Why does the icon shed blood?
Icons and images do not literally cry blood. If the process of myrrh-streaming is not artificially faked (that is, there are no special holes in the icon that release moisture or oil), then most likely the myrrh is mixed with paint, that the image was painted, which in its mixed state has a brownish tint.
IMPORTANT: From an esoteric point of view, such a phenomenon can be regarded as a sign. Warning about events in the future (most often bad: war, losses, disputes, death, illness).
Why do icons cry blood?
Why is the Virgin Mary crying?
Several reports have already appeared on RNL about the special flow of myrrh (in the form of tears, sometimes bloody) of icons of the Mother of God. Why is the Virgin Mary crying? Of course, I don’t know a thorough answer to this question, but based on my Orthodox faith and relevant knowledge, I will express my opinion. Which, however, is strictly based on Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.
It is quite obvious that the cause of these tears is the pestilence caused by the coronavirus that has already set everyone’s teeth on edge. But only this obviousness is of an extremely specific nature. And indeed, even just looking at the map of the spread of this disease, we will see a most amazing picture. Europe and the United States are completely affected by this disease, the number of infected people there is in the tens of thousands, and the number of deaths is in the thousands, while in the Russian Federation, according to official data at the time of writing this article: 840 infected, of which 2 died.
The difference is amazing - not even by an order of magnitude, but by several orders of magnitude. I will immediately reject the opinion that this is a fraud by local authorities, since I do not see the point in such hocus-pocus for them. They, on the contrary, are stirring up passions and mugs about this, why should they hide anything?!
Yes, a couple of days ago I saw on Ukrainian television a speech by some Russian lady, apparently from the opposition. Who eloquently talked about how in the Russian Federation they are hiding deaths from coronavirus under the guise of some other pneumonia.
But, firstly, at this time (end of winter - beginning of spring) people actually get sick more and even die from complications caused by acute respiratory infections, in particular from pneumonia. Secondly, even if we assume that in the Russian Federation (it is not clear why) the number of cases and deaths is reduced several times, the supposedly “real” figure derived by the opposition will still be much less than in Europe and the USA.
And finally, thirdly, if this opposition lady believes that the whole thing is just a matter of fraud, “in the entirety of the Putin regime that is strangling freedom of speech,” then let her explain why in the country of “the highest European democracy and such the same highest freedom of speech,” whose television provided her with a chair, according to the same official data, only: 145 infected, 5 of them died! After all, Ukraine and Russia are neighbors, whose residents, despite everything, continue to communicate closely with each other. And if there had been a massive epidemic in one, then the other would not have been spared.
So the version of manipulation of official data should be immediately discarded. Well, you really can’t reduce the size of the disaster by tens of thousands of times!
Then why are there so many fewer victims in Russia and Ukraine? No one can really explain this by any mundane reasons. And there were only a couple of clumsy attempts to explain it like that, which made the chickens laugh. Well, in fact, will we believe that this is supposedly due to the special ingenuity of Russian-Ukrainian officials? After all, everyone has known for a long time that the best thing they can do is the well-known: “We wanted the best, but it turned out as always,” i.e. very, very bad.
But in our case, everything is still relatively very good. Which is especially surprising given the recent pessimistic predictions. Let us remember that when the coronavirus epidemic had just begun in China, the Russian Federation was declared its second victim, not without reason, as having a huge common border with the Middle Kingdom and quite close ties with it. But everything turned out exactly the opposite: Russia, neighboring the first outbreak of the infection, has so far passed the disaster relatively safely, while distant Europe and the USA, which have highly developed medicine, significantly superior to Russia’s, are in complete poverty. Why?
I think that in order to explain this obvious phenomenon, we must discard various worldly considerations and remember that we are Orthodox Christians. And in Christianity, every pestilence was considered a manifestation of God’s deep wrath for our sins. It’s strange, but at RNL this very simple and obvious consideration is heard quite rarely. There are more and more conspiracy theories about the origin of the coronavirus and its use by the world behind the scenes. And such publications receive far more ratings than even the Patriarch’s calls to repentance stemming from this consideration.
So, in a Christian way, the current epidemic is a manifestation of the extreme wrath of God. But why did this anger erupt over Russia in such relatively minimal quantities? Which, by the way, has been a completely unique phenomenon over the past hundred-plus years! During this wolfhound century, the Russians have suffered beyond the roof, unlike the West. So what's the matter, why is it the other way around now?
