tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80840805596325980022026-04-08T06:44:13.276-04:00Hallowed Entries About Dark Culture &amp; Thought, the Fantastic and the Supernatural (from an Orthodox Christian Perspective)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger451125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-21006762814101536652026-01-02T16:47:00.004-05:002026-01-02T16:47:49.602-05:00<div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdyv_TxMw4DXFhuYuXmRufuULmOu5wS_JvM5iF0gLpugaRQPAS0to8KF62trzavHbrpbJSffuV7-c7HruQyrt3DedwGtz1QX6k9sdqka4AfWJFk52c221XpbbIkRt4LjNA7OuRlOh1jW9eJdTFJn5JbjDVIftQk9MkGXjRYzM54hDEuH26f5t6FxJbY7W/s1200/shutterstock_2194800175-e1741105870232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdyv_TxMw4DXFhuYuXmRufuULmOu5wS_JvM5iF0gLpugaRQPAS0to8KF62trzavHbrpbJSffuV7-c7HruQyrt3DedwGtz1QX6k9sdqka4AfWJFk52c221XpbbIkRt4LjNA7OuRlOh1jW9eJdTFJn5JbjDVIftQk9MkGXjRYzM54hDEuH26f5t6FxJbY7W/w640-h426/shutterstock_2194800175-e1741105870232.jpg" width="640"></a></div><br></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Should We Believe in Luck? Are There Unlucky and Lucky People?</b><br><br>By Archimandrite Athanagoras Karamantzanes<br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br>For Christianity and our Orthodox Church, luck does not exist. Nowhere in Holy Scripture or in the entire body of Patristic literature is belief in luck taught. The word luck expresses nothing other than our ignorance of the causes of the phenomena or events of life. There is no goddess and no blind force called luck (τύχη). Whatever appears to us as accidental or coincidental always springs from a deeper cause.<br><br>When we say that an event is due to luck, it is merely a manner of speaking, and we mean nothing more than that its cause was unknown to us — not that luck is the cause of things. That is why someone once said: “Luck is perhaps the pseudonym of God, when He does not wish to put His signature.”<br><br>But then what does exist? The Providence of our Almighty, All-wise, and All-good God, which is expressed as the uncreated energy of creation, preservation, and governance of the visible and invisible world. Through the Providence of God, every created being is helped to fulfill the purpose for which it was created. In the Old Testament we read: “For Your providence, O Father, governs all things, because You have given even in the sea a way and amid the waves a safe path, showing that You are able to save from every danger” (Wisdom of Solomon 14:3).<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2026/01/should-we-believe-in-luck-are-there.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-18013652480845062662025-11-14T02:52:01.642-05:002025-11-14T02:52:53.604-05:00<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67FTTXPmiqxyt2dJBCMQWN-nwOiFZS2gPwYPOpdzgDzzg2mV34XFL4uK1ryx10zOX3BrTWlUj-lbHr_yYtSREvAWif_rcPeu1YD2jl4nKwv6_zzeqXPd3lD8nMUdN4lEJ-oGe2iQ_D8bwdcJ2SLDt-EsRAtzbdlasT9a8yWPN9Gr1vyd6hjlRvjS1Erg/s845/Screenshot%202025-11-14%20at%2002-43-15%20(5)%20Instagram.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="476" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67FTTXPmiqxyt2dJBCMQWN-nwOiFZS2gPwYPOpdzgDzzg2mV34XFL4uK1ryx10zOX3BrTWlUj-lbHr_yYtSREvAWif_rcPeu1YD2jl4nKwv6_zzeqXPd3lD8nMUdN4lEJ-oGe2iQ_D8bwdcJ2SLDt-EsRAtzbdlasT9a8yWPN9Gr1vyd6hjlRvjS1Erg/w360-h640/Screenshot%202025-11-14%20at%2002-43-15%20(5)%20Instagram.png" width="360" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kat Von D, a recent Orthodox Christian convert known for her dark aesthetic and artistry, which she did not entirely abandon upon her conversion, was recently accused by her fellow Christians of having a demonic piece of furniture in her home. The piece of furniture is a beautifully carved 19th century cabinet shaped like a cello that Napoleon had commissioned for his favorite cello player. In a response to this on her Instagram page, she gracefully explains why dark aesthetics like this gothic furniture piece are not necessarily demonic upon closer examination.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRAYhWNkbBD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0px 0px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 1px 10px 0px; margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRAYhWNkbBD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0px;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0px auto 12px; width: 50px;"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g fill-rule="evenodd" fill="none" stroke-width="1" stroke="none"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0px;"></div> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px); width: 12.5px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0px; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); transform: translateY(16px); width: 0px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; transform: translateY(-4px); width: 16px;"></div> <div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); height: 0px; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px); width: 0px;"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0px 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRAYhWNkbBD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Kat Von D (@thekatvond)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>&nbsp;Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-13073122006985383322025-10-31T17:26:00.004-04:002025-10-31T17:30:38.746-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XMNAugvc-Db2A9a_iEqjPBZgFnx99V0iMmVW3nM-NOVir0WdTbYAmDHY_rTZV5_mrhlyXvFI2cGFuAZcshLUmErHB05TMJNB-KBPHdvIE0Pmtzeh6E2M4JptpAnYsq_iZftlAqAA6sPTaOxrGNkRY-yT-JdkWS5St3pqcIi7Acz3MItQ3Ktj_RoMLLDl/s666/7s2450.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="666" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XMNAugvc-Db2A9a_iEqjPBZgFnx99V0iMmVW3nM-NOVir0WdTbYAmDHY_rTZV5_mrhlyXvFI2cGFuAZcshLUmErHB05TMJNB-KBPHdvIE0Pmtzeh6E2M4JptpAnYsq_iZftlAqAA6sPTaOxrGNkRY-yT-JdkWS5St3pqcIi7Acz3MItQ3Ktj_RoMLLDl/w400-h300/7s2450.jpg" width="400"></a></div><br></div><div style="text-align: center;">By Fr. Stephanos Anagnostopoulos<br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br>Years ago, a young priest told me this amazing story: <br><br>“My mother did not want her son to become a priest; and three years after I was ordained, she died. I did not pay particular attention at her death as a priest; I only did what was necessary and nothing else.<br><br>One evening, at dusk, I was walking by the cemetery and I thought: ‘Why don’t I stop and light her oil lamp?’ I lit her oil lamp and sat down on a rock. I didn’t have my stole with me, so I didn’t read a trisagion for her.<br><br>After a little while, I felt faint, and I looked up. It seemed like the graves were open, and the bodies of the dead were getting up and screaming: ‘HELP! HELP! Priests of the most high God, help us! Orthodox Christians, help us! Do liturgies, prayers, memorial services, trisagia… HELP us, Christian people!’