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Tuesday, May 14, 2024

"White Magic" Its Effects on People ~ By Archimandrite Vasilios Bakoyiannis

 


“White” Magic: Its Effect On People By Archimandrite Vasilios Bakoyiannis 

It’s called “white” because it’s said to only do good. This is a gross error. How is it possible for the homicidal i.e., murdering devil ever to do anything good? 

How Does Magic Happen? 

The Materials 

Priests of Christ, through their priesthood, bless water and sanctify it. When we drink this sanctified water, we drink the blessing, namely, the grace of God which is indwelling in the water, that is, in the matter. In other words, the grace of God, His blessing, is also transferred through matter.

 Something analogous also happens on the side of the devil. His “priests” (magicians), “bless” matter when they do “magic.” It’s through this matter that satanic energy is passed to people. These materials are used for magic: 

• nails, needles, soap, egg, oil and figurines. 

• bat or snake bones. 

• soil from graves or skulls. 

• human or animal blood. 

• women’s soiled sanitary equipment. 

• Holy Communion. 


Ritual 

The late Archimandrite Haralambos Vasilopoulos in his book Is There Magic? [in Greek], presents the astonishing testimony of a witness who attended a ritual performed by a witch and saw with his own eyes what happened. He says: “I didn’t believe the witch, so I decided to go with her. I went with her at midnight to a deserted place. ‘Stay here’, she told me, so I did. She went on and I watched her. She stopped. She undressed. She motioned. She was calling the demons. I heard strange whistling sounds that were constantly getting louder. I then saw pitch-black dogs and cats approaching from the surroundings. I was frightened. The demons had arrived.” 


Its Effect On Nature 

The American university professor Richard Kieckhefer tells us that in the Middle Ages there were wizards who, with their invocations, caused frosts and floods which destroyed trees and crops. In Sweden and other neighboring countries, many wizards were taken to court because they were accused of destroying their neighbor's harvest with flood and calamities which they themselves caused. 

Naturally, witches and wizards are capable of doing the same damage anywhere and everywhere. This is why, in the old days our more pious ancestors who lived in the country would “plant” a cross in the middle of their garden and fields as a weapon against the evil and criminal spirits. 

Witches can also do harm to dumb animals. The demons drowned the swine in the sea. Witches, too, with their invocations, can do the same; they can kill animals. 

One Sunday in the year 1989, I had celebrated the Liturgy in the chapel of Saint Eleutherios at the Saint Stephen Prison in Patras, Greece. Afterwards, I struck up a conversation with an inmate from the region of Xeromero, in Aitoloakarnania. During our discussion he told me how he ended up in prison: 

“In my village I had sheep and goats and other animals. A man who was a real good-for-nothing told me, ‘First thing, tomorrow, you’ll find such and such a ewe of yours dead in such and such a place.’ And it happened. The next day, he said to me again, ‘Tomorrow, you’ll find such and such a goat dead.’ And it happened. On the third day, he said, ‘You’ll find your horse dead.’ That happened as well. I said to myself, ‘There’s something not right here.’ The villain was casting spells on my animals. I got angry. I grabbed my carbine and attacked him. That’s why I’m here in prison, for attempted manslaughter.” Its 

Effect on People * 

It brings couples together 


There was a man who was deceived by his wife. In order to keep him, the wife, instead of having recourse to God, went to the devil, i.e., to a wizard, and begged him to tie her husband to her. 

The wizard made a figurine of wax in the likeness of her husband. He then wrapped it in a net and bats’ wings, at the same time making invocations to Satan. And the “miracle” happened. Yes, indeed! We also know of cases where men have “returned” to their wives because of the murderous devil! 


* It brings “love” 

Suppose there’s a woman who wants to make somebody fall in love with her. She goes to a witch, who sets the ball rolling. According to one practice, she draws the naked man in pigeon’s blood on the skin of a dog. Thereafter, she “censes” and so on, performing all the necessary actions for the invocation of Satan. 

