A True Story About a Priest Who Loved to Drink and What Freed Him From This Passion
In Great Lent, a period of intensified
prayer, the Church does not forget to pray for its departed children, because
the driving force of prayer—love—overcomes all obstacles of time and space, not
stopping even before the boundary of eternity, passing between the Church
Militant and the Church Triumphant. The following instance that took place at
the end of the twentieth century in one Greek diocese is a clear confirmation
of this.
The
bishop who told this story is still alive. It is genuine and has profound
significance, because it speaks of the prayers of the living for the departed.
God always hears these prayers, especially during the Divine Liturgy.
In the
diocese of this bishop whom we have mentioned, there was a Papa Ioannis
serving—a devout priest loved by all. He would somewhat linger during the
proskomedia because he commemorated many names. But the priest had a terrible
shortcoming: He loved to drink. As diligent as he was in the fulfillment of his
priestly duties, so powerless was he before wine. Many implored him to overcome
this passion, so unbecoming of a servant of God. The priest himself was aware
of it, was furious with himself, and tried to quit drinking several times,
although everything would start again within a few days.
Once,
when this papouli had again surrendered to his passion, he went to church.
Half-drunk, he exclaimed, “Blessed is the Kingdom…” and he began the Divine
Liturgy. By God’s allowance, the priest slipped in the altar and dropped the
Precious Gifts from his hands. He froze with horror! Dropping to the floor, he
began to gather the Body and Blood of Christ with his tongue. He was choked
with guilt, because it happened because of his intoxication.
The
priest went to the bishop and confessed his terrible sin to him. The next day,
the bishop, after much thought, sat down at the table and took a pen: He had to
begin the process of defrocking Fr. Ioannis. The bishop’s hand was lingering in
indecision when he beheld as if in a vision how thousands of people were coming
out of the walls of the room. There was a burning pain in their eyes. Passing
by the bishop, they cried out, “No, Vladyka, do not punish this priest! Do not
defrock him! Forgive him!”
An
endless stream of people passed in front of the bishop: men, women, children,
well-dressed and poor—an entire demonstration of souls! And they all stretched
out their hands to the bishop and cried out, imploring, “No, Your Grace, don’t
do this; don’t expel our papouli! He remembers us and helps us at every
Liturgy; he truly takes pity on us; he is our friend! Don’t remove him from his
dignity! No, no, no!!!”
The
vision continued for a long time. The stunned bishop watched the sea of faces
pleading for the drunken priest. He realized that they were the souls of the
reposed whom Fr. Ioannis commemorated at the Liturgy. And this commemoration
greatly alleviates their lot, like water given to the thirsty in the summer
heat. “This is a clear testimony that our prayers assuage the souls of the
reposed,” the bishop thought.
He called
for the priest.
“Fr.
Ioannis, tell me, when you serve the Liturgy, do you commemorate a lot of names
at proskomedia?”
“Hundreds
of names, Your Grace. I haven’t counted them.”
“Why do
you remember so many names and delay the Liturgy?” the bishop asked, as if
angry.
“I pity
the departed: They have no other help but the prayers of the Church. Therefore,
I ask the Most-High to grant them rest. I have a book where I record all the
names that are given to me for commemoration. I inherited this practice from my
father, who was also a priest.”
“You do
well,” the bishop agreed. “Their souls need it. Continue doing this. Just be
careful, and don’t drink anymore—not a drop of wine, starting tomorrow! Such is
your penance! You are forgiven.”
From that
day, Fr. Ioannis was truly freed completely from the passion of drunkenness.
And now he stands even longer at the proskomedia, commemorating the names of
the departed.
From the book Miracles and Revelations of the
Divine Liturgy,
published by Paraclete Monastery
(Oropos-Attica), 2012.
Source: http://orthochristian.com/111598.html
