The Spiritual World: On the Existence of Demons (19)

...continued from part eighteen.

17. Strange Phenomena in Yekaterinburg. 

The newspaper "Ural" published the following description of phenomena observed in Yekaterinburg and taking place in the house of the priest of the village of Loginovo, Father Nikolai.

Father Nikolai has lived in this house for 13 years. Last summer, the house underwent major renovations. Before the renovations, the house was completely quiet, and afterward, the same continued for another two months. But recently, Father began to hear scratching sounds from inside the kitchen floor, sometimes whistling. He carefully examined the floor, peered into the crawlspace, but found nothing there. Three days passed. He said nothing to anyone, afraid to embarrass the family. Then, in addition to the scratching and whistling, he began to hear knocking on the floor, quite loudly. It sounded like someone was scratching the floor with claws; scratching and whistling. Then the entire household heard and recognized it. 

The Spiritual World: On the Existence of Demons (15)

Ponetaevka Monastery

 

...continued from part fourteen.

13. Strange Phenomena in a Russian Peasant's Hut

A good friend of mine, under whose command I served in Nizhny Novgorod, in the Chamber of State Property, P. L. Betling, now living in retirement on his estate in the Ardatovsky district, Nizhny Novgorod province, informed me in January 1889 of a remarkable incident that occurred quite unexpectedly in the village of Silino, located 15 versts from him. This incident caused some noise in the area, especially since the peasant family, an involuntary witness to these phenomena, was brought to criminal responsibility and almost paid for a matter that was incomprehensible to them.

The essence of the matter is that in the village of Silino, in the house of the former village elder Chekanov, from September 23 to November 1, 1888, strange phenomena began to occur: knocks were heard, things were thrown and - which is the main feature of the phenomenon - various voices were heard, which entered into conversation with members of the Chekanov family and strangers who came to inquire. It is remarkable that these phenomena, as in mediumistic séances, occurred in the dark, and were revealed only in the presence of Chekanov's ten-year-old daughter. There is no reason to assume deception here, for these phenomena soon became a source of trouble for the owner, and he did not know how to get rid of them until he accepted the advice given to him to resort to prayer, which we will discuss below.

Now let's move on to the details.

The Spiritual World: On the Existence of Demons (13)

...continued from part twelve.

11. Letter from V. A. Shchapov to the former manager of the Iletsky villages, Major A. V. Pokotilov, in response to a request from the Orenburg branch of the Imperial Geographical Society dated January 18, 1871.

In fulfilling your request regarding the message about the miracles that have happened and are still happening at the present time, I only ask you to forgive me that my story may not be as coherent and consistent, but that it is true and not fictitious - I vouch for it and present witnesses who will confirm all this.

I will begin with the fact that on November 16, having returned from the small town of Iletsky to my farm, I learned from my family and employees that during my absence, namely from November 14 to 15, i.e. on the eve of Sunday, at about 2 o'clock in the morning, something unusual began to happen. Namely, as they told, at first they were frightened by a loud knock on the wall with a fist, then a defiant knock on the glass of the outside window facing the forest; then they clearly heard that above their heads, i.e. on the ceiling, someone was dancing, and this dance was so distinct and natural that at first they thought that it was our cook Maria, who was continuing to make fun of herself, whom my wife, for the sake of a joke, in order to entertain the child, made dance in the room that evening. According to the information, however, the cook was asleep; and the knocking, repeated from time to time, and the dancing did not cease until the morning. The following night, they said, about 11 o'clock the same thing was repeated again. Despite the fact that all the servants in our house (up to 6 people) were gathered and surrounded the house, strictly watching whether this was a joke of some eccentric or swindler, but all their observations and even shots from a gun near the house - did not lead to anything; the knocking on the wall, on the window and the dancing, with small breaks - all continued as before, so that they spent that night almost without sleep.

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.

St. Serapion of Vladimir on the Persecution of Witches

Serapion of Vladimir (+ 1275) was a Bishop of Vladimir. He was Archimandrite of the Monastery of the Kiev Caves from 1247 until 1274, and was Bishop of the Diocese of Vladimir, Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod from 1274 until his death the following year.

Five sermons by Serapion have been preserved. His main theme is the disaster of the Mongol invasion, seen as divine punishment for Russia because of its people's sins. Four of the sermons appear to have been written in 1274/5, when he was bishop. The fifth is presumably older, and was most likely written shortly after the destruction of Kiev in 1240. In one of his late sermons, he denounces the persecution of witches.