A saintly Fool for Christ in the heart of

Athens
This excerpt was taken from the newly-circulated book about Crazy John, a modern-day Fool for
Christ

"Foolishness for Christ" was always appreciated as one of the most moving chapters
in the voluminous Book of Saints of our Orthodox Church. One more pebble that
was added to this chapter is the history that a humble levite of the Gospel who lives
in the blessed mountains of Agrafa in Northern Greece narrated to us.
His narration pertained to a contemporary "fool for Christ", who lived in one of the
many faceless, inaccessible and remote neighborhoods of Athens.
Crazy John - who is the central character of his narration - lived in a tiny, humble
apartment that he had inherited from his mother; one of 20 apartments that
comprised the condominium building. He worked at the neighborhood bakery and
began work at daybreak. From that bakery where he worked, he would customarily
fill two bags with loaves of bread and bread rolls every day, and would rush to
distribute them to the elderly men, women and students in his neighborhood.
Here you are - I thought I might give you some freshly-baked bread, a gift from
mister Apostoly the baker, so that you will commemorate him in your prayers" he
would say.
The truth was that Crazy John would use up a large part of his wages to provide
bread to the poor of his neighborhood. He would tell mister Apostoly that he was
only helping out some sick friends, and that he was being paid for his trouble...

But how did he know who the poor in his neighborhood were?
Well, he made it a habit to indiscriminately ring the doorbells, not only in his own
condominium, but also in neighboring apartment buildings. He would introduce
himself to everyone and would ask them if they needed anything that he could help
them with:
"And how did you wake up this morning? Has any problem come up so I can be of
assistance to you? How are your children?"

At first, some snubbed him. Others slammed their door in his face, refusing to speak
to him - obviously annoyed by his unexpected presence. But there were others who
actually waited for Crazy John to come, so that they could hear a kind word from
him. Eventually, he came to know all of them; he came to know their peculiarities,
but also the elements of their characters.
In the evenings, Crazy John would retire to his humble home and pray. He liked to
recite the book of Psalms, claiming to someone who asked him why, that "they were
intended to drive away the little critters (demons) from the neighborhood..."
He used to read it out so loud, that a newly-arrived tenant who didn't know him that
well called the Police, complaining about him disturbing the peace!Also on a daily
basis, the fool would cense all the apartments, beginning from the top floor and
working down. He would even go out to the back yards and cense there also. And
when someone was sick, he would visit them and - after censing them and making
the sign of the Cross over them - he would read haltingly, with his limited
education, the words of James' Epistle...
"Pray for each other, so that you may be healed", he would say to them. He would
urge them to go to confession, "to get well by the greatest of doctors, our Christ..."
Quite often, after coming home from the bakery, he would grab a broom and sweep
the entire apartment building, "to keep it clean", as he used to say.
He enjoyed intervening with a smile between those who quarreled about political
parties publicly, in cafes (in older times, there used to be heated arguments over
political parties):
--"Ah, you guys, why do you count on and pin your hopes on tin cans and cymbals?
Instead of quarrelling, you should be praying to God to send us a David for a king.
He could solve problems, because his knees had bled from prolonged supplications
and prayers. But what do your wise guys do? Their supplications are only for
commission, and they become one with corruption... They take you for idiots and
they mock you", he used to tell them.
--"Get lost, Crazy John", they would reply and, to avoid him altogether, they would
send him off on an errand. But he would always say "Don't pin your hopes on the
rulers. Have your hopes in God only."
One day, Crazy John didn't go to work. Mister Apostoly the baker was concerned.
He was never absent from work. So he sent someone to his apartment. Before
arriving at the apartment, he saw the fool holding a shovel, cleaning out the storm
drains in the street and emptying them of the dirt and litter that was blocking them.

