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In this video, Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou recounts how Saint Porphyrios would spiritually travel—body and all—to meet Saint Iakovos Tsalikis for their weekly talks.
Homily of His Eminence Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou at the Conference of the Union of Cypriot Scientists which took place on Sunday, 7 October 2018 at Deftera, Cyprus.
Source: RumOrthodox https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt-Gh-ayHtY
Met. Neophytos:
Saint Iakovos [Tsalikis] was as described here mystical, a hesychast. We never managed to understand him. Not even us who lived next to him. He was all alone. Like most saints, he suffered from spiritual loneliness. So, they looked for holy-spiritual ways to travel with the help of their guardian angel and hang out with each other and talk.
Let me mention an incident that the Metropolitan of Kefalonia Dimitrios could have mentioned. I think I am allowed to say it since he has already shared it publicly. I didn’t learn about it from Saint Porphyrios [of Kavsokalyvia], and certainly not from mystical [Saint] Iakovos. [The now Metropolitan of Kefalonia] Dimitrios would go and confess to Saint Iakovos as a university student [like myself]. Once Dimitrios visited Saint Porphyrios, and Saint Porphyrios asked him, “Who is your elder?” “Elder Iakovos.” “Ah! We speak regularly with your Elder Iakovos.” “How so?” “I often go and visit and we talk.” “Who takes you there and when? We never heard about it.” “In a spiritual kind of way,” Saint Porphyrios answered. “But the body follows too. You shouldn’t think that I turn into a kind of ghost …”
“How is that [even] possible?” “Look, since Iakovos won’t reveal these things and forbids me to talk about them, but the time might come when you’ll have to share this … Go where the cemetery of the Monastery of Saint David [of Evia] is and you’ll find the Church of Saint George. There is a pine tree. Under the pine tree, you’ll see two stacks of stones. Iakovos sits on one stack and I sit on the other, when I ask from the Holy Spirit to allow me to visit a friend, a like-minded man I can talk to.” “Do you often visit and talk with him, Geronda?” “At least, once a week. Whenever I feel the need. You should know that Iakovos doesn’t feel the same need. But he does it out of love for me.”
Dimitrios visits Iakovos and says, “Geronda [Iakovos], you have the prayers of Father Porphyrios.” “Thank you.” This is how Elder Iakovos spoke — like royalty. “He told me that he often visits you …” “Visits whom?” “He visits you and you talk…” “He really said that?” “Yes, …” “No, my child. He never visits me…!” “Geronda [Iakovos], is it ever possible that someone like Porphyrios would lie? He even told me the place where you talk…” “Meaning …?” “Here at Saint George, back at the pine tree…” “He said that too? I told him not to speak [of these things]!”
This is who the so-called mystical Iakovos was. He could be the most familiar person to you. Talking to you for hours, about miracles … But these miracles are only the outward manifestation of another kind of physics. God’s physics. The life of the saints is always very mystical. Only a saint can tell a saint. The way they treated us … At least, that’s how I feel Metropolitan [Pavlos] of Siatista (✝2019), I don’t know what you think about it …
What did Iakovos do? He would open the door, he would let us stand just there and we could see that he had a big house, a big living room, a lot of wealth. “He was a millionaire” as Nikos [St. Iakovos’ doctor] often says. But he would say, “My dear Neophytos, my dear Pavlos, This is as far as you are allowed to see. For more than this, you’ll have to struggle on your own.” He would do this favor for you and he would open (the door) slightly for you to see.
