I. Introduction

II. Two Truths

A. God Inspires Doctors in Their Practice of Medicine

B. Contemporary Science is from the Occult Tradition

III. Samples from our Sacred Tradition

A. From the Lives of Saints

B. From St. Nicodemos’ Rudder: Canon 61 of Trullo with Commentary

IV. Contemporary Accounts

A. Account 1: Geronda Efthymios of Kapsala and Geronda Ephraim of Sirai

B. Account 2: Geronda Savva Agioritis

V. Conclusion

I. INTRODUCTION

We have heard from our hierarchs in this last year that we should be thankful for our scientists who God inspires to create Covid-19 vaccines and save humanity from a terrible pandemic. The Ecumenical Patriarch (God grant him repentance) has said as much in his recent Nativity Encyclical:

In this past year, too, the pandemic of the Covid-19 coronavirus has troubled humankind. We give glory to the God of mercy, who strengthened the specialists and scientists to develop effective vaccines and other medications in order to confront this crisis, and we encourage all faithful who have yet to be vaccinated to do so and everyone to adhere to the protective measures by the health authorities. Science, to the extent that operates as a minister of man, is a priceless gift by God. We must gratefully accept this gift and not be misled by irresponsible voices of ignorant and self-proclaimed as representatives of God and of the authentic faith “spiritual advisors,” who, nevertheless, lamentably invalidate themselves through the absence of love for their brethren, whose lives they expose to grave danger. Source.

At the same time, we have heard this many times too: the COVID-19 vaccines are a matter of medicine, not spirituality. The whole Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops even said: “Indeed, while your own bishop, priest, or spiritual father remains prepared to assist you with spiritual matters, your personal doctor will guide your individual medical decisions.” Source.

Our shepherds are telling us, their flock, either the vaccines are spiritually neutral or they come from some inspiration from God. Both these things cannot be true at the same time. What is true? Well, in their confusion on either talking point, few bishops have wanted to consider the possibility: do the vaccines come from inspiration from the demons? Should this not be considered too?

So then, which of these options is the reality of our current situation? This post will answer that question.

II. TWO TRUTHS

We know two things are true:

One: God does indeed inspire doctors in their art of medicine.

Two: the demons also inspire scientists, doctors, and contemporary advancement (including the study of medicine) from a demonic tradition.

Either one of these might be news for some. But neither of these points is hyperbole, but both are well known and demonstrably true. I have wished to ask any bishop: how do Orthodox Christians reconcile these two truths in the context of social and political pressure to receive experimental and illegally mandated medication. However, instead of being able to ask a question to them, policies have only descended from above which we are expected to obey (apparently without question). I eagerly await but do not expect any explanation from our shepherds in the Church on (what seems to me and I suspect many others) the most important spiritual issue of our time.

A. God Inspires Doctors in Their Practice of Medicine

One can even find scriptural support for the claim that God gives help to the doctors to practice their art. You can find this in the Wisdom of Sirach (38:1-15):

Honour a physician with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him: for the Lord hath created him. For of the most High cometh healing, and he shall receive honour of the king. The skill of the physician shall lift up his head: and in the sight of great men he shall be in admiration. The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them. Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known? And he hath given men skill, that he might be honoured in his marvellous works. With such doth he heal men, Of such doth the apothecary make a confection; and of his works there is no end; and from him is peace over all the earth, My son, in thy sickness be not negligent: but pray unto the Lord, and he will make thee whole. Leave off from sin, and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness. Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour; and make a fat offering, as not being. Then give place to the physician, for the Lord hath created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him. There is a time when in their hands there is good success. For they shall also pray unto the Lord, that he would prosper that, which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life. He that sinneth before his Maker, let him fall into the hand of the physician.

St. Basil confirms this position in his Longer Rule, #55:

Each of the arts is God's gift to us, remedying the deficiencies of nature, as, for example, agriculture, since the produce which the earth bears of itself would not suffice to provide for our needs ; the art of weaving, since the use of clothing is necessary for decency's sake and for protection from the wind; and, similarly, for the art of building. The same is true, also, of the medical art. In as much as our body is susceptible to various hurts, some attacking from without and some from within by reason of the food we eat, and since the body suffers affliction from both excess and deficiency, the medical art has been vouchsafed us by God, who directs our whole life, as a model for the cure of the soul, to guide us in the removal of what is superfluous and in the addition of what is lacking.

