What does it mean if the myrrh?

Most people, even those who have a very remote attitude to Christianity, have heard about such an amazing phenomenon as the myrrh-streaming of icons. Over the years, it has been the occasion for discussions among scholars, priests and simply connoisseurs of ancient art. Despite the fact that some work is being done in this direction, it has not been possible to establish why the icons are mirthing, and nothing promises future discoveries in the future.

What does the term "holy mira" mean?

Under the myrrh content it is customary to understand the appearance on the surface of icons, as well as on the relics of holy drops of an oily aromatic liquid, which produces a specific fragrance, sometimes very strong. It is she who is called the world. It should be noted that its number, color and density can be different and do not depend on any external factors. At least, it was not possible to establish this connection.

Mirotocheniya past centuries

It is characteristic that in the Holy Scripture there are no references to the cases of myrrh-making in the first centuries of Christianity. Information about them is brought to us only by Holy Tradition, that is, the oral tradition of the transmission of certain facts related to Christianity, as well as the apocrypha - non-canonical (not recognized by the church) literary and religious monuments.

Of these, for example, we know about the annual expiration of the world from the relics of John the Theologian, the Apostle Philip, and also the great martyr Theodotus. In addition, it is widely known (from the same sources) the relict of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Demetrius of Thessalonica and John Skilitz.

Myotonations of the last decades

The chronology of known cases of the expiration of the world shows that during the entire period of the history of Christianity, preceding the XX century, this phenomenon was a great rarity. In the literature about him there are only fragmentary and scattered information. And only in the XX century it took a truly massive nature.

The first stage occurs at the beginning of the twenties, but then the information about the myrrh-making of the icons becomes rare. Perhaps, this is due to the fact that the theomachistic power that was established in the country simply hushed up such cases. Only in the nineties did a real stream of reports appear in the media about miraculous acquisitions of icons, their myrrh-streaming and cases of spontaneous renewal. And the places where the icons are myrrh-like, were called the most diverse - from private apartments to world famous temples.

How did it start?

The beginning was laid in May 1991 by the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Derzhavnaya", which was kept in the capital of the Nicholas-Perervinsky Monastery. Following her, tears streamed from the eyes of the Savior on an image that was in one of the Vologda temples, and in November of the same year the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God from the Smolensk Assumption Cathedral was mitered.

The most abundant in miracles were the end of the XX and the beginning of the XXI century. Reports of cases of the expiration of the world have reached such an extent that a commission specially created under the Moscow Patriarchate, whose duty it was to study and describe miraculous signs, literally did not know rest.

The point of view of the servants of the church

From the theological point of view, if the myrrh streaming icon - this should be a very specific explanation. Despite the fact that all canonical icons are sacred by virtue of their spiritual content, some of them are chosen by the Providence of God, and through them the Lord sends down special signs to people.

At the same time, the real signs of the highest mountain world are considered to be the miracle itself, which has medicinal properties, and the fragrance it exudes. Thus, the icon of the myrrh flows, showing us a certain sign from above, the meaning of which is not always clear.

It is important to note: in itself the fact of the myrrh-streaming of an icon is not a basis for its recognition as a miracle-working one, but the miracle that has expired from it is considered capable of performing miracles. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the seizure of the Greek city of Thessaloniki by the Turks in 1430. Muslim fanatics, ignoring the Orthodox shrines kept in the city, snatched the miracle from the relics of Saint Dmitry Solunsky, using it as a medical device of the broadest possible purpose.

Voices of skeptics

However, it should be acknowledged that among the church leaders of the present there are many skeptics who are very wary of this phenomenon. They draw public attention to the fact that there are known cases of myrrh-making of pagan statues and even icons that were at the disposal of the most inhuman and inhuman totalitarian sects. In this regard, they recommend a more restrained attitude to the cases of expiration from the icons of the world, tears and even blood, and if the myrrh icon, do not make premature conclusions.

Survey of myrrh-streaming icons

Since myrrh-streaming icons, as a rule, attract a large number of pilgrims, and thus create prerequisites for profit, it is not uncommon for cases of falsification of this phenomenon and direct fraud. To prevent such abuses, the Moscow Patriarchate developed a special procedure for the examination of icons and relics to establish the authenticity of their world-view.

In accordance with the established rule, in cases where the icon is turned and the local diocesan administration receives a message about this, a special commission is immediately formed, which examines and interrogates witnesses. The purpose of these actions is to establish the presence of external causes that can cause such an effect and deceive others.