A certain woman, who was an emotional wreck, told me recently (1997) of a similar case which happened to her. Her relations with her husband were harmonious. He loved her so much that he never turned his head to look at another woman. But another woman set her sights on him. At first he snubbed her and ridiculed her, but she refused to give up. In the end, she went to a witch. And it wasn’t long before the harm was done: 

The husband began to withdraw from his wife. When he returned home, he vomited! Whenever he got into bed with his wife, he jumped straight out again. A powerful force propelled him out of bed and onto the balcony. 

One evening, without warning, the icon-lamp in the house, which was lit, exploded into tiny shards. The mirror in their bedroom smashed into smithereens. In the end, he abandoned his wife, whom he had loved so much, and moved in with the woman he’d laughed at and mocked! 

* It prevents … adultery! 

Roland Villeneuve, a well-known writer on the occult, refers to the following occurrence: 

There was once a husband (an initiate of magic), who was about to set off on a long journey. He was certain that, during his absence, his wife would cheat on him. In order to keep his mind at rest, he asked the devil to guard his wife. This done, he left. 

The first thing his wife did was to introduce men into the house. Every evening she received “visits”. But what happened? No sooner did the woman get into bed than an invisible force propelled the stranger away from her. Every time she attempted to commit adultery (and she did so, often) the same pattern was repeated. In the end, try as she might, she was unable to cheat on her husband. 

Her husband returned from his long journey. As soon as the devil saw him he said, “I’ve taken good care of your wife. But what I’ve had to put up with! I have really suffered. I’ve been through the mill. Please, do me a favor. Don’t burden me with her again. I’d rather guard all the pigs in Saxony than your wife. She did everything possible to get the better of me and to run riot with her body.” 

* It “Cures” Illnesses 

Let’s say somebody is sick. This person is suffering. There is no hope for a cure. In their despair the relatives ignore the Merciful, Crucified Lord and turn instead to the misanthropic and murderous devil (a witch or wizard), in the hope of finding a cure. 

The witch, with a doll, figurine or photograph in front of her, begins the therapy, her assistant being the devil and her medicines the bones from the left side of a frog, the blood of a hoopoe or a pigeon, the heart of an eel, the skin of a snake, a shroud or a blue stone. Archimandrite Meletios, from the Holy Monastery of Gregoriou on Athos, who is a missionary in Zaire, tells us how in 1984 he visited the town of Kolwezi. He found there a shaman who was curing lots of people through his magic. 

St. John Chrysostom tells us how the devil, as our enemy, doesn’t want what’s good for us. If he does cure us, he doesn’t do so for our benefit, but to harm us. “The demons drove you out of Paradise, they deprived you of that heavenly honor, and now they’re going to cure your body? They have no pity on the soul, so are they going to pity the body? They showed no mercy to the pigs they drowned in the sea, so why should they show any to your body?" 

And even if, with God’s permission, the devil does cure you, don’t think he’s done you any good. He might have helped your body, but he’s certain to have harmed your immortal soul, because the devil knows only how to do harm. 

Of course, God allows the demons to cure you, in order to teach you a lesson, i.e., not to have anything to do with demons even when they’re curing you.


I would rather die than run to Christ’s enemies for a cure. What’s the good, if my body is cured and my soul is harmed? What’s the benefit of a little relief here on earth, if it means being cast into eternal fire? And yet you, a Christian, instead of mourning, rejoice and are proud that the devil has made you well! 


A Witch in the Dock 

In 1994, the High Court in Athens sentenced a witch to imprisonment because she had exploited her cousin for financial gain. 

It’s worth looking at the way this extremely cunning woman fleeced her victim. The events, as they are related here, are taken from the court proceedings. 

The witch divorced her husband in 1978. She then took up with and lived with somebody who made out that he was a wizard, a spiritualist and an astrologer. In order to fool their clients, they set up a separate room in their house, a special “oratory” that had icons, incense and candles, as well as magic symbols such as the pentagram and so on. 

And people, unfortunately, kept coming to them. As luck would have it, right next to them was her cousin’s family home. He was the head of the financial section of the Social Security Office in Agios Stefanos, in Attica. At work, he was honest and hardworking, but as a person he suffered from nerves and had psychological problems. 

