Testimony of the Miracle of the Myrrh-Streaming Icon at the Antiochian Archdiocese Convention
It is my joy to share with you all something wondrous experienced by all who attended the Antiochian Archdiocese Convention held in Phoenix, AZ at the end of July. On the Wednesday morning of the convention, we celebrated Divine Liturgy together. We were blessed that our Patriarch His Beatitude John X of Antioch would be the Celebrant of the liturgy with His Eminence Metropolitan Saba of this Archdiocese assisting.
At the same time on this Wednesday, we had the great blessing of having an Icon from Hawaii known to be a myrrh-streaming Icon that has been traveling around the world present with us as we worshipped our Lord. This particular myrrh-streaming Icon is known as the Iveron Icon from the Holy Theotokos of Iveron Russian Orthodox Church in Honolulu. From time to time this Icon, as with other myrrh-streaming Icons, will begin producing oil that smells of beautiful myrhh.
This Icon was processed forward by His Beatitude Patriarch John X, His Eminence Metropolitan Saba, and the Hierarchs of our Archdiocese. Once in the front, they each reverenced the Icon after which time Patriarch John ascended to the Altar to begin the Divine Liturgy.
As our Patriarch began the Divine Liturgy, this blessed Icon began to stream the blessed oil that smelled of myrrh. It continued to do so all throughout the Liturgy and beyond. The large conference room began to be filled with the beautiful smell of myrrh and was a blessing to all.
After Eucharist, all were invited to come forward and reverence the Icon rejoicing in what our Lord had done for us that day beginning with the many Priests who were present. As we would go forward, each person was given a small card of the same Icon that we could use to collect some of the oil from the Icon. I had the joy of seeing the Priests before me continue to collect the oil on the cards they were given and the oil would never run out. I stood back after I collected some of the oil and watched the faithful do the same while the oil simply would never run out.
My friends, for me and for many, the sense in the room was blessed peace, comfort, and strength. Please understand that in that room was the fullness of the order Christ has established for His Church and for the salvation of souls. Our Patriarch, our Metropolitan, our Hierarchs, our Priests, our Deacons, Readers, Subdeacons, Acolytes, and all the faithful in Christ were present together joined in the eternal worship of God. And Christ showed us that He is truly in our midst in a profound way.
The Church for over 2,000 years has faced attacks from without and from within. We live in an age where we are experiencing both in our country and around the world. From within, some have begun to follow false teachers proclaiming that our Lord's Church is departing the faith and there is only a mere remnant still holding onto the true Faith. This is not so and our Lord gave us great stability and comfort on this day that the "gates of Hell will never prevail against His Church" for Christ is most certainly eternally in our midst.
The pictures above are of that morning beginning with the procession and reverencing of the Icon, continuing with the Divine Liturgy, and ending with a picture of the Icon and the faithful coming forward to be blessed by what Christ had done for us.
May we all be granted the strength, stability, and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ as we continue in the Kingdom of God manifest in this world.