<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2025/10/the-haunted-graveyard-of-hopeless-souls.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-62688639504478095322025-10-30T16:49:00.010-04:002025-10-30T17:15:23.912-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKceGjnkpQOBYT7CqD6HmCYsO8PbE0SA1b3F3d8dn3uOYIcfK1DOUuuJ7YIZPK7xE-naVh_4gm7_PDEb6bAosEU6-D_Nx36lK0V8oeTFJvUDpmA_rkbRJLJQ5mLkDRy66nmufknsAOzgZ_9KIpiXghk1aio1PSJtXWcxynpHe9x6X-qD03Hyv97tXXvB-X/s1920/Cover_Aoratos-scaled.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1317" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKceGjnkpQOBYT7CqD6HmCYsO8PbE0SA1b3F3d8dn3uOYIcfK1DOUuuJ7YIZPK7xE-naVh_4gm7_PDEb6bAosEU6-D_Nx36lK0V8oeTFJvUDpmA_rkbRJLJQ5mLkDRy66nmufknsAOzgZ_9KIpiXghk1aio1PSJtXWcxynpHe9x6X-qD03Hyv97tXXvB-X/w440-h640/Cover_Aoratos-scaled.webp" width="440"></a></div> </div><div style="text-align: center;">By Vangelis Hatzivasiliou, <br>Editor of <i>Eleftherotypia</i>, 4/3/2010<br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br>The first translation of H. G. Wells&#39; famous novel &quot;The Invisible Man&quot; in Greece was made, anonymously, by Alexandros Papadiamantis.<br><br>What does Alexandros Papadiamantis have to do with science fiction and horror literature? And how can he be connected to an author like H. G. Wells and his famous novel &quot;The Invisible Man&quot;, which nurtured generations upon generations of readers and translators, as well as writers and artists?<br><br>Papadiamantis was, in an unsuspecting time, the anonymous first translator of &quot;The Invisible Man&quot; in Greece. A translator with imagination, resourcefulness, humor and, most importantly, a strongly sarcastic disposition. This, at least, is shown by today&#39;s edition of his text by &quot;Kichli&quot;, edited by N. D. Triantafyllopoulos and Lambrini Triantafyllopoulos, who spoke about their find four years ago (with an article in the magazine &quot;Nea Estia&quot;), while the case had already been identified in 1987 by Eleni I. Damvounelli (with her announcement in the magazine &quot;Diavazo&quot;).<br><br><b><span></span></b></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2025/10/alexandros-papadiamantis-and-invisible.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-92209371351262767212025-10-28T17:41:00.003-04:002025-10-28T17:47:38.113-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxpoRQIM8Tw2B8hyphenhyphenjy3aXQddv9Igya4t5Tz67B1BdF9BDn4ib0EOJw-OHr3ujQkOCuuTFiyVpJl5sOZsI2lhhW92MLIQeLasJajiH-ZhbKocD4pp4CmU0TqBrIYyoI2Ddr0VlPv08HsP2Vi_r1ymns0KYKCiI_w7uB5J15fAypCM1Nt6WIXKtpLzycHDW/s1400/1_8fXuJMIQjVnMIBVZ7-uFCA.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1400" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxpoRQIM8Tw2B8hyphenhyphenjy3aXQddv9Igya4t5Tz67B1BdF9BDn4ib0EOJw-OHr3ujQkOCuuTFiyVpJl5sOZsI2lhhW92MLIQeLasJajiH-ZhbKocD4pp4CmU0TqBrIYyoI2Ddr0VlPv08HsP2Vi_r1ymns0KYKCiI_w7uB5J15fAypCM1Nt6WIXKtpLzycHDW/w640-h394/1_8fXuJMIQjVnMIBVZ7-uFCA.jpg" width="640"></a></div><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>...continued from part eighteen.</i><br><br><b>17. Strange Phenomena in Yekaterinburg.</b> <br><br>The newspaper &quot;Ural&quot; published the following description of phenomena observed in Yekaterinburg and taking place in the house of the priest of the village of Loginovo, Father Nikolai.<br><br>Father Nikolai has lived in this house for 13 years. Last summer, the house underwent major renovations. Before the renovations, the house was completely quiet, and afterward, the same continued for another two months. But recently, Father began to hear scratching sounds from inside the kitchen floor, sometimes whistling. He carefully examined the floor, peered into the crawlspace, but found nothing there. Three days passed. He said nothing to anyone, afraid to embarrass the family. Then, in addition to the scratching and whistling, he began to hear knocking on the floor, quite loudly. It sounded like someone was scratching the floor with claws; scratching and whistling. Then the entire household heard and recognized it. <br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2025/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-19682981897169571652025-10-27T17:31:00.003-04:002025-10-27T17:36:00.786-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdPe9biK2peqkyDuIkfw1cDzVdV0nomQajTw3hBKQwK-qJQmezVZJxNpLOwignaT_F9ceWTI-6o9Q8ThZcslqzdpGo_Nw8DQgkKZN0Bz3tq3Khb60EI9MhM3m4SYnI_kGPBPlDwo2w7XmvwO8mU4LPB1ow3RyzWsW8Yng_erNjCuD2jpZHn4GroKQeICs/s686/hq720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="686" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdPe9biK2peqkyDuIkfw1cDzVdV0nomQajTw3hBKQwK-qJQmezVZJxNpLOwignaT_F9ceWTI-6o9Q8ThZcslqzdpGo_Nw8DQgkKZN0Bz3tq3Khb60EI9MhM3m4SYnI_kGPBPlDwo2w7XmvwO8mU4LPB1ow3RyzWsW8Yng_erNjCuD2jpZHn4GroKQeICs/w640-h360/hq720.jpg" width="640"></a></div><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Byzantine historian Anthony Kaldellis compiled this anthology of Byzantine tales of horror and the macabre for his podcast in 2000. <br><i><br>Learn about foul murders, demonic visitations, the undead, and the criminally insane; also, the Byzantine science of demonology and the spirit world. <br><br>The stories are: &quot;Questions for a woman who killed and ate her mother and daughter&quot;; &quot;Incisive curiosity&quot;; &quot;Desire of the flesh&quot;; &quot;The mummy&quot;; &quot;The murderer who gave himself up&quot;; &quot;Drawn and quartered&quot;; &quot;Wrong address&quot;; &quot;Erinyes of the sea&quot;; &quot;Three Blind Men&quot;; &quot;Taken&quot;; &quot;Possessorix&quot;; &quot;Baboutzikarios&quot;; &quot;Gello&quot;; &quot;Second chance&quot;; &quot;Calling a witness&quot;; and &quot;Killing baby Hitler.&quot;</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2025/10/an-anthology-of-byzantine-tales-of.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-40800184983925761792025-10-23T16:04:00.002-04:002025-10-23T16:12:42.846-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXt0Ycc_x1DgmxpXW8gH2oTS3HH3WGrFvBJyeWN_MKJnziCQ25PJR1vP9THx2xDUEiU2xF2jyUo81IX-fySk1ZjzAP3aZ1fA_OjlW0V1qLnDhU9IhuCwMtT-pespriyLeWM8JwdeWKT_-FYJyOCBT-X6jPBduIi8zGEkXTPeQRwvyUOw7zvh5MJaxSe1E/s1536/d047a278-6b70-4302-9871-dbe54d451a0d.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXt0Ycc_x1DgmxpXW8gH2oTS3HH3WGrFvBJyeWN_MKJnziCQ25PJR1vP9THx2xDUEiU2xF2jyUo81IX-fySk1ZjzAP3aZ1fA_OjlW0V1qLnDhU9IhuCwMtT-pespriyLeWM8JwdeWKT_-FYJyOCBT-X6jPBduIi8zGEkXTPeQRwvyUOw7zvh5MJaxSe1E/w426-h640/d047a278-6b70-4302-9871-dbe54d451a0d.png" width="426"></a></div><br></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;">As I was reading some things about the Seven Youths of Ephesus yesterday for their feast, I was noticing some parallels between the story and Gothic literature that I am familiar with, especially when stripped of the hagiographical elements. And as I wondered what a movie or book would look like if the story of these Seven Sleepers was transformed into a Gothic story, I decided to do some research on the internet. Google then provided me with a rough draft of these parallels I noticed through their AI generator, which I thought was worth sharing. Below are three entries on the subject generated by AI, with the last of the three specifically concentrating on the parallels between the story of the Seven Sleepers and Edgar Allan Poe stories.