In 1986, he went to his family home to make some repairs. His witch cousin invited him in for coffee, introducing her boyfriend as her husband. The latter represented himself as someone who had dealings with saints and so on and as someone who did good to people with problems. This stuck in the mind of the cousin and he gave it great thought. 

No more than a week passed before the man knocked at the door of the witch and her lover, requesting their help. The wizard took him into a separate room, the “oratory”. He told him to lie down on a bed, unbutton his shirt, undo his belt and relax. He palpated various parts of his body and produced total relaxation and “calm”. In the end, he read some incomprehensible words over him. His cousin, the witch, was at his side all this time. 

The wizard then told him to get up and dress. All three of them repaired to the sitting-room. The wizard began to speak. “I can see that you’ve got a major problem. Your mother-in-law has put a spell on you. The worst of it is that you’ll die in two months.” 

“That’s right,” agreed the witch with some warmth. As you’d expect, the poor man was panicked. But his relatives told him they were more than willing to help counteract the spell. 

“I’ll tell you what; give us 200,000 drachmas to get rid of the spell and you’ll give death the slip.” 

“Borrow it and don’t tell anybody why you want it,” advised the wizard, who, at the same time, was conjuring with the lights in the room to produce effects aimed at proving his miraculous powers. And this did the trick. 

Frequently, the man went to visit these relatives of his, in the hope that they had counteracted the magic. They kept him wound up. “We’ll save you. It’s only because of us that you’re alive at all.” 

They played on him to such an extent that he had complete confidence in them. By various “magic” practices, they reduced him to a compliant tool and he did whatever he was told. He even gave over some of his inheritance to them. But that wasn’t all. He himself acted as a servant to them in their home. As we mentioned, the victim had a good job. He was head of the financial section of the Social Security Office in Agios Stefanos. 

These relatives of his now gave thought to the way they could best make use of his position. Whereas previously he had served at his post honestly and fairly, he now felt impelled by a strange force to steal money from work. This he did and handed it over to his “saviors.” This was in June, 1988. 

He kept on stealing and stealing. He was giving his relatives tens of millions of drachmas a month! When he found it difficult to steal, his cousin would get on the telephone and stiffen his resolve. 

All in all, he stole and handed over to them the sum of 282,210,000 drachmas, while he himself didn’t have enough money for a square meal. 

On November 29, 1991, the wizard was killed in a traffic accident. The witch was now all alone. The Social Security Office finally caught up with the thief. Nobody could understand how this man, who was such an honest head of a department, could have stolen money. Charges were brought against him. His cousin arranged for lawyers to defend him and she herself paid their fees, because she was at risk herself. 

The victim was held in temporary custody. He had with him a variety of magic amulets and tokens which were gifts from his cousin. Moreover, the witch, who was concerned that he would come to his senses and give her away, visited him regularly in prison. She gave him lots of support. But away from her constant, daily influence, the victim slipped away from her. He did, indeed, come round and recognize his “gaffe.” He confessed. 

Another lawyer undertook his defense. The witch panicked. She had to do something to protect herself and so she did. On the day of the trial, the new defense lawyer, according to his own report, felt strangely and uncommonly unwell. He could hardly stand and was unable to think clearly. He couldn’t make a speech. It was the first time anything like this had happened to him in all his years as a lawyer. His secretary suffered from similar symptoms. 

The witch had in fact performed her magic. 

Although the lawyer had been indifferent towards religion, he went to confession the same afternoon, as did his secretary. They had a blessing service read and the office sprinkled with holy water. At once they recovered. They went to court. The witch vehemently denied that she had forced the victim to steal money or that she had paid his legal expenses. 

Naturally, the court wasn’t convinced. In August 1994, she was sentenced as the moral instigator of his crime. 

Conclusions 

The magicians told their victim that he had been put under a spell, and that he would die in two months. In other words, they told him outright lies. If anyone goes to magicians (or astrologers or fortunetellers) and is told that a spell has been put on them and so on, they can be sure this is a lie. They told him these lies in order to fleece him of his money. If you go to magicians, they’ll lie to you and fleece you as well. 