Why on the contrary, I don’t know; the “heavenly office” didn’t report this to me, but I, as an Orthodox Christian, know for sure who is turning away God’s wrath from Russia. Each of us Orthodox can also recognize this by remembering the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God and, most importantly, remembering what it means.
And it means that the Most Holy Theotokos, extending Her cover over Russia, is still delivering us from this infection, from this evil, as we ask Her: “Cover us with Your even cover and deliver us from all evil, praying to Thy Son, Christ our God, save our souls."
But why is She crying, and even with bloody tears? And I think because if we continue in our disbelief, and continue to attribute the relative successes in the fight against the epidemic not to Her, but to completely thoughtless and, often, insane (particularly in Ukraine) supposedly “anti-epidemic, self-isolation” measures, especially in their anti-church part, She will no longer be able to further beg Her Son to have mercy on us!
And this applies not only to secular authorities, but also to us, Orthodox Christians. And indeed, I may be wrong, and I would like to be wrong, but tell me, how many publications have there been on RNL like this one of mine about the Protection of the Mother of God?! I don't remember anything like that. Yes, and I, an old fool, only now, after a while, figured out to write this.
But on such an Orthodox, popular site as RNL, it should not be some ordinary Archpriest Georgy squeaking about this, like some kind of mosquito. There should be a whole choir of Orthodox singers thanking the Mother of God and praising Her for Her Protection over us. Thus, with this albeit small voice, but strictly according to the principle of conciliarity, we, perhaps, will turn away the wrath of God coming upon us.
Moreover, we, Orthodox Christians, are very guilty before Her!
PS Another important detail. If everything in this article about the Protection of the Mother of God, according to the custom extended over Russia, is correct, then it turns out that in Her blessings She does not make a difference between the Russian Federation and Ukraine (remember, both have minimal data on those who fell ill and died in them). Obviously, the Queen of Heaven, unlike the Ukrainian nationalists, considers both of them to be Russia, and therefore for now she is spreading Her cover over her (over both of them). I wonder if the Ukrainian nationalists themselves have anything against this?!
Archpriest Georgy Gorodentsev, candidate of theology, Odessa
Why do icons stream myrrh and cry in churches and at home: folk signs
Interpretations will accept:
- The icon “cries” is a sign that foreshadows changes in the future; if the “tears” are light, they will be good, if dark, they will be bad.
- The icon was covered with “dew” - a good sign that tells you that everything will be fine.
- The icon streams myrrh abundantly - a good sign of approaching favorable events.
- The icon streams myrrh in the church - a favorable sign for the church, city, and parishioners.
- The icon streams myrrh at home - a good event will happen in the family
Celebrations of the icons of the Most Holy Theotokos on Easter days
The Saidanai nunnery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary enjoys special fame and respect in the East because of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, known as the Saidanai Shagura-Lady. Every year thousands of pilgrims flock here: Christians, Mohammedans and Druze - from all over Syria, Palestine and Egypt. The fame of the miracles of the revealed Saidanai Icon of the Mother of God spread far beyond the borders of Syria and Egypt. A detailed description of this shrine and the miracles and signs that came from it, in the form of a small manuscript in Latin, is kept in Rome, in the Vatican Library under the title: “Miracles from the icon of the Ever-Virgin Mary near Damascus.” The foundation of this monastery is known from historical documents.
Emperor Justinian in 546 traveled to the Holy Land to worship the Christian shrines of Palestine. Wherever he stopped along the way, he built churches and monasteries. So he stopped in the village of Saidanak, from which bare rocks begin, gradually going up and ending in a high rocky hill. Emperor Justinian, while hunting, was illuminated by an extraordinary heavenly light emanating from the top of this mountain. Carried away by curiosity, he came closer to that place and saw at the top a majestic Woman with an extraordinary radiance in her face. She told him that, by the will of Divine Providence, he was coming to this mountain and here he should build a monastery, of which She would be the Patroness. The emperor ordered the immediate construction of a monastery at the place indicated by the Most Holy Theotokos. Having founded the Saidanai monastery, Justinian constantly had fatherly care about it. Soon after its founding, the monastery gained such fame that nuns from all over Syria, Egypt and other countries flocked to it.