</span><br><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #660000;"><span></span></b></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2025/10/parallels-between-legend-of-seven.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-32133111176751697432025-10-10T13:19:00.004-04:002025-10-10T13:19:47.277-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGORZubIydvUoENiW0qfSjdpo6qmdbG-cuzyfjhyZHQH0k_bCYU8K9a8PDGRcb4DfMJ1w3I5-zgOyS8hA58Ff45UBCcKNexOvxAYs1Dq3UYi_e6MeJrRlpYArKeoH73nwyweqXR3IfZ_PvCL6aC5XN5jFTgOe2a7aK-nTcHN55aUpp28nsjf_FyPnbgqP/s972/ba2342339f37415af724f15d3e9e69d4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="851" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGORZubIydvUoENiW0qfSjdpo6qmdbG-cuzyfjhyZHQH0k_bCYU8K9a8PDGRcb4DfMJ1w3I5-zgOyS8hA58Ff45UBCcKNexOvxAYs1Dq3UYi_e6MeJrRlpYArKeoH73nwyweqXR3IfZ_PvCL6aC5XN5jFTgOe2a7aK-nTcHN55aUpp28nsjf_FyPnbgqP/w560-h640/ba2342339f37415af724f15d3e9e69d4.jpg" width="560"></a></div><br></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Homily for the Commemoration of the </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Holy Hieromartyr Cyprian and the Holy Martyr Justina </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br><span style="color: #990000;">October 2</span><br> </div><div style="text-align: center;">By Fr. Daniel Sysoev<br><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!<br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br>I congratulate you on the feast day of the Holy Hieromartyr Cyprian and the Holy Martyr Justina! The Holy Hieromartyr Cyprian was once a prominent magician and sorcerer. He was personally acquainted with Satan and received from him many demons to serve. But Cyprian proved powerless against the newly converted Christian, who had been baptized only five years earlier. He could do nothing before her prayer and ascetic struggles. The devil fears the sign of the cross and can do nothing to harm Christians. This so astonished Cyprian that he abandoned his demonic arts, declaring that he would serve the God of Justina. He converted to Christ, was baptized, and was later awarded the episcopacy and a martyr&#39;s crown alongside Saint Justina.<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2025/10/homily-for-commemoration-of-holy.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-47041956746091030032025-09-24T17:29:00.012-04:002025-09-24T17:29:44.328-04:00<div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJt9DRkj5KH45zu2hAmKjURme4unz8gIcniTIjEt7LyRh-RZOz3Hf_RamkyNe3ZcHWSRiwutZtZJ2cndUhnuUK35WuPwI7rEMw4ROk97URXm-UGw0BhT6JfLD65UsUAoKdQswt16WWNvNiw91EhWgcgE8LsKxnvk62UGO1lC_w7DksbRERZr2k2caYu3na/s500/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJt9DRkj5KH45zu2hAmKjURme4unz8gIcniTIjEt7LyRh-RZOz3Hf_RamkyNe3ZcHWSRiwutZtZJ2cndUhnuUK35WuPwI7rEMw4ROk97URXm-UGw0BhT6JfLD65UsUAoKdQswt16WWNvNiw91EhWgcgE8LsKxnvk62UGO1lC_w7DksbRERZr2k2caYu3na/w640-h400/13.jpg" width="640"></a></div><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The most characteristic case of tree worship, which has been preserved for centuries in Crete, concerns the Sacred Myrtle of Paliani.</i><br><br>By Eleni Vasilaki<br><br>Although as a plant the Myrtle is classified as a shrub in the Monastery of Paliani, the perennial myrtle is an entire tree, which even has its own separate celebration, on September 24, and not on August 15, when the Katholikon of the Monastery, in the courtyard of which it is located, celebrates.<br><br>Its celebration was established on this date as, it is said, September 24 was when the miraculous icon of the Panagia Myrtidiotissa was found.<br><br>In fact, the icon of the Panagia, in the case of the Holy Myrtle of Paliani, according to religious tradition, is still embedded in the trunk of the Myrtle tree today, invisible to those who do not have the power and faith to see it.<br><br><span></span></div></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2025/09/the-holy-myrtle-of-paliani-and.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-74583583964294770912025-09-04T17:58:00.007-04:002025-09-04T18:13:45.156-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-t9q1inO7v0C50_hNocTtW62AD6VaWiM6flhyuwM2LEDNYAZI34aU1Q89nE7WUInKlJ-y_A4rIa07HEl7qxZCYJfXLh3tyD7Fbj43ESVCgW43LeDg-ONSjygd2oQrFpA_a4yfi7o8JQNGBMuaDN2Z6hp08jVR0T0uNib9DuSm2LA7u33jOSi6fgfN76mo/s960/458571983_8192558650831244_8412586794861925271_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-t9q1inO7v0C50_hNocTtW62AD6VaWiM6flhyuwM2LEDNYAZI34aU1Q89nE7WUInKlJ-y_A4rIa07HEl7qxZCYJfXLh3tyD7Fbj43ESVCgW43LeDg-ONSjygd2oQrFpA_a4yfi7o8JQNGBMuaDN2Z6hp08jVR0T0uNib9DuSm2LA7u33jOSi6fgfN76mo/w480-h640/458571983_8192558650831244_8412586794861925271_n.jpg" width="480"></a></div><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Venerable Anthimos Kourouklis, the Blind Ascetic of Kefallonia, who reposed on September 4th 1782, is also associated with the Greek island of Astypalea where he did missionary work and performed a number of miracles. It was here that he helped exterminate a huge serpent that nested in a small cave in the northeast of the island, known to this day as Drakospilia or Drakontospilaio (translated as Dragon Cave).<br><br>The serpent instilled such fear in the inhabitants that the entire area beyond the narrow part of the island was uninhabited. The Saint advised them to cultivate the rest of the island in order to survive; however, he encountered their resistance due to the serpent. Then Anthimos, accompanied by a few faithful witnesses to the remarkable miracle that followed, crossed the narrow passage of the island and reached an elevation from where the cave of the dragon could be discerned.<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2025/09/saint-anthimos-serpent-hunter-of.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-33200530654067512752025-08-11T04:31:00.006-04:002025-08-15T01:31:27.258-04:00<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPyJopIxqOCncDv8Sua060qBOPgcXi466S1bpVgYdoIkODv9uGv3Qp1y-nUXAg6m76cW59h6yVhvuPJiXLyRAZsBqL7Sv4cSP6x8Qkuy_Kzn83nQtOSaejJI6p9iL5Gho_XnwkNawYRL1l0x_mxftxOUDaB4-fLo3DGjVyIUl8bZn_qmaWuLq2PZZW2ifQ/s1500/Jesuswalksonwater-5b5c6d2f46e0fb0082172fab.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="1500" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPyJopIxqOCncDv8Sua060qBOPgcXi466S1bpVgYdoIkODv9uGv3Qp1y-nUXAg6m76cW59h6yVhvuPJiXLyRAZsBqL7Sv4cSP6x8Qkuy_Kzn83nQtOSaejJI6p9iL5Gho_XnwkNawYRL1l0x_mxftxOUDaB4-fLo3DGjVyIUl8bZn_qmaWuLq2PZZW2ifQ/w640-h448/Jesuswalksonwater-5b5c6d2f46e0fb0082172fab.jpg" width="640"></a></div><br></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Against the Fear of Ghosts </b><br><br>By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko<br></div><br><i>&quot;And when the disciples saw [Jesus] walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, &#39;It is a ghost!