Once, Basil the Great attended the vespers of a village in his diocese and noticed that Uncle George, known for his regular Church service, was missing. He asked the priest:
- Father Michael, I don't see Uncle George in Church,
what's going on with him, is he okay?
- Your Eminence, he has been coming to Church for a
long time, but I don't know why.
Then Basil the Great notified them to bring him to
Church. Indeed, Uncle George came and explained to Basil the Great:
- Do you know, Despot, that 3 months ago, a murder
took place in the village? Do you know that the perpetrator has not been found?
And do you know who the perpetrator is? Father Michael, the parish priest!!!
Basil the Great knew everything, he didn't just know
who the perpetrator was.
- And how did this happen, asked the Great Basil.
- One evening, after vespers, the deceased argued with
the priest for some reason. And Father Michael, was holding in his hand, his
penknife, the pointed one, which is used for carrying the relics to the
Sanctuary. I don’t know exactly what movement he made with the penknife, and he
hit him in the heart and killed him. How can I, Your Eminence, get revenge from
the murderer’s hand?
Great Basil! However, he reassured the elder, and told
him to come to Church tomorrow, because he wanted to see him again.
The next day, Uncle George arrived at the Church
first, before the clergy arrived, and sat down next to the lectern. And soon,
the priest, Father Michael, appeared, entering the temple and heading towards
the Sanctuary.
But he saw something strange: The priest was carrying
on his shoulder the deceased he had killed! Then he saw the priest enter the
sanctuary, go to the vestry, put on his priestly clothes and there 2 tall,
handsome gentlemen take the deceased from his shoulder! Fr. Michalis, without
realizing anything, began the Divine Liturgy, in which the Great Basil also
took part, who at the end even made a speech.
When the Divine Liturgy ended, Uncle George saw the
priest take off his vestments and at the same time saw those 2 young men place
the deceased on his shoulder and leave the Church. Uncle George was horrified!
Basil the Great, as a Saint, understood exactly what had happened and
approached the elder and said to him:
- Don't take the priest's sin, Uncle George, because
if he puts on his petracheli and his vestments, he is a Saint when he
officiates. Because the priesthood is not defiled, it does not sin. Come to
Church, take Communion and take the antidoro from the hand of Fr. Michael.
- I didn't know, Your Eminence, said Uncle George.
Forgive me, I didn't know that the priest is a saint when he officiates. And I
was saying: ''how can I take an antidoro from a bloody hand?'' And I didn't
come...
So Uncle George started going to Church again.
Dimitrios
Panagopoulos the Preacher (1916 - 1982)
