Pochaiv abbot: When St. Amphilochius was canonized, demon-possessed howled

St. Amphilochius of Pochaiv. Photo: Archive of Metropolitan Volodymyr

Metropolitan Volodymyr, the abbot of the Pochaiv Lavra, shared in an interview with the UOJ the details of the canonization of St. Amphilochius.

"In the 1980s, I was amazed to see people literally taking all the soil, digging small holes there. Again and again, I heard that people were being healed and that St. Amphilochius was helping everyone who prayed at his grave. When I became abbot, I started thinking seriously about initiating his canonization," the metropolitan explained.

According to him, one of those healed lived to old age and worked in the monastery: "There were many miracles. One such miracle happened to Oleh Telemaniuk. Doctors told his parents to prepare a coffin, as he would not survive and would die soon. In their last hope, the parents brought him to the saint, and St. Amphilochius said he would heal him. Oleh lived to be 90 years old and worked with us for many years as a driver."

The abbot recounted that the then-Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Volodymyr, visited Pochaiv, prayed at the saint’s grave, and spoke with people who had been healed. Shortly thereafter, the Metropolitan of Pochaiv formally petitioned the Holy Synod for canonization. Metropolitan Volodymyr gave his blessing to uncover the saint’s incorrupt relics.

"We carried this out, uncovered the relics, and the canonization took place. When we brought the relics of the saint out of the altar and sang the troparion, kontakion, and magnification (before this, the church was quiet and prayerful), the howls of the demon-possessed erupted. They drowned out the celebratory archbishop’s choir. I recall the reaction of Metropolitan Volodymyr and the bishops – they were astonished by what they witnessed. Perhaps some of them had lingering doubts about the canonization, as humans sometimes do due to weakness. But here was undeniable proof of sanctity!" the UOC hierarch said, adding that the howling only subsided after the singing of the Lord’s Prayer.

"And after the service, as everyone was leaving, three crosses appeared in the sky, formed from clouds," the abbot added.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that, according to Shevchuk, after the de-Moscovization of the Pochaiv Lavra, the authorities should remember about his structure.

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