By Elder Gabriel,
Abbot of the Monastery of the Venerable David in Evia
(Excerpt from a Homily)
Abbot of the Monastery of the Venerable David in Evia
(Excerpt from a Homily)
The miracles of Saint Iakovos take place every day! They are innumerable.
A characteristic one took place in Cyprus. Police officer Andreas Voskou, the spiritual child of Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou, had a pimple on his forehead, which was collecting pus. With doctors and drugs, he could not find a cure. Reading the book of Fr. Iakovos, he begged him - he had not met him while he was alive - and he said to him "Elder Iakovos, as when you lived you ran with the Holy Head [of Venerable David] and offered your blessing to the faithful, so come to me with the Holy head and bless me".
One night when he was lying down, before going to sleep, he saw Elder Iakovos alive with a cross in his hand. The moment he went to bless him with the cross, a demon appeared and said:
"Leave him, do not bless him with the cross, he is ours."
"He is not yours," said Fr. Iakovos.
"He's ours because he committed these… these… and these sins."
"He may have committed these sins," replied Fr. Iakovos, "but he confessed them and they were written off."
"Yes, he confessed them," replied the devil, "but he also has some smaller ones that he did not confess."
"Eh! These are of such a nature that he redeemed them with his good deeds," replied Elder Iakovos, and then he addressed the policeman and told him, "Tell the demon that you are saved."
But he was scared, he was trembling, he was shaking all over, he could not say anything.
"Tell the demon, 'I am saved'."
Again, nothing.
For the third time he pressed against his back with force, with great pressure. The policeman said syllabically: "I am saved", and the devil was so terrified that he disappeared.
In the morning he got up and went to the mirror, saw that the pimple had broken and was producing pus the size, length and thickness of a cigarette. He went and told the whole story to his wife and told her about the pressure on his back from the hand of Fr. Iakovos. He lifted his shirt and saw imprinted on his back, the palm of Fr. Iakovos' hand.
Source: Translation by John Sanidopoulos.
A characteristic one took place in Cyprus. Police officer Andreas Voskou, the spiritual child of Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou, had a pimple on his forehead, which was collecting pus. With doctors and drugs, he could not find a cure. Reading the book of Fr. Iakovos, he begged him - he had not met him while he was alive - and he said to him "Elder Iakovos, as when you lived you ran with the Holy Head [of Venerable David] and offered your blessing to the faithful, so come to me with the Holy head and bless me".
One night when he was lying down, before going to sleep, he saw Elder Iakovos alive with a cross in his hand. The moment he went to bless him with the cross, a demon appeared and said:
"Leave him, do not bless him with the cross, he is ours."
"He is not yours," said Fr. Iakovos.
"He's ours because he committed these… these… and these sins."
"He may have committed these sins," replied Fr. Iakovos, "but he confessed them and they were written off."
"Yes, he confessed them," replied the devil, "but he also has some smaller ones that he did not confess."
"Eh! These are of such a nature that he redeemed them with his good deeds," replied Elder Iakovos, and then he addressed the policeman and told him, "Tell the demon that you are saved."
But he was scared, he was trembling, he was shaking all over, he could not say anything.
"Tell the demon, 'I am saved'."
Again, nothing.
For the third time he pressed against his back with force, with great pressure. The policeman said syllabically: "I am saved", and the devil was so terrified that he disappeared.
In the morning he got up and went to the mirror, saw that the pimple had broken and was producing pus the size, length and thickness of a cigarette. He went and told the whole story to his wife and told her about the pressure on his back from the hand of Fr. Iakovos. He lifted his shirt and saw imprinted on his back, the palm of Fr. Iakovos' hand.
Source: Translation by John Sanidopoulos.