The Demon of Suicide

The repentance of Peter | The despair of Judas

 

 

"And having thrown the silver pieces into the Temple, he departed, and going away hanged himself" (That is: And after he had thrown the silver coins into the court of the Temple, he departed and went and strangled himself with a rope).

The last solution of the problems of the unbelieving—the little-faith—is despair and hopelessness. This also happened to Judas. He did not repent, but despaired.

Holy Chrysostomos clarifies:

"To feel remorse, Judas, and to throw the silver pieces and not to be ashamed before the Jewish crowd—all these are acceptable. But to hang himself, this is unforgivable and an act of the evil demon. For it first removed him from repentance, so that he might not benefit from it. Then it kills him with a dishonorable death, manifest to all, after it had persuaded him to commit suicide."

***

In the Life of Saint Martin († November 12), we read about the demon of suicide:

Once, as the Saint was passing through the city, he found in one place a young man hanged, and he said to those present there:

"This evil has happened through the cooperation of the devil." And having stood toward the east, he prayed to God for quite a while. Then he said: "The unclean and evil spirit which incited this young man to hang himself on the gallows, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, show yourself before all, that we may see you." Immediately at these words the demon appeared like a little black boy, holding in its hands a rope; its eyes were like fire, its lips black, its teeth white, its hands long, its feet crooked, and its tongue hanging out of its mouth like that of a rabid dog. Then the Saint said to it: "Unclean and evil spirit, what is your work?" It answered: "My work is to incite people to suicide, for to this my leader, Satan, has appointed me." The Saint said: "And for what reason did you incite this young man to hang himself?"

Then the demon began to accuse the suicide, saying:

"This man was first an idolater and afterwards became a Christian, yet he did not live according to the commandments which he received, but did his evil desires and did not think of eternal hell. He had given himself entirely over to vices, putting of his own will his neck under the yoke of sin, and having been wounded all over from head to foot he lost the hope of his salvation. Thus I also found the opportunity and incited him to hang himself, that I might have him with me in hell. For this is my great struggle."

Then the Saint said to the demon:

"Deceitful one and murderer, you are the enemy and the accuser, and you incited this wretch to surrender himself to darkness and to destruction, and you brought him into a miserable state, and now you accuse him, that he was the cause of hanging himself and not you? For this, Jesus Christ commands you, through me the humble one, to go and dwell at the edge of the inhabited world until the end of the world comes, and to descend with your companions into Hades, which is prepared for you."

And immediately the demon vanished.

After these things the Saint approached the dead man and said this prayer:

"Lord my God, who hast boundless compassion and an indescribable sea of mercy, do not overlook the creature of Thy hands, and raise up this dead man, that Thy most holy Name may be glorified unto the ages of ages. Amen."

And immediately, the dead man was raised and, falling at the feet of the Saint, said:

"I thank you, Saint of God, because you did not leave me, the sinner, in that dreadful and bitter place of Hades, but I beg you, guide me, that I may attain my salvation."

Then the Saint said:

"Because, my child, you have experienced and seen the great evil that sins cause to man, therefore repent worthily, weep for your sins, hate them, and from this day forth resolve to abstain from all evil."

Afterwards, he gave him the proper rule of penance, and having instructed him on how he should live his life and do works of repentance, he let him go.

***

Trust in God is a God-pleasing work, whereas despair and hopelessness are the work of the devil.

Our work is the repentance of Peter, not the despair of Judas.

 

Greek source: Ὀρθόδοξος Τύπος, no. 2,541, May 9, 2025.

Shared by the G.O.C. Metropolis of Oropos and Phyle:

https://www.imoph.org/pdfs/2025/10/05/20251005aDaimon-aytoktonias.pdf