We can see the point that some hierarchs make with the initial sentence in Sirach. However, if we stop there, nothing prevents someone from claiming that Drs. Josef Mengele, or Grigory Mairanovsky, or Trofim Lysenko received divine illumination, which would be undoubtedly absurd. The latter verses from the quoted passage in the Wisdom of Sirach provides the characteristics and preconditions of the doctor to which Sirach is referring (also with the unspoken and obvious prerequisite that the doctor is a faithful member of God’s nation of Israel).

We see key principles here from Sirach and #55 from St. Basil:

• The Lord makes the medicines; the wise doctor makes use of them.
• The doctor’s skill also comes from the Lord.
• The patient is first to pray to the Lord for healing, struggle in his repentance, offer pleasing sacrifices to the Lord… then the doctor is consulted. Repentance (not science) is the first solution Christians seek.
• Doctors pray to the Lord for their help (as opposed to not praying, relying on their skill which actually belongs to the Lord, or invoking of some other false god or demon).

B. Contemporary Science is from the Occult Tradition

Orthodox Christians are not materialists. We are not nominalists. They arose in the West after they left the Church and these ideologies are not part of the Orthodox ethos. Therefore, we need to understand that demons do, indeed, interact with the physical world and the extent to which demons interact in the physical world. To help the faithful understand this, we translated and offered the always excellent Geronda Athanasios Mitilinaios to explain: see here.

Geronda Athanasios explains that demons do indeed inhabit places, things, and he also explains how this is possible. The sin most relevant to this injection is the sin of abortion, the premeditated murder of an innocent child. The vaccine industry has, over the decades, been increasingly making abortion part of its existential operations (Hayflick in 1962 for the WI-38 line, Plotkin in 1979 for Rubella, Hilleman in 1981 for Varicella or chickenpox, etc.). At the same time, there remain some vaccines that do not use abortal infant tissue at any point in the process of creating them; therefore, these are usually harmless physically (oftentimes) and spiritually (if no other factors corrupt them). However, some vaccines were replaced with other solutions that did make use of murdered children in the name of effectiveness; for example when Merck discontinued the only abortion-free line of Mumps and Measles. With scientists sacrificing infants on the demonic altar of science, we have a spiritual reality manifesting itself, as explained by Geronda Athanasios. The problem is not only that there are aborted remains used in producing medicine (which is also true), the larger problem is that spiritual events have taken place which has allowed demons to enter into such an area as to create a spiritual uncleanliness that Orthodox Christians are obligated to avoid. If this is unbelievable to anyone, we must simply recall that in the Typicon of the Church, we are called to commemorate Theodore Saturday, i.e., when St. Theodore Tyro warned the Patriarch that Christians must boil wheat that day, not buy food in the marketplace, since the Emperor Julian the Apostate had polluted the foods with the blood of pagan sacrifices. Offering animal sacrifices to pagan deities (or rather demons) is a lesser sin, it would seem, than offering blood sacrifices of infants to the same demons under different names and disguises. If there was corruption for that lesser sin, how could there not be corruption for the greater?

For the Orthodox, magic is forbidden and in the Old Testament carried the death sentence. The Church Fathers form a choir of admonitions against practicing magic. It relies (willfully or ignorantly) on a worldview and work that serves the demons. Elder Cleopa of Romania explains “The man who resorts to black magic and necromancy is an enemy of God, disobedient to His commandments, not content with the salvatory lessons God teaches him through the Scriptures, but rather, prompted by the demons in this illegitimate work, he seeks to investigate things rationally. And so, believing in these fantasies, he withdraws from God and the teaching of our Church” (Truth of our Faith, Ch. 19). The practitioner of magic has immersed himself in a spiritual journey full of selfishness, danger, and delusion. Selfish, since he prefers his ways to God’s way. Danger, because of the possibility of becoming possessed or at least having spite for God’s revelatory therapy for our souls. Delusional by embracing a whole lifestyle that distances one from communing with the God who loves and seeks the communion of every soul with Him.

