"Many years ago in Detroit, I was invited to a house to confess an 80 year old man, who didn't reall

"Many years ago in Detroit, I was invited to a house to confess an 80 year old man, who didn't really want confession, but wanted me to interpret a dream he had. I however took the opportunity and from his dream I got his confession.

And this 80 year old man told me many terrible sins, shameful ones, which we cannot name in our external conversations. That's how terrible these sins were.

So, I tried to put inside of him the feeling of the seriousness of sin and that the tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, whether he liked it or not, he would be standing before the judgement of our Holy God.

And then this man, by the Grace of our Holy God, did not say "Remember me, O Lord, when you come into your kingdom," he said "God, forgive me the sinner" and hr began to cry and cry and cry and cry.

Half an hour, one hour, one and a half hours, two hours and even I, as I was sitting there, was crying with him.

I read the prayer of forgiveness for him and I left. He called all of his friends and relatives and told them how light he felt, because indeed he had been very full (of sin).

In the meantime, [he said he was] full of riches, with billions of dollars, and he began to embrace everyone and his support staff and [he said he wanted] to dance Greek dances out of his great joy, because he was unburdened, he had thrown out all the trash.... and he took the Cross of the Lord and joyfully he said, "I am flying with the angels, I feel like I have wings, I feel like I have wings" and he chanted whatever hymns he remembered from his fatherland as a small child, since he was a Greek-American.

And, from all the leaping and his great joy, he felt tired and said, "Let me lie down, my children, for a little while now, five minutes or so for me to rest. My God, I thank you for receiving me, a sinner. I thank you, I thank you, I thank you" ... and he died!

A righteous death for this man, just as it was upon the Cross for the thief."

Elder Ephraim of Arizona
(Translation by Peter George)

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