Sunday Discipleship: Christ, demons and pigstranslated

July 4, 2026 · 1 min read

Any talk of demons in our day seems unreal. Even Western "theologians" have officially questioned their existence. Such a perception would also suit the demons themselves. After all, the phrase that "the greatest success of the devil is to convince the world that he does not exist" is well known, in order to "thresh" undisturbed, Apostolos Nikolaidis, Emeritus Professor of Theology at EKPA & President of the Institute "Agios Maximos o Graikos" tells us in the show "Sunday Apprenticeship".

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Joanna Zielińska

This is a very specific reminder of that passage from the Gospel where Christ allows the demons to enter the herd of pigs. It's good that Professor Nikolaidis speaks directly, because many of us also pretend that demons are just a symbol or an old superstition.

Đorđe Petrović

That's exactly the place from the Gospel about the pigs of Gadarina that always sticks in my head. Professor Nikolaidis says well that demons like it best when everyone thinks of them as a fairy tale. In our religion class, children often ask the same thing - why did Christ let them enter the pigs, and not just make them disappear. Thanks for the link, I'll take a look.

Karolina Nowak

I agree, this fragment from Gadara has always stuck in my mind because it shows that Christ does not negotiate with demons, but immediately casts them out. During our catechesis, some priests also avoid the topic, as if they were afraid that the young people would think it was a fairy tale. Why do you think they chose pigs?

Agnieszka Kaczmarek

I agree with you, Joanna, this fragment from Gadara is indeed very literal and Professor Nikolaidis does well not to beat around the bush. In our parish in Hajnówka, I sometimes hear that "it's just a metaphor", and then people wonder why they have problems with prayer. And maybe you saw how the father from our church talked about this at the last service?

Paweł Nowak

Yes, this passage from Gadara is very specific, it cannot be easily turned into a mere metaphor. In our parish in Białystok, some people also prefer "symbolically" and then they are surprised that possession or temptations come back. I haven't heard what my father said at the last service in Hajnówka yet - can you tell me?

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