&#39; And they cried out for fear&quot; (Matt. 14:26).</i><br><br>We have many bad habits, customs, and rituals that have remained from ancient times, when our ancestors were still pagans. However, what is characteristic of pagans is improper for us Christians. For example, many of us suffer from a fear of ghosts. They are afraid to be alone in a room at night, and they even fear stepping outside into the darkness; every dark corner appears to them as a dread specter. In places where a corpse lay just a few days ago, or when passing through a cemetery at night, such fear knows no bounds. Likewise, how much timidity and fear are felt upon entering a forest or any secluded place! &quot;Fear has big eyes,&quot; as the Russian proverb goes; thus, the slightest noise or rustle in a deserted area, especially at night, the echo in the forest, the shadow of a tree swaying in the wind — all of this sends the soul into indescribable shudders. Consequently, it often happens that extraordinary phenomena are perceived in places where, in reality, they do not exist at all.<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2025/08/against-fear-of-ghosts-archpriest.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-86643355550011177402025-06-13T17:09:00.013-04:002025-06-14T03:12:03.045-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwKCa1P1q8pDZMNxu-PDuQLqNog0DiEqs93wcTCSynIQBFM7u1fb49H_cRooFj0IQO6BY-pUEEDs714hYcHA9eus7eN8e5CMCn9GsNvvMiNqzidGkCYmfUAO3XuplST-VCTcaOXlyoGHv0VT19jNiC5MyiYYhJwd6VkMqyOcVd85tyhjicQcvC0n36eCKL/s626/Screenshot%202025-06-13%20at%2016-55-01%20%CE%BA%CE%B1%CF%81%CF%85%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%AC%CF%82%20%CE%A0%CE%B5%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B7%CE%BA%CE%BF%CF%83%CF%84%CE%AE%20-%20Google%20Search.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="626" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwKCa1P1q8pDZMNxu-PDuQLqNog0DiEqs93wcTCSynIQBFM7u1fb49H_cRooFj0IQO6BY-pUEEDs714hYcHA9eus7eN8e5CMCn9GsNvvMiNqzidGkCYmfUAO3XuplST-VCTcaOXlyoGHv0VT19jNiC5MyiYYhJwd6VkMqyOcVd85tyhjicQcvC0n36eCKL/w640-h404/Screenshot%202025-06-13%20at%2016-55-01%20%CE%BA%CE%B1%CF%81%CF%85%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%AC%CF%82%20%CE%A0%CE%B5%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B7%CE%BA%CE%BF%CF%83%CF%84%CE%AE%20-%20Google%20Search.png" width="640"></a></div><br></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Popular Belief</b><br><br>According to a popular Greek Orthodox Christian folk belief, the souls of the dead in Hades ascend to the upper world every Easter for fifty days. Pentecost is the last day of the journey of the dead, the day they return to Hades. <br><br>At the time of kneeling during the service of Pentecost Monday, when the souls of the dead return to the underworld, the living close their eyes so as not to see the souls that sadly return to Hades. People kneel on walnut leaves because they symbolize the bitterness that possesses the souls of the dead on this day, since the leaves are bitter.<br><br>They say that in Ancient Greece it was believed that the walnut tree with its deep green (black-green) color was the tree of the god Pluto (Hades), that it was the only tree in Hades, and that in its shade their souls lay down and rested. <br><b><br><span></span></b></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2025/06/walnut-leaves-at-pentecost-and-souls-of.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-88104930667515116922024-11-12T17:18:00.001-05:002024-11-12T17:20:45.192-05:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2ujIi8rMdcs4xGXQsgHnH6BMZB8Zqr-zAN3Z5I5uQ8x4tle6kTiXKTQX-O8R8AbEp9OQOk6CN2iDlzUATngBfKUh3woF6CQq-wEJ7mPKGU69kZ5DoGNVdp4YsjbOvjR0FShsYWkKtz-iLr87yqbnjwBel5ZnTQOeKYmBz_ADHRp0SizmYs95027jUHgc/s375/%D0%98%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87_%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%91%D0%B2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="237" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2ujIi8rMdcs4xGXQsgHnH6BMZB8Zqr-zAN3Z5I5uQ8x4tle6kTiXKTQX-O8R8AbEp9OQOk6CN2iDlzUATngBfKUh3woF6CQq-wEJ7mPKGU69kZ5DoGNVdp4YsjbOvjR0FShsYWkKtz-iLr87yqbnjwBel5ZnTQOeKYmBz_ADHRp0SizmYs95027jUHgc/w253-h400/%D0%98%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87_%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%91%D0%B2.jpg" width="253"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan Nikolaevich Ponomarev</td></tr></tbody></table><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.daimonologia.org/2024/11/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_7.html">...continued from part sixteen.</a></i><br><br><b>15. In “Memories of the Polish Rebellion of 1863” by Mr. I. N. Ponomarev, in the September issue of the “Istorichesky Vestnik” for 1896, the author recounts the following inexplicable fact, which he himself witnessed, together with the officers of the Uhlan Regiment, where the author was released from the corps shortly before the start of the 1863 uprising.</b><br><br>The author tells us:<br><br>The third squadron, in which I was, was assigned to camp in the village of Kvitki, located ten miles from the headquarters that remained in the city of Korsun (Kiev province). The large village consisted of several hundred houses, and since in Little Russia almost every house has a garden, Kvitki, buried in greenery, occupied several miles in circumference. The quartermasters who met us announced that there were no comfortable apartments for the officers, and the only tolerable premises were allocated for the squadron commander, adding that there was a good private residence, but they did not dare to occupy it either.<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/11/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_12.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-14496728748908655852024-11-07T17:17:00.008-05:002024-11-12T17:20:30.947-05:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_jBqXILuSTOTH_2WuODHaWnCYGvgM6Wide_5qtShBEjqSfmDEZsOLnu8Wn5m4UQd-1FLdrjKWjWz5O5SKFoINzAruOwRAohWTtmXeAONLRc8sPIPADKFHA62YWRg-IeKxfAgAQiJFc6H-IvJkmHz8-DKQkdihZ8dkJGSiTpXIn0hFzmrjQOB52QFFGno/s855/308_best-country_1566996934.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="855" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_jBqXILuSTOTH_2WuODHaWnCYGvgM6Wide_5qtShBEjqSfmDEZsOLnu8Wn5m4UQd-1FLdrjKWjWz5O5SKFoINzAruOwRAohWTtmXeAONLRc8sPIPADKFHA62YWRg-IeKxfAgAQiJFc6H-IvJkmHz8-DKQkdihZ8dkJGSiTpXIn0hFzmrjQOB52QFFGno/w640-h320/308_best-country_1566996934.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yelets Monastery in Chernigov</td></tr></tbody></table><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.daimonologia.org/2024/11/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_5.html">...continued from part fifteen.