After becoming a monk, Saint David, inspired by the lives of the holy stylites, climbed a tree near the monastery Church and lived on one of its branches for three years as the first of the dendrites (tree dwellers). Lifted up on the tree in imitation of Christ Jesus, he did battle with the passions, crucifying the flesh through asceticism. He constantly meditated on Holy Scripture and the Lives of the Saints for spiritual sustenance, and cried out hymns of praise like a bird bursting its throat in song. Having been lifted up both physically and spiritually, he drew men unto himself and guided them to the Lord as their spiritual father. Coming down from his tree for this purpose as well as and to minister to the people of Thessalonica, God gave him grace to heal all manner of sickness, restore sight to the blind, and drive out demons by calling on the Name of the Lord. Thus, he became a guardian angel in the flesh for the city and the whole region, his cell always being filled with a radiant light at night as he visited with God face-to-face like Moses. Later in an appearance before the Senate in the imperial city, David picked up a coal and used his hand as a censer to cense the faithful there showing that he had become a flaming pillar of love for God.
Hymnography
Since thou hadst mortified thy bodily members upon the earth, O Father, thou hadst Life dwelling in thy heart, even Christ, Who deadened the power of the devil who made mankind subject to death.
(Ode One, Second Troparion; Orthros Canon)
In obedience to the Master’s laws, O righteous David, thou didst take thy cross on thy shoulders following in his steps; and being lowly in humility, thou didst cast down the destroyer’s lofty pride.
(Ode One, Third Troparion; Orthros Canon)
Category: Prayer
Indicates saints for whom their defeat of the demons was related to prayer.
Gregory, Disciples of Nicetas of Thebes
This saint was shaped into the very image of his Spiritual father, Nicetas of Thebes. After becoming a monastic, he lived as a hermit on the island of Oreos in Greece, spending several years in silence and prayer. When visitors were invariably drawn to him, he taught them to resist the evil thoughts suggested by the devil. To do so he equipped them with the weapons of humility, watchfulness, righteous anger, rebuke, and cleansing prayer that gushes forth from a heart given to divine eros.
Nicetas of Thebes
Saint Nicetas was marked out at as a bright star in the Church’s firmament when at his baptism the Holy Spirit appeared over him in the form of a dove. Being tonsured a monk in his teenage years, he quickly mastered the Church’s royal path of avoiding the extremes suggested by vainglory or over indulgence. Some time later, he was blessed to settle in a cave where he could secretly wage war against the passions. His way of life eventually drew faithful men to him who asked for his guidance in the ascetic life. He provided them with a most excellent example, specifically making use of night vigils and the evangelic virtue of poverty. When visitors came to bring him food, he always ate a small amount erring on the side of love and resuming his fasts later. All of these efforts allowed him to see clearly the snares of the evil one, and he instructed his disciples on how to avoid being deceived by the enemy’s machinations. When such instruction failed, he redeemed the faithful by casting out demons through prayer, fasting, and by anointing the afflicted with oil.
Paisius the Great
The Great Shepherd of the Egyptian desert, went out to Nitria to be with Abba Pambo who received into Holy Monasticism. Seeking to establish his new disciple in humility, the old man instructed him to keep his eyes on the ground never looking anyone in the face. This allowed Saint Paisius to keep his mind directed towards God in all places and circumstances despite outward distractions. After the death of his spiritual father, the Saint retreated further into the desert where he devoted himself to intense feats of asceticism in praise of God. It was not long, however, till other monks began to gather around him to learn his way of life. Abba Paisius preemptively warded off attacks by the Devil by making sure that their material needs were met such that they had just enough to survive. God also granted him the grace of discernment such that once when he was offered a great sum of money, he politely refused seeing that the endurance of poverty through trust in Christ Jesus was a great source of grace and blessing to the monks. He used this same gift to help his monks discern between temptations that originated in their passions and those that were enflamed by demonic suggestion. Seeing the intrigues of the enemy for what they were, he rebuked the devil and forced a confession from him that he and his demons did not assail beginners due to their zeal and the initial protection of divine grace they had been given by God. Rather, they waited till the Lord withdrew somewhat in order to test them, and then they attacked through deception causing negligent monks to fall into their traps with ease. With such foresight, Abba Paisius was able to train his monks into experienced spiritual warriors agains the Evil One and his demons.
