Billy
Bo (Vasilis Kourkoumelis) was a famous fashion designer in Greece in
the 1980's, and the first well-known casualty of AIDS in Greece, passing
away on the 13th of June 1987 at the age of 33. He catapulted to fame
at a very young age, becoming the go-to fashion designer of the elite,
and was referred to in the Greek press as an Adonis or Apollo due to his
beauty. He was headquartered in Kolonaki with a couture salon and a
network of boutiques all over Greece, including one in Mykonos
attracting ultra-famous visitors from throughout the world. Before his
death he even managed to open a boutique in Manhattan, with plans of
opening dozens more throughout the United States.
What is not really known however is what happened to Billy Bo in his final days, faced with the prospects of an early demise due to his lifestyle. Father George Schinas shared not long ago what the spiritual father of Billy Bo revealed to him about the salvation of this famous fashion designer before his untimely death. Below is a translation of the transcript of what he said:
Maybe some here who are older will remember a certain person, a handsome lad. He was a homosexual, a fashion designer, the once famous Billy Bo. We happened to hear from the lips of his spiritual father what was his course, which is not told by many, nor was it particularly written in the books published about him. They all wrote about the vacations he took in Mykonos with celebrities, the adventures he had as a man. He was thirsty for life, he was thirsty for love. But he didn't know where to find it and he was looking for it in the wrong paths.
At some point he was visited by the illness (Billy Bo was the first famous victim of AIDS in Greece). "Illness is a bad thing," most people say. But you see that sometimes it is for the good... And when the illness came and rang a spiritual bell, he heard the bell. Others don't hear it at all. And they die of the illness, any illness, and they have not taken any spiritual awareness. He heard the bell, which means he had good elements in him.
And the spiritual father narrated: "I saw a child, a young man, he was like an angel, with beautiful clothing up and down. He entered the church and said: 'Father, I want to confess.' And I made an effort to see if it was a boy or a girl. He was tall, but he also had another beauty that resembled a woman's.”
So he began and confessed with repentance. He then began to come, following a rule set by the spiritual father, to receive communion, attend church, pray, until he slowly declined and the priest was forced to go to confess him and commune him at his home, in Kolonaki.
When the priest first went to his home, he thought he had entered a museum! It was a place decorated only with models, with photos from fashion shows, etc. Every time he came after that, a picture would disappear and an icon would replace it... In the end you thought you were entering a monastery.
When he left for America to seek cures, he ordered an iron cross, large, broken down to fit in a suitcase, to put behind the door of his hospital room, so he could look at the Cross of Christ and pray.
The treatments didn't work, he returned, and the long descent began, the decay, the road to death. The blessed death, we should say. For if we did not die, my children, we would suffer for many years! And what would happen?
And the spiritual father continued to narrate: "At some point, I went on Saturday morning and communed him. When the time came for me to leave, Vasilakis tells me:
'Father, do me a favor, come again and commune me after midnight today. Because I will depart before dawn; the Panagia informed me!'
I questioned whether to believe him, not to believe him? Let's do him a favor, since the man is asking for communion."
So, the priest went some time between 1 and 2 in the dark of night and communed Vasilakis. And indeed God took him before dawn, at dawn on Sunday, as the Panagia had informed him!
The priest was telling us these things and he said to us: "Pray, my children, that I may have the last moments of Vasilakis."
This is who Christ is! This is the Church, which does not confuse people. She doesn't say "you're doing well" to them while they're going off the cliff. This shouldn't happen. But on the other hand, the Church does not disappoint anyone. She sets before all the way to deification.
Such took place with Billy Bo. He was not only saved, but for the Panagia to go and tell him to "get ready, you are coming," this means that Vasilis also went to a good place! And we have countless such examples, from ancient Christian times until today.
What is not really known however is what happened to Billy Bo in his final days, faced with the prospects of an early demise due to his lifestyle. Father George Schinas shared not long ago what the spiritual father of Billy Bo revealed to him about the salvation of this famous fashion designer before his untimely death. Below is a translation of the transcript of what he said:
Maybe some here who are older will remember a certain person, a handsome lad. He was a homosexual, a fashion designer, the once famous Billy Bo. We happened to hear from the lips of his spiritual father what was his course, which is not told by many, nor was it particularly written in the books published about him. They all wrote about the vacations he took in Mykonos with celebrities, the adventures he had as a man. He was thirsty for life, he was thirsty for love. But he didn't know where to find it and he was looking for it in the wrong paths.
At some point he was visited by the illness (Billy Bo was the first famous victim of AIDS in Greece). "Illness is a bad thing," most people say. But you see that sometimes it is for the good... And when the illness came and rang a spiritual bell, he heard the bell. Others don't hear it at all. And they die of the illness, any illness, and they have not taken any spiritual awareness. He heard the bell, which means he had good elements in him.
And the spiritual father narrated: "I saw a child, a young man, he was like an angel, with beautiful clothing up and down. He entered the church and said: 'Father, I want to confess.' And I made an effort to see if it was a boy or a girl. He was tall, but he also had another beauty that resembled a woman's.”
So he began and confessed with repentance. He then began to come, following a rule set by the spiritual father, to receive communion, attend church, pray, until he slowly declined and the priest was forced to go to confess him and commune him at his home, in Kolonaki.
When the priest first went to his home, he thought he had entered a museum! It was a place decorated only with models, with photos from fashion shows, etc. Every time he came after that, a picture would disappear and an icon would replace it... In the end you thought you were entering a monastery.
When he left for America to seek cures, he ordered an iron cross, large, broken down to fit in a suitcase, to put behind the door of his hospital room, so he could look at the Cross of Christ and pray.
The treatments didn't work, he returned, and the long descent began, the decay, the road to death. The blessed death, we should say. For if we did not die, my children, we would suffer for many years! And what would happen?
And the spiritual father continued to narrate: "At some point, I went on Saturday morning and communed him. When the time came for me to leave, Vasilakis tells me:
'Father, do me a favor, come again and commune me after midnight today. Because I will depart before dawn; the Panagia informed me!'
I questioned whether to believe him, not to believe him? Let's do him a favor, since the man is asking for communion."
So, the priest went some time between 1 and 2 in the dark of night and communed Vasilakis. And indeed God took him before dawn, at dawn on Sunday, as the Panagia had informed him!
The priest was telling us these things and he said to us: "Pray, my children, that I may have the last moments of Vasilakis."
This is who Christ is! This is the Church, which does not confuse people. She doesn't say "you're doing well" to them while they're going off the cliff. This shouldn't happen. But on the other hand, the Church does not disappoint anyone. She sets before all the way to deification.
Such took place with Billy Bo. He was not only saved, but for the Panagia to go and tell him to "get ready, you are coming," this means that Vasilis also went to a good place! And we have countless such examples, from ancient Christian times until today.
