After
Western Europe was torn away from the Orthodox Church by the heretical decrees
of the Pope of Rome and the violence of his allies like the Normans and the
Teutonic Knights, the Holy Ghost fled away from her and holiness withered
up. Many attempts have been made since
then to fill the terrible emptiness that was created at His departure. Most of them fall in the category of outward
spectacle, beginning with the over-sized and disorienting Roman Catholic
cathedrals. Then came the grandiose
masses, followed by the lofty and lengthy preaching of the Protestants, and now
so-called praise bands, speaking in tongues, projector screens and movie clips,
clown masses, etc. But none of these can
ever replace what was lost. Only
repentance and reunion with Christ’s Body, the Holy Orthodox Church, can bring
back the holiness that was lost and begin again the making of saints, a process
that thankfully has never stopped in the Orthodox Church (nor will it while she
endures on the earth, which will be till the end of time).
The
saints are the greatest cultural ‘product’ that any people might ever bring
into being, more valuable than the GDP, military hardware, tech innovations,
paintings, constitutions, or any other creation of the minds and hands of
man. Their glory is eternal, they are new
incarnations of Christ in the world, they are love. The worldly strength and riches of the West
are indeed formidable at the moment, but she is nevertheless in utter spiritual
poverty without the Orthodox Church and her saints. And so her end could come at any moment.
The
Orthodox Church does not need spectacle; nor does She need to ape the fallen
culture around her to make new disciples, as one finds Roman
Catholics and Protestants trying to do nowadays with Super Bowl parties,
cartoons, rock concerts, etc. She did not create ‘Christian gladiator sports’ during her early years in the Old Roman Empire to draw the heathen into the Church, for ensample. All those things are counter-productive in the end, because they do not heal the passions but either damage them more or keep them in their sick state. The
presence of the All-Holy Trinity in the life of the Orthodox Church is all that she
needs. And when a new Orthodox saint is
revealed in this world, the truth of this becomes abundantly clear. From the life of the newly glorified Elder
Iakovos of Evia (+1991):
. . .
Blessed Elder Iakovos
piously lived about forty years in the Monastery of St. David, before that
having lived in the world according to the Gospel for thirty-two years.
He was rich in God,
served the Lord, from his youth until old age preserving in his heart the
desire for asceticism. Fr. Iakovos imitated St. David, following in his
footsteps.
His ascetic labors
were not inferior to those of the ancient saints, who were in obedience to
elders. The spiritual and physical attacks of the devil, a multitude of
temptations, trials and troubles were like unto those faced by the God-bearing
fathers.
But at that time,
when the trials, sicknesses, and sufferings of Fr. Iakovos were multiplying,
the Lord bestowed spiritual gifts upon him such as spiritual vision, knowledge
of the future, discernment, and conviction.
The more Divine
visions and signs there were, given according to his prayers, the louder became
his fame. Not only simple folk came to see him at the monastery, but
patriarchs, hierarchs, priests, monks, civil authorities, senior judges,
university professors, and scientists. And as they left the monastery after
meeting with Elder Iakovos, all felt they were leaving a portion of Heaven.
Everyone received
from the elder the help they needed. The suffering found in his approving words
comfort and solace, the demon-possessed were liberated from impure spirits by
his prayers, the sick recovered thanks to the boldness of his prayers, those haggard
from various problems found mental quietude, tranquility, strengthening, and a
solution to their problems after his blessing.
The poor found in his
uncomplaining and patient almsgiving deliverance from the misery of poverty and
freedom from serious debts.
Many childless
families were gifted with wonderful children by his prayers and blessing. For
those who could no more than see the elder, his appearance was a revelation of
God’s grace manifested on Earth.
This is what
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew wrote on this occasion in his letter to the
honorable Monastery of St. David: “Through the elder’s blessedness and his
bright appearance is accomplished that which St. Chrysostom wrote of St.
Meletius of Antioch: ‘For not only he who teaches, not only he who speaks, but
he who merely gives an example in deed is able to invest every virtue into the
soul of those who see him.’”
. . .
Elder Iakovos left
the administration of the monastery in 1990 due to poor health. He was more and
more beset by sickness, and in September 1991, after a minor heart attack, the
elder was hospitalized. Having been treated, Fr. Iakovos returned to the
monastery, but an inflammation began which developed into pneumonia. The elder
had a premonition of his impending repose.