--"Hey you! Have you really lost your mind?" he shouted. "Mister Apostoly is
waiting for you at the bakery and you're cleaning storm drains? Did you think the
City Council would hire you that way?"
To which he replied:
--"I have been trying to find two coins that I lost, since this morning. But I can't
remember which of the five drains they had fallen into, so I opened all five of them.
And, since I had opened them, I though I might as well clean out the dirt while I'm
at it" the fool said, laughing. "So, go back to Mister Apostoly and tell him I will work
extra tomorrow, to make up for the hours I was absent today. Hey, they were two
whole coins... that's no small amount" he added.
One can only imagine the baker's exasperation. As soon as he learnt of the fool's
prank, he threatened to fire him. Five hours later, John the fool had completed his
mission and returned home, very pleased.
--"Well, did you find your coins?" The grocer asked him mockingly. "You should go
to the Mayor and ask for them, for having cleaned the storm drains" he said,
laughing at him.
But later on that afternoon, the sky began to darken. Black clouds gathered
threateningly, followed by lightning and thunder and a heavy downpour. The
streets quickly turned into rivers, sweeping away everything in their path including cars on the street. Many catastrophes were recorded in the largest
Municipality: Houses, shops, warehouses were flooded. Properties were lost. The
Fire Department couldn't handle all the emergency calls for rescues...
The Mayor visited the stricken areas of his jurisdiction the next day, to personally
gauge the damages. All the citizens of his municipality confronted him about the
blocked storm drains. He eventually went to Crazy John's neighborhood. There was
no flood damage there. The grocer who spotted the Mayor, went up to him and
said:
--"Mister Mayor, you should go and thank Crazy John who has been cleaning out
these storm drains from this morning. That fool's craziness saved us, thanks to his
persistent search for two lost coins!"
But the baker also said the same things to the Mayor:
--"It's fortunate Mister Mayor that the madman cleaned those storm drains,
otherwise we would have drowned after a rainfall like that. His madness saved us
from a worse fate."

--"It looks like madmen can be a necessity too", the Mayor said with a smile.
John, the fool for Christ, used to wear very worn-out clothes. Many would feel sorry
for him, seeing him in that state, and they would give him money. "Here, take this
you fool, and buy yourself some trousers and a decent shirt to wear." He would
thank them and take the money. He would then place the money in an envelope,
add some more from his own wages, then would secretly go and toss the envelope
under the doors of those whom he knew were in need.
Whenever he went to a supermarket, he would purchase very unusual things. He
would even place various women's items for example in the shopping cart, and that
would get the cashier girls giggling. The owner of the supermarket would feel sorry
for him, and had even given instructions to accept only half of the total value of the
items that he purchased.
One day, someone's curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to find out what
the fool did with all that shopping. So he secretly followed him one day. Crazy John
went to a remote corner of the tiny square so that he would not be watched by
passers-by, and began to separate and group the shopping items. He would then
begin to ring doorbells (as he was accustomed to doing) and would leave the bags
with the shopping items on the doorsteps.
The women's articles that he used to purchase he would take to a poor student,
Katerina, one of a large family of many children; one who was in great need.
On the day of his death eight years ago, everyone in the neighborhood had a story to
tell about the fool's "pranks": Anastasy, the janitor of the building where the fool
lived, began to tell about the love he had for the Church.
He would go to church almost every day. On Sundays he would arrive even before
the Priest. He would light his candle, kneel before all the holy icons and then go to
his place at the entrance of the church, pretending to be a beggar. Whatever money
he collected - as the Priest revealed to me - he would secretly go and deposit in the
charity box for the poor and the elderly.
One day, the caretaker saw him at the charity box and thought he was trying to steal
the money. So she ran to notify the priest. "Father, Crazy John has got his hands on
the charity box!" she cried out. The priest then went cautiously over and secretly
observed what he was doing. He saw the fool pulling money out of his pockets and
depositing it the charity box.
--"What on earth are you doing there you fool?" the priest shouted. And Crazy John
replied "Well father, you see a hole opened in my pocket, so to prevent the money

from falling through the hole and losing it, I put it in the box for the Panaghia to
guard, and to give it to others poorer than me!"

He saved a woman from the deadly sin of adultery...