</a></i><br><br><b>14 . Mysterious Phenomena in Chernigov in the 1840&#39;s*</b><br><br>The following took place in 1843 or 44 (I don’t remember exactly), in Chernigov, in the house of my uncle (on my aunt’s side), the priest Father John Gerasimovich Menailov.<br><br>Father John was known and revered in Chernigov as a priest of the strictest life, always ready to be there and with those to whom he was needed; he was considered a saint.<br><br>At the same time, I was in the district theological school and was a singer in the Yelets singing choir (the rector’s choir of the seminary), which lived in the Yelets Monastery in Chernigov.<br><br>As a nephew of Mother Menailova, I went to them every Sunday and feast day and spent the whole day with them until evening. The Menailov family consisted of a husband, wife, two sons, two daughters, and a niece, my cousin, Anna Emelianovna Kornukh, who lived with them temporarily. There was one servant, a tall, healthy girl, not in her first youth, a local native.<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/11/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_7.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-79667405788513716742024-11-05T17:07:00.005-05:002024-11-07T17:18:12.835-05:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBVgeE1MEegWq79Fx_q8r8nsBRpLf-rMbIlqzhyphenhyphenJflE1hOMlsKvRSYCBHsBgZWySh0B-JFlbkjmF6ktBDPZTb1IwHZbLO4hl34-fgYfs4NTXswMJba1Ik2_YRjOpGeUGZWJIkFZOTnkOWAGwcKeDT_0icuLgE2_jByGxFa-qW4d-pBueKmcLHZ46DhEF8A/s800/Ponetaevka-Dmitriev-371-Gankin-e1479237415432.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBVgeE1MEegWq79Fx_q8r8nsBRpLf-rMbIlqzhyphenhyphenJflE1hOMlsKvRSYCBHsBgZWySh0B-JFlbkjmF6ktBDPZTb1IwHZbLO4hl34-fgYfs4NTXswMJba1Ik2_YRjOpGeUGZWJIkFZOTnkOWAGwcKeDT_0icuLgE2_jByGxFa-qW4d-pBueKmcLHZ46DhEF8A/w640-h400/Ponetaevka-Dmitriev-371-Gankin-e1479237415432.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ponetaevka Monastery</td></tr></tbody></table><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i> </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.daimonologia.org/2024/11/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of.html">...continued from part fourteen.</a></i><br><br><b>13. Strange Phenomena in a Russian Peasant&#39;s Hut</b><br><br>A good friend of mine, under whose command I served in Nizhny Novgorod, in the Chamber of State Property, P. L. Betling, now living in retirement on his estate in the Ardatovsky district, Nizhny Novgorod province, informed me in January 1889 of a remarkable incident that occurred quite unexpectedly in the village of Silino, located 15 versts from him. This incident caused some noise in the area, especially since the peasant family, an involuntary witness to these phenomena, was brought to criminal responsibility and almost paid for a matter that was incomprehensible to them.<br><br>The essence of the matter is that in the village of Silino, in the house of the former village elder Chekanov, from September 23 to November 1, 1888, strange phenomena began to occur: knocks were heard, things were thrown and - which is the main feature of the phenomenon - various voices were heard, which entered into conversation with members of the Chekanov family and strangers who came to inquire. It is remarkable that these phenomena, as in mediumistic séances, occurred in the dark, and were revealed only in the presence of Chekanov&#39;s ten-year-old daughter. There is no reason to assume deception here, for these phenomena soon became a source of trouble for the owner, and he did not know how to get rid of them until he accepted the advice given to him to resort to prayer, which we will discuss below.<br><br>Now let&#39;s move on to the details.<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/11/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_5.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-30531873046618404112024-11-02T17:00:00.002-04:002024-11-05T17:07:31.234-05:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-pd6MVofOD4UcqlpHNE0t5Bo-Spd_OwWzAPI18OMaijDZq9Js3_CzscNJ09ZZDW2NiFFiVri3p7RptIxbzuI_0BoQVj_zU26TrFBy5gSjkTh-SbFibTCEsD16je9wRDrXjQDXRM4ZnGTOT1ceWjyjyNuwHq5PxM9VQKOhTvmeZ89YF3Q-W9i6haJ38LQ/s600/lady-badly-burned-accident-paraffin-lamp-23271032.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="451" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-pd6MVofOD4UcqlpHNE0t5Bo-Spd_OwWzAPI18OMaijDZq9Js3_CzscNJ09ZZDW2NiFFiVri3p7RptIxbzuI_0BoQVj_zU26TrFBy5gSjkTh-SbFibTCEsD16je9wRDrXjQDXRM4ZnGTOT1ceWjyjyNuwHq5PxM9VQKOhTvmeZ89YF3Q-W9i6haJ38LQ/w482-h640/lady-badly-burned-accident-paraffin-lamp-23271032.jpg" width="482"></a></div><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>...continued from part thirteen.</i><br><br><b>12. Stories About Phenomena on the Farm of A. V. Shchapov (Ural region) in 1870–1871</b><br><br>All this (set forth in the above-mentioned letter of Shchapov) was nothing to us, compared to what we had already endured, if only that had been the end of it; but imagine our horror that as soon as we moved to the farmstead in the first days of March, this force began to roam the house again from the very first step. And this time the phenomena occurred even without the presence of my wife. Thus, once, before evening, a large heavy sofa began to jump on all four legs before my eyes, and what&#39;s more, at the time when my old mother was lying on it, frightened, of course, in the most terrible way. This incident has a special significance for me because before that I seemed not to be able to check myself in many things that I had seen and heard, since there were strangers around all the time, and I could have been under someone else’s influence, although, I repeat, there were no doubts even then, but here, after all, the entire sofa was in full view, since it was daytime, there was no one and nothing under it, my old mother was lying on it completely calmly, in the room, except for me and the boy at the door in the hall, there was also no one, and meanwhile the five-six pood sofa, with the old woman lying on it, jumped up three or four times, as I said, on all its legs at once - it is clear that this is in no way a hallucination.<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/11/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-23010861344596572024-10-31T17:38:00.002-04:002024-11-02T18:15:41.711-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnvOvy7X4wBf3Vq5VhzPhzINkCHARx6B-2qxgyHrzTcg02b1P2_YhyphenhyphenEc_NtD_y5WzJOVlB1UlRsQK1vdshrb2xKFCsvrHXOu8Nqt5ADDcCLuVfJTDRShQpblsSgNfIDbH3_RSfLX_B2Q4xrBQV5llLUjS5fvw89kOYyQhviO7n_MbcAc9fjakD7deQpcy/s481/Screenshot%202024-10-31%20at%2017-36-17%2019th%20century%20haunting%20russia%20-%20Google%20Search.