The Demonology of Saint Diadochos of Photike

 

Saint Diadochos distinguishes evil spirits into two categories: into the most subtle psychic demons and into the most material carnal demons. The subtler spirits fight the soul by arousing the psychic passions and the material fight the flesh by arousing the body with carnal desires. Both categories are equivalent, yet they operate "against each other", due to the difference between the soul and the body, which is reflected in both categories of demonic spirits, as long as they affect the soul and the body. When grace does not dwell in man, they nest in the depths of his heart, like real snakes, preventing the soul from desiring good. But when Grace, which was obtained through Baptism, is in man, then they run around the parts of the heart, that is, not in the heart or mind but mainly in the flesh, like dark clouds, taking various formations, in order to distract the mind from its contact with Divine Grace.1

Chapel of Saint Theokletos the Sorcerer in Messolonghi

 

Messolonghi is the capital of Aitolia-Acarnania in western Greece, and is the location of the Metropolis of Aitolia and Acarnania. In the courtyard of the Metropolis is the Chapel of Saint Theokletos the Sorcerer, the only known shrine to this Saint in the world. It was built by the late Metropolitan Theokletos of Aitolia and Acarnania (1922-2007) to honor his patron saint, and it celebrates every year on February 26th.

The Devil's Lament (St. Ephraim the Syrian)

 

 

Tetrasyllable Discourse

 

In Which the Devil Laments his Defeat at the Hands of the Ascetics

By St. Ephraim the Syrian

When the wicked devil had been overpowered and defeated, he sat down in lamentation, saying in the midst of his weeping:

“Woe is me, the wretch! What is this that I have suffered? How is it that I have come away in defeat?

I have brought this shame upon myself by waging war with them so often. I should have known right away, when I was vanquished on my first and second assaults, that Christ was with them. For I used to love waging war on the saints, and my hatred for them grew, until I was finally disgraced. For I went away defeated, in great shame. My head was wounded by their heavy blows. I set snares for them, to trap them, but they snatched them up and crushed my head. The sharp arrows that I hurled at them they caught, and they used them to slay me. I assailed them with a variety of passions, but they put me to flight by the power of the Cross.

Saint Dionysios of Olympus and the Monk Who Summoned a Demon

 

There was a monk at Beroea who was only slightly educated. One day a book on divination came into his hands, and out of curiosity he read a little bit of it, thereby invoking the demons. As he slept that night, he saw in a dream a giant creature, blacker than any Ethiopian, who said to him:

"Because you have called upon me, I have come. If you will make obeisance to me, I will do what you ask!"

Now the monk recognized that this was the devil, and said to him:

Saint Kuksha of Odessa and the Power of Holy Water

 

Saint Kuksha of Odessa (+ 1964) advised to bless all new things and products with Holy Water, and he sprinkled Holy Water in his monastic cell every evening. He learned what power Holy Water had from his spiritual father.

When Saint Kuksha was a ryassaphore monk on the Holy Mountain, he bore the name Constantine and had as an elder the Elder Melchizedek. One day as they were standing in prayer, the elder and his spiritual son heard what sounded like a wedding party coming toward the cell — horses trampling, accordions playing, and there was singing and laughter and whistling.