As a zealous young monk, Saint Cyril sought a blessing from his elder to fast more than the brethren. His elder, however, encouraged him to first build a firm foundation on the common life so as to avoid temptation and delusion. As such, he developed a rule of prayer with his elder in which the two of them got up together at night and kept vigil, reading the Psalter and making prostrations until the start of the daily office the next morning. This obedience and perseverance made it such that, when the demons attacked through frightful images, he was able to overcome them with the sign of the cross and through the Jesus Prayer. In such ways, he slowly but surely overcame his foes – both his flesh and his bodiless enemies – and was transformed into the likeness of Christ. Later in life, when he had become abbot at the Monastery of the White Lake, the devil sought to assail the Man of God by attacking his spiritual children. The demons continually suggested evil thoughts and attitudes about Saint Cyril to a monk who kept them secret for more than a year. Finally unable to take it anymore, who went to the Saint to confess, but was not able to speak for shame and by the artifice of the evil one. Seeing the clearly the state of the man’s soul, Saint Cyril described his sins to him in detail. The man then fell to his knees in repentance and received forgiveness of his sins, and was thus delivered from torment. For his life of faithfulness, God granted the Saint the gift of healing which he offered liberally to those in need sprinkling them with holy water and anointing them with oil. By these same methods he also cast out a multitude of demons with authority.
Category: Miracles
Indicates saints whose defeat of the demons was particularly accompanied by miracles.
Peter of Korisha
Putting aside childish things for the things of God as a young boy, Saint Peter sought to embrace the eremitic life as soon as he was able. Delayed from doing so after the death of his parents by the responsibility of caring for his younger sister, he achieved his aim when she agreed to enter the monastic life as well. Searching for hesychia, he journeyed to a deserted place where he lived in alone in a cave for many years in fasting and prayer. His only companions were the wild animals who dwelt with him as in an outpost of Paradise. While there, he was continuously assailed by demons who sought to sow despair, but the saint confidently drove them off by chanting psalms and hymns. Seeking yet again to wound the heal of man, the Saint was set upon by a snake, but the Holy Archangel Michael appeared and repulsed the snake with his sword. In thankfulness for this protection, Saint Peter increased his ascetic efforts. This resulted in such a deeply Christ-like transformation that he was able to discern the pits the demons continuously dug for him, avoiding them with prayer and humility. He continuously reminded himself that he had been created from the dust of the earth and that he could do nothing without God’s help. The prince of the power of the air, however, would not relent, attacking him with a flock of crows that tried to bend him by pecking out his eyes. This time, the Saint again put him to flight by prayer, specifically the recitation of the Creed. In the end, his victory was proclaimed by the Lord Himself, the uncreated light filling his cave for a number of days. This abundant grace led to his discovery by other monks. He handed down to them his teaching on the ascetic life before falling asleep in peace, having recapitulated the life of mankind in salvation as a co-worker with Christ.
Martyr Lucillian or Nicomedia
A priest of a pagan temple in Nicomedia, Saint Lucillian embraced Christianity and repudiated his former position by refusing to offer sacrifice to the Gods. The Governor of the region, Silvanus, saw this as a threat against the peace of the Empire and began searching for the saint, offering a reward for anyone who wold revealed his location. The holy Martyr’s location was revealed, and he was arrested along with other members of the faithful. After being ordered to offer a public sacrifice to the Gods, Saint Lucillian flatly refused explaining that there was no point whatsoever to making an offering to stones carved by the hand of man and to foul demons. As such, he invited the tyrant to do his worst as a servant of the Evil One. The tortures that he patiently had no effect on the Saint who seemed not to even notice them. The next day, the Governor repeated his order for the Saint to make sacrifice under penalty of being thrown into a fiery furnace. The Saint refused saying he had nothing to fear from a temporary fire and would gladly endure it to avoid an eternal one. Four children took up the same cry. The enraged tyrant had them all cast into the furnace, but they were preserved like the Three Holy Children in Babylon. Fearing lest their triumph cause more converts, Silvanus had them all transferred to Chalcedon where they were given one more chance to worship the gods. When the Saint again refused, he was crucified while praising God for being found worthy to suffer a death like that of his Lord.