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="373" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnvOvy7X4wBf3Vq5VhzPhzINkCHARx6B-2qxgyHrzTcg02b1P2_YhyphenhyphenEc_NtD_y5WzJOVlB1UlRsQK1vdshrb2xKFCsvrHXOu8Nqt5ADDcCLuVfJTDRShQpblsSgNfIDbH3_RSfLX_B2Q4xrBQV5llLUjS5fvw89kOYyQhviO7n_MbcAc9fjakD7deQpcy/w496-h640/Screenshot%202024-10-31%20at%2017-36-17%2019th%20century%20haunting%20russia%20-%20Google%20Search.png" width="496"></a></div><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_29.html">...continued from part twelve.</a></i><br><br><b>11. Letter from V. A. Shchapov to the former manager of the Iletsky villages, Major A. V. Pokotilov, in response to a request from the Orenburg branch of the Imperial Geographical Society dated January 18, 1871.</b><br><br>In fulfilling your request regarding the message about the miracles that have happened and are still happening at the present time, I only ask you to forgive me that my story may not be as coherent and consistent, but that it is true and not fictitious - I vouch for it and present witnesses who will confirm all this.<br><br>I will begin with the fact that on November 16, having returned from the small town of Iletsky to my farm, I learned from my family and employees that during my absence, namely from November 14 to 15, i.e. on the eve of Sunday, at about 2 o&#39;clock in the morning, something unusual began to happen. Namely, as they told, at first they were frightened by a loud knock on the wall with a fist, then a defiant knock on the glass of the outside window facing the forest; then they clearly heard that above their heads, i.e. on the ceiling, someone was dancing, and this dance was so distinct and natural that at first they thought that it was our cook Maria, who was continuing to make fun of herself, whom my wife, for the sake of a joke, in order to entertain the child, made dance in the room that evening. According to the information, however, the cook was asleep; and the knocking, repeated from time to time, and the dancing did not cease until the morning. The following night, they said, about 11 o&#39;clock the same thing was repeated again. Despite the fact that all the servants in our house (up to 6 people) were gathered and surrounded the house, strictly watching whether this was a joke of some eccentric or swindler, but all their observations and even shots from a gun near the house - did not lead to anything; the knocking on the wall, on the window and the dancing, with small breaks - all continued as before, so that they spent that night almost without sleep.<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_31.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-89492014890624927012024-10-30T17:30:00.007-04:002024-10-30T17:47:34.401-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0OX6Ub57chBPXVEhfAb7dYMbror30wcZK_nSXLKxJlDK9kfSpxAhuGgNgzwCWNrPd9I-CxmACIK5wdpa25jpHTmZJ8ptYcQE6XatdA70tFvwd30zoZ4CCo-h3xhdZ3JHJtnVNwV8GE8ggaUqaSI07NStITERhENe5LDa0-yvFPQa-1W4vKboYeP7GXFI/s626/Screenshot%202024-10-30%20at%2017-13-30%20halloween%20vintage%20grave%20-%20Google%20Search.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="626" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0OX6Ub57chBPXVEhfAb7dYMbror30wcZK_nSXLKxJlDK9kfSpxAhuGgNgzwCWNrPd9I-CxmACIK5wdpa25jpHTmZJ8ptYcQE6XatdA70tFvwd30zoZ4CCo-h3xhdZ3JHJtnVNwV8GE8ggaUqaSI07NStITERhENe5LDa0-yvFPQa-1W4vKboYeP7GXFI/w640-h426/Screenshot%202024-10-30%20at%2017-13-30%20halloween%20vintage%20grave%20-%20Google%20Search.png" width="640"></a></div><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When Halloween comes around, horror stories come to mind, conceived by the human mind, based on nightmares and fears.<br><br>But the greatest horror story was not conceived by the human mind, but by God Himself. It is a story of utter betrayal, complete isolation, relentless torture, bloody gore, agonizing death, complete darkness, merciless violence and the dead coming back to life.<br><br>God the Father sent His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world He Himself created, and united His divinity with our humanity, in order to deliver humanity from their enslavement to the devil and the consequences of death by His voluntary suffering and sacrifice. The Creator of all things was therefore tortured, mocked, spit on, crowned with thorns, scourged and put to death through a humiliating and cruel crucifixion by His very creation He fashioned, offering His blood once for all time to atone for the sins of humanity. <br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/halloween-and-cowardly-christian.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-5516664916920979822024-10-29T17:13:00.006-04:002024-10-31T17:39:16.262-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPo1_4e6sdWeLB114bC4XL3WZN5CLdubSpCy7n_-ZDqAVCD0oO26q79wigwLoclIqD_OT4fNnlPY2KLouBZZ02e-mARRoQ78U4B9DXtXS2tgJs9r97MBDXUoUGmyco8zvMUl4AOUAVjCha6h94NhzimZzIDnuVOQx2c4Gh305jfGp7vS1l25b3H7Tpw49/s727/dagg-20.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="727" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPo1_4e6sdWeLB114bC4XL3WZN5CLdubSpCy7n_-ZDqAVCD0oO26q79wigwLoclIqD_OT4fNnlPY2KLouBZZ02e-mARRoQ78U4B9DXtXS2tgJs9r97MBDXUoUGmyco8zvMUl4AOUAVjCha6h94NhzimZzIDnuVOQx2c4Gh305jfGp7vS1l25b3H7Tpw49/w640-h378/dagg-20.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dagg House as it appears today.<br></td></tr></tbody></table><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_27.html">...continued from part eleven.</a></i><br><br><b>18. Phenomena in Restless Houses, Proving the Existence of Dark (Demonic) Forces</b> <br><br>1. In 1874, in the village of Shakoldany, Vilnius province, in the house of a peasant named Begansky, stones, firewood, etc. were thrown, and a bottle of milk was walked around the hut; they tied it with a rope to a nail – it came loose and walked around again; they threw it out into the yard – it returned to the hut. Suspicion fell on the farrier Bardadym, who whispered to this bottle of milk for Begansky’s sick child. A case was opened. The Vilnius joint chamber of the criminal and civil court, by its ruling of May 28, 1874, released the peasant Bardadym from trial on charges of fraud, but the sworn testimony of six witnesses to the former apparitions did not lose its significance because of this. The ruling of the chamber was published in full in &quot;Rebus Magazine&quot; in 1894 (p. 182).<br><br>2. In 1873, Simbirsk province, Ardatovsky district, in the village of Barashevo, in the priest&#39;s house, from December 23 to December 28, &quot;various self-movement and flying of objects&quot; occurred; a samovar with boiling water rose from the floor and flew about two arshins; bricks were torn out of a Russian kitchen stove and smashed to pieces; household dishes and utensils flew in different directions and broke. &quot;The moment of lifting any object from a certain place and its flight was never noticed under my careful observation, but only its fall,&quot; writes Priest N. P. Tsvetkov in his letter to A. N. Aksakov dated June 14, 1874, which was published in &quot;Rebus Magazine&quot; in 1882 (p. 391).<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_29.