Hypatius, Abbot of the Monastery of the Rufinianes
Escaping his home after a particularly intense beating from his earthly father, Saint Hypatius fled into the arms of his heavenly Father and became a monk. His experience in turning attacks meant for evil into good came became a path to salvation for his monks as the community was continually forced to endure invasions by the Huns and the Goths. Finally turning towards the protection of the Imperial City, he found the Monastery of the Rufinianes in a dilapidated state after being abandoned by its original inhabitants who had returned to Egypt. Moreover, it had become infested by demons who sought to claim for themselves a place that had previously been dedicated to the Lord. Upon his arrival, Saint Hypatius drove away the demons by his prayerful rebuke and settled his monks there. They labored intensely to scratch out a life, but they turned their deprivation into ascesis. Eventually, the Devil saw an opportunity to disrupt the way of life that so scorched him, and he caused a quarrel between the Saint and Timothy, one of his original companions that journeyed with him to Constantinople. In imitation of the Patriarch Abraham in the dispute with his nephew, Lot, Saint Hypatius humbled himself and withdrew to his former monastery. When the elder there became ill, he called the Saint and Timothy to him and exhorted them to be reconciled as the Apostles had done when they quarreled. They exchanged mutual forgiveness, overcoming the Evil One by obedience and love, and Hypatius was elected as abbot of the monastery.
James, who through Deception Venerated the Devil
Eager to test himself with great feats of asceticism, Saint James sought solitude before he was ready for it against the instructions of his spiritual father. Closing himself off in a cave, he hurled himself into a battle he did not understand, and, his efforts having seemingly been met with success, a destructive pride took root in his soul. After some time, a demon appeared to him the guise of an angel of light and told him to prepare himself because the Lord Himself would come to fill him with His Divine grace to an even greater degree. Having been thoroughly deceived, the disobedient and pretentious solitary made his preparations and, when a glorious figure appeared, Saint James prostrated himself before him. The devil, for that is who had actually appeared, then struck the man on the head and disappeared. Distraught and defeated, the monk left his retreat and went in tears to a holy elder who lived nearby. Seeing Saint James, the holy man exclaimed that he had been made a plaything of Satan, and instructed him to go and live the coenobitic life in a monastery. Obeying as he should have in the beginning, Saint James went and did just that. After long years of humility and obedience, he was given the blessing to retire to his cell where, as a well-seasoned warrior, he was able to achieve those things he had once tried to achieve out pf pride and out of order. Through faithfully keeping the strict rule of prayer given by his spiritual father, God eventually counted him worthy of the grace to work miracles. Redeemed and restored from his grievous fall, Saint James departed this life in peace.
Peter the Athonite
An elite soldier of the Byzantine army, the first Athonite was captured and imprisoned by Arab forces. Remembering in the darkness of his prison that he had vowed to become a monk in his youth, Saint Peter began his repentance and was enrolled in the Lord’s army. After being set free from prison by Saint Nicolas the Wonderworker and Saint Symeon the God-Receiver, Saint Peter was sent to sack the demonic stronghold on Mount Athos which Christ Jesus had given to His Holy Mother as her garden. After his arrival, he climbed the mountain and found a cave that had become a lair of beasts and demons. Without any hesitation, he settled there out of obedience and trust in the Lord, and the demons fled in the wake of such childlike faith. Infuriated by the onslaught of his prayer, the Devil sent his forces to attack him with frightful noises, and visions of arrows and high-pressured geysers. Saint Peter simply called out to the Theotokos and the demonic devices vanished. Realizing their attempts at artifice had failed, the demons stirred up all the wild animals and reptiles of the region and sent them against him as well, but they too were put to flight by the Name of the Lord and the sign of His cross. Victorious in battle, the holy ascetic steadily grew in virtue and the likeness of Christ. Knowing that he could not defeat Saint Peter, the Devil resorted to deception to try to get him to abandon his post. He disguised himself as a servant and presented himself to the Man of God reminding him of his parents and promising to find him a retreat closer to the city where they lived. Though he was affected by the vision, he told the youth that he had not been given leave to depart by the One who had sent him. Some years later, the demon tried yet again appearing to Saint Peter as an angel of light, but the ascetic replied that he was not deceived because he knew he was unworthy to entertain angels. Lashed by his humility as if with fire, the demon retreated yet again. By the end of his life, the Holy Mountain was being settled by an increasing number of monks, a testament to his success in battle. Even after death he continued putting the enemy to shame – a demon was cast out of a man when he touched the body of the Saint, and a man sent by the Devil to burn the holy relics was stopped by an unseen hand.