Martyr Constantine, the Muslim Convert
Born of Muslim parents, Saint Constantine was blinded as a youth by a malicious magician who, prompted by a demon, gave him a poison potion to drink. Bedridden for three years as a result, his desperate mother heeded the suggestion of a Christian woman to have him submerged in a miraculous pool. Like a foreshadowing of his eventual baptism, the holy Martyr was healed and a seed of salvation was planted in his heart which was watered each time he heard someone teaching about the Christian Faith. This eventually led him to the Holy Mountain he converted and began to responsibly cultivate a desire to give his life as a thank offering to Christ in imitation of the holy martyrs. Put off from this purpose for a time by his spiritual father, Saint Constantine traveled to Magnesia to affect the conversion of his sister. During this trip he was recognized by a Turk and was arrested as an apostate from Islam. This circumstance fanned the flame of his desire which had been as a smoldering coal, and the holy Martyr was given the courage to endure. Again at the prompting of a demon, his torturer devised a metal helmet meant to both retain heat and place a crushing pressure on the sides of his head. This helmet was heated in the fire and placed on Saint Constantine’s head. Meant for evil, the device became for him the helmet of salvation in the armor of God. When they began to cut and beat him, a golden cross appeared on his chest which became impervious to their assaults. Seeing they could do nothing else to the Martyr, he was bung upside down for the night where he suffered demonic attacks in the form of various temptations and apparitions. Saint Constantine, however, had been purified by the refiners fire, and easily repulsed the assault on his soul. He was further strengthened by a vision of the Mother of God who told him that he would survive to bear witness of her Son in Constantinople, but would eventually carry off the martyr’s crown . There a kindly priest offered to have him released, but the Saint declined. Appearing before the judge, he suggested that the judge be converted. The enraged man instead ordered that he be beaten and hung. Thus, the prophecy of the Theotokos came to pass, and Saint Constantine proved himself to be a faithful servant of the Lord to the end.
Hieromartyr Erasmus of Ochrid
Like a new Prophet Elijah, Saint Erasmus was also fed by ravens as he led the ascetic life in the Antiochian wilderness during Diocletian’s persecution. Elected Bishop against his will, he left the desert to lead the life of an Apostle, spreading the gospel through preaching attended by miracles. At Ochrid, he raised a Father and his child from the dead, cast down the idols in the temple, and won the whole city to Christ. For this he was made to appear before the Emperor, Maximian, who asked him what gods he worshipped. The saint calmly replied by asking him the same question, so he was taken to the Temple of Zeus. Upon entering, he cast a stern glance at a large bronze statue of the god, which melted under his righteous gaze. Showing its true nature, a dragon emerged from the remnants of the statue and began to terrorize the people who immediately asked to be baptized, fleeing to the God of Saint Erasmus for protection. The Saint received them into the faith and killed the dragon, only to be arrested for his troubles. The new converts were immediately put to death, and the holy Martyr was tortured and thrown into a prison cell. He was freed from prison by the Holy Archangel Michael and taken to Campania where he continued to proclaim the True Faith. At the time of his death, he was granted a martyrs crown, the faithful seeing it descend from heaven.
Jeremiah the Anchorite
As soon as he was able Jeremiah devoted himself to the eremitic life, living in silence and solitude in the high deserts of Syria. Like the man who found the pearl of great price, he sold all the pleasures and conveniences of this world, to buy the field in which he found it. In that field he endured all the deprivations of the ascetic life, counting them nothing compared to the treasures he received directly from the Lord’s hand, especially patience and endurance. He mounted up into the heavens using these two virtues as wings, and became a friend of God. Miracles and the power to cast out demons flowed from his continuous nearness to Christ, his only hope and consolation.