In their absence, the icon is placed in a locked and sealed kiot for a certain period of time. If, in this case, the appearance of oil stains does not stop, then an official conclusion on the myrrh content is given. Over the past decade, with the help of this simple method, many cases of direct forgery have been identified.

Examination carried out by the Tsar

It is curious to note that the first known fact of exposing this kind of falsification is associated with the name of Peter I. It is known that one day the Emperor began to carefully examine one of the Virgin icons, which was "tearing". His attention did not escape the fact that in the corners of the eyes of the image were made the finest holes, artfully disguised by a shadow cast from above.

This prompted him to continue the inspection and remove the cover from the back of the icon. Under the outer layer, he discovered the depressions made in the board just opposite the holes in the eyes of the Virgin. As expected, they were filled with thick oil, which, under the influence of the heat of the candles, lit before the icon, melted and through the canals came out, creating the effect of tears streaming down your cheeks.

Having exposed the deception, the emperor issued a decree defining the penalty for those whose faults in falsifications of this kind will be established and proven. However, since that time there have been no translations in Russia of the liturgies, equally despising the Divine Court, and the terrestrial one - the criminal one. And the holy images continued to flow out with the purest oil lamp, equipped with incense.

Other reasons for the appearance of drops on icons

But in addition to God's command, as a result of which the icon is weathered, and deliberate falsification, other reasons for the appearance of characteristic drops on their surface are noted. First of all, they can be formed quite naturally - as a result of external conditions.

In addition, the cause may be the ingress of oil drops after the parishioners have passed through the polyolei rite (anointing the forehead with oil), kiss the icon and, touching it, leave oil marks. And, finally, there are cases when the icon "myrrh" as a result of accidental hits on its surface of oil from the nearby icons.

It is important to note that the phenomenon of the exodus of the world is not a feature of the icons of any particular country or even the continent. For example, there was a lot of information in the media that the icons of Abkhazia are actively mirling. It was related in this connection about the twelve images of St. George's Ilor Church . And at the same time, it is widely known such cases recorded in Greece, Italy, Canada and South America.

What icons are myrrh?

It is very difficult to give an unambiguous answer to this question. But, nevertheless, it is noticed that most often it happens with the relatively new icons written during the last decades. Information on the myrrh content of ancient and ancient icons is very limited.

And it is absolutely impossible to foresee in advance when and under what circumstances this can happen. On one of the photos cited in this article, the icon with the image of Tsarevich Alexei, painted today (photo No. 1), and on the other - the Savior over 100 years old (photo No. 2), is a myrrh.

One can give an illustrative example, taken from the recent past. In 1981, on Mount Athos one of the monks was painted the icon of the Mother of God. The following year, she saw and wished to buy a certain Canadian Joseph Cortez, but was refused. Not wanting to upset the guest, the monks gave him a list of the image he so liked. Before leaving, the Canadian attached a copy to the original, and then went home.

A few days after his return to Montreal, a copy received as a gift was mated, and this continued for fifteen years. It should be noted that there was never a drop of peace on the original in the Monastery of Athos. In 1997, Joseph Cortez was robbed and killed, and his relic was stolen. But a miracle did not stop on this - in 2007, unexpectedly for everyone began to melt the paper reproduction made from it.

If the icon is myrrh, what does it mean?

From the above example, we can conclude that it is impossible to explain the appearance of this phenomenon from the standpoint of our universal human logic. Why does the Myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God, which is only a typographical impression, and does not exude the original written in the holy monastery on Athos? It is impossible to give any exhaustive answer to this and many similar questions. But the main thing is that we do not understand the hidden meaning of this phenomenon. If this is a sign sent down from above, then we can not see the sin inherent in it, sinners, alas, is not given. The only thing that can be said with a certain degree of certainty is that the mirage is not an indication of the wonderworking icon on which it appeared.

Miraculous icons of Russia

As for the icons, really famous for miracles, then, according to the official data available to the Russian Orthodox Church, there are about a thousand of them in the history of Christianity in Russia. Most of them are images of the Blessed Virgin. In all cases, their veneration is conditioned by concrete help given to people. Usually it is healing of the sick, protection from invasions of enemies, fires, as well as getting rid of epidemics and drought.

Often with miraculous icons associated with various supernatural events. For example, a phenomenon in the dream vision of the Virgin, indicating the specific place where its image will be found, the movement of icons through the air, the radiance emanating from them and much more. There are also cases of miraculous renovation of icons and even outgoing voices.