Hymnography
With what fair crowns of praise shall we crown the illustrious Peter of Athos? Name for him that led the Apostles’ choir and who himself led the Angel’s life, the rock of divine faith in Christ Savior; that summit of Holy Athos and its champion; the Virgin and Theotokos’s initiate; that indestructible anvil on the which were broken all the evil one’s treacheries; he who hath received bright crowns from heaven for all his victories.
(Lord, I have cried; First Troparion of Saint Peter)
Founded upon the unbreakable rock of faith with unwavering firmness, thou, O righteous Peter, wast not cast down by the assaults of the enemy or by all his multiform illusions; but rather, on stripping naked all his wickedness, thou leddest thy life in stillness and nakedness beyond the limits of nature, whereby thou hast put on the bright robe of gladness and joy by grace, and thou hast passed on to light never dimmed with eventide.
(Lord, I have cried; Third Troparion of Saint Peter)
Notable Athos, the holy inheritance of the Theotokos, glorieth in thy struggles, O all-blessed Peter. For ascending into this mountain, thou didst lift thy mind up to the everlasting mountains; and passing thy life in the unyielding practice of the virtues, though didst prove to be an immovable rock of patient endurance. For in thy steadfast purpose, O Father, thou didst endure the frenzied illusions of darkness and the many necessities of nature. Wherefore, at the sight of thine endurance Angels marveled, the demons trembled, and the Church is astonished, and crieth with exceeding gladness unto Him that gave thee strength: O Lord, glory be to Thee.
(For the Entreaty; Third Troparion)
Rejoice, star of Mount Athos most bright, thou Godlike dweller of the Mountain brought up thereon, thou sword cutting down the demons and hurling down their assaults; O unsleeping eye of stillness great in prayer; thou true and beloved friend of the pure Mother of our God, for, being cherished by her vigilant providence, thou didst dash the designs of the enemy. Blessed art thou, O Peter, mighty rock indestructible, thou living rule of invincible perseverance for hesychoasts. Implore Christ the Savior to grant pardon of our sins and great mercy to our souls.
(Second Troparion of the Aposticha)
To the Mountain of Athos thou rannest eagerly, led by the marvelous providence of the Mother of God; and thy way of life astonished mortals mightily. For thou didst live in nakedness and didst put to open shame malign Belial completely with thy persistent endurance, O Father Peter, glory of the Saints.
(Sessional Hymns after the Second Reading from the Psalter, Doxastikon; Orthros)
Ye who dwelt in the desert and showed it forth as a city, O marvelous pair of Saints, O glorious Onuphrios, and divine Peter, blest are ye. For the one dwelt in Egypt as thou incorporeal, while the other on Athos heaped shame on the dragon’s head. Wherefore, ye are heirs of every heavenly blessing, the Angel’s beloved friends, their companions and peers on high, unto whom we cry out with faith: Intercede with Christ our God that forgiveness of all their transgressions be granted to them that with longing keep your holy memory.
(Sessional Hymns after the Polyeleos, First Troparion; Orthros)
Thy servant Peter, having thy help, O immaculate Lady, destroyed with a staunch spirit the enemy’s cunning treacheries.
(Ode Three, Of Saint Peter, Theotokion; Orthros Canon)
Thou wentest forth naked to the strife and contest, O Saint, and thou didst strip naked all the foe’s devices by thine unwavering constancy. Struggling in the shadow of Mount Athos in labors, thou didst cast the demon’s foul despite down in ruin. For this, O blessed Peter, did Christ show thee forth marvellous.
(Sessional Hymns after Ode Three, Doxastikon; Orthros Canon)
The ven’rable Peter, having found thee truly to be a gracious defender and a speedy helper in war, O Virgin unstained and pure, calling on thy hallowed name, he threw down the devil, running to the end the course of God-pleasing virtues; and now he doth behold the pure light of thy great majesty.
(Sessional Hymns after Ode Three, Theotokion; Orthros Canon)
The swarms of demons, beholding thy way of life, fell upon thee with all manner of treacheries; but their madness was defeated by thy constancy, O Peter, as thou didst fix thy gaze upon the grace of God.
(Ode Five, Of Saint Peter, Second Troparion; Orthros Canon)
Raging against thee with all his power, the guileful enemy appeared with a multitude of archers frantic with martial fury; but thou, clothed with the whole armor of the all-pure Virgin, didst turn to flight his wanton audacity.
(Ode Five, Of Saint Peter, Third Troparion; Orthros Canon)
The godly-minded Peter, cleansed in mind and poetically beholding the thy glory, O only transcendently glorious and Lady graced of God, manfully endured the villainies of the demons and hurled their presumption to the ground.
