The following real life story reveals to us once again the importance of living life according to the commandments of God. It tells most graphically that disobedience of God's Holy Commandments will bring nothing but sorrow and inner turmoil.
The name of the person telling the story is Antonis. He is a taxi driver in Athens, Greece. He and a fellow-pilgrim are on their way to Mt. Athos to visit the Elder monk who had helped them miraculously in their personal lives. On their way to Mt. Athos they missed the ferry boat in Ouranoupolis and were forced to spend the night in this small fishing village. Prior to falling asleep, they shared their dramatic life experiences and how the Elder had miraculously helped them. They also discovered, in sharing their stories, that they were going to visit the same Elder on Mt. Athos.
Antoni is a taxi driver in Athens and he shares this most astounding story of the spiritual power possessed by those holy men and women of our Church who truly live the life of the Faith.
Antoni now relates to us his story. "As I told you, I worked and I continue to work as a taxi driver in Athens. When I finished my tour of duty in the army, an uncle of mine came to me and said: Listen here, nephew. I have lived the majority of my life and I must soon give up the taxi business. Since God did not give me any children, I think it would be a good idea to take you into my business. If you so desire, I can teach you the business and when I retire, you can take over the whole operation.
You may not get rich, but at least you will have enough money to feed your family. In regards to the license, which is worth a lot more than the automobile, you can pay me off a little at a time and in the end, all will belong to you without your realizing it." At first, I did not like the idea of leaving my village that was outside of Kyparissia, which was a heavenly place, and moving into Athens. But when I carefully thought it over, I liked my uncle's offer. He would be able to relax knowing that he had a family member running the business. And I would have a job and an investment in his automobile. In a few years, it would all be mine without having to go into debt to a bank. I told my father and mother about the deal.
They said that I should do as my heart desires. I, therefore, gathered up my belongings and went to Athens. In the beginning I lived with my uncle in Peristeri. Later I rented a home in Galatsi. I also met a young woman at a festival of one of my fellow villages. I liked her very much. I asked her hand in marriage and she accepted. And in a short while we got married. She was a very good girl and she was from a village that was located close to my village. It was not more than a kilometers distance from my village.
We finished the house. We bought a big refrigerator and an electric kitchen - all the things that are necessary for a home. In the meantime, my uncle got sick and died. My aunt left to go and live in the village. She said that I could live in her house if I so desired. I did not like this. She then rented it and I sent to her the monthly rent and I took care of all the other paper work that came to the home. This included the pension, the electric bill, the water bill, the house taxes and all the other things that they bombard you with in Athens.
My wife worked as a sales lady in an Athens shop. I asked her to stop working. I wanted her in the home, not roaming around here and there. She was disappointed with this decision of mine but she didn't say anything to me. This was about the time that I met a new young lady who was very attractive, as if sent by the devil himself! I picked her up as a fare from Pagkrati and I took her to Halandri.
Before I dropped her off, she said to me: "It is a little early yet for my appointment. If you would like we can go for a walk in the Penteli Mountains. I would not object to this." I, who was watching her in the rear view mirror, saw that she was devouring me with her eyes. I took the road toward Penteli until we reached the shaded fir trees. Further on, we reached the forest and the large oak trees. When we parted, I asked if I could see her again and she accepted. She became such a part of my life that I started to ignore my wife.
And as if this wasn't enough, one day when Satan had totally possessed me, I said to my wife: "Take your things and go back to your father in the village. This house no longer has room for both of us!" This hit my wife like a lightning bolt, coming as it did without any warning. I also thought that during the three or four years of our marriage she hadn't become pregnant and I wanted to wound her with this accusation: "In addition to this, I do not wish to remain without an heir. I want to have children. I want the house to be filled with boys and girls."
She began to cry and I heard the question and the complaint: "And how do you know that I am at fault on this issue?" But I did not want to hear anything. "Take whatever you like," I said to her, "and leave, the other issues will be dealt with by the lawyers. Don't look for a solution." While she was crying she took a suitcase and filled it with her personal things --- mostly clothes. At the door, she looked at me with downcast eyes and said to me: "You should know, Antoni, that I love you and I will wait for you. Now, do you want to take me to the bus station so that I can take the bus to Kyparissia?" The demon had so possessed me that I denied her request saying to her: "Take some money and take a taxi. I have work to do."
She left with much sighing, trying to hide her face that was filled with tears. I immediately called the other woman and told her to get ready for I had already kicked my wife out and she was free to come and live in my house anytime she desired. She had told me she would do this the day before. She told me that she wanted to be with me day and night, that I should be totally hers.
Some time had passed. Two or three years, may be more. And there when everything was moving along like clockwork, my conscience started to eat at me like a knife was ripping me apart. I could not feel any peace either at night or during the day. I did not know what was wrong with me. I argued with my clients. I fought with my girlfriend whom I loved so much and had taken into my home like a wife. And during that time when I had plans to see a doctor, the following unbelievable thing happened to me.