Even secular doctors are able to recognize the heritage that science has with paganism. The Lancet published such an article arguing this position in December, 1999. In this article, a historical appraisal is made showing how European magic influenced and led to the scientific revolution in Western history. Frances Yates is celebrated for thoroughly documenting this link through the Renaissance. Isaac Newton is the most obvious and mentioned example of this historic phenomena. He was a very serious and intense practitioner of alchemy. This alchemy later inspired the practice of what we call “chemistry.” Later, the science of biology was dominated by the theory of evolution, and still is to this day. While some Orthodox Christians may still object, evolutionary theory is demonic and has no support amongst the Saints. Evolutionary theory (or you might use “evolutionism” as Abbot Damascene of Platina prefers) replaces man as being in the image of God (according to divine revelation) with being from an animal ancestor. Little do people know how indebted Darwin was to Russel Wallace for his ideas and Wallace was a vocal spiritualist. Jack Parsons, founder of NASA’s Jet Propulsion lab and inventor of solid rocket fuel, was a disciple of Aleister Crowley, the famous occultist of England. James L. Kelley wrote a book, Anatomyzing Divinity, tracing the pagan thought of the ancient world through the Middle Ages until the Scientific Revolution and from its remnants (in opposition to Christianity, as always the case with pagan thought) rebuilt a new metaphysics for the “modern” world. Fr. Seraphim Rose frequently mentions in his Survival Course the role magic played in the minds of Western leaders and elite culture from the time of the Renaissance to modern times. The idea of science being founded in opposition to the Faith is generally accepted and even celebrated while it takes this opposition to another level by seeking to replace faith (see the works of Michael Shermer, this, and this as samples of this open combativeness). School children are taught of science’s struggle in the mythical tale of Galileo. John Dee is infamous for his high rank while openly a leader of occult thinking in his day. The practices of astrology with its assortment of lenses, alchemical magic, super popular hermeticism, much more. This is only a beginning; there are so many more stories that can be found. All this is rooted in pagan magic. With it and from it, science prides itself on advancing mankind into the future. Many today find the notion of future technology as “magical” and to our ancestors, they would almost certainly consider inventions already made in recent decades as “magical.” The concepts are so closely related and found in every level of education.

But science as it influences society is not a noble art making a future utopia possible. An effort by the Orthodox iconographer, Jonathan Pageau, is to help people see the value in Creation, according to Orthodox Tradition, before the Scientific Revolution revolutionized Western values. Paul Virilio, the French philosopher, is known for coining the saying: “The invention of the ship was also the invention of the shipwreck.” Any invention or discovery by science does not necessarily predicate an advancement of mankind. Harm to mankind, in some way, is also tied up with such “advancements.” Pageau explains in one of his articles “modern science contributes to the extreme human abuse of Creation through weapons of mass destruction, the industrial carnage of total war and plain old greedy industrial materialism leading to ecological disaster. The scientific method is by its very form a revolt against qualitative evaluation, it is an attack upon any teleology in phenomena, any meaning in things or how they change.” Pageau mentions the mass scale damage caused by “advancements” in science. Although, later on he mentions the more small-scale harm (yet possibly even more damaging) from these advancements, technology destroying human relations and cultures, family life (the basis of cultural cohesion) devastated by smartphones, etc. To be clear (and avoid misinterpretation of our argument), the benefits for which science has allowed: we should thank God. However, the scientific mentality which sets itself up as a superior replacement for the Church is a significant cause of the observable deterioration of society.

The difficulty in accepting this truth is apparently commonplace, since our situation now demands this explanation to be made. The reason for this is probably and in part due to most Orthodox Christians having a worldview more aligned to the scientific worldview, which, in the time of their childhood, is relentlessly shoved into their malleable brains by a super-invasive secular education system. Many bishops and priests cannot even provide adequate catechesis, even if they want to do so (because they are not catechized themselves for some of these same reasons).

