Around the year 2003, while waiting in Uranopolis to buy a ticket for the ship, a young man between 27 and 30 years old came to me and asked me something. I answered and as it usually happens, we started talking…If wind would let us get into Athos…where we were going each one of us and all the other stuff.
We continued our talk on the ship and we began to approach much deeper topics. I was telling him that I had three years since I had returned to the Church and I had started from scratch. Then he told me the story of his life.
”I was a Satanist…deeply immersed in the Satanist practices…We were making rituals…in some underground where were performed orgies above the Orthodox icons… We were doing things that cannot be described in the Passion Week, even near churches. I began to be very initiated in such practices…After some time I locked myself up in the house, shot down by depression and having suicide attempts. I didn’t even pull up the shutters so as not to let the light get in…I heard inside myself urges like: <Throw yourself down! End up your life to calm yourself down…What’s the use of living more?> And other similar thoughts. One day I decided to end it up… I couldn’t bear it anymore…I went out on the balcony and wanted to throw myself down…I was full of anger and revolt…Then I shouted out loudly: <And You, in whom people believe and about whom they talk…where are You? Ultimately You are nowhere to be found…>
In that moment I felt an indescribable inner peace…And everything around me was nice and pleasant… I was so strongly feeling a presence…But I did not see, nor hear anything. I fell down not knowing why and cried for long hours…When I could get up again and went out everything had already changed inside and outside myself. I retrieved myself…My steps were directed towards the Holy Mountain, to the Filotheu Monastery. Since then I’ve got as spiritual confessor one of the priest from the monastery. I also found a good girl and got married…I found a job as well…God be glorified that I’m fine!”
Ilie Daslis
Source : http://synaxipalaiochoriou.blogspot.gr/2016/blog-post 52.html
