Cycle nine. Orthodox miracles in the 20th century

MODERN PATERIK
Reading for the discouraged
Maya Kucherskaya
The death of a sinner is brutal

One man went on a pilgrimage. It was his neighbor, Sergeevna, who advised him. She herself recently returned from a pilgrimage, with a healed leg. I went not so far, to the Bobrenev Monastery. There were no special shrines kept in Bobrenev, there was only the Fedorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God. The icon is an ordinary one, painted in Sofrino, but people have long been saying that the icon is miraculous. Sergeevna, approaching the icon, did not know what to ask for, somehow everything jumped out of her head, but suddenly it hit her, and she asked: “Mother of God, may my knee go away!” The next morning, the knee was completely gone, it went away, Sergeevna began to walk like a girl. And, returning home, she shared the miracle with her neighbor. The neighbor remembered how Sergeevna limped, was surprised and, although he didn’t believe it, also decided to go. Interesting after all.
He arrives, but cannot approach the icon. Some force won't let him in. He is this way and that, and on the right, and on the left, and in front! Stop, that's all. Can't get closer than a meter. And everyone came up: children, women, and some crazy guy, everyone. Not him. And the man became so angry that his face turned black. He goes to the monk who sells candles and asks him what’s the matter. Maybe there are some special words you need to know. And the monk looked through his glasses and said:
- The Mother of God does not allow you to visit her. Apparently for sins.
- For what other sins! - the man yelled.
And the monk flashes at him again through his glasses!
- Screaming in the temple of God is not allowed.
The guy, what can you do, fell silent. And the monk presses further, he is also gone:
- Repent. Tomorrow morning there will be a service, confession will begin at eight, come to confession. Have you gone to confession before?
- Never.
- Well, now the time has come. Just remember everything carefully.
The man wanted to tell him that he had nothing to remember, but he just spat. True, already when I left the church. And then he ran back, back, straight to the icon, I thought about taking it on the fly.
For a meter - boom! - wall! And the man hit his forehead against it, as if against a tree, although there was no wall in sight. There is only one air. The man grabbed his forehead and, without looking at anyone, looked at the train! “Here is your icon. Dogs, not people." That's what he thought as he drove home. And at home he looks, Sergeevna digs potatoes behind the fence in the garden and does not limp. The man thinks: I’ll come up from behind and strangle you. But Sergeevna noticed him, called out to him, ran up to the fence, cooed - like you, like an icon, like grace. Well, the man stood there, stood there, didn’t say a word to her, turned around and walked away. He was black all week. And he didn’t talk to anyone about anything. And a week later he died.
Sergeevna, of course, couldn’t stand it, she went to the monastery to find out what happened to her neighbor, that a man even died. And in the monastery, when they learned about the neighbor’s death, they shook their heads - many saw how a man hit an invisible wall. And the smart one, in glasses, who sold candles, just shrugged his shoulders: “What’s surprising here?”

From the life of young mothers

Tonya got pregnant. The future paratrooper, from a military school, met at a disco. Of course, I had no intention of getting married. And Tonya is seventeen years old, at the prom she already danced with her belly. When my mother found out, she was happy - it’s good that she didn’t have an abortion, my daughter, it’s okay, we’ll feed her. Suddenly the doctors say: “The fetus is entwined with the umbilical cord, it’s very unfortunate, it will suffocate during childbirth.” And they began to advise Tonya to have a caesarean section. Here the mother and the doctors are at the same time. But Tonya doesn’t want to cut her belly, after all, it’s her own beautiful belly, and suddenly you cut it with a knife!
Tonya tells the doctors: “I’m afraid.” And the doctors to Tone: “You will kill the child.” And Tonya felt sad. But then they advised my mother - in Bobrenev, after the roundabout, the first turn to the right, there is a monastery, there is the Feodorovskaya icon, you need to pray to it, and everything will be fine. But Tonya is already in her ninth month, she will give birth today or tomorrow, and there is no transport to Bobrenev. He walks only until the turn, then walks three kilometers across the field. It's winter, late November. But mom took Tonya by the hand, we got on the bus, got off, and went ahead. The wind is blowing, it’s slippery, but it’s okay, they’re somehow stomping.
In general, we barely made it. The cast iron gate was pushed open. They entered the territory, approached the church, and the church was closed. Tonya is in tears. Mom rushed around the monastery. Then a monk comes out of some stone building and explains: we only have services on Sundays, but we don’t refuse anyone to venerate or light a candle. And with a huge key he opens the church. When Tonya walked in, she went straight to the icon, although no one told her what kind of icon it was, but she felt it in her heart. Well, we stood there, crossed ourselves, lit a candle, but it was unclear what to do next. Tonya is still sad and very scared. And then you have to walk back across the field. The monk who opened the door for them comes up to her and says:
- I don’t know what happened to you. But you just stay here or sit, pray, and everything will be fine.
Tonya sat down on a bench, her mother next to her, they sat, rested a little, and left.
Two months later, my mother comes to the monastery and says:
“As soon as we left the monastery that day, Tonya suddenly screamed: “Mom, what’s happening to me!” I thought: contractions. “Tightening in the lower abdomen?” - “No, mom, no! Pulls up." And she almost runs. I'm following her. Tonya, it's slippery, Tonya, wait! We reached the turn. A bus arrived immediately. Two days later the contractions actually started. Boy. Healthy, strong, 4 kg, doctors gathered from all over the department to look at Tonya and the child, one even, like a professor, said: “For the first time in my medical practice!” Just arrived home from the hospital, a cadet comes from the military school, a friend of the unlucky one from whom the child is born, and asks: “Don’t you need a dad?” We were confused. He again: “What about your husband?” It turns out that he had his eye on Tonya for a long time and would have come long ago, but his parents were strongly against it. But he persuaded them anyway and immediately came running to us. We signed the day before yesterday.
Another month later the baby was brought to the monastery to be baptized. Tonya was completely different, serious and very calm. At the christening, the boy never cried out, he just hummed quietly. Mom really wanted her daughter to tell her again how and what happened, but Tonya was shy. She only said:
“Then, on the field, when we left the monastery, it was as if something grabbed me, so I felt at ease. And I realized that there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.