III. SAMPLES FROM OUR SACRED TRADITION

Now we get to the heart of this article. What we explain in this section is what we wish the reader to remember and take with him. Our tradition, especially St. Nicodemos, speaks exactly to today’s situation. . . Exactly.

A. From the Lives of Saints

First, Orthodox Christians should be made aware of a very revealing episode in the life of St. John the Theologian which should waken us to the demon’s operations.

“In the bath-house there was diabolical activity at work. When it was first being built, Satan incited these deluded idolaters to bury in the foundation, under the stones, either a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old youth or maiden, that it might go well in the bath-house. With this bloodthirsty murder of an innocent child, Satan began to dwell therein with demons.”

In this passage from the Life of St. John the Theologian, we learn that when something (in this case a bathhouse, in our case, a “vaccine”) is founded or built upon the murder of innocent children (this is a magical act) then it becomes a dwelling place of those demons. This is true not only of the COVID-19 vaccines, but any vaccine. Again, how this is done is explained by Geronda Athanasios in the above referenced homily.

B. From St. Nicodemos’ Rudder: Canon 61 of Trullo with Commentary

We have mentioned in our Religious Exemption Form the canons prohibiting abortions: Canon 2 of St. Basil, Canon 91 of Quinisext, and Canon 21 of Ancyra (314 A.D.). We further mention in it twice and thrice documented evidence that abortions were utilized in the creation process of all COVID-19 vaccines to date. However, we now bring to your attention another canon arguably more important than all the aforementioned canons.

Canon 61 from the Quinisext Council at Trullo:

Those who consult soothsayers or so-called “hecantontarchs” [i.e. long-time and highly respected practitioners of magical arts] of other such fortune-tellers in the hope of learning from then whatever may be revealed to them, in accordance with what the Fathers had formerly decided in regard to them, let them incur the canon of six years. The same penalty ought to be inflicted also upon those who lead bears after them, or other such animals, for the purpose, of sport and harm of the more simple-minded, and who tell the fortune, and, fate, and genealogy, and other such things to the populace, in accordance with the rigmarole of delusion. As, for those who are called cloud-chasers and enchanters and amuletics and soothsayers, if they persist in these professions, and refuse to change their occupation and to eschew these pernicious acts and Greek practices, we decree that they be thrust out of the Church altogether, in conformity with what the holy canons also prescribe. “For what communion has light with darkness” as the Apostle says; “or what agreement, has a temple of God with idols? Or what portion has a believer with an infidel? And what concord has Christ with Belial?” (II Corinthians 6:15–16).

St. Nikodemos offers much commentary on this canon, the relevant part being:

The penalties provided in this canon ought to be inflicted also on those old hags who divine with barley, or with broad beans, or by dumping coal, or by yawning, or by strangling infants, or who are snatched up in the air by demons and go from region to region, like that wizard named Heliodoros and like those named Cynops in Patmos and Simon. The same applies to those shepherds who put some little bone in the feet of sheep, or of goats, in order to make them grow fast and augment their flock The same applies to those who pass their children through rigols. Speaking generally, all sorcerers and witches, and all men and women who go to sorcerers and witches, if they all repent, are to receive the penalty prescribed by the present canon; if, on the other hand they persist in this diabolic delusion, they are to be driven away from the Church of the Christians altogether as being a portion of Satan, and not of Christ. Note that divine Chrysostom (Homily 3 on I Thessalonians) says: “Those who fall sick and refuse to be enchanted or to have their illness alleviated with incantations and bindings, but, instead, prove brave and remain patient, receive the halo of martyrdom like martyrs.” And against Jews (Discourse 5) he says thus: “And you, if you firmly decline incantations and sorceries and spells and die from the disease, you are consummate martyr, because notwithstanding that others promised a cure with piety, you preferred death with piety.” Novel 65 of Leo the Wise, too, says that “whoever appears with completeness to produce magic effects, whether it be for the cure of bodily disease, or for the prevention of damage to fruits, shall be chastised with the most severe punishment and be given the penalty received by traitors against the Emperor.”

