A SAMPLE OF SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES USING
SHORT VIDEO CLIPS ABOUT ST PORPHYRIOS

The purpose of this website is to provide a small sample of people's experiences about the divine qualities of St Porphyrios, a bright ambassador of the long Christian monastic tradition, the roots of which go back to prophets of the Old Testament, [PHIL,MEY1974]. The broader mission is to enhance our knowledge on "what lies beyond the reach of our standard senses", by providing concrete examples of events involving unusual human capabilities. The intention is that these examples are not isolated, but parts of documented practices. St Porphyrios of Kafsokalivia, Mt Athos, 1906-1991, is considered one of the greatest 20th century monks of Greece.

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Video/Audio clips (short, in Greek with English subtitles)
The following clips contain narrations of people who experienced first hand the divine qualities of St Porphyrios. Information about these people is given in the section "People" below. The sources of these clips are given in the section "Sources" below.

  1. [Let me show you God] Fr Dr Nikolaos Loudovikos says that, when he first met St Porphyrios, the saint was able to "see" and tell him very personal facts about his (Loudovikos') life--this is called clairvoyance. He also says that he used to be an atheist. Clip made from parts of audio source [NL100106] at 19min 5sec and of video source [NL140110] at 52min 57sec.
  2. [Icons in her pocket] Athina Sideri talks about the little icons of St Porphyrios which appeared in her pocket when people were asking for them and she had none (she had left them home); that was 25 years after the saint's death. Clip from video source [AS141210] at 49min 51sec
  3. [Seeing from afar] Dr George Papazahos narrates that St Porphyrios could "see" him in his office in Athens from his monastery. Clip from video source [GPXXXA] at 19min 51sec
  4. [Sick wife] Kostas Adam talks about the clairvoyance ability of St Porphyrios. Clip from video source [KA131202] at 01min 08sec
  5. [Teleportation of Fr George] Fr George Chiotakis narrates that he was teleported from the port of Athens to the monastery of St Porphyrios (after the death of St Porphyrios). Clip from video source [GC160103] at 0min 13sec
  6. [Time miracle] Abbess Makrina narrates that in 1988 she visited St Porphyrios at his monastery, and when she was rushing to return to her monastery (more than 3 hour drive), St Porphyrios would keep talking to her. They left a little after 8pm, the driver was driving slowly, but they arrived at her monastery at 9pm. Clip from video source [AM150402]. A similar experience happened to Athina Sideri [here 49'20''-58'06'']: on a certain day the circumstances unfolded in a way that she got to help a person who had recently been dismissed from prison. That day she had a meeting that she would certainly miss. She prayed to St Porphyrios asking him to turn the time back. This happened and she arrived on time for her meeting.
  7. [Nature honours St Porphyrios] Fr Evangelos narrates that in 1991 he visited Mt Athos (as a lay person) and met St Porphyrios on a boat. The sea was rough so the boat owner (Iordanis) said that they would all get off at an early stop (at the St Anna stop). But St Porphyrios said the sea will become calm and they will go to their destination. What happened then is that the sea in front of them was calm and the sea behind them was rough and ten dolphines showed up licking St Porphyrios' hand. Clip from video source [EP180917].

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People (alphabetical order by last name)