The man had psychological problems, but instead of doing the decent thing and lending him moral support, they seized the opportunity to destroy him! There is no humanity in these witches and their like. They’ll stop at nothing. Poor, wretched people, who go running to liars to find a solution to their problems! 


thanks to John Sanidopoulos

https://www.daimonologia.org/2015/10/white-magic-its-effect-on-people.html

Friday, May 10, 2024

LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE LORD (A Paschal Stork)!

 


LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE THE LORD!

A Paschal Stork

On Paschal days, life is filled with joy, and even the other God’s creatures, animals and birds, praise the Lord these days! This story took place on April 24, 2020, during a cross procession, which was held with the blessing of Archbishop Sophrony of Mogilev and Mstislavl of the Belarusian Orthodox Church.

The Belynichi Icon of the Mother of GodThe Belynichi Icon of the Mother of GodThe traditional procession of the cross from Mogilev to Belynichi in honor of Holy Pascha and the Mother of God took place on Friday of Bright Week, on the eve of the feast-day of the Belynichi Icon of the Mother of God (April 12/25). According to Church tradition, this icon was brought in the thirteenth century by pious monks to the town of Belynichi and placed at St. Elias Church, where a miraculous, supernatural light shone from the icon of the Heavenly Queen during Vigil. This icon of the Theotokos is specially venerated in Belarus.

Those who participated in the cross procession recalled that an unusual pilgrim, a white stork, had joined the column at some point. In Belarus since ancient times, storks have been regarded as “birds of peace”. The number of their huge nests increases every year, and locals treat weak or injured “citizens of the sky” carefully.

The participants of the extraordinary event recalled the “winged pilgrim” with joy. As the procession was walking among the awakening spring fields, a stork appeared from somewhere. Making a circle over the cross procession, it began to descend, as if peering into the Belynichi Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which the Cossacks in the cross procession were carrying on a special bearer.

After that, the stork descended and walked ahead! “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!” the pilgrims sang joyfully, while the tall, stately bird was strutting beside them.

    

The wonderful stork walked in procession right with the faithful along the side of the road as far as Belynichi—over seven miles! When the “winged pilgrim” was slightly behind, because the faithful were walking at a regular pace, it flew up to where the banners were being carried, and then walked again!

Those in the cross procession were worried for the stork’s life when the bird flew over to the traffic area. The traffic police car that accompanied the cross procession even delayed traffic several times so that cars would not accidentally knock down the “winged worshipper”. Then everyone begged it to cross or fly to the safe side of the road and continue along with the column, and the stork obeyed them.

But all the attempts of those in the cross procession to persuade the stork to rest were in vain: the bird walked on and on, afraid neither of people, nor of passing cars or trucks. This went on for more than four hours.

    

When the pilgrims would stop for a short rest, the bird would stroll serenely among groups of the faithful, but it was not so tame as to allow anyone to stroke it or to take food from their hands.

When they made their last halt in the woods just over a mile away from the town, the miraculous “pilgrim” stood, surrounded by people, listening to prayers and Paschal hymns. Then it went straight up to the Belynichi Icon of the Mother of God, bowed before it and, according to eyewitnesses, touched the highly venerated icon with its peak with reverence. After this pause, the stork proceeded as part of the cross procession to its final destination.

It was already dark when the pilgrims reached the town. The stork took wing, and making a circle of honor, as if blessing the people, flew away… This is a lesson of boundless devotion and trust in God and His Most Pure Mother that a brave bird taught the pilgrims. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord (Ps. 150:3). Christ is Risen!

Svetlana Rybakova
Translation by Dmitry Lapa

Sretensky Monastery

5/9/2024


thanks to:


https://orthochristian.com/160089.html

St. Gregory of Nyssa on the Apparitions of Spirits of the Dead, or Ghosts

 

St. Gregory of Nyssa on the Apparitions of Spirits of the Dead, or Ghosts 



St. Gregory of Nyssa on the Apparitions of Spirits of the Dead, or Ghosts In his treatise On the Soul and the Resurrection, St. Gregory of Nyssa is said to have been taught by his sister St. Macrina regarding eschatological topics as she lay on her death-bed following the repose of their brother, St. Basil the Great. 