Pansies

Father Antipas received a blessing to live in a nearby hermitage, which was located five kilometers from the monastery. A landscaper by his worldly education, Father Antipas turned the desert into a wonderful garden - all kinds of flowers grew in his flower beds, from the first days of spring until late autumn. On windy days, the fragrance from his garden wafted up to the monastery walls. Even in his cell, he set up a small greenhouse, corresponded with the academy, received seeds of new varieties in envelopes, while being in constant prayer, always remaining joyful and cheerful. The brothers who visited him in solitude invariably admired the fruits of his labors, but Father Antipas usually answered: “How I wish I could smell the fragrance of the flowers of paradise.” One perspicacious Abba, who came to him one day, answered him: “You won’t have to wait long.” A few months later, Antipas' father died. It was late autumn, the first snow fell, and the Lord showed a miracle to the brethren. The day after the funeral of the father-gardener, pansies sprouted and bloomed on his fresh grave. So they bloomed for several days, without fading from either the cold or the wind, until the snow completely covered them.

Not in vain

Nina Andreevna became a believer at the age of forty. Her beloved husband left her, and her heart turned to God. She had three children and she felt very sorry for them. Like any mother, she really wanted their life to turn out bright and straight. So that God does not punish them for her and their father’s sins, which, as she read in one Orthodox book, accumulate and weigh on many generations to come. And she had no doubt that there were a lot of these sins - her father and grandparents were atheists, and in her husband’s family there were generally many non-Orthodox and unbaptized.
And then one day, from a deceased woman, Nina Andreevna received an old and somewhat strange icon with the inscription “Tsar”. It was a dark time for the church - the early 1980s; real, non-Sofrin icons painted on wood were a rarity. And Nina Andreevna was very happy about the icon.
The icon depicted a saint with a spear in his hands, wearing a crimson royal purple - which means this was the king, but it was not clear which one, his name was not written. Then Nina Andreevna showed the icon to a priest she knew. He read this strange word and explained to her that “Uar” is written on the icon. Only in Church Slavonic, so “u” looks like “ts”, and at the end there is “er”. Nina Andreevna found the life of this saint in the Menaion and learned that they pray to the martyr Uar for unbaptized relatives, both living and deceased. So, through the intercession of the martyr, your family, which has accumulated sins, is freed from all these heavy tons of ugliness. This was exactly what was needed.
From the same priest who helped her read the inscription, Nina Andreevna took a blessing - to read the canon to the martyr Uar every day, simultaneously remembering her relatives, both on her husband’s side and on her own. And so throughout Great Lent. Every day. Father blessed her.
Nina Andreevna waited all day and couldn’t wait until late evening. And in the evening, having done all the work and put the children to bed, she lit a lamp in front of the icon of Uar, opened the book with the canon and prayed. And after each song of the canon, she remembered all her and her husband’s relatives, living and dead, everyone she remembered and knew and whose names she could find out from relatives.
She really liked to pray. After the canon, joy settled in my soul, the world was illuminated with light. It was not clear whether all those remembered were forgiven of their sins? Or not yet? Three weeks passed, the veneration of the cross began, Nina Andreevna prayed. But more and more often I thought: “Lord, am I doing all this in vain?”
And now, already in the fifth week of Lent, late at night, she suddenly woke up from a terrible scream. "Mother! Open the window!" - shouted her youngest son, seven-year-old Vanechka. Nina Andreevna ran to the nursery, opened the window, and Vanya sat on the bed and rubbed his eyes.
“It smells very bad,” he said much more quietly.
-Did you dream about something?
- It was as if it was not a dream, but the truth. I was lying here on my bed, and suddenly in that corner,” Vanya pointed with his hand, “he appeared, wearing a purple crown, but not a real one, but from the glare of light. He was very small, the size of a palm, but he walked straight at me and said: “Cursed be the day when you learned the name of Christ. Cursed be the day you were baptized,” Vanechka sighed. - But then the martyr Uar appeared opposite him, just as small, only bright rays emanated from him, and one of him hit him, and the purple one wriggled and kept trying to dodge, but could not - and suddenly burst!
Immediately a terrible stench spread through the room, from which Vanya woke up.
The mother kissed her son on the forehead, stroked his head, and the boy fell soundly asleep, snoring quietly in his sleep.
Nina Andrevna told everyone she met and knew about this amazing incident and repeated every time: “You should never test the Lord and ask Him stupid questions, because no effort is in vain.”