Nicoletta then took a long sip of coffee and began to tell her story with Crazy John...
"One evening" she said "perhaps ten or more years ago, I saw a young man
wandering aimlessly in our neighborhood. I watched him purposely, because I
thought he was a burglar. Suddenly, I noticed Crazy John coming out of his building
in a hurry and quickly walking in the direction of the only ground-floor house in the
neighborhood, where a four-member family was living as tenants.
The fool sat himself squarely on the steps of the front yard, and began to chant the
hymns to the Panaghia out loud. He especially liked to chant "O Virgin pure...."
Two hours went by, but the fool continued to chant hymns. I went out and told him
to stop. Then I noticed the young man walk hurriedly away. The fool got up and
went inside the house. I followed him out of curiosity, to see what was going on. I
must admit that my mind went to something sinister. I rang the doorbell and a
young woman opened the door.
Crazy John was seated at the kitchen table, eating something the young woman had
served him. Next to him stood her five year old son. Turning to the boy, the fool
began to tell him that one of God's ten commandments is the one that says "Thou
shalt not commit adultery".
--"You know Georgie, adultery is not something that God likes. Adultery opens a
gate for Satan, who then enters the home and wreaks havoc. That's when families
break up, and sicknesses and pain and hatred come in through the windows and
drive out God's blessing that was given with the sacrament of Marriage. Man and
woman - like your daddy and mommy - become one flesh with marriage dear
Georgie; one body. With adultery, it's like cutting off your arm."
I have to admit that made me very angry....
--"What on earth are you telling that poor child, you ungodly wretch?" I said. The
young woman burst into tears and said between sobs "He's saying it about me; leave
him alone - don't scold him...."
But Crazy John quickly got up and left. The young woman then confessed that she
had planned to cheat on her husband with a young man she had met in a cafeteria

that she had been to with a friend of hers for coffee. She told her that the young man
was supposed to meet her at her place, thus taking advantage of her husband's
absence, as he was out of town on business, but God protected her and the young
man didn't come.
"I narrowly escaped a huge disaster, dear Nicoletta. I would have broken up my
family and my marriage. When Crazy John knocked at the door, I thought it was
that young man, and I wouldn't have had the strength to send him away.
Fortunately God saved me from committing a terrible sin...."
--"It was the fool who saved you" I said to her, "because the young man had indeed
come this far, but the fool was sitting on your doorstep outside for hours, chanting
incessantly, while the young man was pacing outside your door. Didn't you hear
him?" I asked her.....
--"I had heard" - the baker interposed - "that John wanted to become a priest, ever
since he was a child. But then came the German occupation, followed by the civil
war, so he never managed to finish his schooling. He only managed to learn to read
and write a little. Thus, while still relatively young, when he went to the Bishop and
asked him to ordain him a priest, the Bishop had deterred him, and instead
recommended that he first go to school.
But now, with all these things that are being said about John, and with everything
that I personally know about him, I can safely say that God may not have made him
a priest, but He surely anointed him a Bishop in our neighborhood. These last words
by Mister Apostoly were drowned in his sobs and his tears....

The secret life of Crazy John...

Tears also began to fall in the eyes of many more who were present. Everyone
wanted to deposit their own testimony. Two girls were observing the scene at a
distance from the others, looking somewhat confused. You could clearly discern
admiration combined with a feeling of sadness, from the expression on their faces.
None of the people present knew who the girls were, and they were curious to find
out who they were...
Mister Anastasy thought that they might have a family bond with the deceased John,
so, being the janitor of the building, he took the initiative and asked them if they
were related to the recently departed for the Lord, brother John...
The robust girl then began to say the following, after brushing away her tears:

--"My name is Arete, and my friend here, Calliope, works with me at the Children's
Hospital. Several years ago, we came to know mister John the Clown. That's how we
knew him - the one that you call Crazy John. He would come almost every Sunday
afternoon, always laden with toys. He would share them amongst the children and
he would play with them. He loved them all, but showed special care and love for
all the newly-born babies that were growing up alone in the hospital, because they
had been abandoned by their parents. He used to bring them clothes and toys and
would always leave some money with the nurses on duty, in case the children
needed something else, for whenever he couldn't go there. We didn't know him as a
fool, like you do. To us, he was the kindest clown, who entertained the children like
no-one else could..."
--"H especially loved a little child whose parents had abandoned it because it was
born with Down's Syndrome", Calliope added.
"But tell me, little Calliope, how could they leave behind this tiny angel?" he would
wonder. "If only they (the parents) knew that this angel was for them a ticket to
Paradise and eternity, they would never have abandoned it. How on earth do you
turn your back on such a treasure? Our Lord - dear little Calliope - said that He is
Love. And you know that love contains sacrifice. Love without sacrifice is like an
empty can - an unvarnished one, as my dear mother used to say. Christ - dear little
Calliope - said that whoever doesn't have sacrificial love resembles a zero. If we
only knew dear girl what treasures God sends to man continuously to save him, we
would be jumping for joy. Here, take a look at this angel here - this is one of those
treasures... In fact, I will tell you a secret. If we could find a good family today who
would adopt it, then not only would they receive innumerable heavenly blessings,
but also, with the sacrifice of their love, in embracing a little angel with a wounded
body, they would even cure it. Because our Triadic God is merciful and caring..."
These are the things that mister John would say as he looked at the sick and
abandoned little child asleep in its tiny hospital crib.
--"Isn't it strange little Calliope how people nowadays care more about little animals,
and pay no attention to these little children? I'm not saying we shouldn't love birds
and animals. We should care about them too, but how much more should we care
about suffering mankind, who is made in the likeness of God? We need to become
Good Samaritans nowadays, so that we might give up our lives also if necessary, to
comfort our fellow-man. Don't forget that - especially you nurses, whose work is
linked to human suffering..."

