February 10, 2021

The Paralyzed Man Who Was Kicked Out of the House of Saint Haralambos

Metochion of Saint Haralambos in Thessaloniki
 
Father Leontios Anastasiadis, commonly known as Papaleontios, was a formerly married hieromonk, a neptic and wonderworker, from Moutalaski, Caesarea. After long pastoral activity from Cappadocia to Adrianople, he arrived in Thessaloniki during the exchange of populations with his family, where he took over as pastor of the Church of Saint Haralambos, a Metochion of the Holy Monastery of Simonopetra. He died at the age of 82, in 1932, having left a reputation as a saint and wonderworking priest, with great pastoral and philanthropic activity in Thessaloniki.

Upon his repose in 1932, the newspaper Μακεδονικά Νέα wrote about him on March 1st, which included the following incident:


Once again Papaleontios was brought a paralytic from Pontus [this happened in Thessaloniki after the Asia Minor Catastrophe]. He could not even move and his relatives moved him by trolley.

Papaleontios said that he should be placed in front of the Holy Altar of the Church of Saint Haralambos, and every night in a state of fasting he would go and read various prayers, and he prayed next to him while kneeling until morning.

For forty days the paralyzed man remained in the same condition and every night Papaleontios went and read his prayers and prayed on his knees next to the man for his healing.

On the last night the paralyzed man, while sleeping, had a strange dream. Saint Haralambos appeared to him coming out of the Beautiful Gate and he touched him with his staff and said to him:

"Get up, my child. Get up and leave my house."

The paralyzed man woke up frightened, but to his surprise he realized that he could move his dead and immobile limbs.

Indeed, he got up without difficulty and hurried to the cell to wake up his relatives, who saw him, not with a little surprise, completely healthy.

The next day they left for their village, blessing God and spreading news of the miracle that happened.

Source: Translation by John Sanidopoulos.