Damaged wardrobe

One girl secretly prayed to God from her parents. When they went to bed, she moved the books from the shelf of the bookcase, put up the icons, lit the lamp and began to read the rule and the psalter. And then one day she was so carried away by prayer that she did not notice how the fire of the lamp became very high and began to burn through the closet. She blew out the flame, but it was too late - the fire created a black hole in the top panel of the cabinet.
The girl was horrified. What will the parents say? And she began to pray that the hole would somehow miraculously heal and the closet would become as good as new. “I believe that the Lord can do this,” the girl repeated. She stood praying for an hour and another, closing and opening her eyes in the hope that a miracle would happen, but the black circle never disappeared. In grief, the girl went to bed.
The next morning she immediately looked at the shelf - the hole was there. And it was impossible to hide it; even tall books did not obscure it. The girl was waiting for defeat. But then her mother came in and didn’t notice anything. Dad came in and didn’t say anything either. They looked straight at the closet and didn't say anything! Only three years later, the girl’s mother noticed that the closet was burned through; by that time, she herself began going to church, and understood everything. But they bought a new wardrobe anyway, this one completely fell apart.

FATHER PAUL AND AGRIPPINA
1. To distant lands

Once upon a time there lived a girl, Grunya. She grew up in a pious merchant family, she grew up and thought: I will grow up big, I will become a nun. Soon she really grew up, quite big, and entered nursing courses at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent. There she was given a cassock, and Grunya began caring for the sick. She really liked all this. One day, Elizaveta Feodorovna herself gave her a photograph of herself with a dedicatory inscription on Angel Day. But then the Bolsheviks came, killed the Grand Duchess, and dispersed her monastery.
Grunya began going to the Danilov Monastery and met a young hieromonk there. His name was Father Pavel. He had a strict life, he spoke sternly to his children, and Gruna was close to this; she could not stand lisping. She had a strong character and loved a firm hand.
The Bolsheviks reached Danilov, Father Pavel was arrested and sent to prison. He didn’t even know at first that a girl was following him; his child, 28-year-old Grunya, was coming to feed him and not let him die. It was one old schemamonk of the Danilov Monastery, Father Simeon, who blessed her to go after Father Pavel, and Grunin’s father and mother agreed to this. And so Grunya rode, half-heartedly. Prisoners were traveling in some carriages, and ordinary people in others. No one knew when the prisoners would be dropped off; it had to be monitored. Grunya looked out the window, listened, and did not sleep. And she always popped up at the right moment. But then she had to wait for the next train and get on it, again with the group, and each time she persuaded, begged to take her, and she was put in the car next to the prisoners. She saw Father Pavel only from afar and not every time.
Suddenly, in one of the prisons, Grune was allowed a visit. Seeing the girl, Father Pavel did not even smile and knitted his eyebrows.
- Who blessed?
“Father Simeon and parents,” answered Grunya. Only then did the priest soften a little.

2. Running after the sleigh

Grunya followed Father Pavel further. The last two hundred kilometers remaining to the place of exile, the city of Akmolinsk (now Astana), had to be traveled by sleigh. The criminals, Father Pavel and the convoy got into the sleigh, the horse moved off, Grunya behind her. The horse was heavy, the sleigh was full of people, it wasn’t going very fast, and still a man on foot couldn’t keep up. Grunya ran. The criminals felt sorry for her. They began to persuade the soldiers to let her into the sleigh, and they stopped the horse and called the girl to them. Grunya ran up. “What, are you going to run all two hundred miles like this?” She replied: “I will.” And they put her in a sleigh.
They rented a room with Father Pavel in the city, hung a rope in the middle of the room and divided the room with a sheet. Father Pavel served the liturgy, and Grunya sang along, and also cooked food, did housework, and did laundry. One day a drunk policeman, a Kazakh, came to them and began to demand money from Father Pavel. But Father Pavel had no money. Then the policeman shot the priest at point-blank range. But I didn't hit it. I ended up in Grunya because she managed to block Father Pavel with herself. The bullet hit her in the cheek, the wound was not terrible, but she still had to go to the hospital. And again Father Pavel cursed: “Is this possible? What are you doing?!"

3. Go again

One winter, the house ran out of water. Grunya took the bucket. A blizzard was howling outside the window, carrying a full bucket was slippery and difficult, and Father Pavel said: “Bring half a bucket.” But when she arrived at the river, Grunya thought: “Well, shall I bring half a bucket and go a second time? No, I’ll bring it full right away!” And she brought it full. Father Pavel looks: the bucket is full, Grunya didn’t listen! “Go back, pour half the bucket into the river.”

4. Without words

Father Pavel spent more than twenty years in exile and camps. In 1955, he settled in seclusion in the Tver region. Apart from two cell attendants and Agrippina Nikolaevna (of course, no longer Grunya), no one knew where his house was. From seclusion, Father Paul wrote letters to some priests and laity. The persecution subsided, but the life of the priests was still very difficult. Father Paul helped them walk correctly, and his letters were awaited as if they were a meeting with the Lord God, because the priest knew the will of God. There was only one person he did not write letters to - Agrippina Nikolaevna. “What to write, everything is clear, I love you and I’m praying for you. And your confessor will tell you the rest,” Father Pavel told her. And Agrippina Nikolaevna was not offended. She believed that this was necessary. I lived without letters. Everyone around said: “You saved his life!” She answered: “What to write about, everything is clear. Father loves me and prays for me. And my confessor tells me the rest.”