(Ode Five, Of Saint Peter, Theotokion; Orthros Canon)
The crafty foe, waxing wanton against thee, set upon thee in the form of terrible serpents and wild beasts; but thou didst dash him to the ground with the invocation of the all-pure Virgin.
(Ode Six, Of Saint Peter, Second Troparion; Orthros Canon)
Protected by the immaterial overseeing of the Theotokos, thou didst pass unhurt through the plots of the dragon, O God-bearing Peter, and didst water Athos with the sweat of thy struggles.
(Ode Six, Of Saint Peter, Theotokion; Orthros Canon)
In the form of thy domestic servant, and of an archangel of the Lord of Hosts, the enemy of what is good came to lead thee into error, unerring star that thou wast, but he was put to shame by thy prayers.
(Ode Seven, Of Saint Peter, Second Troparion; Orthros Canon)
How shall I laud thy life, and thy trophies against the demons? For thou didst contend like an immaterial being in a material body and threwest down the enemy’s tens of thousands of treacheries.
(Ode Seven, Of Saint Peter, Third Troparion; Orthros Canon)
Thy hallowed reliquary is an inexhaustible source of healing, which endeth the cruel violence of grievous diseases and manifestly chaseth away unclean spirits; for the divine grace dwelling therein worth strange wonders.
(Ode Nine, Of Saint Peter, Second Troparion; Orthros Canon)
Thou art the chief of hesychasts on Mount Athos, completing mighty struggles beyond all measure: Hence, O righteous Peter, we all call thee blest, as the unshaken rock of faith which to the end dashed to pieces the fierce assaults of the demons.
(Exapostalaria, Of Saint Peter; Orthros)
Peter, righteous boast of Athonites, the bright achievements and feats of they conflicts and victories and the high singular prizes won by thy way of life amaze our minds and confirm our souls in faith, while turning back in defeat demons’ troops. What labors thou didst bear! Living out thy life as incorporeal, naked and unsheltered from the ruthless elements.
(For the Praises, Of Saint Peter, First Troparion; Orthros)
Swayed by the Virgin’s divine behest , thou wentest zealously forth to Mount Athos to lead a life of relentless discipline far transcending the fallen world. Upon destroying the demons’ phantasies, thou didst receive bread of Angels for thy food. What grace most marvelous was bestowed on thee as thy reward from God, O God-bearing Peter, for thy pains in solitude.
(For the Praises, Of Saint Peter, Second Troparion; Orthros)
Arsenius of Konevets
A Russian monastic who was always looking to deepen his experience of hesychia, Saint Arsenius left for the Holy Mountain with a group of Athonite monks who had visited his monastery. Having arrived in the garden of the Theotokos, like a new Publica, he regarded himself as the least worthy of all who had ever set foot there. This deep and sincere humility led him ever more deeply into repentance, passing every night in prayer. Having richly inherited the phronema of Athos, he decided to return to his country and found a monastery dedicated to the Mother of God there. After receiving the blessing of his Archbishop, he located a place well suited for the ascetic life – the abandoned island of Konevets on Lake Ladoga. On the island he found a ruined pagan shrine that was infested by demons, but they fled at his rebuke not being able to withstand the fire of his humility. The monastery was firmly established, and many monks came to join him there.
Pansemne, the Former Prostitute
A prostitute from Antioch, the ironically named Saint Pansemne (“very chaste”) especially targeted Christians with her charms for 12 years. Hearing of her reputation, Saint Theophanes, who lived nearby in solitude, feigned interest, but surprised her with a marriage proposal that included a large quanitity of gold. His only condition was that she become a Christian. When she learned about the Last Judgment during her catechesis, her conscience was pricked, and she gave herself to the ascetic life, shutting herself up in a cell like that of her husband. Her name ultimately proved prophetic, and, having done all diligence, God granted her petitions of healing and delivering those tormented by demons.
Columba, Wonderworker of Iona
Like tongues of fire descending on the Hebrides, Saint Columba and his companions landed on the Isle of Iona on Pentecost in the year 563. From there the Saint worked tirelessly in his mission to the Northern Picts, traveling and preaching the gospel throughout all of Scotland. When at home in his monastery, the saint was inundated with a constant stream of visitors to whom he proved a caring and able father. He served them by healing the sick, thwarting epidemics, casting out demons, praying for favorable conditions for both sailors and farmers, reconciling those who were divided, encouraging the downcast, and weeping copious tears for those enslaved by sin. His tears were most efficacious, and God responded to the petitions of his servant by consoling the faithful.