   Commenting on the details of the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, St. Macrina makes the following observation: "Why, seeing that Lazarus' soul is occupied with his present blessings and turns round to look at nothing that he has left, while the rich man is still attached, with a cement as it were, even after death, to the life of feeling, which he does not divest himself of even when he has ceased to live, still keeping as he does flesh and blood in his thoughts (for in his entreaty that his kindred may be exempted from his sufferings he plainly shows that he is not freed yet from fleshly feeling)— in such details of the story (she continued) I think our Lord teaches us this; that those still living in the flesh must as much as ever they can separate and free themselves in a way from its attachments by virtuous conduct, in order that after death they may not need a second death to cleanse them from the remnants that are owing to this cement of the flesh, and, when once the bonds are loosed from around the soul, her soaring up to the Good may be swift and unimpeded, with no anguish of the body to distract her. For if any one becomes wholly and thoroughly carnal in thought, such a one, with every motion and energy of the soul absorbed in fleshly desires, is not parted from such attachments, even in the disembodied state; just as those who have lingered long in noisome places do not part with the unpleasantness contracted by that lengthened stay, even when they pass into a sweet atmosphere. So it is that, when the change is made into the impalpable Unseen, not even then will it be possible for the lovers of the flesh to avoid dragging away with them under any circumstances some fleshly foulness; and thereby their torment will be intensified, their soul having been materialized by such surroundings. I think too that this view of the matter harmonizes to a certain extent with the assertion made by some persons that around their graves shadowy phantoms of the departed are often seen. If this is really so, an inordinate attachment of that particular soul to the life in the flesh is proved to have existed, causing it to be unwilling, even when expelled from the flesh, to fly clean away and to admit the complete change of its form into the impalpable; it remains near the frame even after the dissolution of the frame, and though now outside it, hovers regretfully over the place where its material is and continues to haunt it." 

   Thus we see a possibility from these observations that the spirits of the dead, otherwise known as ghosts and phantoms, who had fleshly or worldly attachments in this life could be so attached to their life in the flesh that their spirits remain near the bodies from which they separated, or possibly even near what they were attached to in this life. We should note that this is set down as a possible theory of why spirits seem to make their appearance near their graves. Yet St. Gregory also warns that demons can be behind such apparitions. In his Letter Concerning the Sorceress to Bishop Theodoxios, he explains that the so-called spirit of the Prophet Samuel which appeared by the witchcraft of the Witch of Endor (1 Sam. 28) to King Saul was in fact a demon rather than his actual spirit. This view was held by other Church Fathers also, though some also proposed that this may indeed have been his spirit. Read the entire letter here. 


Thanks to John Sanidopoulos


https://www.daimonologia.org/2014/10/st-gregory-of-nyssa-on-apparitions-of.html

Elder Paisios on Loving the World around Us - by Dionysios Farasiotis

 


Elder Paisios on Loving the World around Us

 
A few days after Pascha I decided to take an afternoon walk in the forest outside of Florina… It was a joy to be with the animals, the birds, the trees, and even the smallest blade of grass bursting with life…. I cheerfully spoke to them and they listened to me. I tenderly caressed them and understood their intentions and the movements of their inner beings. I loved them all. This extraordinarily beautiful, peaceful, and loving relationship between man and the world must have characterized the genuine life of Paradise. “The elder must be in such a state every day,” I thought.

Indeed once he [Elder Paisios] said,

“When I was in Stomio at the little monastery near Konitsa, there were two large bears who would come to the place where I would dispose of the garbage. The poor things were hungry, so I would go and give them some bread. The animals can recognize your disposition when you approach them, if you intend to kill them or if you approach them with genuine love.”

At this point, the elder opened up his hand and called to a red robin that was resting in the branches of a tree, and the little bird came and happily perched on the elder’s finger.