5. Save me from Agrippina!

Father Paul blessed 56-year-old Agrippina to marry a sick old man in order to care for him and prevent him from dying without care. They did not get married and, of course, were husband and wife only on paper. Agrippina Nikolaevna looked after him until his death.
And then she ended up in the house of an elderly priest, very good and very famous, Agrippina Nikolaevna became his housekeeper and spiritual daughter. Father Pavel began writing letters to this priest. And in almost every letter he consoled him and asked him not to be angry with his Agrippina. Because Agrippina turned out to be impossible! Her unbending character turned the other way. The old priest, experienced, wise, intelligent, could not get along with her. And he complained about her to Father Paul. But Father Paul answered: “This is the will of God, be patient, the will of God.” And then I got tired of repeating the same thing and wrote - you can let her go and do what’s easier, but only... it’s God’s will to be with her.

6. Demise

Agrippina Nikolaevna died as a very old woman in 1992. 15 priests performed her funeral service, and could not decide who would bear the coffin - everyone wanted it. The coffin was carried around the church, the Church of St. Nicholas in Kuznetsy, they sang and cried.

7. Saw what I wanted

All these were stories about Agrippina Nikolaevna, but it was impossible to write about Father Pavel. Scary.
He spent the last thirty-odd years in seclusion, but he saw what was happening thousands of kilometers away from him, heard conversations that were said in other cities, read thoughts that a person had never revealed to anyone. He wrote letters to those he chose, sometimes sent telegrams and recounted these conversations, named the names of people he had not met, sent them to addresses in places he had never been. That is, I saw it and was there, but somehow in my own way, it’s unclear how, one might say “in the spirit,” but that doesn’t make it any clearer. Often the letters contained answers to questions that they were just about to ask him. All specific examples are from the field of science fiction.
Only one. During the operation of Father Vsevolod Shpiller, Agrippina Nikolaevna was just visiting Father Pavel; Father Pavel treated her to tea and, among other things, asked her about Father Vsevolod’s son: “Why is Ivan Vsevolodovich standing at the door to the operating room all the time?” But then I realized: “Oh yes, you can’t see this!” That's all true, of course. Ivan Vsevolodovich stood at the door to the operating room the entire time his father was being operated on.
Father Pavel died in November 1991 at the age of 98. Nobody knows where his grave is or under what name he is buried. It was as if he had come to visit the 20th century from the times of Abraham and Isaac, when the Holy Spirit breathed in the nostrils of the forefathers, and they heard the voice of God just as people now hear the sounds of the radio and the noise of cars under the window.

What is a miracle? “The rules of nature are conquered in You, O pure Virgin...” is sung in a church hymn for the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. That is, the ever-virginity of the Mother of God and Her Dormition, when after the end of Her earthly life She was taken with her body to heaven, are supernatural phenomena that defeat the usual laws, natural “statutes.” And any Divine miracle is an overcoming of ordinary physical laws.

But we know that the Lord Himself is the Creator and Legislator of physical statutes and it is in His power, if necessary, to abolish these laws.

Miracles are supernatural, Divine intervention in our lives.

Many of the Savior's miracles are described in the Gospel. He turned water into wine, healed the paralytic, lepers, the deaf, blind from birth, raised the dead, walked on water, prophesied and fed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread. His followers, disciples - the holy apostles - also performed miracles (this is stated in the books of the New Testament). Many miracles are described in the lives of holy ascetics; almost every life tells of miracles. But both the apostles and saints performed miracles not on their own, but by the power of God. Only the Creator of laws can overcome and change these laws. You can't do anything without Me(John 15:5). But the Lord often gives His saints gifts of grace to help people and glorify the name of God.

Miracles, signs, cases of grace-filled help have been performed constantly in the history of the Church, they are performed in our time and will not stop happening until the end of the century, as long as the Church of Christ stands. But even during His earthly life, and now, the Lord does not perform miracles too often. Otherwise there will be no room for the exploit of our faith. Miracles, signs of God's power, are needed to strengthen faith, but there can never be too many of them. In addition, a miracle must be earned; it is given according to the faith of the person asking.

But there are miracles in the life of the Orthodox Church that happen constantly, for many centuries now. They console us, strengthen us and testify to the truth of our faith. This is the miracle of the Holy Fire, the descent of a cloud onto Mount Tabor on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the miracle of holy Epiphany water, the flow of myrrh from holy icons and relics.

And in general, isn’t the whole life of the Church one continuous miracle? When the grace of God constantly acts in the Sacraments of the Church, when at each liturgy the greatest miracle on earth occurs - the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Savior! And every Christian who has experience of prayer and spiritual life constantly feels in his life the supernatural presence of God, His strong and strong helping hand.

Rescue from a deadly disease

In a letter from the city of Penza, received on August 20, 1903, Alexandra Petrovna Agrinskaya reported the following: Her only son, Vladimir, 15 years old, fell ill with inflammation of the bladder and suffered so much that he asked his mother to pray for his death; the mother prayed that she would die along with her son. It was July 21st. Vladimir then prayed to the Reverend Father Seraphim (of Sarov - Ed.); the next day, July 22, the landlady of their apartment brought the patient a newspaper in which he read about miracles from the monk and wished to serve him a prayer service; He asked his mother to invite a priest with an icon of the saint, which was then done, and a prayer service was served. All night after that, on July 23, the patient slept, and in the morning he announced to his mother that everything had gone away, even the tumor that did not allow him to sit, as if it had never happened.