I was in my taxi and I was waiting for a fare in Omonia Square. A gray-haired old priest approached my cab and asked if I was free. He got in and said: "Can you take me to Turkovounion via Gkyzi?" I started the car and proceeded to move on. I did not quite have time to turn onto Stadiou Street when I hear him speak to me with a great deal of concern. "Why are you so upset and want to see a doctor? Don't you understand that your problem is not with your body but with your soul?" I was so startled that I almost crashed into another cab that was passing on my right. I turned on the direction signal. Then I stopped at a bus stop.
"Please tell me, Pappouli: Do you know me? Have you seen me before?" "No, my child, I have never seen you. Just now when I entered your taxi, I saw that in your face white and black shadows were battling. They appeared to be choking you with guilt feelings and you did not know what to do and how to defend yourself."
"Tell me Pappouli, who spoke to you about me?" "No one spoke to me. I did not know your taxi or you. When, on the other hand, I saw your face, I thought that demons and angels were battling inside of you for the possession of your soul. On the one hand you would see that the angels were justified, but on the other hand you felt embarrassed and the demons gained control of your life. They have been in control from the time that you kicked out your wife."
"My dear Pappouli," I said to him with trembling voice, "either you are a prophet or a saint or a demon greater than Satan. I do not know what else to tell you."
"My son, I am neither one nor the other of those things you say. I am a sinful man, but I am a priest and I look upon the tassels that hang from my stole as the souls of people who have been entrusted to me by God. It is for this reason that I pray and as much as possible I am concerned about those souls. It is because of this that I saw your soul suffering and I felt sorry.
I felt the same sorrow for the soul of your wife whom you threw out of your house without cause. She loved you and she had all the virtues to make you a very happy man. Later on she would have made you a father which you desired so much. But you were not patient. You threw her out, the person to whom you were crowned in holy matrimony, and you took a woman who is concerned only about your body and your wallet."
At this point, I completely caved in to what I was hearing. I could not catch my breath. I looked at him and waited to see what else he would say about me. I expected him to strip me naked of all my inner secrets. But he did not do this. On the contrary, sweetness poured forth from his face and his words. I have never seen this in a priest or in another human being. In fact, at one point I thought: "Do you suppose this is an angel sent by God to save me?" And immediately he said:
"Do not put those thoughts in your mind that I am an angel because you do an injustice to the angels of God. The good I desire for you, in order for you to find peace of mind, to save your family and your soul, to save your unfortunate wife who is crying like a widow in the village, you must change your way of life so that Christ can return to you. Then everything will become as it was and even better."
"But please tell me, Pappouli. Say that I make the decision to change, how will she look upon this? Will she return to my home after so many years?
"Not only will she return but you will have children and you will all live a very blessed life. Gas up your car, call your home and tell that woman that she is to leave your house within the hour with all of her personal belongings. Tell her you have made up with your wife and you await her return momentarily. And this is not a lie because she is waiting for you. For days now she has been ready. You are to call her to return."
"Are you sure of this, Pappouli, that she will return?"
"I am as sure of this as all the other things that I have told you. I am as sure of this as we are now on Stadiou Street, and we are heading for Kyparissia and then on to her village."
I did not have a choice of choosing another road. A war was taking place within me but I knew that the angels were winning. I started the car and I turned into Aristeidou Street so that I could take Pireaus Street. From there I could take the Holy Road. I gassed up, I checked the engine, the oil, the battery and the fluids. I checked the tires and started off while making the sign of the cross.
"You are doing the right thing," Pappouli said to me, "when you invoke the power of the Cross as your helper. A troparion of the Church says to us: "The Cross, the protector of the whole Universe." All of us find ourselves in that Universe, you and I and when we make the sign of the cross it protects us and defends us."
We proceeded, sometimes talking and sometimes silent as far as Corinth. At one point, he said to me:
"If you would like, stop the car so that I can get in front with you. Now that we are friends it is not necessary for me to be a customer and you to be the taxi driver. I like to sit up front because I can see better God's creation. I always marvel at the creation of God and all His creatures. How important and how beautiful they are. They are so important that I am compelled to chant continuously: "You created everything in wisdom! Glory to you Lord Glory to you! Alleluia!"
Sometimes when he was silent, I thought that he was sleeping but saw his lips were moving. It was evident that he was saying hymns and prayers within himself. At one point he asked me: "please tell me, do you ever pray? What prayers do you know?"
I became embarrassed but I could not tell him anything but the truth in all things, knowing that he reads our inner thoughts better than I can myself.
"Pappouli, it has been years since I prayed and I have forgotten how to pray."
And he did not get angry with me or say any harsh things to me. And then he said: "That is why Satan found the opportunity to infiltrate your life and in fact with great ferocity. When the shepherd is absent and the sheep dogs are away from the flock that is when the wolf attacks and tears apart the sheep. This is the same with man when he distances himself from Christ and does not assign angelic guards through his prayers to protect his life."