C. Explanation

From St. Nikodemos’ words and his quoting of the Holy Fathers, we are taught by the saints that it is better to die and be crowned as a martyr than to accept demonically inspired medicine which certainly does include the killing of children, especially infants. This is St. Nikodemos’ teaching for our contemporary situation. The vaccines are derived from the pre-meditated murder of children; even if they did provide some degree of benefit to the body against a virus, it is, according to St. Nikodemos, sinful to receive them. This results in the fearful reality: to be strictly Orthodox, those vaccinated need to confess and receive a penance. This is not opinion; this is the straightforward application of the canon. St. Nicodemos’ examination of the Fathers explains that it is better (or “preferable”) to die in faithfulness (or “piety”).

The Orthodox life from the very beginning had a martyric spirit, following the example of Christ (cf. Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23). When the Roman persecutions were over and martyrdom was not likely, monasticism flourished as a path of voluntary martyrdom. Martyrdom is the greatest offering we can give Christ and has the highest reward. Yet today, we value comfort so highly and go to such great lengths to not only avoid martyrdom’s rewards, but even asceticism, the white martyrdom, and its rewards. Today, so many Orthodox Christians take a demonic injection to go to restaurants, keep their livelihoods, get government bribes, etc. Granted, these are difficult decisions, and empathy here is not misplaced, but our hierarchies (i.e. priority of values) are totally out of order. We do not heed the Lord’s words (Matthew 6:28-34). Faithfulness is not valued, while fear and proud self-sufficiency are highly promoted.

If one is able to understand that abortion is a demonic ritual of sorts (we should believe this since this is how the demons receive it--abortion is killing an innocent life for a passion and evidenced by the section from St. John’s life), then obviously we resist it at all costs. It is a matter of either remaining faithful to Christ or offering our worship to the devil. We begin to see that the current “vaccine” is not only to be rejected by Orthodox Christians, but while many have taken the “vaccine” and not been aware of any spiritual consequences, some have indeed become aware of the spiritual damage they inflicted upon themselves, and by the grace of God were compelled to repent of taking it. We as Orthodox Christians do not determine the nature of the spiritual consequences regarding decisions made strictly on what we experience, but primarily on the teachings of the Church as laid down in the Scriptures, the Canons, and the consensus of the Holy Fathers. We know there is some spiritual damage that occurs from receiving this vaccine since Canon 61 of Trullo prohibits it and we do not view canons through the lens of legalism, primarily, but as therapy; this is why a severe penance is given.

IV. CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTS

Below are two recent accounts from holy men (in their own right) who are solidly in the tradition of great saints (Geronda Efthymios is considered successor to St. Paisios the Athonite). Many have sought spiritual healing from these men. They have been revealed by God to the world as gifted healers of men’s souls. We see their spiritual experiences match the Holy Tradition. They are experienced fighters in spiritual warfare and recognize the tactics of the evil one. Here are their teachings.

A. Account 1: Geronda Efthymios of Kapsala and Geronda Ephraim of Sirai

Pilgrim: I just returned from Mount Athos. I spoke with Elder Efthymios and Elder Ephraim of St. Andrew’s Skete. They both told us the same thing: stay away from the vaccines. It’s not the mark, but it is a preparation, a rehearsal of the mark. Elder Efthymios mentioned the case of a demon-possessed woman, where the demon said, among other things: “I am also in the vaccines.” I asked him if what Saint Paisios said in the second volume of his works—“Now a vaccine has been developed to combat a new disease, which will be obligatory and those taking it will be marked” (“Spiritual Awakening” p. 181)—concerns this vaccine and what we are experiencing. He replied that yes, what the saint said was about this vaccine, but by the word “mark” he means the data that will be contained in the digital vaccination certificate. He said, “Save time, react with marches and go to lawyers to make appeals. These marches that are taking place right now are a very good reaction. If you do not react now, then it will be too late; they will do whatever they want. Much can soon change, if you react.” Elder Efthymios did not say that in one or two months something will happen and everything will end; he said that only if you react will things change. I asked, “If they make it mandatory for teachers and I will not be paid because they will suspend me, what should I do?” He said, “I can not tell you to do this or that, but is it worth getting the vaccine and losing your health?”