The writer announces this wondrous healing to the glorification of the newly-minted saint of God and wonderworker, the Venerable Father Seraphim...

Painter Shishkov: Miraculously painted icon

This was in Moscow in 1917. I commissioned the painter to create an image of the suffering Savior, wearing a crown of thorns. He wrote with great diligence. The painter himself told me:

– When I painted this image, I moved my brush over it, and the invisible hand moved with my hand by itself. And it turned out wonderful!

When I finished writing, I was surprised at how wonderful it turned out. The Lord helped me, a sinner, to write according to your faith. How happy you are! Apparently you love holy icons. So the Lord helped me write so well.

On the corner of the icon he put his signature: Shishkov.

One day a master painter came to me. I told him about the painter Shishkov. The master carefully examined the icon and said:

- Yes, the letter is wonderful. Very well written, as if alive. But I’ll just tell you that he didn’t write it, he doesn’t know how to write like that, he gave it to someone. I know him well.

So he left, not believing that Shishkov painted the icon.

Divine inspiration accomplished what man could not do. Indeed, the power of God is made perfect in our weakness, and many of God’s miracles seem incredible.

Healing in the temple

At the age of 30, I was completely ill: chronic indigestion, complete nervous exhaustion, severe headaches, loss of the ability to read and talk for more than ten minutes (then my head began to hurt and my consciousness became foggy). I then lived in the city of Murom and did not have the opportunity to receive treatment.

On one of the feasts of the Mother of God, at the all-night vigil, for the first time in my life I turned with fervent prayer to the Mother of God:

– I can endure a constant stomach illness, but I cannot live without work, without reading spiritual books and spiritual conversations.

I prayed fervently for my healing. When I approached the priest, kissed the festive icon of the Mother of God, received anointing with oil and tasted the blessed bread, I felt: the thoughts in my head became completely clear - a certain power infused me. There was no trace of my head illness or nerve disorder. Moreover, I gained the ability to speak and converse or read for any number of hours without the slightest fatigue.

I still had a stomach illness, but I didn’t ask for it to be healed; I patiently endure illness, remembering that the power of God is made perfect in our weakness, and the apostle endured the same illnesses (I Tim. 5:23).

God stopped the fire

In the summer of 1984, forests in the Chernobyl region caught fire. The fire was approaching the village of Kotsyubinsky. Several believers, mostly elderly people, came out with the icon towards the raging fire. The forest fire died down, bypassed the village and flared up behind it with renewed vigor.

This is one of the many miracles that God works through the prayers of believers and the intercession of the saints, our heavenly patrons. During a fire, an icon of the Mother of God called the “Burning Bush” is usually taken out.

Orthodox man fishing

This story was told by priest John from the Balashikha Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. It happened in Ukraine at a time when it had not yet separated from Russia and other countries.

His uncle went fishing. Many non-Orthodox people live in that place: Catholics, Uniates, various sectarians.

Comes to the river. Lays out fishing rods. He baptizes everything earnestly, in the Orthodox way. He also crosses the river in front of him. A few moments pass and the fish is dangling on the hook. He takes it off the hook, casts the fishing rod again, and crosses himself. Fish again. And so one after another...

Other fishermen are fishing next to him. But they don't bite. Some sit closer to him, but still nothing comes of it. Having caught a full fish tank, he, looking triumphantly at the non-Orthodox, goes home. They sit in his place, but they still don’t get the bite.

“I think,” says Father John, “that this was for the edification of them, the non-Orthodox, and not because my uncle is so pious.” God wanted to show with this miracle what kind of faith is true.

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The miraculous appearance of Christ at the Liturgy
2005 Trinity Cathedral, Chernigov.
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In the photo: During communion over the Chalice with the Body and Blood of Christ - the miraculous appearance of Christ with the angels bowing to the left and right.