At the end of the 8th century, the abbess of the Saidanai monastery was the Monk Marina, who became famous for the piety and holiness of her life. It happened that the Egyptian monk Theodore, who was going to Jerusalem to worship its shrines, stopped at the hostel of the Saidanai monastery, since his path was through Saidanai. Abbess Marina asked him to purchase an icon of the Mother of God in Jerusalem with the money she gave. But in Jerusalem, the monk Theodore forgot about this assignment and got ready to go back; but not far from the city he was stopped by an unfamiliar voice: “Did you forget something in Jerusalem? What did you do with the order of Mother Superior Marina?” He immediately returned to Jerusalem and acquired an icon of the Mother of God, which amazed him with its bright, radiant face. On the way back, Monk Theodore was amazed by the miracles performed by the icon of the Mother of God: for the first time, she saved him and his comrades from robbers; in the second - from a wild beast. This aroused in him a desire to take possession of the precious icon. Having visited St. places, he came to Acre in order to, having passed Saidanai, sail to Egypt by sea, but before he had time to enter the ship, such a strong storm arose that death seemed inevitable. His conscience spoke to him, and he hastened to leave the ship and return by land through Saidanai. There he again stops in the hospice house of the Saidanai monastery; but then he was again overcome by an irresistible desire to appropriate for himself the icon of the Mother of God, which had shown him so many signs of her miraculous mercy. He lived for four days in Saidanai, not showing himself to Abbess Marina for fear that she might recognize him. Getting ready to secretly leave the monastery, he went to the exit, but was extremely surprised that he could not leave the monastery fence in any way: he approached the gate and suddenly saw a solid stone fence in front of him. Then he realized his crime and, repenting, hastened to hand over to Abbess Marina the icon of the Mother of God purchased with her money and immediately, with repentance, told her all the miracles and signs that had come from the icon. The abbess glorified the Lord and His Most Pure Mother with tears of gratitude. The fame of the miraculous icon spread throughout the Christian and Mohammedan East; thousands of pilgrims began to run under the protection of the Mother of God, where the sick received healing, the sad received consolation, and the needy received useful and edifying lessons in pious life. The monastery acquired its spiritual influence thanks to numerous signs and wonders from the Saidanai icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is located in a small, richly decorated chapel on the right side of the monastery church. The miraculous icon is placed on the eastern wall in a golden icon case on a marble board, on which you can see a small depression in the form of a dish for the holy world to flow from time to time from the icon.
What does it mean when the icon of the Pantocrator, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Mother of God, and the Seven Arrows streams myrrh?
Interpretations:
- The icon of the Almighty is streaming myrrh - expect favorable events and changes, your affairs will improve and your life will become happy.
- The icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is streaming myrrh - a happy event or message, favorable life changes.
- The icon of the Mother of God streams myrrh - the health of children, the birth of a child, deliverance from illnesses.
- The Seven Shot Icon streams myrrh - peace and quiet at home, protection from the “evil eye”
Signs about myrrh-streaming icons
The weeping icon of the Mother of God in Paris is a copy of the great Russian shrine (PHOTO)
Suzdal, March 4, 2015
“The Orthodox icon of the Mother of God from the Byzantine period, which a Turkish family found in Antakya and brought with them to Paris (even though they are Muslims), began to shed tears,” writes the Greek portal Romfea. As Aldidaroglu themselves say, this icon was given to them by a Greek Orthodox monk from Libya in 2006. People from different countries come to pray to the miraculous image. We also learned about it in Russia...
But one glance at the photograph of the wonderful image was enough to immediately recognize: this is a copy of the great shrine of the Intercession Monastery in the city of Suzdal! It's a copy, not a list. It is impossible to make a list exactly like a sample, like a photograph.
Icon of the Mother of God crying in Paris
The fact is that the iconography of this icon is completely unique. By mistake, for some time she was called Georgian because of the open maforia on her chest, revealing a corner of the tunic of the Mother of God. It differs from the traditional iconography of Hodegetria in the position of the right hand of the Mother of God: it lies on the feet of the Infant God, as on the icon of the “Our Lady of Rome” or the icon of the “Mammal.” It is distinguished by the position of the Child and His clothes. And the most seemingly inconspicuous difference is the blessing right hand of the Baby. It completely matches the maforia border! The God-Infant, as it were, hides Himself, but reveals His Mother to us. An icon painter would not repeat this. This was repeated by some kind of photo technology. Eyes are written on top of this copy. But more on that later.
The shrine itself is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery and dates back to the sixties of the 14th century. The inventory of the Suzdal Intercession Convent of 1597 describes in detail the precious decoration for this temple icon of the Most Pure Mother of God, consisting of 225 items - all of them were brought in gratitude for the miracle performed.
