Saint Nektarios, Bishop Petros, and the Demoniac

Our first pilgrimage in the homeland of Greece this past July was to Aegina. Saint Nektarios granted us the blessing to visit his beautiful monastery, which he himself had dedicated to the name of the Holy Trinity. We venerated his holy relics and his tomb, which is located within the courtyard of the Monastery.

That day we became witnesses of his miraculous grace upon a demon-possessed young girl. This event will remain unforgettable for me throughout my life.

Lying in front of the reliquary of the saint, beneath his icon, a young girl—about eighteen years old—was literally writhing. She was being held tightly by four women, apparently her mother and relatives. My God, what screams she let out and what words came from her mouth. The prince of darkness was using that poor creature as his instrument and was boasting of his successes.

“I rule the world today,” the evil spirit said. “Young and old, rich and poor, men and women, rulers and kings, they all belong to me; they all obey me. Jesus has no power today. I rule, they all obey me. They worship me. Only at the hour of death do they make the sign of the cross out of fear, because they see me above them. I—I hold the authority of the whole world in my hands…”

At these words, our Bishop Petros entered the Church of Saint Nektarios. What happened next is indescribable!

The demon was terrified. “Hey you… y-you tr… what are you doing here, huh? Who told you to come, who brought you here, huh?” The curses it uttered against the Bishop are unrepeatable; the demon even went so far as to blaspheme the divine.

Then the Bishop placed his engolpion on the head of the afflicted girl and prayed. The demon then agitated her even more; she let out terrible screams. Then the Bishop took a small spoonful of oil from the saint’s lamp and placed it in the mouth of the possessed girl. That was it.

Suddenly, the girl calmed down, came to herself, made the sign of the cross, and asked to thank the Bishop, who, by invoking the name of Saint Nektarios and with the oil from his lamp, drove the demon out of her.

An unforgettable day for me. Saint Nektarios be our help.

- Mich. Giannakoff, Physician

 

Source: ΙΕΡΕΣ ΑΝΑΜΝΗΣΕΙΣ 'Από τό περιβόλι τής Παναγίας τήν Μυροβόλο Χίο καί τήν ' Αμερική [HOLY MEMORIES From the Garden of the Theotokos, the Myrrh-flowing Chios, and America], by Metropolitan Petros [Astyfides] of Astoria, Athens, 1990, pp. 90-91.