Miracle in the Church of St. Ilya Muromets
2005 Church of St. Ilya Muromets, Dnepropetrovsk
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In the photo: In front of the temple altar there is a miraculous appearance of a lit candle.
P.S. The Divine Liturgy is celebrated in the church every day and all the faithful always partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Bleeding Derzhavinskaya Icon of the Savior
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In February 2003, miraculous icons arrived in Ukraine from the Orenburg diocese (Russia): the bleeding icon of the Savior and the myrrh-streaming icons of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Their stay in Ukraine began in Odessa. Then they visited Kyiv.
The icons are simple - Sofrino lithographs. When the owner of the house where the icons were, wanted to turn on the TV for her grandchildren, she noticed that silvery lightning seemed to be emanating from the hands of St. Nicholas on the icon. They called the priest and served an akathist. The news reported that the Bombing of Belgrade began on this day:
The image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was the first to cast myrrh, then this supermundane phenomenon spread to other icons. At first, small bruises formed on the face of the Savior, then blood began to literally flood the face of Christ.
Currently the bleeding has increased dramatically. The blood flows down in a dense stream, flooding the face of the Savior, coagulates, forming clots and dark spots on the icon. There is a characteristic smell.
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Miraculous Image of Christ on glass
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In the All Saints Church in Simferopol, in the old civil cemetery, a miraculous appearance of the image of the Savior on glass occurred. The icon with the image of Jesus Christ from the iconostasis of the small chapel in the name of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, located at the Royal Doors of the altar, was taken for restoration. When the icon was taken out of the icon case embedded in the iconostasis, an exact imprint of the face and figure of the Savior depicted on the icon itself was found on the glass, but as if in the form of a negative photograph. It should be noted that the glass was attached at a certain distance from the icon board itself. The described case is already the second, at least known, after the case with the icon of the Mother of God “Look at Humility” from the Kyiv Holy Vvedensky Monastery, imprinted on glass in a similar way.
Experts who arrived from Kyiv at the invitation of the ruling bishop of the Crimean and Simferopol diocese testified to the similarity of the phenomenon. The analysis carried out by the research team showed that the image on the glass appeared under the influence of radiation of an unknown nature emanating from the image itself. Looking carefully at the glassgram, you can really notice that it is printed as if with thin rays. Even at the first glance at this image, a special impression is created of its miraculous nature.
We know three images of the Savior not made by hands: on the Shroud of Turin, on the ubrus sent by Jesus Christ to the ruler of Edessa for healing, on the “Shroud of Veronica” - the Lord in the crown of thorns. These wonderful images were obtained from contact with the Holy Face of the Son of God during His life on earth, His suffering and death. The present phenomenon, sent down to us from the Upper World, can also be called with reverent boldness the Image of Christ not made by hands.
Many people wonder: is this a sign for good or for ill? The Lord often appeared to His faithful to strengthen them in the coming trials. For a Christian, the appearance of the Glory of God always brings salvation.
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Miracle on Athos
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“On August 21, 1903, during the distribution of alms to the poor monks at the Great Monastery Gate of the St. Panteleimon Monastery, the monk Gabriel took a photograph, and in the photograph, to the greatest surprise, the image of the Mother of God appeared, humbly receiving the blessed crust of bread. Shortly before this, some of the ascetics saw in reality the Wonderful Woman among the monks and wanted to tell the gatekeeper about this, but on the very day of photographing, no one saw Her.” (From a monastery manuscript).
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Golgotha-Crucifixion Monastery on the island. Anzere
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Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky stauropegial monastery. Birch tree in the form of a cross, on the eastern slope of Mount Golgotha, which grew on the site of the suffering of the new martyrs and confessors of Solovetsky in the 20-30s of the 20th century.
17.01.2006

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fiery cross
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A worship cross in memory of the Russian New Martyrs in the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow, engulfed in a bloody fire invisible to the eye.
31.08.2005
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Sign of God's Grace
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Monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius in Moscow on Slavyanskaya Square. White doves on the heads of the holy brothers and enlighteners of the Slavs.
31.08.2005

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Radiance of Grace
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Optina Pustyn - the camera lens captured the light of Divine grace invisible to the eye.
31.08.2005

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Like cherubs
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The miraculous appearance of fiery cherubs in a photograph of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II.
31.08.2005

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Miraculous image of Tsar Nicholas II
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A miraculously revealed image of the holy martyr Tsar Nicholas II in the altar of the cathedral church of the Bogolyubov Monastery in Vladimir.
31.08.2005

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Crying icon
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The Savior cries for the human race perishing in sins. Bloody tears on the icon of the Lord.
31.08.2005

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Myrrh-streaming icons
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When they talk about the myrrh streaming of icons, you need to understand that the name of this wonderful phenomenon is conditional. A certain light, oily substance released during miracles is not identical to the sacred myrrh used in the sacrament of anointing. A liquid appears on the icons, only reminiscent of myrrh, and equally fragrant. The type, color and consistency of the resulting liquid varies: from thick, viscous resin to dew, which is why they sometimes talk about “oil flow” or “dew flow”. Some people believe that the myrrh flowing from icons is tree resin or some kind of condensation. It should be noted that paper photocopies, lithographs, frescoes, photographs of icons and even metal icons also stream myrrh.
The peculiarity of our time, in particular, is expressed in the fact that there is widespread mass myrrh-streaming of icons. “What would that mean? - Christians are racking their brains, “is the Lord announcing to us about coming disasters, strengthening our faith with this stream of myrrh, or is this a manifestation of God’s mercy, which He abundantly pours out on the Church?” It is unlikely that we will be able to answer these questions. One thing is clear: the flow of myrrh is a manifestation of the Glory of God. And in this phenomenon, God shows us His power over matter, which He created and subjected to the laws He established.

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Imperishable relics
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From the very first centuries of Christianity, legends about the incorruption of bodies begin. Over time, when the Christian faith began to spread across different countries, these legends also spread, which have been preserved to us from all subsequent centuries and peoples, where the Christian faith penetrated in its purity. Based on these legends, it can be positively stated that there was no century in which several incorruptible relics of God’s saints did not appear, and there is no nation of true believers who did not have them. We have no reason not to believe these legends; for they come from countless people, and, moreover, from different countries and centuries, and are confirmed by the actual fact of incorruption of relics: and at the present time we have a lot of them from different centuries. What does it mean that neither in the pagan, nor in the Mohammedan, but only in the Christian world do we see extraordinary phenomena of incorruption of relics? Miracles in general serve as decisive and final signs of true religion - revealed religion. A supernatural revelation must necessarily have supernatural attributes of its truly supernatural origin. And indeed, God deigned to surround His revelation with special, highest signs, which, being possible only for Him alone, can finally convince a person that he is not mistaken in accepting a well-known religion as a revelation of God Himself. These signs are miracles. The incorruption of holy relics is a miracle that replaces many other miracles, and has the advantage over them that they are one-time, often instantaneous and could be convincing to eyewitnesses and lose their power for subsequent generations, and the incorruption of bodies is a constant miracle, testifying to the fact that in In the incorruptible body, especially the miracle-working one, the miraculous power of God constantly abides, and as a result it provides us with the strongest and most convincing proof of the divinity of the Christian faith.

