In the presence of a large number of believers, a Holy Vigil was held last Tuesday in honor of Paisios the Saint in the forecourt of the Church of Agios Dimitrios, in Agrinio.

Paisios had passed through Agrinio as a soldier, hence he is honored in that city. The gathered crowd had the opportunity to venerate an image of the Saint and his relics, as well as a chestnut… which Paisios had given a student 27 years ago.

According to I.M. Aetolia and Acarnania, in October 1990, “Elder Paisios had given boiled chestnuts as a blessing to a group of students who had visited him.

One of the students, who also happens to be one of the two Priests who performed the Vigil, he kept the boiled chestnut he took, which to this day, 27 years later, remains miraculously unchangedwhile you can even hear the fruit in it, reports thebest.gr.

Thus, even that simple fact testified over time, the continuous presence of God, which unfortunately some, not only deny it but they even go so far as to intrude”.

The announcement of the holy temple about the pilgrimage

“The purpose for which the blessing of Saint Paisios was presented, it is certainly not idolatry but an honor to the Saint and a blessing from him.

As the Holy Bible teaches us, God rejects idolatry, but in many passages he blesses images and utensils, asking the people to respect them (such as in the book of Exodus in chapters KE’, 7-18 and KS’, 1-3).

Also, the 7th Ecumenical Council, validating the theology of Saint John of Damascus, expresses as a doctrine of our Faith the honor of images and objects of Saints. Of course, worshiping them does not mean that we worship images or objects as matter, nor certainly that we worship the Saints as gods. Instead, we honor the Saint who is either depicted in the images or to whom the objects belong, such as e.g. the Holy Girdle of our Virgin Mary, her Holy Estheta, the mantle of Saint Demetrius etc.

The veneration of images, relics and objects of the Saints, offers us the grace of the Holy Spirit that the Saints had, which in turn is offered to us either as a blessing and inner joy or as protection or many times as a miracle. Every object of the rest of the Saints has been imbued with the grace of the Holy Spirit that they themselves had. To remember:

The garments of Christ, which performed miracles by having power come out of them, such as in the treatment of the bleeding woman.

The rod of Moses, which opened the Red Sea.

The bronze serpent, with which, as a symbol of the Cross, the Israelites were healed in the desert.

The litany of the Ark of the Covenant, with which the walls of Jericho fell.

The blessing of Abvedara’s estate with the Ark of the Covenant: during the transport of the Ark of the Covenant, Uzzah, who tried to touch it, fell to the ground dead. Fearing David, he left the Ark on Abbedara’s estate, which, because of the presence of the Ark, yielded multiple yields, not only in relation to previous years but also in relation to neighboring estates. Because of this fact, litanies of the icons of Saints are held (such as the litany of the icon of Saint Christopher in Agrinio), but also the procession of the Epitaphs, so that the sanctified objects bring a blessing to the area where they are litanized.

Clothes of Saints, which worked miracles on patients by healing them, like the mantle of Saint Demetrius. There are many reports that accompanied the martyrdom of Saint Demetrius in Thessaloniki.

Even the shadow of the Apostle Peter, when he covered a demon-possessed man, he was cured, as is stated in the Acts of the Apostles. Thus even the shadow of the Saint, which is not even matter but the absence of light, performed miracles.

For these reasons, we venerate the relics, the objects and images of the Saints. Not because we worship them as gods, as some maliciously claim and accuse Orthodox Christians, but for blessing and protection.

Saint Paisios has been particularly embraced and loved by all Greeks not only because he is our contemporary and many have spoken with him, but also because he expresses with his life and words Romiosyny, that is, the unity of Hellenism and Orthodoxy. Unfortunately, some are even disturbed by the patriotism shown by Saint Paisios, supposedly considering that a Saint has no right to love his country.
Saint Paisios expressed during his life the values ​​with which our people have been nurtured, while thanks to him, many people revived these values ​​in their families. For this reason, some, opponents of Orthodoxy and Hellenism, spread some false stories about him, which collapsed as they were completely non-existent.

After all, recent false comments with insults and anecdotal characterizations towards the face of the Saint from certain journalistic circles of Agrinio, they express the fascist and totalitarian ideology, which has been definitively defeated all over the world, with the power of the Cross and the Gospel. These comments are crushed by the truth, the history and the conscience of the faithful Greek people, who are waiting for the fulfillment of the Saint’s prophecies”.