February: Day 20: Saint Leo, Bishop of Catania

February: Day 20:
Saint Leo, Bishop of Catania
 
(It Is a Sin To Believe That Sorcerers Can “Corrupt” People)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. In the Sicilian city of Catania there was a sorcerer named Heliodoros, who was very skillful in performing false miracles. He was repeatedly condemned to death, but he would suddenly disappear and appear in different places on the same day. In vain did Saint Leo, Bishop of Catania, whose memory is celebrated today, persuade Heliodoros to repent. He laughed at the admonitions of the Saint and one day came to the church where Saint Leo was celebrating a service, and by his sorcery he caused the Christians praying in the church to begin stomping, jumping, laughing and doing other indecent things. For such an insult to the holy temple, Leo approached Heliodoros, tied him with his omophorion and led him out of the church. Then he ordered a fire to be lit, went into the fire with Heliodoros, and stood there until the sorcerer was burned. The fire that destroyed Heliodoros did not even touch the clothes of Saint Leo, who remained unharmed. This is the great and instructive punishment that befalls those who commit outrages in the temple of God.

II. In the above story from the life of Saint Leo, Bishop of Catania, some may draw a very false conclusion, namely, that sorcerers can harm people, or as the villagers usually say, "corrupt" people. Such an opinion has no rational basis. If the sorcerer mentioned in the life of Saint Leo could, by the power of demonic sorcery, make the Christians praying in the church begin to stomp, jump, laugh, and generally behave disorderly, then this happened solely by the permission of the Lord, Who wanted through this solemnly and clearly to show everyone the full impotence of magical charms, for not even a few minutes had passed when Saint Leo, strengthened by the power of God, performed a great miracle: having bound the magician with his omophorion, he went with him into the burning fire and remained in it completely unharmed until the magician burned, clearly demonstrating through this the complete impotence of the demonic power with which the magician acted.

Therefore, to believe that sorcerers can corrupt people, i.e. put a demon in them, is unreasonable and sinful.

a) Superstitious sorcerers, or wizards, harm only themselves, and not others; they only deceive themselves and others, and are simply self-deluded deceivers. The devil cannot help a superstitious sorcerer in anything, because he himself can do nothing without God's permission. Without God's permission, the devil cannot even come close to a person, as is evident from the example of righteous Job. Likewise, the devil cannot disobey God's command, as is evident from many examples described in the Gospel. Saint John Damascene says: "The devils have neither power nor strength against anyone, unless this is permitted by God's discretion, as happened with Job, and as is written in the Gospel about the Gadarene swine. But with God's permission they are strong, they accept and change whatever dream image they want" (An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II, Chapter IV). Therefore, the popular belief that wizards, or so-called sorcerers, "corrupt" people, i.e., settle devils in any people they want, is absurd and completely unfounded. One should thus not ascribe special power to them and fear them. The devil settles in people by God's permission, therefore, by himself, no outside person -wizard, or sorcerer, can have any participation or mediation in this disaster.

b) But there are conditions under which the devil can settle in a person. The devil settles in possessed people because these people themselves have attracted evil spirits to themselves; they themselves have prepared a dwelling place for the devils in themselves, swept out and tidied up by unrepentant sins, not occupied by God, by the grace of God, prepared by a sinful life for the dwelling place of the devil. Possessed people, by their unrepentant sins, instead of being the dwelling place of God, become a dwelling place for an unclean spirit. Our Savior speaks of this in this way: When the unclean spirit goes out of a man (cast out at our baptism), then he walks through waterless places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says: 'I will return to my house from whence I came.' And he goes. And if, having come, he finds him not occupied by God, when someone is deprived of the Holy Spirit because of his unrepentant life, then the unclean spirit comes and takes with him seven other spirits (as seven spiritual gifts, so, in contrast to this, seven spirits of malice, or seven deadly sins and passions; seven can be taken as a designation of a multitude in general, and not in the strict sense) (Explanation of the Gospel, Bishop Michael), more evil than himself, and having entered, they live there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first (Matt. 12:42-45; Luke 11:24-26). Thus, people possessed by evil spirits, whom they attracted to themselves by their unrepentant sins, must complain in their temporary and eternal torments not about magicians or sorcerers, but only about themselves alone.

And indeed, there are many examples in the lives of the saints, from which it is clear that unrepentant sinners are sometimes punished by demonic possession. A demon possessed youth was brought to Abba Ammon for healing, but he said: “Give back the ox that was stolen from the widow and eaten by you, and the youth will recover.” And so it happened. (October 4). Another example: Venerable Pachomios, by anointing with holy oil, healed a maiden from a demon after she confessed her sin to her father and promised not to sin anymore, but before that he did not want to heal her, as she was defiled by fornication (May 15). Demons cannot enter into people pleasing to God: the demon, cast out by Saint Parthenios from one person, asked him to show him another into whom he could enter, and when Saint Parthenios, opening his mouth, offered to enter into it, but the devil said: “How can I enter the house of God?” and he disappeared. (February 7).

And God allows the devil to settle in man for no other reason than so that man would not perish for all eternity in his unrepentant sins, but so that, tormented by the demon, he would repent and turn to God. In this way the devil becomes an involuntary instrument of salvation for the man he had intended to destroy. This is precisely what the devil confessed to Venerable Pachomios: “Your strength has grown upon me through the incarnation of God the Word, who has been given the power to trample upon all our strength, therefore I cannot come near you, and when I overcome you, I become the cause of your benefit” (May 15).

c) What are the means by which one can cast out demons? The Savior Himself said that the spirit of evil can be cast out by fasting and prayer, and not by magic power. The spirit of evil can be cast out not by sorcerers, but only by the Holy Apostles, to whom the Savior Himself gave power over unclean spirits, so that they would cast them out, and after them the shepherds of the Church have the same power, as the successors of the apostles (Matt. 10:1). They have in the Holy Church the grace-filled means of casting out unclean spirits, such as: prayers and supplications in favor of believers possessed by unclean spirits, readings of the Gospel, blessing of water, confession of those possessed by unclean spirits, unction of oil, communion of the Holy Mysteries and other God-given means. Those who suffer from unclean spirits must pray earnestly to the Lord Jesus Christ, His Most Pure Mother, and to the Saint whose name is given them, and also confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries more often. Then the spirit of evil cannot live in a person. In the lives of the saints of God we find that the most powerful means of driving out demons is, as often as possible, from a pure heart and zeal, the communion of the Holy and life-giving Mysteries of Christ. It is related of Saint John of Bostra that this holy man once asked the demons who were tormenting the young girls: "Why are they afraid of Christians?" The demons answered: "You have three great things that we fear: one you wear on your neck (the Holy Cross), another you wash yourself with (Holy Baptism), and the third you partake of in church (Holy Communion)." "Of these three, which one is more terrible for you?" asked Saint John. They answered: "If you, Christians, knew how to keep well what you partake of, then none of us would dare to approach you."

III. Thus, "corruption" is an empty, absurd and ridiculous belief: sorcerers can neither settle evil spirits in possessed people, nor drive them out. There is nothing to fear or be afraid of them. Without the will of God, not a hair falls from our head, and even more so, without the will of God, nothing can happen that goes beyond the circle of ordinary events. Everything happens under the direct order of God. 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.