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Miracles of the Saints
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Many people who have achieved holiness are known for their gifts of clairvoyance and miracles. Documentary descriptions of this from contemporaries have been preserved. During the time of persecution of Christianity, the holy martyrs, suffering torture from the persecutors, received grace-filled help - they did not burn in the fire, emerged unharmed from boiling tin, the instruments of torture crumbled in the hands of the tormentors, those tortured almost to death in the morning were completely healthy. Practically, in the life of any Orthodox saint you can find descriptions of the miracles performed by him. Saints heal the terminally ill and resurrect the dead. They move over long distances in a few moments, overcoming the force of gravity, walk on water and soar above the ground. They talk with angels, the Most Holy Theotokos and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Sometimes these phenomena are accompanied by the fact that visible traces remain after them: fragrance, flowers, fruits from the Gardens of Eden. Many saints gain insight into human souls, reading the past and future in them as if from an open book. The most famous for their miraculous gift are St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra, the Holy Great Martyrs George and Panteleimon, the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh and Seraphim of Sarov, and Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg. From those closer to us in time: holy righteous John of Kronstadt, holy Optina elders, holy blessed Matrona of Moscow, Seraphim of Vyretsky.

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The icons are streaming myrrh, bleeding...
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On January 23, 2005, in the Holy Protection Church in the city of Dzerzhinsk, 30 kilometers from Minsk, icons began to stream myrrh. First twelve, then twenty-seven. Today no one counts the myrrh-streaming icons - the altar crosses and the very walls of the altar have become myrrh-streaming! On February 9, Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk visited the temple.

The first icon of the Mother of God of Kazan to be filled with myrrh in the church. The miracle was discovered by 12-year-old sexton Alexander. The boy serving in the temple noticed something unusual on the icon and called the rector of the temple, Rev. Nikolai Glacier. Having looked closely, we were convinced that the icon was streaming myrrh. Three days later, on January 26, the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker “cryed,” then they noticed myrrh streaming on the faces made on metal. Soon streams of peace flowed from the wounds on the icon depicting the crucifixion of Christ. In the first 10 days, 12 icons were consecrated in the church. On some that are in the altar, myrrh also appeared on the reverse side. The myrrh-streaming either stops or resumes.
Pilgrims from Minsk and other cities of Belarus constantly come. On February 11, a group of 45 people from our parish made the pilgrimage. Among the pilgrims are the clergy of our cathedral, headed by the rector, altar servers of the temple from the youngest to adult children, sisters of mercy of the sisterhood of St. Euphrosyne of Polotsk, the full security of the temple, employees of various parish services. Upon arrival, the pilgrims placed candles at the temple icons, and then the altar boys of the Church of the Intercession led our priests and altar servers to the altar.
Everyone was amazed by what they saw! Not only the icons in the altar of the church, not only the altar crosses, but also the walls of the altar themselves stream myrrh! Not only myrrh, but also blood (or bloody myrrh) comes out of the walls. The icon of the New Martyrs of Belarus, made on cardboard, was placed in a bath due to the abundant flow of myrrh. A whole glass in one hour! Blood (or blood-colored myrrh) also comes out from the feet of the Lord on the altarpiece icon. Myrrh on many icons flows from the eyes of the Lord or the Mother of God - the icons seem to be crying. Some icons, like the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, are completely wet from the abundant flow of myrrh. The throne is wet from the myrrh flowing from the altar crosses. The icon of the Three Saints hangs high on a column in the temple. But the myrrh flowing from the eyes of all three saints is clearly visible. For peace

Miracles performed through the prayers of the righteous are very often attributed to something supernatural. In fact, the Lord’s intervention in the lives of Orthodox believers in a miraculous way is a manifestation of His love and support, as exemplified by the miracles of Orthodox saints.

Miracles Given by Jesus

God's miracles in no way violate the laws of nature that the Creator Himself established. All unusual phenomena refer to special actions of God, which humanity cannot yet explain.

Quite recently, mobile phones seemed fantastic, laser treatment was beyond the scope of the human mind, but now these are the most ordinary things.

The concept of miracles includes cases of healing, resurrection, curbing natural phenomena and many others that cannot be explained from the point of view of scientific research.

Read about miracles:

• Lanchang Miracle

The Lord reveals the miracles of Jesus Christ to faithful people as they become church members and join the life of the Church.

Miracles as the power of God's grace

Jesus left examples of Christian miracles as a gift to his disciples:

• turning water into wine;
• walking on water;
• stopping storms;
• reviving the dead;
• feeding thousands of people with a few loaves of bread.

Reading the New Testament, you can find more than one evidence of miracles performed through the prayers of Christ and His disciples from different angles. The first inexplicable action was the very birth of Jesus, both God and man, from the Holy Spirit.