To reiterate, G. Efthymios and G. Ephraim “both told us the same thing: stay away from the vaccines. It’s not the mark, but it is a preparation, a rehearsal of the mark. Elder Efthymios mentioned the case of a demon-possessed woman, where the demon said, among other things: “I am also in the vaccines...”

B. Account 2: Related by Geronda Savva Agioritis

PRIEST: Now allow me to tell you the most frightening thing: I could see Satan right before me – his face was directly opposite my face (about 20 centimeters away from me, continuously, day and night). I went to sleep at night, and I could feel him embracing me, and I was petrified all over. I would read the Akathist to the Mother of God, and I would feel the blood burning inside my veins. I could feel an alien existence within me which was controlling me. I was feeling horrified, as if someone was telling me, “Now you are mine.”

FR. SAVVA: You understand how scary these things are, and I can personally vouch for the truth of all this because I personally know this man. And this exactly confirms what was told to me by another priest-monk who was reading exorcism prayers, and the demon was pressured to tell him the truth. Even though he, [the demon-possessed person] was in a monologue, [the demon said the following…] “Why am I telling you this? Because I am compelled to,” and then the priest-monk said, “I am not pressuring you,” and the demon said, “No, but I feel compelled to tell you.” The demon told him that, “We did a satanic ritual in a secret lodge in America for the vaccine.” In other words, a satanic ritual occurred for the vaccine.

To summarize, it has been confirmed to Geronda Savva that the demons are inside the injection and are a tool for extra inhabitation in men’s souls and bodies when jabbed. This is not impossible. It is very possible. By now, we hope from what we have given in this article, the reader sees the truth of this.

V. CONCLUSION

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (Revelation 13:16-17)

People are beginning to be marked in databases and via their smartphones (i.e., the vax pass). This is literally hindering some from engaging in the economy, both locally and internationally. In Australia, they state this plainly and without shame. On September 5, 2021, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews stated, "There is going to be a vaccinated economy, and you get to participate in that if you are vaccinated." Source. There should be no doubt, this is one giant global step to preparing humanity for the reign and policies of the Antichrist.

Therefore, demons are working through the “vaccine.” It cannot be inspired by God. It is delusional to say this is from doctors inspired by God or some morally neutral science. This is part of the demonic conspiracy by demons to lead people into this next phase of preparing for the Antichrist. The Apostles are very clear: “There are two ways, one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the two ways” (Didache, I.1.).

We have from our Christ, not a mere suggestion, but a command: “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee” (Revelation 3:2-3). St. John the Apostle repeats this teaching, saying, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (I John 4:1). St. Justin Popovich comments on subsequent verses saying “long is man trained and instructed in the discerning of spirits; gradually he is perfected; and only the perfect have the gift of the discernment of spirits, of completely clear orientation, of completely clear knowledge of the essence of good and evil. . . . Unexercised and lacking in grace, the senses are easily deceived and seduced by false prophets.” If we are watchful, we understand from our Holy Tradition that the demons inspire men to do things and that the demons possess such things produced from such inspiration.

Geronda Ephraim of Arizona often counseled people that “this too shall pass.” We know the demons have successfully put enormous pressure on us to conform to the world. But the Scripture and Holy Tradition speak for themselves. “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). The Covid-19 vaccines have been shown to lack the blessing of God; they are not inspired by our merciful Christ. If a man has received a Covid-19 injection, he should repent of it and receive no further injections. The solution is to recognize the Lord’s providential care and testing of us and patiently await His salvation.

If it is true that, on the one hand, God inspires doctors and, yet, on the other, contemporary science is a continuation of demonic craftwork, what is one to do with these vaccines? To find the answer one must discern what spirit is behind the mass-vaccination movement. When Holy Tradition reveals that these contemporary practices are demonic (due to the abortion basis and it being a bridge to the Antichrist) and we have multiple illumined elders spiritually perceiving these demons, we have the answer to the question: can a Christian embrace them and also thrive in the grace of God.