“The animals enjoy being with man and look at him as their king. In Paradise, Adam called the animals one by one and gave them each a name according to its kind. Animals recognized man’s superiority and were happy in his presence. After the fall, however, this relationship was destroyed. Man looked at the beasts with the intention of killing them, and the animals became wild. Nevertheless, the wild animals are still more sincere than man is. If you approach them with love, they return to that pristine state. Man has ruined the animals. Even the dog that lives continually by man’s side has changed, acquiring a police mentality and distrustful character. I used to feed a little kitten around here that would come and rub itself up against my leg and purr. Although it was very tame, when one day, I tossed a piece of bread to it, the animal pulled back in fear. What had happened to it? Someone had thrown stones at it and ruined the animal’s attitude towards people. So you see, this evil state of affairs begins with man.”


thanks to:

https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2019/05/elder-paisios-on-loving-the-world-around-us

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Saint Anthony the Great and demon who came

 

Saint Anthony the Great and the Demon Who Came To Him in Repentance 

(St. Justin Popovich) By St. Justin Popovich 


   Apart from this Life of Saint Anthony, written by his holy disciple, Saint Athanasius the Great, there is also information contained in books of the Holy Fathers about other miracles and experiences of Saint Anthony. Here we will put forward another of these miraculous experiences of the truly Great Anthony: 

 Venerable Anthony, great among the perfect, was clairvoyant. Having experienced demonic temptations, he no longer succumbed on their cunning. And many times he saw with his bodily eyes both angels and devils working around people, to draw them each to their side. He was so great and powerful in virtues, that he mocked unclean spirits and ridiculed them. Sometimes he infuriated them, reminding them of how they had been cast out of heaven, and how they had to suffer eternally in the fire. 

   And this happened once: Two demons agreed on how to approach the famous elder Anthony. And they talked among themselves about how neither of them should approach him, fearing that the elder would inflict severe wounds on them. Because the elder had achieved great fearlessness and a perfect life, and he had acquired the Holy Spirit. 

And one of those two demons said to the other: "Brother Serefer (because that was the name of this demon), if either of us repented, would God accept our repentance? Could it be or not?" 

The other answered: "Who can know that?" 

And Serefer said: "Do you want us to go to Elder Anthony, who is not afraid of us, and to find out about it from him?" 


The other answered him: "Go, go, but be careful, because the elder is clairvoyant, and he will see that you are tempting him, so he will not want to ask God about it. Still, go, if only you so you could find out what you want." 

   And Serefer turned into a man, and went to Elder Anthony, and began to weep before him and lament. And God, wanting to show that He does not turn His face away from anyone who repents, but accepts all who resort to Him, and wanting to give an example to a sinner person that He would not to turn His face away even from the devil, the chief of evil, if he truly repents, temporarily hid from the elder the intentions of this demon. 

And the Saint, seeing a man in front of him and not a demon, asked him: "Why, man, do you weep and cry from the heart, and shake my soul with your tears?" 

And the cunning demon answered: "Holy Father, I am not a man but a demon, and that because of the multitude of my iniquities." The elder asked him: "What do you want me to do for you, brother?" (Because the Saint thought that out of great humility he called himself a demon. And God had not yet revealed anything to him about this). 

The demon answered: "Holy Father, I pray for one thing only: pray fervently to God to tell you, would He receive the devil if he repents or not? Because if He received the devil, He would receive me, because I have done deeds that he did." 

The elder said: "I will fulfill your will. But go to your house today, and come here tomorrow, and I will tell you what the Lord says about it." And the demon left. And when night fell, the elder raised his holy hands to heaven, and prayed to the One who loves mankind, to tell him whether He would receive the devil if he repents. 

And immediately an Angel of the Lord stood before the elder and said: " Thus saith the Lord our God: 'Why do you ask Me for a demon? He came to test you cunningly.'" 

And the elder said to the Angel: "Then why didn't the Lord God reveal it to me, but hid it from me, so that I wouldn't see the demon's cunning?" 