Holy souls live among living humans...

"I was under the impression that mister John was a theologian-professor. I surmised
that, from his profound theological but equally simplified analyses. He knew the
entire Holy Bible by heart, and he would exhort me with faith to read one or two
pages every day, from the Bible that he himself had given me as a gift. He even
counselled me to kneel before the icon of the Holy Mother every day and describe in
detail the day's joys, sorrows and problems.
He used to say "Dear little Calliope, ask our Holy Mother to become your best friend
and you will see everything changing around you. Our kind Mother is the kindest
Mother of all, the kindest sister, the kindest friend. Talk to Her - She listens..."
Last night, when I rang up mister John and a gentleman who picked up the phone
told me that mister John had died and informed me about the funeral, I felt as
though I had just lost my father...
Mister Anastasy suddenly jumped up and asked:
--"When did you ring up?"
--"Last night, around 8pm. I wanted to ask him if he was going to come this Sunday
when it is my shift, because I have to confess that I trusted mister John more than
anyone else - even more than my own parents..."
--"But the apartment was locked since the day before yesterday, and I'm the only one
who has keys to it", mister Anastasy said, mystified..
So he turned to the others in the room and asked if anyone else had keys. The replies
were all negative...
--"But the voice on the phone sounded so much like mister John's. I just assumed it
was a relative of his. But now that you mention it, I remember that he called me
"little Calliope" over the phone - and he was the only one who called me by that
name! Its just that at the time, I was so upset by the news of his death, that I didn't
pay special attention, when I heard the following:
--"And now little Calliope, you will be looking after the children on your own,
because your mister John has passed away, and can no longer visit you as a clown..."
he said to me over the phone!
I assumed that his next of kin were aware of this activity of his, so I didn't take any
notice of those words... I am only now finding out that he had no relatives, and I
don't know what to say..."

Just then, father Dimitri who was observing everything in silence while seated at a
nearby table, stood up and exclaimed:
"This man is a Saint !!!"
"A Saint! A Saint!" everyone instinctively repeated...
--"I have been listening all this time to the narrations of the adventures of our
departed brother John. Everything that you said about Crazy John - as you all call
him - are miraculous events that characterize only the saints of our Church. I am
under the impression that this isn't a commonplace funeral gathering; it rather
resembles a festive occasion.
Calliope's realization that he had spoken to her - albeit deceased - over the phone,
shook me to the core, and it reminded me of a similar incident that relates to the life
of the holy elder Porphyry the Hut-burner.."
--"Father, young Dimitri wants to say something too", mister Apostoly said.
--"Come on, say it, so that everyone can hear what you told me a while ago about
Crazy John."
Young Dimitri was a boy in his early teens. He was going on 14 and was in his
second year at High School. He lived together with his brother Paul who was three
years younger than himself, and his parents, just two apartment buildings down
from where Crazy John lived. During the past year, unlike the other children his age,
he had turned to God.
His friends couldn't explain that huge about-face. They all wondered what had
happened to make that high-spirited Dimitri abandon his pranks and mischief and
turn to studying and prudence. Even his parents had no idea what the reason for his
conversion was. At first, they actually believed he had been brainwashed by a
heretic organization. But later, they realized that nothing of the sort was lurking
behind their son's change. They also noticed that ever since their son turned to God,
the problems in their family had begun to diminish. Quarrelling stopped. Teachers'
praises at school had replaced their complaints about his mischief...
Dimitri's about-face had changed the family's course. His parents became even more
surprised, when they saw their son going to church every Sunday and reading the
Holy Bible that Crazy John had given him as a gift. Poor Panagiotis - Dimitri's father
- who customarily went to church every Christmas and Easter - became very upset.
He discussed the matter with his wife Polyxeni.