Icon from the Suzdal Intercession Convent
According to legend, it was in front of this icon that the meek Tsarina Anastasia Romanovna prayed for the birth of an heir. And she gave birth to three sons one after another. In 1552, before the campaign against Kazan, Tsar Ivan the Terrible, having served a prayer service in the Pokrovsky Suzdal Monastery, heard the words of Abbess Vasilisa quietly spoken after him: “You will return as the Tsar of Kazan.”
He turned around and promised to put his most beloved image into the monastery if the abbess’s words came true. Having taken Kazan for Intercession, the tsar, “on the way back”, fulfilled his promise, personally taking care of decorating the icon, and hanging gold earrings with pearls, turquoise and carnelians from the crown of the Queen of Heaven.
Anastasia Romanovna, in gratitude for the birth of her son, embroiders a hanging shroud and linings. The next wife of Ivan the Terrible, Maria Temryukovna, thanks the icon with a pearl necklace of the finest work. The young queen, the 18-year-old wife of Tsar Vasily Shuisky, who buried her first daughter, was tonsured into the Intercession Monastery along with her newborn daughter, who soon also departed. What she prayed for, how the Mother of God consoled her, only one silent witness knows - the Tsarina’s golden rock cross on the chest of the Queen of Heaven.
The Intercession Monastery, which became the place of tonsure, monastic feat and resting place of many eminent persons, including the wife of Vasily III Solomonia Saburova (Saint Sophia of Suzdal), one of the spouses of Ivan the Terrible, Queen Anna, the wife of Vasily Shuisky, Queen Catherine, the wife of Peter I, Evdokia Lopukhina... becomes a place of pilgrimage to the miraculous icon, a place of consolation... By 1910, as we see in the photograph taken by V. Georgievsky, the face on the icon of the Mother of God becomes almost invisible. And in 1920, one of the outstanding restorers of his time, the favorite of the holy Patriarch Tikhon, G.O. Chirikov, carefully uncovered the icon from the darkened linseed oil and the 17th-century recording. Let me remind you that the icon’s precious attire made it impossible to venerate it. Her face could not be “kissed” like the images of saints on the icon of the Intercession from this monastery were kissed. They were applied to the hanging shroud. But on the icon the eyes are practically invisible. The pupils are visible. And my eyes are crying. That's why she consoled and consoles. And in Paris the Mother of God is crying again.
Crying icons
For the Orthodox Church, an icon is a special form of Divine revelation and an integral part of all faith. And it is impossible to doubt this, because the faces of saints can not only silently listen to the person praying, but also stream myrrh. Find out what this miracle is preparing believers for: whether they should expect great misfortune or salvation.
Why do icons cry?
Myrrh streaming is a real Orthodox miracle that appears to true believers at a particularly difficult moment in life. This may concern an entire nation, or the icon of a person who finds himself in a terrible life situation may begin to cry.
There are known cases when icons cried several days before a great disaster. For example, in 2004, an icon depicting Tikhon of Zadonsk lost myrrh, and the next day, a TU-154 passenger plane crashed.
The same thing happened in Beslan a few days before the terrorists seized the school. On August 29, 2004, the image of Jesus Christ began to cry, and a few days later there was a terrorist attack that shocked the entire country.
A crying icon can become a harbinger of misfortune not only to warn people about trouble, but also to strengthen Orthodox faith in God.
A myrrh-streaming image can also speak of imminent deliverance from troubles and warn of upcoming joy. There are cases when terminally ill people recovered in the house where the icon cried.
Bleeding icons
It happens that the faces of the Saints bleed, red tears on the images are a sign of universal repentance. Church ministers claim that bloody tears on the images indicate that people have moved away from God and are committing terrible sins.
In a convent in the Leningrad region, an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary began to bleed on the day the conflict in Ukraine began. Red spots still appear on the image.
There are a large number of such cases known. During wars in which innocent people die, Saints shed blood to remind the world of God and humanity.
Authenticity of myrrh-streaming
Any miracle should be treated with care and caution. Unfortunately, many scammers tried to take advantage of crying icons. There are several simple rules that distinguish genuine crying from deception.
- Myrrh-streaming is never associated with a specific place.
- The face of the Saint or the Mother of God never cries in the presence of any one living person; everyone can see this miracle.
- The true flow of myrrh cannot stop just because the icon was brought to the temple.
A real Orthodox miracle can only appear to a true believer. Tears in images can foreshadow terrible misfortunes and prepare people for great salvation. But in any case, the Saints remind us that it is worth repenting and becoming closer to God. We must not forget that first of all, we are people. We wish you good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and