  1. Adam, Kostas / Αδάμ, Κώστας: retired High School Principal and teacher of Theology and Philology (Greece). He used to visit frequently St Porphyrios.
  2. Chiotakis, George / Χιωτάκης, Γεώργιος (1927/28-2016): was a priest in Sfakia, Crete, Greece. He was known in Sfakia to be a leftist, supporting the view "we can be land carers, not land owners" (English version of a statement in this article of the small newspaper Xristianiki). He was known for "his passion to fight for justice and for his community" (English version of a statement in this article of the national newspaper To Pontiki). He "was compassionate to strangers... and sacrificed himself for the good of society" (English version of a statement in this article of the local newspaper Haniotika Nea). In addition to the video source [GC160103], the website www.imdleo.gr has posted a few more video sources in which Fr George Chiotakis talks about his experiences with St Porphyrios when the saint had visited Crete.
  3. Loudovikos, Nikolaos / Λουδοβίκος, Νικόλαος (1959-): Theologian, priest, psychologist, author and professor [Wikipedia]. He is (or used to be) a Visiting Professor of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (Oxford, U.K.); president of the University Ecclesiastical Academy of Thessaloniki; and a Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Winchester, U.K. [here, retrieved Dec. 2018]. He used to be an atheist until he was influenced by St Porphyrios (see clip [I was an atheist] from video source [NL140110] at 52min 57sec).
  4. Makrina / Ηγουμένη Μακρίνα: Abbess of the monastery of St John 'the Makrinos' in Megara (Greece). The Metropolitan Bishop of Megara and Salamis visited the monastery in Oct 2017 and "thanked especially the eldress Makrina" and her nuns for the liturgical experience [here in Greek, retrieved June 2019].
  5. Papanikoloau, Evangelos / Παπανικολάου, Ευάγγελος: Physician and Priest (married) serving in Cameroon (2018). He has given many invited talks about his experience with St Porphyrios and other elders.
  6. Papazahos, George / Παπαζάχος, Γεώργιος (1935-2001): was a professor of cardiology in the University of Athens. His students have talked about a "charismatic university teacher" who had "offered his medical services for free" (excerpts from [here] translated in English). He used to be the physician of St Porphyrios for 14 years. He has given many talks about his experiences with the saint. An interview of Papazahos about the saint is contained in the book [KI1997].
  7. Sideri, Athina / Σιδέρη, Αθηνά: retired Social Worker (Athens, Greece). She has been in frequent contact with St Porphyrios even after his death. One can find several invited talks of her (in Greek) on the internet. In her talks, she tells many unconventional experiences she has had with the saint.

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Notes

  1. There have been countless comments written about St Porphyrios. It would not be surprising, of course, to find many exaggerations about his life, as well as comments of sceptics, or even of people who think that the saint was a magician (whatever this means). There is, however, an increasing number of people who are coming forward with seriousness to share their positive and unconventional experiences with the saint, and who feel that the saint had divine qualities as understood in the ancient Christian monastic tradition.
  2. The saint's recognition is also happening outside of Greece. The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church "decreed that Venerable Porphyrios the Kapsokalivite should be commemorated on December 2" (see here), as well as the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church "approved the inclusion of St Porphyrios the Kavoskalyvite into the Church’s calendar on December 2" (see here). Also, "The first Church on the territory of Ukraine in honor of Venerable Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia has been consecrated at the Convent of St Mary Magdalene" (see here).
  3. It is rather astonishing that someone who died quitely, had no personal fortune, and held no administration positions is recognized by so many people, years after his death. The explanation for this has to be the lasting impact on people in his numerous encounters with those who were in need of spiritual help.

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Sources (of the above video/audio clips, all in Greek)

  1. [AM150402] Interview of Abbess Makrina by the radio station of the Piraeus Church (Πειραϊκή Εκκλησία). Published on Apr 02, 2015, by apantaortodoxias
  2. [AS141210] Talk by Athena Sideri. Published on Dec 10, 2014, by the Metropolis of Arta, Greece.
  3. [EP180917] Interview of Fr Evangelos Papanikolaou. Published by www.porfyrios.gr and by Gus Tsin (YouTube) on Sep 17, 2018.
  4. [GC160103] Interview of Fr George Chiotakis. Published on Jan 03, 2016, by www.imdleo.gr
  5. [GPXXXA] Talk by Dr George Papazahos. Published by https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs2lMqAzlPoye5i1WO8DDAQ , The Uncut Mountain
  6. [KA131202] Talk by Kostas Adam on Dec 02, 2014. Published by megasfilippos
  7. [NL100106] Interview (audio) of Nikolaos Loudovikos by psychologist and author Nikitas Kafkios, Jan 6, 2010. Published by http://www.psyche.gr/ A zipped file of the interview is here.
  8. [NL140110] Interview of Nikolaos Loudovikos by Dr Porphyrios Ntalianis. Published on Jan 10, 2014, by http://antifono.gr/
Using these sources does not necessarily mean that we endorse all the publications of the publishers of these sources. Please contact us if you think that a source is not genuine.

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Glossary

  1. Clairvoyance is the ability "to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception" [Wikipedia].
  2. Metropolis is a church administration unit that manages a set of parishes. It is a term used in the Christian Orthodox Church. The bishop who leads a metropolis is called Metropolitan (bishop).

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References

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