--"Say, wife, do you think Dimitri is in trouble? How did he change so much? Is there
any chance he has suffered a romantic disappointment because some girlie left him?
I am afraid that the priests will destroy him. Not to mention that he risks being
taunted by his friends and mocked by them. What do you think? Shouldn't we have
a talk with him?" he would say.
Poor Polyxeni would listen to her husband carefully. She never spoke. When the
time came and she spoke up, she said:
--"I don't know what to say, my Panagioti. You may be right. I can't hide the fact that
those same thoughts had crossed my mind too. But one thing I do know: ever since
Dimitri displayed this new behaviour, our family has calmed down. His grades at
school have shown a sharp improvement. His teachers have only the best things to
say about him. Even they are amazed at Dimitri - they actually asked me if he was
being tutored privately. Even young Paul has become motivated, near Dimitri...
Have you forgotten, my dear Panagioti, how much we worried when Dimitri would
come home after midnight? Have you forgotten the time we found a packet of
cigarettes under his bed and that magazine with indecent photos? Have you
forgotten the time we were called to the Police Station to pick up our son who had
been held there because he had caused damages together with some others, in the
episodes that took place after their school's party? Have you forgotten our
neighbors, who constantly complained that Dimitri and his friends would beat
Crazy John and make fun of him?
Listen, dear Panagioti: what I can see is that after Dimitri's change, I am far more at
ease, and so is this household. Our problems have become fewer. Even our quarrels
as husband and wife are minimal. Ever since Dimitri brought God home, smiling
and happiness has returned to us. So I wonder, could we be the ones who are
wrong? Could we be the ones who were responsible for the path that our children
had taken?
Panagioti, instead of worrying about Dimitri, I suggest that we follow him on his
path; that we begin as a family to go to church; to do what Crazy John told us to do
the other day, when you invited him over to eat with us...
In other words, that we find a good spiritual father and go to confession. That's what
the fool meant, when he said that confession is the fuel that drives man towards the
heavens. Remember how he would ask us if we would like to travel to Heaven and
we laughed at him and regarded his words to be foolishness?"
--"Look wife, I understand what you're saying, but it occurs to me that our friends
will laugh at us if we do something like that", Panagiotis replied.

--"That thought also crossed my mind, but then I remembered something else.
Remember the time Panagioti when we didn't have enough money to pay the
installment on our housing loan and you had asked your friends to help out, and
they all forgot us? They all disappeared, and they even stopped calling. When did
those friends stand by us? They come over, only when we invite them to eat with us,
or go to a tavern with us.
Weren't you the one who told me that they gossiped about us, and that you
discovered that deep down, they were pleased whenever they heard us talking
about our problems with the children? We would have lost the house, if we hadn't
found that envelope with the 100.000 drachmas under our door - which, by the way,
we never discovered who had put it there, although I suspect that the fool was
behind that gesture" Polyxeni replied.
--"No...no...I had asked the fool, but he flatly denied that he had done such a thing.
Besides, how could the fool have known about our financial worries?"
--"He knows everything, since he makes his rounds in every part of the
neighborhood. Perhaps he saw us worried and asked Dimitri or Paul. Don't rule out
anything, because other families around here have also received envelopes like that."
On the Sunday after that discussion, the parents announced to Dimitri that they
would all go with him to church. In fact, they even woke up Paul, who preferred to
sleep in on Sundays. "We have only one day for sleeping" he used to say. Dimitri
was stunned at first, and he may have thought they were aiming to monitor his
moves. But when he saw that this routine was repeated and that his parents acquired
a spiritual father and began to read spiritual books, he then began to speak of a
miracle.
So, with some coercion by mister Apostoly, young Dimitri began to present his own
testimony, Everyone had now turned their attention towards him. Meantime, several
other people had gathered around, from adjacent tables.
--"One day" said young Dimitri, "my mother sent me to mister Apostoly's bakery to
buy bread. As I was buying the bread, I also did something bad - something that I
used to do often with my friends also. Well, I stole a chocolate bar. Mister Apostoly
didn't notice, and I was sure that no-one had seen me take it.
But from the next day on, as I left the house to go to school, I would find two similar
chocolate bars outside our door, like the ones I had stolen. This went on for about 20
days. I asked my mother who kept putting the chocolates there and she told me that
every morning, Crazy John usually rings the doorbells in the building.

