On the 5th Sunday after the Descent of the Holy Spirit, His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the chapel of “Saint Gregory the Enlightener” of the Patriarchal Residence, informs 'Lumina Newspaper'.

During the celebration, the Holy Gospel according to Matthew was read speaking about the healing of the two demoniacs by Christ, our Lord, in the land of Gergesenes.

The Patriarch of Romania preached a sermon in which he explained that the Gospel read showed, on one hand, the healing power of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, and on the other hand, His desire to release the people from under the power of the evil spirits. “The Gospel shows us in a few words the way in which Jesus Christ, our Saviour, shows His merciful love for the people tortured by demons. We see in this Gospel a lot of spiritual meanings by which Jesus Christ, our Lord, shows how much He loves the people and wants to release them from under the power of the devil and bring them back to the communion with God and their fellow beings. The Gospel also shows that the man controlled by the evil spirits is alienated from God, from their fellow beings and from themselves. The fact that they were living in tombs was the symbol of the fact that these demoniacs were in a state of spiritual death. They fell from the state of communion with God and with their fellow beings, secluded and alienated themselves. This seclusion and alienation prove a hard living, a diminished existence, at the limit of the human life. The demoniac is no longer free. His mind and spiritual senses are used by demons. They are no longer used by man himself. The demoniac is alienated from himself. He is no longer the subject of his deeds, thought, speech and body. The evil spirits use his soul and body to do evil deeds.”

Fasting and prayer chase away the demons

His Beatitude underscored the fact that Jesus Christ, our Saviour, wants the man to be free, not controlled by the evil spirits to do harm, but be bearer of the Spirit of God to do good deeds. “In our Orthodox Church, Christian life also means fighting against evil spirits. We have had a spiritual programme ever since Baptism to get rid of devil and of all his servants and unite with Christ. This programme shows that in the Christian life there is a fight between the Spirit of Christ, received at Baptism, and the evil spirits that tempt man and urge him to do harm. In our Church, the prayers begin with the invocation “Heavenly King” addressed to the Holy Spirit. We pray the Spirit of God to live in us and give us the power needed for fighting against the evil spirits”, explained His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel. The Primate of our Church also said that the frequent prayer makes the Holy Spirit be present in us, and whenever the evil spirits control man, fasting and prayer, together with Holy Cross sign, are the strongest weapons for chasing away the demons.