At the request of Father Elijah, he was buried next to the Church of St. George. To his right were later buried his wife Sotiria (died in 1963 at the age of 83), and to his left was his daughter Lyubov (in monasticism Maria).

Every day at midnight sharp, light appeared over the burial place of the priest and myrrh flowed. Those who were anointed with it were healed of any diseases. Gradually, this became known everywhere. So many people came to the grave of the priest that the pilgrimage could no longer be kept a secret.

The police chief found himself in a difficult position. On the one hand, he wanted to protect the church, on the other hand, the large crowd of believers at the grave of Father Elias created certain problems. The situation was getting out of control, and he decided to excavate the burial site. When the tombstone was raised, a bright light shone from the tomb. The relics of the priest were incorrupt and exuded fragrance. They were again interred, and the people were forbidden to worship them. Later, when the persecution softened, the faithful again began to go to the grave of the priest. In Batumi, he was proclaimed a locally venerated Saint and his icon was placed in the church.

In 1962, Georgian bishops reopened the tomb of Father Elijah, but the relics were not there. They were kidnapped. At the burial place of the priest, a miraculous spring of holy water gushed out, from which many were healed.

Today, the great-grandson of Father Elijah, Abraham Paraskevbpoulos, serves in the Church of the Great Martyr George.

Through the prayers of St. Elijah the Myrrh-Streaming, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us! Amen.

VI. Father John, Who Casts Out Evil Spirits

When the Bolshevik Revolution took place in Russia in 1917, seventeen priests were detained in Odessa. All of them were sentenced to death. One of them managed to escape and hide in the forest. This priest's name was Father John, and he was Greek. His mother was arrested and shot. He found his two children, a boy and a girl, who had been rescued from arrest by his neighbors, and together with them he began to make his way on foot to safe places. Thus, through Romania and Bulgaria, he reached his homeland. Father served in parishes in Macedonia and Thrace[21] until he was appointed rector of the church in the village of Skotera near the city of Agrinio[22].

Outwardly, Father John resembled St. Kota of Aetolia[23]. He had a shabby cassock, instead of a button, a heather stick was used. On his chest he wore a wooden cross on a simple black string. From the strict fasting and the sufferings he had endured, he seemed to be incorporeal, all "skin and bones."

The inhabitants of Scooter received the new priest well. He was given a room where he began to live with his children - a ten-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son. Father John performed Divine services, preached the Word of God, confessed and communed people. He hurried to visit parishioners at their first call, prayed for the health of sick people and domestic animals, which were healed through his prayers.

One girl, originally from the village of Scootera, got married and moved to the village of Stamna. Once, visiting her native village, she heard with what admiration people spoke of their new priest: "They sent us such a priest! He is as good and kind as Christ Himself!"

Then the girl told me that in Stamna there lived a demon-possessed woman who had been suffering for eighteen years. Relatives traveled all over Greece, took her to doctors and on pilgrimages, but the unfortunate woman never received help.

And so they turned to Father John for help. After Sunday Liturgy, he addressed the parishioners: "Christians, we must help a woman who has been possessed by the devil for eighteen years. We will fast for forty days, celebrate the Divine Liturgy daily. Let us confess and take communion. Every evening we will bring the demoniac to church and pray for healing. Let us also turn to the inhabitants of neighboring villages, let everyone come."