The Angel answered: "Let it not trouble you, for this is the wonderful providence of God for the benefit of sinners, so that sinners, who have committed many iniquities, do not despair but repent, knowing that the all-merciful God does not turn His face away from anyone who resorts to Him, even if it was the cunning devil himself, if he really did it. Besides, God did not reveal it to you, in order to reveal the stubbornness and despair of demons. So when the tempter comes to you and asks you, do not cut him off immediately, but tell him this: 'God is so merciful that He does not turn His face away from anyone who resorts to Him, even if he is the devil himself. Here, He promises that he will receive you too, only if you fulfill what He orders you to do.' And if he asks you: 'What is He ordering me?' say unto him, 'Thus saith the Lord God: I know who you are, and from where you have come. You are an ancient evil and you cannot be a new virtue; you have long been the chief of evil, and you will not stop doing evil now. Accustomed to pride, how can you humble yourself to repentance and find mercy? But, in order not to have this excuse on the Day of Judgment, that you wanted to repent but God did not receive you, here, the gentle and merciful Lord also determines (only if you agree) repentance, because He says:

Standing in one place for three years, and facing the East, cry out and say this day and night: God, have mercy on me, the ancient evil! - Say this a hundred times. And again another prayer: God, save me, who am darkened by delusion! - And say the same thing a hundred times. And again: God, have mercy on me, the abomination of desolation! - Say this also a hundred times. So cry out to the Lord constantly, because you don't have a body to get tired or weak. And when you do it with humility, then you will be accepted into your original dignity and included among the Angels of God.' And if he promises to do this, you accept him for repentance. But I know that ancient evil cannot become new good. And let this be written for the last generations, so that sinners who want to repent do not despair. Because from this, people will easily be convinced that they should not despair for their salvation." When the Angel said this to the Venerable Anthony, he ascended to heaven. 

And when the dawn came, the demon, who from afar began to cry and weep like a man, he approached the elder, and he bowed. The elder did not rebuke him at first, but he said in his mind: "At the wrong hour you came liars, devils, scorpions, creators of evil, ancient evil, snake-eater!" Then the Saint said to him: "As I promised you, I prayed to the Lord my God. He will receive you to repentance, if you adopt what my powerful and almighty Lord commands you through me." 

The demon asked: "And what is it that God has commanded me to do?" 

The elder answered: "God commands you like this: Facing the East, you are to stand motionless in one place for three years, crying out day and night: 'God, have mercy on me, the ancient evil!' - You are to say this a hundred times. Then you are to say a hundred times like this: 'God, have mercy on me, the abomination of desolation!' - And after that again a hundred times this: 'God have mercy on me, who am darkened by delusion!' - And when you do all that God commands you, you will be included among the Angels of God, and you will be in the original dignity in which you were before." 

Serefer immediately threw off that false form of repentance, laughed out loud, and said to the elder: "O monk! if I wanted to call myself the ancient evil, and the abomination of desolation, and the one darkened by delusion, I would have done it earlier, in the beginning, to be saved. Should I call myself an ancient evil now? Not at all! And who says that? Oh, I am wonderful in my glory until this hour, and all cowards obey me! And why would I call myself the abomination of desolation or the one darkened by delusion? Not at all, monk, not at all! For I still rule over sinners, and they love me, and I am in their hearts, and they live according to my will. Does repentance make me an unnecessary and wicked servant? Never, evil old man, never, never will it be that I push myself from such a great honor into such disgrace!" Having said that, the devil became invisible. And the elder stood in prayer, and thanked God, saying: "You have told the truth, Lord, that ancient evil cannot become a new virtue; the creator of evils cannot be the creator of new goods." We have endeavored, brethren, to tell you this not in vain, but that you may know the gentleness and mercy of the Lord. Are you sinful - repent! If you do not repent, then you will suffer more terribly than demons in hell, not because you have sinned - (because we all sin, and no one is without sin except one God) - but because you did not want to repent and pray to the Judge before your death. For in the state death finds us, so will we be sent there. If you die without repentance, serving the devil with various and different sins, you will be completely with him and you will be condemned to eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And if before death you flee from sin, and please the Lord with repentance and faith, oh! how many treasures you will enjoy after death! For you will find a merciful Judge, and you will be worthy of bliss, and you will dwell with the bright Angels, where for all who have pleased God, there is inexpressible beauty and eternal joy and gladness. May we all receive this in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and through all the ages, Amen. From Lives of the Saints. 

Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

thanks to :

John Sanidopoulos


https://www.daimonologia.org/2022/01/saint-anthony-great-and-demon-who-came.html