Germanus, Bishop of Paris
Saint Germanus was made a monk and priest after living a pious and faithful life as a young man. Dedicated to a life of strict austerity, his rigorous approach to the ascetic life sometimes caused problems between him and his Bishop. Nevertheless, the remained in obedience to his Father in Christ even when he was imprisoned by him. On one occasion, his cell door opened of its own accord, but he would not leave until he received a blessing to do so. In the middle of the Sixth Century, he was called to Paris by King Childebert and made Bishop of the city. Despite his new responsibilities, he did not ease his rule of prayer or way of life, adding the care of his flock as an additional labor. For his faithfulness, God granted Saint Germanus the ability to work miracles, heal the sick, and cast out demons by his prayer. He made sure that those whom he had delivered remained near to him for some time, so that he could continue in prayer with and for them and ensure that they had both been set free and had begun to live a life of repentance.
Therapontus of the White Lake
A disciple of the great light of Russian monasticism, Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Saint Therapontus set out for the White Lake with his friend, Saint Cyril, after receiving a revelation from the Lord. After arriving they both devoted themselves to the hesychastic life is separate cells. The area was inhospitable, both physically and spiritually, but the Saint was able to tame it on both levels. By his prayers local thieves accepted the Faith, wild animals were made gentle, and the demons were driven out. A community eventually formed around him, but he refused to be made their abbot. Instead, he simply provided them with a consistent example of monastic perfection – exceedingly merciful with the brethren but demanding of himself.
Apostle Carpus of the Seventy
One of the Seventy and a disciple of the Saint Paul, Saint Carpus is mentioned in Holy Scripture as having held a cloak for the Apostle to the Nations (2 Timothy 4:13). A successful evangelist in his own right and zealous for the Truth, he was made Bishop of Beroea in Thrace after having converted many pagans to the faith. In that capacity, God gave him the grace to work miracles and cast out demons, and, as a result, there was always a continuous stream of people coming to Holy Baptism.
Hymnography
Nerved with divine power, O Apostle, thou didst destroy the dragon that spake blasphemy to the uttermost, and didst save them that were perishing because of him.
(Ode Six, Third Troparion; Orthros Canon)
Nicetas the Stylite of Pereyaslavl
A particularly violent tax collector of Pereyaslavl-Zelessky, Saint Nicetas followed the path of that other tax collector, the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, after hearing the words of the Glorious Prophet Isaiah at Vespers calling the faithful to, “remove the evil of your deeds from before [the Lord’s] eyes” (Isaiah 1:16). Desperate to be washed clean, he fled to the Monastery of the Great Martyr Nicetas where he cried out for help for his imperiled soul. His sincerity being tested by the monks in various ways, the Saint patiently endured saying only that he needed help because he was perishing. He hungrily embraced the ascetic life, nourishing his soul on prayer, fasting, and night vigil. At night, he was attacked by the demons who had formerly enslaved him, but he drove them off with the sign of the cross and by asking for the intercession of Saint Nicetas, the patron and protector of the Monastery. Wishing his battle to remain secret, he took up residence on a pillar like the stylites of old where he continued to seek the Lord with tears. Despite these efforts, his reputation began to spread and, eventually, he became known to the pious Prince Michael of Chernigov who had fallen ill and become paralyzed. The Prince set out for the Monastery of Saint Nicetas at once. Knowing that the Prince’s deliverance was at hand if he made it to the monastery, a demon took on the guise of a monk and told Michael to turn around because the holy stylite was nothing but a fraud. Disturbed and confused, the Prince journeyed onward still. Seeing his failure, the demon tried again, this time appearing as a monk with a shovel. He told the Boyar that the Nicetas had died and that he had just buried him. This time, Prince Michael saw through the deception and chased the demons away by simply invoking the name of the Stylite. Having persevered, the Prince’s envoy arrived at the Saint’s pillar. Saint Nicetas gave him his walking stick, and upon receiving it, Prince Michael was healed and was able to walk on his own two feet to receive the man of God’s blessing.