Sent from the Devil? Mariam Soulakiotis, “Mother Rasputin”

Religion is at the heart of the story of the human race. People devote themselves to higher powers, sometimes giving up all else: their lives, their riches, their possessions, to concentrate completely on greater power.

And, almost as long as there has been religion, there has been abuse of it. Often this takes the form of institutionalized control, drawing wealth from the communities these religious houses clai to serve, like some parasite. But religion has masked many smaller, though no less evil, crimes as well.

What transpires when someone abuses this confidence or unquestioning faith in the Almighty? In Greece, in the early 20th century it ultimately resulted in the deaths of as many as 500 devoted followers. Who was Mariam Soulakiotis, the evil nun, and how did she earn the name “Mother Rasputin”?