Healings

A miraculous healing affected a woman who suffered from bleeding for 12 years, spent all her savings on doctors and was healed by one touch of the hem of the savior’s robe. Faith saved her. (Matthew 9:20)

The cleansing of the leper (Matthew 8:2), when a man suffering from leprosy said that if the Savior wanted, he could heal him. The sick man did not doubt the power of Jesus, he gave Him the right to this and submitted to the Divine will. Heal if you want.

Giving sight to a man born blind as evidence of God's glory (John 9:1-33)

Miracles of Jesus Christ's Healing

Restoring friends of the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12)

Jesus gave hearing to the deaf, freed them from demons, restored sick bones, no one who asked Christ for healing was refused. During sermons on the mountains and in the deserts, everyone who followed the Teacher was healed.

The New Testament describes miraculous healings performed by the apostles through the power of Jesus. (Mark 3:15)

Important! The miracles of healing have not lost their power even now, because the apostles left instructions on how to act in case of illness.

Through the prayers of Peter and John, the lame man began to walk. In the name of Jesus Paul, Philip and all the apostles healed.

If any of you suffers, let him pray. If anyone is happy, let him sing psalms. If any of you is sick, let him call the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will forgive him. Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed: the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:13-16)

Modern miracles performed in Orthodoxy

The Savior's grace did not exhaust itself after His return to the Father. Through the feat of faith and fidelity in Christian life, God granted Orthodox people to see the miracles of Orthodox saints performed at the present time.

One of the famous miracles known throughout the world is the Descent of the Holy Fire on Orthodox Easter. There is a lot of controversy on this issue; they tried to accuse the Orthodox Church of fraud, but facts are stubborn things. The fire continues to go down at the same time of year, and in the first minutes of its appearance it does not burn. There is a tradition of bringing candles from Jerusalem, blessed at the Holy Sepulcher.

The miracle of the appearance of the Holy Fire

The second inexplicable natural phenomenon, which is observed by thousands of pilgrims, is the change in the direction of the flow of rivers during Epiphany or Epiphany. This happens in many places on the planet, but the most famous was the water miracle on the Jordan River, where Jesus Himself was baptized.

Reversing the Jordan River for Epiphany

The prophet, seer, holy man Seraphim of Sarov is loved throughout Russia for the miracles that happen through the prayers of the hero of faith. A great gift for the monk who lived in seclusion and silence was a visit to him by the Mother of God, who commanded Seraphim to go to the people and bring them the Good News.

An unusual event happened to a girl named Zoya in the 20th century, in 1956 in Samara. A Komsomol member, an activist, took a portrait of Nikolai Ugodnik, began to dance with him, saying: “If God exists, let him punish” and became petrified, so much so that the strongest men could not move her. So the petrified Zoya stood in the former club from January to Easter, after which she came to life and became very devout.

The monks on Mount Athos managed to record the singing of angels, which are repeatedly shown in holy temples.

Singing Angels on Holy Mount Athos

There are numerous testimonies of parishioners receiving answers to their prayers from icons of the Mother of God and saints. Each temple keeps its own unique story of miracles revealed by the Lord, given by God to strengthen the faith of parishioners.

Help of the saints:

Miracles still happen in the life of a Christian.

The recent event surprised all the doctors. In 2018, when doctors called the mother of a five-year-old girl, Sofia, and informed her that treatment for a year for cancer and a tumor in the head had not produced results, and they were transferring the girl to palliative chemotherapy, the whole family was plunged into deep grief. It was said directly to the mother’s eyes: “We have done everything, your girl will soon die.”

There was no end to the mother’s grief, but her family and friends were nearby. The cry “Pray!” flew across all corners of the globe. Within a month, notes were given in churches, people fasted around the clock, and God showed his mercy. A month later, an MRI showed not a single tumor.

This happened in Ukraine in 2001, a huge tornado rushed at a speed of 350-1000 km/hour. Everything that came his way was torn into pieces, cars, people, animals. 5 human deaths have been officially confirmed. Before the tornado appeared, nature seemed to freeze, and only a rumble was heard, according to eyewitnesses, reminiscent of the roar of 100 tanks.

Christians of one village, standing in the path of the raging elements, gathered in the church and prayed intensely. The tornado seemed to stumble in front of the village, split into two pillars, which went around the village and united behind it. Not a single building in this village was destroyed when the neighboring villages were struck by a great disaster.

Many Christians read the story of the prophet Jonah as a legend, but the events of 1891 were recorded on film when a missing sailor was found alive in the stomach of a whale.

Incredible stories of survival

The Lord remains unchanged in His actions both thousands of years ago and today. By the great mercy of the Creator, people receive instant healing from incurable diseases, some grow back limbs, and the Lord miraculously solves financial problems.

Svetlana (Simferopol) took out a loan from a bank, but was unable to repay it on time and paid only interest, the amount of which already exceeded the debt itself. Svetlana constantly prayed and one day she was called to the bank.

With a heavy heart, the woman crossed the threshold of the financial institution, but the news reported by the office worker shocked her. The entire debt was written off, but there was still money left in her account as an overpayment. In tears, joy and surprise, Svetlana rushed to the temple, because she knew exactly who gave her such a gift.

The miracles of the Orthodox faith have not ended; they are available to everyone who gives their life to serve the Almighty and the Holy Church.