Indeed great is the Your power O God, and great are You in Your saints. Mother Erene saved our life and took us out of a deep pit. She saved us from great pains and complete darkness with the power of heaven. Thus the light of God shone upon us and defeated the powers of evil. I will tell you how God had mercy upon us and saved our daughter (Y.N.F) and restored to me, her father and the whole family, peace and joy after having lost the hope of seeing our daughter in a normal condition.
This is how the mother of Ms Y started her talk: I would like to tell you a true sad story whose events lasted for five years until God was glorified with His mighty strength and gave joy to our hearts through the blessings of the saints’ prayers and our dear mother mother Erene.
It started when my daughter was two years and a half old. She fell down and hit her head badly on the floor. This led to “fissure fracture” in her skull. It was of the doctors’ opinions that she only needed bandage and it would all heal because of her young age. I was quite worried about her. It happened that I went to the convent of the great Martyr Abu Seifein and met Mother Erene. I asked for her prayers as I was concerned about any complications later. She looked at me very kindly and said: “Bring me your daughter next time so that I would pray for her.”
As a mother of three children I was very busy, so I did not have time to go to the convent except after a long period of time. By then I had forgotten what Mother told me. When I met her later on, I was surprised when she told me, ‘Why didn’t you bring Y to me so I can pray for her?’ I was surprised that Mother still remembered the name of my daughter and what happened to her. I told her, ‘Mother, I will one day bring her to you.’ But I did not, and my daughter never saw Mother when she was with us on earth.
My daughter looked normal and I thought that the issue of the fall was over. She completed her different school stages and was doing really well in her study. As a Christian family, we were close to the Church and regular in having Communion and attending the services held by the church. Our house was full of the icons of saints. Yet during her second year in university, we noticed that our daughter started to have problems in her study. She had completely changed and it took her many years to finish her university education after so much effort and many failures.
With time she was not able to sleep at night at all and she had to sit in bed with the light on. Then things got worse and she started having convulsions and fits of agitation and abnormal screaming. Many times she would lose consciousness. We took her to different monasteries and several priests and monks prayed for her. However, she would enjoy a very short period of rest and then the fits would start again.
The daughter continues the account: I was in my mid twenties when I started to suffer from some evil attacks that controlled my life and caused me several diseases and operations without any medical explanation. In addition, I suffered a great deal psychologically because I used to have terrible nightmares.
I visited many monasteries and asked for the prayers and help of the saints. I asked the Lord to protect me and not to let me have any of these convulsions or fits at work, amid my colleagues.
I remained in that condition for five whole years. I cannot describe the suffering and pain I went through and what my family had to put with because of me. I used to pray a lot asking God to bring joy to the hearts of my parents as I am their only daughter. Together with other members of my family, they were unceasingly praying for me. I used to frequent the convent of Abu Seifein, but I did not see Mother Erene. When she departed to heaven, I was very sad thinking that I had been deprived of the chance of seeing her and asking her to pray for me.
I also saw several priests and had the blessings of their prayers. One of them was the reverend Father Akhnoukh from the church of St Mena in Shoubra; he supported me spiritually until the day when God had mercy upon me and healed me. And I will ask my mother to tell you the details.
Her mother continues, “I went to the convent of the martyr Abu Seifein in Old Cairo on Friday 7 November 2007. I was in a very bad psychological state due to the condition of my daughter. I was very depressed and whenever I saw a mother with her own daughter, I would cry and feel like not talking with anyone. I reproached God a great deal.
The daughter continues, “I decided to fast all the Christmas fasting [43 days] despite the troubles I was going through. I knew this would provoke the devil even more; yet, I was determined to fast. One day while at work, I felt so weak and sick. Unexpectedly I started having convulsions and I finally lost consciousness.
I was transferred to the hospital where I underwent many tests and X-rays. Once more the doctors did not find a medical explanation. I was held at hospital. When I regained consciousness, I was in a bad state. My parents came to the hospital and signed a self discharged form declaring their responsibility for taking me out. I returned home and was unable to sleep. I was fighting with the devil all night. I did not stop asking for the help of the saints, especially the Mother of Light who has always supported me.
