Once there was a fire in my cell, and by negligence it almost burned everything. Hearing about this, one demon began to attribute this event to himself. "It's okay," he said through the sick woman, "it didn't work out now, next time we'll burn everything down for you." And so several times in different versions he intimidated: we will burn, we will burn everything for you. It is noteworthy how they (demons) use everything that is suitable for their purposes, passing off an obvious lie as the truth. Do not pay attention to all their conversations and do not be afraid of their threats. Without God's permission, nothing will happen to you.

12. What was the attitude of priests towards the sick in the past and what is the attitude now?

Probably, different. Cases of spiritual illness were not as common as they are now. The sick aroused compassion and a desire to help them, and the priest sought means to alleviate their sufferings and heal them. In various church periodicals, they later shared their experience, describing cases of their encounter with evil spirits. We know this from the biography of Fr. John of Kronstadt, many ascetics of piety, but I am talking about ordinary parish priests who, with God's help, went out to battle and won. In various Diocesan Bulletins I often read about this and was touched in my heart.

These village priests loved their spiritual family and confirmed their love with their deeds, with their lives. When I was ordained to the priesthood, my rector reminded me of the words of St. John Chrysostom that few priests will be saved, since this ministry is the ministry of a loving heart, and few have it. We often forget that Christianity, first of all, in its practical implementation, is service to one's neighbor. There is an old pious legend:

"In one of the monasteries there once lived an abbot of a lofty ascetic life, who unceasingly prayed for the brethren and persistently, with great fervor and tears, asked God that all the monks of his monastery be vouchsafed the Kingdom of Heaven.

Once all the brethren were invited to a feast in a neighboring monastery. The abbot was detained by some business, and he promised to come later. The monks departed without him.

On the road they came across a traveler bitten by beasts. The poor old man could no longer move from severe loss of blood and lay near the forest path. The brethren approached him, talked, questioned, sympathized and... they went on, leaving him lying in the forest.

It was a long way to the monastery where they were going, and they wanted to get there for the service, and especially for dinner. To be a guest, to a festive dinner - this pleasure so rarely fell to their lot. They had to hurry, and linger on the road to bandage the wounded man and carry him somewhere to the shelter, they did not have time. An hour later, the abbot walked the same way. The bitten old man still lay motionless by the road, and it seemed that life had almost left him. Only occasionally did he moan softly. The hegumen approached him, and his heart contracted with compassion. He bent down to the unfortunate man, bandaged his wounds as best he could, and lifted him from the ground, trying to bring him to his feet. It was impossible to leave the dying man in the forest.

"Can you go somehow?" he asked. The old man only groaned muffled.

"Leaning on me," the abbot continued, "we will move together, slowly..." I know a house not far from here...

He embraced the old man with his decrepit arm and tried to make him go. It was all in vain: he could not stand on his feet and hung on his arm like a sack of dust. Then the abbot knelt, laid the wounded wanderer on his old shoulders, rose slowly and dragged his burden, groaning, stumbling, and barely stepping over with his weak legs; For his advanced years, the weight was beyond his strength.

He had little hope of informing me. But his heart was bursting with pity, and he could not leave the poor man without help either. And the strange thing was that as he moved forward, the weight on his shoulders became lighter and lighter, and finally the feeling of it ceased completely.

The abbot looked around and was stunned. There was no one on his shoulders! The old man disappeared.

And only from afar came a small voice: "It is impossible to fulfill your prayer, for the deeds of your brethren are different from yours... Compel them to follow in your footsteps: otherwise they will not enter the Kingdom of God.." [St. Basil of Kineshma, Demon on the Ev. of Mr., pp.254-255.]