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-77842564041842885992024-10-27T17:52:00.005-04:002024-10-29T17:14:26.053-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZ6nzDr2rhBTRNaN7DmAwzoUoptH-HN8htUGTv5bTd9X4BRojGnvy8VrNVxK2RclWW61lIAcxAfOv-fAFF6h5o9_ELBxlDHMgE1O5WPYA6C5Rf85mulXX_0djkV_hrSaq0fu6SlHlmu9NfJqeG2Nyu1wVPwBaWwk1HaelHyMCw-EUDmInWCpIGYdZ0Kes/s700/225851.p.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="700" height="616" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZ6nzDr2rhBTRNaN7DmAwzoUoptH-HN8htUGTv5bTd9X4BRojGnvy8VrNVxK2RclWW61lIAcxAfOv-fAFF6h5o9_ELBxlDHMgE1O5WPYA6C5Rf85mulXX_0djkV_hrSaq0fu6SlHlmu9NfJqeG2Nyu1wVPwBaWwk1HaelHyMCw-EUDmInWCpIGYdZ0Kes/w640-h616/225851.p.jpg" width="640"></a></div><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>...continued from part ten.</i><br><br><b>17. The Influence of Evil Spirits on People After Their Death</b><br><br>The influence of evil spirits on people does not end with the limits of a person’s earthly life, but continues after death. According to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, Angels of God and tormenting spirits appear to people who are dying, when the soul is separated from the body. Jesus Christ Himself, in the Parable of the Rich Fool, says: “And God said: Fool! This night your soul will be required of you” (Luke 12:20) – or &quot;they will take,&quot; which in Slavonic is “istyazut”, i.e. evil spirits; and in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus He said: “So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). “Then the angels led Lazarus away”, reasons Saint John Chrysostom. “On the contrary, the soul of that (rich man) was taken by some terrible forces, perhaps sent for this, for the soul does not depart from this life by itself, since this is impossible. If we, moving from one city to another, need a guide, then the soul, torn from the body and presented to the future life, will need guides even more. Therefore, flying away from the body, it is afraid and trembles; the consciousness of sins always torments us, but especially at that hour when we are about to be led away to the tortures there.”<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_27.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-85894550002935346742024-10-26T17:03:00.001-04:002024-10-26T17:03:34.333-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAafNqbFXHWGPyt0A_GrZIffgS8z474HqNiP9c6qD6VW9OWshMvzyPWkTB-OMPLMLl-ahiBgO2n32apKQm77aFvGKmCHIpeF5nkpnllX7GvQMSJoSb_SoBwGJaDqR-vcjJ2iEW7ySGJjEUajcXzbJTDoUufJP97pM4a9k65pvS6uyJDpEhq0sQAA3xKkF6/s754/file-20220520-25-sywqu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="754" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAafNqbFXHWGPyt0A_GrZIffgS8z474HqNiP9c6qD6VW9OWshMvzyPWkTB-OMPLMLl-ahiBgO2n32apKQm77aFvGKmCHIpeF5nkpnllX7GvQMSJoSb_SoBwGJaDqR-vcjJ2iEW7ySGJjEUajcXzbJTDoUufJP97pM4a9k65pvS6uyJDpEhq0sQAA3xKkF6/w640-h508/file-20220520-25-sywqu.jpg" width="640"></a></div><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_25.html">...continued from part nine.</a></i><br><br><b>16. The Power of Church Exorcisms</b><br><br>Having been in the priesthood for more than 30 years and interacting with people of various statuses, I have heard more than once from some that evil spirits do not exist, and that the so-called possessed are either sick with natural ailments, or pretend to be so in order to avoid work, or to seek compassion for themselves in rich but superstitious people.<br><br>I will not enter into any considerations about the existence of spirits: for an Orthodox Christian this truth is beyond any doubt. I will only point out examples of such ailments that I have seen, which cannot be explained either by natural causes or by pretense: they were truly cruel, and yielded only to the power of the exorcism prayers laid down by the Church for the expulsion of evil spirits.<br><br>On August 12, 1856, I was with my wife in the provincial town of Oryol on business. In our absence, my eight children, especially the younger ones, were out playing, frolicking, and joking. My ten-year-old son Orestes stood out more than all of them. The household and neighbors laughed at him a lot and marveled at his various inventions. Two days later, toward evening, we returned home and, thank God, found all the children healthy. At dusk, the worker, as is his custom, went out to the field with the horses for the night, and I went to my vegetable garden with two children, Orestes and another, my nine-year-old son Arkadios, to guard the vegetables there from the cattle wandering around at night. I don’t know whether my sons prayed to God when they went to bed with me or not, but they soon fell asleep, and I didn’t sleep for a long time. Around midnight, suddenly my Orestes jumped up quickly, started running around the haystacks and seemed to be catching something. Seeing this, I said to him: &quot;Orestes, why did you get up and what are you doing?&quot; And he said to me: &quot;Please wake up Arkadios: we&#39;ll catch this cat and kill it; it jumped from the haystack onto my chest, woke me up and hurt me badly.&quot;<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_26.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-63437810746363766762024-10-25T18:13:00.004-04:002024-10-26T17:03:18.564-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODATIr5BYq1IkcHzuWEJ9w8oPV0O0wEbY1OTPy_ypXAvNM1oztvWBOxRRzosZ8UwVB36rAuLhMPZmUF-boPc0ICWL2iPqlWvlaGWSlY_EdBig9ctSh43DHmwiNHJPCMAbbHCCCez3lPZ9CPZ9pDc-DooD6Jv34xIut9TT-xqFaFtde0N2RnyiXx6gdwre/s800/Portrait_of_Metropolitan_Hilarion.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhODATIr5BYq1IkcHzuWEJ9w8oPV0O0wEbY1OTPy_ypXAvNM1oztvWBOxRRzosZ8UwVB36rAuLhMPZmUF-boPc0ICWL2iPqlWvlaGWSlY_EdBig9ctSh43DHmwiNHJPCMAbbHCCCez3lPZ9CPZ9pDc-DooD6Jv34xIut9TT-xqFaFtde0N2RnyiXx6gdwre/w384-h640/Portrait_of_Metropolitan_Hilarion.jpg" width="384"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Metropolitan Hilarion of Suzdal (+ 1708)<br></td></tr></tbody></table><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_23.html">...continued from part eight.</a></i><br><b><br>15. Cases of Possession by Evil Spirits</b><br><br>a) &quot;Twenty-six years ago, in the village of Novovasilevsk, Berdyansk district, Taurida province, there lived Ekaterina Lavrentyevna Mazaeva, my grandmother, my mother’s biological mother,&quot; reports a certain G. Mamontov.<br><br>&quot;I happened to visit her very often, and sometimes stay for a week or longer. Grandmother had a servant girl named Dunya. This Dunya is the heroine of my story.<br><br>Dunya was possessed by an evil spirit. I call it an evil spirit, as all the eyewitnesses called this someone else who was inside Dunya, because the voice was heard against her will; she did not open her mouth, no movement of her face or throat was noticeable, the voice came out as if from the inner parts of her body, and the pronunciation was Mordvin, while Dunya spoke purely Russian. The evil spirit called himself &#39;Svirid Stepanovich&#39; and liked to talk to everyone. Svirid Stepanovich demanded that Dunya feed him what he liked, but Dunya was distinguished by her honesty and never took anything without asking my grandmother and constantly refused Svirid Stepanovich. Then he would start to worry, Dunya would fall, writhing in strong convulsions, screaming, groaning.