Saint Porphyrios and the taxi driver killer

The Holy Elder Porphyrios set out with three of his spiritual children to go to a monastery to celebrate his Vespers. Initially, they were told to go on foot. But after they had walked some distance and because Old Porphyrios was tired, they thought, since the monastery was somewhat far away, to find a means of transport instead of going on foot. At that moment a taxi appeared in the distance. His companions - all three laymen, not clergy - then told the Elder to nod to the taxi to stop, to ask the driver if he could take them to the monastery. "Don't be afraid," he told them, "the taxi driver will stop on his own. But when we get into the taxi, none of you are to speak to the driver; only I will speak to him." And so it happened. The taxi driver stopped, and without them nodding, they got in and Father Porphyrios told the driver their destination. As soon as they started, the taxi driver began to speak against the clergy and accused them of a thousand and one things. And every time he said something, he turned to the three laymen, who were sitting in the back of the taxi, and asked them questions: "Isn't that right, you guys? What do you think?" But they said nothing, according to the order of the Elder. After the driver saw and saw that the others did not answer him, he turned to the Elder Porphyry and said: "Isn't that so, grandfather? What do you think? Aren't these things true, where do the newspapers write them?" Then Old Porphyry says to him, "My child, I will tell you a little story, I will tell you once; I will not need a second one." And he began to tell him: "There was a man from this place (the Elder mentioned it), who had an elderly neighbor who had a large estate. One night he killed him and buried him. Then, with various forged papers, he took his neighbor's estate and sold it. And do you know what he bought with the money he got by selling that property? He bought a taxi." When the taxi driver heard this story, he was so shocked that he stopped the car on the side of the road and shouted: "Don't say anything, grandfather; only I know this and you." "God knows it too", Old Porphyry replied. "He told me, to tell you. And see to it that from now on you change your life."