with heavy chains attached, which is where the unruly possessed would be tied overnight to receive healing, usually attained by morning.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

The Holy Water and the Magical Potion


By Manolis Melinos

A priest in Russia, after the Sanctification of the Waters on Theophany, was filling bottles of Holy Water for his parishioners. A middle-aged lady approached him and gave him a beautiful bottle. However, as soon as he put Holy Water in it, the bottle shattered!

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Why Orthodox Churches Sanctify Water at the Beginning of Each Month


It is a tradition mostly in Greek Orthodox churches to begin the month with the Lesser Sanctification of the Waters ceremony on the first of the month. This Holy Water is then taken by the priest and the people to be consumed and to bless the homes of the faithful. It is believed the origin of this practice can be traced to Canon 65 of the Synod in Trullo which took place in 692 in Constantinople. Canon 65 reads:

Monday, January 6, 2020

Two Early Christian Testimonies of the Use of Holy Water in an Exorcism


The first recorded testimony of the use of Holy Water in an exorcism can be found in the Panarion of Saint Epiphanios of Salamis, in his chapter on the Ebionites, where he writes about a Jewish man named Josephus in Tiberias, whom the Lord was calling through visions to be a Christian, but who at the same time was reluctant to convert due to doubts. At one point he encounters a possessed madman, and this is what Epiphanios writes:

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