--"That guy does such crazy things" my mother said. That was when I realized that
the fool must have spotted me when I grabbed the chocolate, and this was how he
was taking his revenge. "I'll show that madman, who's trying to make me feel bad
for a measly chocolate that I stole" - that was how I used to think, at the time...
The next day, I found chocolates again - one for me and one for Paul, my brother,
along with a note that had the ten commandments written on it, with the
commandment of "thou shalt not steal" underlined.
I became very angry....
So, as soon as school was out, I went straight to Crazy John's apartment building and
rang his doorbell. He opened his door and said with a smile:
--"I'm sorry, my Dimitri. I know you came here to give me a couple of punches for
the chocolates. I'm a fool; I deserve those punches. Come on, hit me, as hard as you
can. Let your anger out."
I was at a loss, and was going to leave. I got scared. How did the fool know that I
had gone there to beat him, seeing that I hadn't told anyone? As soon as this thought
crossed my mind, he remarked:
--"My dear boy, you must be wondering who told me you were coming here to beat
me, aren't you?"
I nodded affirmatively.
--"Well, you see, just before you came, Saint Dimitrios was here - who is your
guardian - and the Holy Mother also, and they told me. You know, they love you
very much, and they often talk about you. For example, yesterday, with your
schoolmate Helen - when you slapped her for disagreeing with you - you made
them very sad and they were crying here, along with me. My dear Dimitri, I will tell
you a big secret, under the condition that as long as I am alive, you will not tell it to
anyone. Do you accept?"
"Yes" I replied, while I watched Crazy John radiant with joy.
--"Our Lord Jesus dear Dimitri wants to come over to your place, but every time He
comes to visit you, He hears quarreling and He departs, very sorrowed. So, He told
me to give you His commandments to read, to learn them well, and to observe them
all, and only then will He return to live with you continuously. Do you know what it
means to live in the same house, together with Him, Who created the entire world?
Now leave, go home, because your mother will be getting worried."

I began to leave, but while walking me out, Crazy John said with a smile:
--"Hey, little Dimitri, where are you going? You forgot to give me those punches!"
I left for home as though flying on wings. As soon as my mother saw me, she asked
me why I was late, and I told her that "I was at the fool's house, to tell him not to
leave any more chocolates on the doorstep, because I will get fat. Mum, give me 30
drachmas to give to mister Apostoly the baker, because I bought something but
didn't have enough money on me to pay for it."
She gave me the money, and I went running to the bakery and handed it to mister
Apostoly. He was surprised when I told him that I had taken a chocolate bar along
with the bread, but had forgotten to pay for it.
--"Well, I was indeed surprised, because I knew you to be a mischievous brat, dear
Dimitri. But, as soon as you made that move, I told myself I shouldn't condemn
anyone, because you never know what kind of heart is inside each person. From that
moment on, I became very fond of you", the baker explained.

The fool's last letter...

He then pulled young Dimitri towards him and gave him a kiss, while patting him
on the head. His mother Polyxeni and her husband Panagiotis who were witnessing
the scene were obviously emotionally charged. Mrs Polyxeni then decided to say
her part.
--"To us, Crazy John was the support of our family. He was the one who contributed
towards us making the about-face towards Christ. Our life changed, and he made us
partakers of the miracle of salvation. He brought blessings into our home...
To me, Panagiotis and my children, he was a friend and a brother. As his brothers
therefore, we decided earlier on to suggest to you all that we get together next
Saturday at our parish to perform the 3rd day memorial service and then you all
come to our place to eat with us, to honour his memory."
Mrs Polyxeni's suggestion was welcomed by all of us. Mister Anastasy in fact spoke
up again, to add that it would be good to continue the impromptu discussion that
had begun in the Memorial Service Hall of the Cemetery, so he proposed to all the
people who were present to write down their own experiences with Crazy John
during their contacts with him.