<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_25.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-85605678529839581342024-10-23T17:38:00.005-04:002024-10-25T18:13:44.239-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrquq2gu6-dm8XKXy_DQUhik9KkOd-zcwYqeIo_6mN4LM9zfBEZbRhoedBAuxrFo7f6Dxmc-TDuY8uFP1g1BIOVL7u2ANIaN1npr-GSP6A_ShXaRzn46d7D9i3uroUKVyQgXUiqLPfV1E_PEHTgIrrrk7zKd0vTu6dr9Sy9HTd7_LOXBRQq5-EfEdbO6n/s650/W592_000042_sap.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrquq2gu6-dm8XKXy_DQUhik9KkOd-zcwYqeIo_6mN4LM9zfBEZbRhoedBAuxrFo7f6Dxmc-TDuY8uFP1g1BIOVL7u2ANIaN1npr-GSP6A_ShXaRzn46d7D9i3uroUKVyQgXUiqLPfV1E_PEHTgIrrrk7zKd0vTu6dr9Sy9HTd7_LOXBRQq5-EfEdbO6n/w492-h640/W592_000042_sap.jpg" width="492"></a></div><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_21.html">...continued from part seven.</a></i><br><br><b>14. About Those Possessed by Evil Spirits</b><br><br>So-called possession is rightly included among the manifestations of evil spirits among people. The possessed, or those possessed by the evil spirit, are of two kinds: on some of them the evil spirit influences only from the outside, while in others it possesses the internal image, possesses their whole being, makes them utter blasphemies, speak in languages they have not learned at all, reveals to them various secret things, introduces them to various dark subjects of philosophy and theology.<br><br>The possibility and reality of possession are beyond any doubt. They are clearly affirmed both by Holy Scripture and by the teaching of the Church. Holy Scripture, on the one hand, tells us many facts of possession, on the other hand, it conveys that Jesus Christ Himself and His apostles recognized the possessed as truly possessed by evil spirits. Saul was possessed by an evil spirit; the evil spirit from time to time aroused in him melancholy, anger and envy in relation to David; or even if Saul became angry for some natural reason, the demon took possession of him and brought him into a rage. The possessed, of whom it is said in the Gospel that they cried out loudly that Jesus is the Christ, that He came to torment them before the time, that He is the Son of God, obviously represent an undoubted example of those possessed by an evil spirit.<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_23.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-10288625135096579142024-10-23T15:07:00.005-04:002024-10-23T15:17:37.584-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQL06O2xoxI48uau_Y1LLbOwkvjPgPMiKEAEt73TxlOXPcDwIN1SslnZpVw8Wc_fwmb9uYYLB5yeZNFXeZ85_SuuelzY5cMCZB4d47T3mmyiKKziPhmrDeWAkCmhDWueiEgLRB8Oykj5k1HRhGJCUxuS4l09X5PHbIKLjeuJItyHOrMhE7EWzBDoQLzI_/s326/archimandrite-kirill-pavlov-milestone-of-his-biography-part-v0-097dpnobnh9d1.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQL06O2xoxI48uau_Y1LLbOwkvjPgPMiKEAEt73TxlOXPcDwIN1SslnZpVw8Wc_fwmb9uYYLB5yeZNFXeZ85_SuuelzY5cMCZB4d47T3mmyiKKziPhmrDeWAkCmhDWueiEgLRB8Oykj5k1HRhGJCUxuS4l09X5PHbIKLjeuJItyHOrMhE7EWzBDoQLzI_/w368-h400/archimandrite-kirill-pavlov-milestone-of-his-biography-part-v0-097dpnobnh9d1.webp" width="368"></a></div> <br></div><div style="text-align: center;">By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov <br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. &quot;We must remember that death does not exist, and what we see in the dying pertains only to the death of the body. Man does not die, he is only temporarily separated from his flesh, from the present world, and moves to another, invisible world. There are no dead with God, for &#39;God is not the God of the dead, but of the living&#39; (Luke 20:38)... And if death does not exist, then believe that the one you are grieving for is alive and can communicate with you, and can even appear to you if it pleases God. After all, there have been many cases when the dead appeared to those living on earth, thereby proclaiming the certainty of immortality, and thus brought them comfort and peace, or reconciled with them, or encouraged them to pray, or warned them about something.&quot;<br><br><i>- Homily on the 20th Sunday of Pentecost (Third Sunday of Luke), &quot;On the Miraculous Resurrection of the Son of the Widow of Nain&quot;</i><br><br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/on-apparitions-of-souls-of-dead.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8084080559632598002.post-2094012448394981612024-10-21T17:44:00.005-04:002024-10-23T17:38:49.874-04:00<div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3vEfAa0IUtQlhYFYAL98LFMibbJNH1unCL8hdrgSt3iWQYT97L1N3_fAihXpKNQ7wLMJbctNcmF0dY_zmTtq7BanvbEHeR3OvWfJ35bY3Vc661jjLR2MzEuK99n73fO12NmNXu1SbrKU03IbC94-uFEMmkdZYXxT923_n0UlIS2CCau2Eg5jDyyg04AI/s619/1f556fd66b4489100308959246033672.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="441" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz3vEfAa0IUtQlhYFYAL98LFMibbJNH1unCL8hdrgSt3iWQYT97L1N3_fAihXpKNQ7wLMJbctNcmF0dY_zmTtq7BanvbEHeR3OvWfJ35bY3Vc661jjLR2MzEuK99n73fO12NmNXu1SbrKU03IbC94-uFEMmkdZYXxT923_n0UlIS2CCau2Eg5jDyyg04AI/w456-h640/1f556fd66b4489100308959246033672.jpg" width="456"></a></div><br></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_19.html">...continued from part six.</a></i><br><br><b>13. On the Means of Fighting Demons.</b><br><br>&quot;Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour&quot; (1 Pet. 1:18). To fight him, we must use all of God&#39;s weapons. What are these weapons?<br><br>1. The first means is the invocation of the name of God. “In My name you will drive out demons” (Mark 16:17), said the Lord. At the name of Jesus, hades trembles, the underworld is shaken, the prince of darkness disappears. &quot;Flog your enemies with the name of Jesus, for there is no stronger weapon in heaven or earth,” says Saint John Climacus (Step 21). Always beat the soldiers with the name of Jesus, for you will not use a stronger weapon than this either in heaven or on earth. “To this day, demons still tremble at the name of Christ; the power of this name is not weakened by our vices,” says Saint Gregory the Theologian. Abba Elijah relates the following story: “One elder lived in a temple of the idols. One day demons came to him and said: &#39;Get out of our place!&#39; The elder did not want to come out. The demon grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out of the temple by force. When the elder approached the doors, grabbed them and cried out: &#39;Jesus, help!&#39; the demon immediately disappeared.&quot;<br><br><span></span></div><a href="http://www.daimonologia.org/2024/10/the-spiritual-world-on-existence-of_21.html#more">Read the complete article »</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com