And he told me many stories from the New Testament and from the books of the Holy Fathers of the Church. He did this to impress upon me that I am not the first, neither am I the last who loses the straight path of God and takes the dark trail of Satan. At this point I had the courage to ask him:
"Do you suppose, Pappouli, that God will forgive me for my many sins?"
"Listen to what I am saying to you and remember it once and for all and never forget it. There is no sin that is bigger than the love of God! As many sins as a person has committed, when he repents in confession, all are obliterated and forgiven. Only those sins that a person does not confess and does not repent, only these are not forgiven.
All the other sins that are hung on the stole of the father confessor are drowned in the ocean of the love of God and they are obliterated. It is for this reason that guilty consciences are a problem and might create a problem in later life."
I then interrupted him in order to ask: "Is it possible for you to hear my confession, Pappouli?"
When you feel the inner desire for this, I will gladly hear your confession. Every moment of our lives can become the beginning of a new life through confession. When we make the decision, we erase the old evils and we proceed forward with the grace of God for a new life. And this life, with the strength that we get from the grace of God, becomes easier, happier, more blessed.
I felt within myself a wave of contrition welling up within me and overwhelming me. If I could only erase every dark moment in my life up to that time, how happy I would feel! My words were welling up in my throat but they were going down again. This went on until they came out in a torrent and became the desire for me to ask the priest:
"If I desired right now, Pappouli, to confess, could you confess me?
"As you can see", he answered me, "I always carry with me my stole and the Small Prayer book. I do this for exactly this type of situation that God brings before me. Stop in a quiet corner and I will put on my stole. You can tell me all the sins that you have committed and the sinful thoughts that you didn't act upon, and I will read for you the prayer of absolution and you will once again become pure as a white dove. You will become free of the burden of sin and the darkness that frightens your soul."
I found a quiet corner near the forest. We got out of the car and sat on a rock.
I confessed all the sins that I could remember. As I was confessing the sins, I immediately began to feel lighter. In fact, when he read the prayer of absolution while placing the stole upon my head, I felt like a new human being! We got into the car again and continued our journey. We only had a few kilometers to go and we would reach our destination. I expressed to him my doubts:
"And how is my wife going to respond to these things?"
"Do not worry," he said to me. "She is waiting for you like Pascha! It is like the Anastasi for her because she had suffered so much all these years. The pain is deep and it was as if she was sent to the other world!"
After unburdening the weight of my sins, I even felt as if the car was lighter and moving more quickly. Upon getting closer to my wife's house, without my telling him anything, he said to me:
"You stay here. I will go and call upon your wife so that she will not be startled. When I come out, you can approach and we will take her and we will leave for Athens."
And this is the way it happened. From what I heard later, he spoke to her with much love, actually quite tenderly, to prepare her. He only asked her for a glass of water and he told her to prepare her things. She could not believe her ears! "My, but is he so close, Father," she asked him.
"As soon as you are ready, tell me to call him and we will leave."
"And how did this miracle happen, Father?" she asked him, crying.
"Prepare yourself now and we will talk about it on the way back, the other things will be told; to you by your husband in your home."
"And the other woman with whom he was shacked up?"
"He phoned her to take her things and leave, or else."
My wife got ready. Pappouli came out and called to me. I proceeded closer with the car and I opened the trunk to put in my wife's suitcase. As she approached the car, she dropped her suitcase on the sidewalk and she ran to embrace me. Her tears moistened my face. I squeezed her in my arms for a long time. I was also crying, the person who had been tough as a rock! We got into the car and left.
We arrived in Athens late at night. We fist went to Tourkovounion in order to drop off Pappouli. When we reached the poor and humble home of Pappouli, I got out of the car, I kissed his hand and I said to him with tears in my eyes:
"Pappouli, I am not very well educated so that I could express to you in fancy terms my sincere thanksgiving. But you must know that there is no other priest like you. As far as the fare that you owe me, we will make it even when you come to chant the services of the blessing of the water and holy unction in my home. I want you to do this to rid my home of all the demons!"
"Don't talk to me about money. I would personally desire for you and your children to come and work in my garden in Kalisia."
"From your mouth to the ear of God, Pappouli. And not only one day will we work. We will work for a whole month in your garden at your monastery."
My wife kissed his hand and we said good night to him.
In our new life, after the services of the belssing of holy water and of Holy Unction by Pappouli, in truth the demons did not dare to enter our home again. My wife and I have been happy ever since. We first had a daughter and then we had two sons. Our daughter is engaged and this is why I am going to see Pappouli, I want him to crown her in marriage.
This is difficult for him to do because he has become very sickly and he continuously tells me that he will no longer leave his monastery on Mt. Athos. My wife and I would like to thank him one more time.
Don't worry, Vasili. Even if we do not get to see him one more time, Pappouli has received such grace from God that even after his death; he will be able to perform miracles!
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