Father Dimitri who happened to find himself among the mourners, addressed Mrs
Polyxeni and said:
--"I never got to meet the departed brother John - that fool for Christ - however, I
would like to ask you, if possible and if you have no objections, if I could come to
your house and listen to this blessed expose of miraculous events."
--"It would be a pleasure, father; it would in fact be an honour if you could come",
Panagiotis replied.
So, everyone was looking eagerly forward to the following Saturday. Mister
Apostoly the baker had arranged for the ceremonial wheat grain offering and all the
other necessities for the memorial service. He had even notified the priests of the
Sacred Temple that after the Divine Liturgy, there would be a memorial trisaghion
for Crazy John. More than anyone else, it was mister Apostoly who was looking
forward to that day.
Besides, he had every reason to look forward to this gathering, because on the day
after Crazy John's departure, he had received a registered letter. He was very
surprised to see that the sender was Crazy John himself, who had arrange to send
the letter on the eve of his death.
The ever-curious grocer, mister Pandelis, was begging Anastasy in vain to tell him
what the contents of the letter were. He kept the contents a doubly-locked secret and
wouldn't divulge anything.
--"Ha! Anastasy, I know why don't want to tell me what the letter says. The poor
deceased fool has probably written all sorts of silly things in there and you are too
embarrassed to read them" he said slyly, in the hope of forcing him to speak.
Who was the fool finally? Him, or us?
--"Pandeli, I will tell you one thing: After I read the letter, I asked myself who was
crazy - him, or all of us? We'll talk about the rest in due course, don't you worry",
mister Anastasy said. But the news of the letter spread from mouth to mouth,
throughout the neighborhood. And as was to be expected, it had stirred up
everyone's curiosity.
Thus, on Saturday morning the sacred temple of the parish filled up with such a
large congregation that the priest was puzzled. "This is the first time that I've seen so
many people at a memorial service" he whispered to the sacristan. But he replied:
--"The fool - Crazy John - mustered them father"

--"But I can see strangers in the crowd also. They must have been his relatives" he
muttered to himself, as he walked towards the Holy Altar.
Father Vassily had been serving at that parish for 28 years and he knew most of the
parishioners very well. Young Dimitri who was assisting in the Holy Sanctum
together with his brother Paul, said to father Vassily that mister Anastasy was asking
for his permission (albeit permissible) to say a few words after the trisaghion.
--"Gladly, gladly, my little Dimitri. Let mister Anastasy speak" he said and nodded
affirmatively, looking towards the podium where mister Anastasy was standing. As
he himself admitted later to mister Anastasy, he too was curious to learn the reason
that the Church filled up as though it were a Sunday.
So, towards the end, and before the closing prayers, father Vassily performed the
trisaghion. The entire congregation was crying at the reciting of the words "My Lord,
give rest to the soul of Your reposed servant John....." that father Vassily was
chanting. He then nodded to mister Anastasy to approach and say what he wanted.
He then in turn stood next to the Sanctum entrance and said:
--Reverend father Vassily, you must be wondering what the reason is for this blessed
gathering. You must be wondering why the entire neighborhood -but also other
Christians, not from here- have come to honour the memory of our brother John,
who was known to all of us as "Crazy John". Even the shop owners left their shops
closed in order to come to the church from early this morning, to participate in the
divine service, and not just to come for the trisaghion memorial service - as many
people erroneously are accustomed to doing...
Today, father Vassily, we have gathered here to honour a saint, a humble man
whom the Lord had bounteously blessed with a holy spirit. A man just like us, who
concealed under the cloak of a fool all the virtues that Christ had offered him. John
was a "Fool for Christ", who cared for his fellow-man day and night, selflessly. He
approached every person with love. He supervised the neighborhood like a Bishop
and a guardian of our Orthodoxy and would bring back souls - with his supposed
madness - to our almost entirely forgotten nowadays Lord - Jesus Christ.
There are many of us who are lucky, because we were blessed enough -albeit
unworthily- to meet and get to know a saint of God in our everyday lives. My words
are too poor to adequately describe the life of our brother John. In fact I regard
myself as unworthy, after having read the letter that I received the day after his
death, which had been sent by the deceased.
As he mentioned in his letter, John had been advised of a miraculous event by the
Blessed Baptist a week before his passing away, that is, to prepare himself for his exit

