When Saint Nektarios Encountered a Demon Possessed Young Man Upon His Arrival in Aegina

Saint Nektarios went to Aegina at the end of the summer of 1904. His purpose was to establish the monastery which now bears his name.

As the boat approached that was bringing him to the island, a young demon possessed man, Spyros, fell before the doorstep of the pharmacy of Aegina and began to shout:

"He's coming, the bishop is coming! Run to welcome him! The saint is coming to save the island!"

They tried to calm him down, but they could not. Spyros continued to shout. A crowd of strangers gathered and kept growing. They looked sadly at the disheveled lad and marveled at what he said.

Some ran to Papa-Michalis, the pastor.

"Papa, Spyros is foretelling about a bishop. A bishop is coming, he shouts, who will save the island."

Papa-Michalis hurried to see what was happening. He entered the circle of those that gathered and approached Spyros. He was still shouting:

"The bishop is coming from Rizarios! God took pity on this place! The holy one of Pentapolis is coming!"

The priest watched the confused young man for a long time, who was foaming at the mouth when he tried to shout. Then he left troubled in his thoughts and headed to the port dock. At that time the ship came from Piraeus. Among the passengers Papa-Michalis distinguished the bishop.

He bent reverently and kissed his hand.

"Your Eminence, welcome to Aegina. First time coming here?"

"First," he replied with a smile.

"Here, let's go home ... Only ..."

"Do you want anything?"

"Yes, a little further on, an event shocked us."

"What happened?"

"There is a poor young man, crawling in the market, closing his eyes and prophesying the future. He is now disheveled and shouting that you will come and save the place. He even calls you a man of God, a saint!"

"Where exactly is this young man?"

"This way, Your Eminence."

They went and arrived at the doorstep of the pharmacy. Spyros was still shouting:

"The bishop is coming! He is coming to save this place! He will build a church! He will build the biggest Monastery!"

The Saint stood short of where the young man was. He raised his face to heaven and prayed. Then he raised his staff, the only sign of his high priesthood, and, shutting the mouth of the lad, said:

- "Spirit of the python, the wicked and impure, I urge you in the name of Christ the Crucified, to come out of this young man."

Immediately then Spyros groaned and stood up! He opened his eyes. Then he bent down and full of gratitude kissed the hand of the Saint, who healed him. 

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.

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.

A Ghost Investigation in an Athonite Monastery

On November 9th the Orthodox Church commemorates a miracle connected with the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, Mount Athos, an ancient Greek hidden treasure, and a ghost investigation.

Docheiariou Monastery is located in Mount Athos, and was founded by Saints Euthymios and Neophytos in the late tenth century, who dedicated the monastery to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The Archangels Michael and Gabriel are commemorated in the Orthodox Church on November 8th, while Saints Euthymios and Neophytos are commemorated on November 9th.

St. Gregory of Agrigentum and the Harlot

St. Gregory of Agrigentum (Feast Day - November 23)

Saint Gregory, Bishop of Agrigentum, peacefully guided the flock entrusted to him by God. He was a defender of the down-trodden, a wise preacher, and miraculous healer. As bishop, Gregory led the life of an ascetic monk, fervently observing monastic vows. The flock loved their hierarch and trusted in him. But there were also malicious people who had resolved to slander him.

St. Gregory the Wonderworker and the Harlot

By St. Gregory of Nyssa

From The Life of Saint Gregory the Wonderworker

When he [Gregory] dwelt in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, to which assiduous young men flocked to study philosophy and medicine, the youthful [Gregory] was an irksome sight to his peers because he was adorned with a restraint unlike anyone else in the city, and the esteem surrounding his integrity irritated such corrupt individuals. Because of this, some undisciplined characters sought to make all sorts of excuses if no one went along with them. They maintained that this great man's life was tainted with a certain flaw and hatched a plot to release from prison a harlot notorious for shameful behavior. But following the conduct of learned and responsible men accustomed to philosophical speculation, [Gregory] approached the woman in a nonchalant and unassuming manner while pretending to agree with everything she said and did. He then said that she was cheated of her wage and was refused the payment she had sought. When they who acknowledged the quality of his life became outraged at the woman, their anger neither troubled him nor did he claim that this humiliation had slandered his reputation. [Gregory] neither summoned witnesses on his behalf, nor did he repudiate the disgrace by swearing an oath nor respond to the evils brought against him; rather, in a calm, subdued voice he replied as to a friend, "He who paid money to this woman should no longer be distressed at having caused such trouble." When they learned of the harlot's accusation who had sought money from him and he readily accounted for everything, the plot to smear his self-control by accusations of licentious conduct came to an end. Now that this attempt to dishonor him fell back upon them, with God's help the youth's control and the reproach of his comrades became evident. Having received the money, an evil spirit at once tormented her, and she bellowed out a loud animal sound. This woman presented a dreadful sight in the midst of the assembly by taring out her hair, rolling her eyes and emitting foam from her mouth. But before the demon suffocated her, she earnestly besought God almighty.

When St. Martin of Tours Preached Repentance to the Devil

By Sulpitius Severus

(Life of Saint Martin, Chs. 21 & 22)

It is also well known that angels were very often seen by him, so that they spoke in turns with him in set speech. As to the devil, Martin held him so visible and ever under the power of his eyes, that whether he kept himself in his proper form, or changed himself into different shapes of spiritual wickedness, he was perceived by Martin, under whatever guise he appeared. The devil knew well that he could not escape discovery, and therefore frequently heaped insults upon Martin, being unable to beguile him by trickery.