On the following day, my parents took me to Fr Akhnoukh and asked him to pray for me. He noticed how exhausted I was, and so did the deacon who was serving with him. He started praying and doing many prostrations though he is eight years old. Immediately I fell to the floor and the evil spirit starting speaking and screaming in a loud voice. It was heard by the people outside the room. My parents heard that harsh voice talking with the reverend father. The spirit told him that his name was legion as they were four. The priest asked them, “To which host you belong?” They answered, “We are from the host of the fallen Cherubim.” Then the priest asked, “Won’t you regret what you do to people?” The answer was, “Repentance is only for you. We do not have a chance to repent any more. Pride and vanity have led us to where we are and taken us down from our status. But people have a chance to repent and return to God; we do not. We are like a roaring lion seeking a prey to devour.”
This dialogue was also heard by the deacon who was praying with the priest. Many people outside the room, including my parents, heard this conversation. The priest asked the evil spirit, “Who are the saints who are praying for her?” The spirit answered, “St George of Alexandria and St George the Roman (the relic of the two martyrs are at the church), as well as, St Abu Seifein, St Mena and Pope Kyrillos.”
The priest asked again, “Who else is praying with them today?” The spirit screamed, “The one who is standing there, whose icons stands over there.” And he pointed to a calender that was in the room and had the picture of Mother Erene. He cried out her name and said, “The Queen [the Mother of God] is with her.” The priest asked him to come out of me in the name of the God of glory. The spirit screamed while saying that it had received an order from God to get out of me in response to the prayers of the heavenly saints especially those of Mother Erene.
During that time, I was making violent physical movements that cannot be performed by a human being; my body was moving like a serpent. And the spirit was screaming, “Erene, this is enough… enough…”
At that moment, Mother Erene started talking with the reverend father. I did not hear their conversation. She told him, “From the day I knew that she had fallen on her head, I was praying in tears for her and never forgot about her. But every time I prayed, the Lord of Glory would tell me, “She can put up with this tribulation, let her take more reward. I console her in other times.” But now the Lord of Glory has ordered the spirit to get out of her. Tell Y. not to blame herself or her parents for this is the will of God.”
The daughter comments on Mother’s words: This was exactly what used to happen. I would blame my mother for not giving me enough care. I used to tell her if she had taken me to Mother Erene and if she had prayed for me, I would not have reached this state.” The reverend father asked Mother Erene to help him later in fighting the evil spirits. She promised him to do so. She told him that she did not stop praying before God for everyone who suffers from the war of the devil. The reverend father was very happy with the support he received that day.
At the end of the conversation – which lasted for about two hours – the evil spirits declared that the Mother of God, the martyr Abu Seifein and Mother Erene were following up his going out of me. My body started to calm down until the last evil spirit was driven out. It screamed while being burnt up in a very scary way, the scream echoed in the whole place. He was shouting the name of Mother. It was then over. But he had testified to the power of the prayers of the heavenly and earthly saints, and the care of Mother Erene together with her Mother, the Queen, for me since my childhood. Immediately I regained consciousness and found everyone around me hugging me and kissing me as I were dead and now I am alive.
I have to say that I felt as if I had been bedridden for many years, but God raised me with the blessing and prayers of the saints, especially those of my Mother the Virgin St Mary, who did not leave me for a minute, and those of Mother Erene who used to pray in tears for me since she was on earth. I will always remain indebted to her.
Today, Friday 9 January 2009, I have come to the convent with my mother to thank God and the Martyr Abu Seifein as well as my tender Mother, Mother Erene. I am here to record this great miracle. I also wrote a letter including all that has happened to me and Fr Akhnoukh signed it. I did not mail it. So on Thursday 3 September, he told me, “You should go to the convent and give the letter to the nuns for the glory of the name of God. He was also glorified with me with the prayers of Mother in other cases.”
Ref: Tamav Erene – Leader and mother in the monastic pastures (book 4), p. 180-5
The Art of Orthodoxy 