On the morning of
November 21, 1991, he went to the service, sang on the kliros, and partook of
the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Then the elder confessed several faithful and
walked around the monastery inside and out. At noon, Fr. Iakovos heard the
confession of his spiritual daughter and of a monk who was in obedience to Fr.
Hilarion; this monk was to be ordained as a hierodeacon that day by the
metropolitan of Chalkida.
When the brethren
entered, Fr. Iakovos tried to get up, but he felt dizzy. His breathing became
labored, his pulse weakened, and from his mouth came forth only a weak
exhalation. The elder was already on the path to eternity.
Little was said about
the elder’s death, but the phones were working full blast, spreading the news
of this sad event. The following day, thousands of people came—clergy of all
degrees and spiritual children of the elder from throughout all of Greece—to
give him their last kiss: The monastery courtyard was overflowing with people.
His funeral was held
under the open sky, and after the homily, Metropolitan Prokopios of Cephalonia
asked to raise his body higher, that all the faithful could see the elder. As
soon as they showed his relics, the thousands of faithful called out as with
one voice, “A saint, a saint.”
. . .
But after his blessed
repose, the holy elder, as thousands of faithful confess, continues to bring
assistance by his boldness before the Lord.
The Monastery of St.
David has recorded at least 300 testimonies, which are contained in letters of
the beneficiaries themselves or recorded from their oral accounts, connected
with healings by the intercession or posthumous appearances of the elder.
Contemporary
testimonies on the help of Fr. Iakovos
Fr. John Bernezos,
the rector of the Church of St. John the Russian in the village of Procopio on
the island of Evia, reports the following:
“I had a tumor on my
right hand. Besides the dangers that the tumor harbored in itself, it was ugly.
Therefore, when parishioners kissed me on the hand, I would hide it under my
riassa.
“On the day of Elder
Iakovos’ funeral (11/22/1991), I told him about it, and when I kissed his body,
I reached out my diseased hand to him. From that moment, the tumor began to
shrink until it completely disappeared. I am immensely grateful to the holy
elder! May his blessing be upon us!”
***
Adromaxi Paskali, a
resident of the village of Limni on the island of Evia, writes in a letter sent
to the monastery: “On November 18, 1993, a tumor appeared on the tip of my
tongue, which gradually grew and constantly bothered me when I spoke, ate, or
drank water.
“Two months passed
from the day when I first noticed the tumor, but it didn’t disappear. I felt
horrible. And in this state of serious nervous tension in which I found myself,
while I was thinking that on Monday I should go to a doctor in Athens, I told
my problem to Fr. Iakovos, looking at a tiny picture of him which was standing
on the table across me. I asked him to help me, so I wouldn’t have to undergo
some endless succession of doctor’s examinations, as is required in such
emergency cases, and for about two nights I would suddenly wake up in my room.
In the morning, when I got up and had some coffee, I made sure that nothing was
bothering me on my tongue. I impatiently ran up to the mirror and saw that the
tumor had disappeared without a trace. See—I simply asked St. Iakovos for help,
and he simply responded.”
. . .
***
When this text was
being prepared for publication, Mr. Yannoulis, a sailor from the island of
Andros, came to the monastery. The man’s eyes were brimming over with tears; he
was unable to cope with his excitement; he could barely speak. He told the
following story:
“I traveled to India
quite a while ago. One day, my heart began to trouble me. In the hospital where
they sent me, the doctors said I had not long to live.
“Despite my terrible
situation, I felt some invisible Divine power helping me. When I opened my eyes
at some point, the first thing I saw was Elder Iakovos, whose book I had read
several times.
“He told me, ‘Don’t
be afraid, Yannoulis, I will help you. Everything will be alright, and you will
return home.’ And from that moment I fully recovered.”
***
The existing oral and
written testimonies of the faithful confirm that Elder Iakovos has great
boldness before God, and we pray to him for intercession for us all before our
Lord, the Giver of gifts.
Source: Archimandrite Kirill, Jesse Dominick trans., http://orthochristian.com/109373.html,
opened 4, 5 Jan. 2017
--
Holy
Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!
Anathema
to the Union!
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