from this world. As far as I knew, he was not suffering from any sickness, nor had
anyone suspected anything from his behaviour. On the contrary, in the last days of
his life he arranged to leave quite a significant trust for our neighborhood. He made
arrangements for all of us.
In his letter, John gives advice and exhortations to each and every one of us by name,
personally, that we must be hooked on our Christ and to study the righteousness of
God. I will read you the letter in detail", said mister Anastasy, and pulled out the
letter from his coat pocket. However, he was overwhelmed by his tears and was
unable to say a word. Tears welled up in everyone else's eyes also.
Father Vassily then intervened, saying:
--"Dear Christians. I have known the deceased for more than forty years. But,
possibly because of my sinfulness, I was not able to diagnose John's holiness.
Listening to mister Anastasy earlier, certain events came to mind, with Crazy John as
the central character. It is only now that I am made aware of those events and can
perceive them as miraculous acts.
I remember how one Sunday morning at daybreak when I unlocked the temple I
found Crazy John kneeling in front of the icon of Christ.
--"How did you get in, you fool?" I asked him.
--"Well, dear father, yesterday evening during Vespers I completely lost track of time
and the sacristan locked me in."
--"And what was the soliloquy you were muttering in front of Christ's icon?" I asked
him
--"I was just singing a song father, to pass the time" he replied.
--"Just be more careful, because next time I will call the police." I have to confess that
I reprimanded him very severely..."Dear God, forgive me..." father Vassily
murmured. "I am only just realizing why his face was shining like the sun.... And he
went and took his usual place next to the main entrance of the church like he always
did, and would sit and beg."

He begged for alms, to give them to others...

There are poor and unemployed who ask for help every day, but nobody can ever
know what diamonds and holy souls are hidden behind every beggar that we meet.

He then went on to describe the incident with the money that he gathered from
begging and deposited inside the charity box, which we described earlier on. I have
many things to tell you, dear Christians, because I believe that the riddle has now
been solved, and for this, I must thank mister Anastasy. I will narrate on ly one
incident, and then I will let mister Anastasy take over.
"One afternoon, Crazy John was standing in front of the icon of the Holy Mother. I
was in the office. I could hear him talking and I could hear -without seeing- that he
was conversing with a woman, I paid no attention. When I came out of the office, I
could see only Crazy John, and there was nobody else inside the church. The
sacristan was away on an errand. Crazy John approached me and, after prostrating
himself before me as he usually did, he said:
--'Father, you should go to Mrs.Stamata after Vespers. She is waiting for you to give
her Holy Communion because her hours are numbered and she may not make it
through tonight."
--"And how do you know this?" I asked him.
--"A woman told me, a while ago", Crazy John replied.
--"And why on earth didn't she come and inform me?"
--"Well, she must have thought I was the sacristan" he said, and departed
immediately afterwards.
I have a clear view of the main entrance of the church from my office, and I didn't
see any woman entering. But even so, I didn't give it much thought...
After Vespers, I went to Stamata's house. Her daughter was astounded when she
saw me, as she was planning to come and notify me the next day so that her mother
can receive Holy Communion, and not oblige me to go there in the night. I entered
Stamata's room and gave her Holy Communion. She thanked me, and held my hand
for a short while, then said to me, breathing with difficulty:
--"Father, please look after my daughter and my grandchildren."
Her daughter was divorced and she was raising her two children on her own. As I
was leaving, she asked me who had notified me. I replied that it was the woman
whom she had sent to church, who told Crazy John. She looked puzzled.
That evening, two hours after receiving Holy Communion, a little before 10pm,
Stamata departed for the Lord. Next to her at that moment were her daughter, her

two grandchildren and Crazy John, who was reading Psalms from the Book of
Psalms. I was told this by the late Stamata's daughter, who is here and can verify it.
Then Maria (that was the name of the daughter of the deceased Stamata) sprang up
suddenly and said:
--"Tell them father Vassily about the envelope with the money also, which I thought
you had left there and for which I had thanked you."
--"Yes" said father Vassily, "Maria had indeed found an envelope on a chair in the
room, which contained 100.000 drachmas. She thought I had forgotten it there and
she came to give it back to me. But I had no idea about the envelope."
--"But father, you and Crazy John were the only ones who came into our house.
when I asked Crazy John, he said that the Holy Mother had sent the money for the
funeral expenses, because you are poor."
"The Holy Mother does that sort of thing" he used to say.
--"I didn't take him too seriously and I was convinced that you had sent him and
were trying to hide the truth" said Maria.
--"No, child, I would have told you", said father Vassily.....