If a person born in the eighteenth century is shown a video on a mobile phone, he will say that it is a miracle. Scientific and technological progress seems to have reached its apogee. We fly between continents on huge "iron birds" that do not flap their wings, we talk to each other from a distance. Our robots send us photos of other planets, and we film the most significant moments of our lives and store them in the cloud. Is there a place for miracles in our high-tech world?
Believing people of different faiths will say with confidence: "Yes, there is!" In the life of every person there is a place for a miracle, but not everyone will notice it. Some inexplicable phenomena occur regularly with large crowds of people. This article describes several miracles that glorify God and the saints.
The convergence of fire on Easter
Yearly inOn Holy Saturday, the entire Christian world is preparing for a great miracle, which is broadcast on almost all Russian TV channels. Thousands of people gather in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, everyone is waiting for the Orthodox Patriarch. It is only through his prayers that the great sign of God's love for mankind takes place. The descent of the Holy Fire on the Holy Sepulcher is not only an Orthodox miracle, different confessions are gathered in the temple: Armenian, Syrian, Greek Orthodox, Coptic, Ethiopian and Roman Catholic.
Representatives of churches undress the patriarch, search him and the cuvuklia. Every effort is made to prevent fraud. The patriarch enters the room in an undershirt, holding a bundle of unlit candles in his hands, and begins a prayer. In the room of the Kuvuklia lies a massive granite slab, polished to a shine by hundreds of thousands of people who touch the shrine. After some time, flashes of fire appear on the surface of the plate.
The Patriarch lights candles from them and leaves the room. The fire instantly passes from candle to candle and spreads throughout the temple in an instant. Pilgrims noticed that sometimes the flame jumps from person to person on its own. The first time, about five minutes, the fire does not burn, allowing a person to "wash" with it.
Pilgrim testimonial dated 1993:
"The Lord our God Jesus Christ rewarded Vladyka Barnabas (the city of Cheboksary) with a trip to Jerusalem. There Vladyka Barnabas received God's grace through the descent of grace-filled fire on the bright Resurrection of Christ. When from Kuvuklia (the place of the Holy Sepulcher)the patriarch of Jerusalem came out with bunches of lit candles, then the blessed fire went from the candles of the patriarch of Jerusalem to the candles of Bishop Barnabas! Then the Patriarch of Jerusalem had to light candles from the fire of Bishop Barnabas. This fire did not burn for five minutes, and then the burning of candles became normal. Vladyka Barnabas received this mercy from God on the bright Resurrection of Christ - Easter 1993."
Church tradition says that the year in which the fire does not descend will be the last for people on the planet.
Beneficial cloud on Mount Tabor
For two thousand years now, on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, a cloud has appeared on Mount Tabor. This is a scientifically confirmed event for which there is no justification. The last survey was carried out in August 2010. Every year, on August 19, God works miracles on the territory of an Orthodox monastery.
What makes this phenomenon surprising is the fact that there are no clouds in Israel at this time of the year. Scientists took air measurements from several points around the monastery. Based on the analyzes carried out, the experts confirmed that the formation of a cloud in these weather conditions is impossible. Contrary to the claims of scientists, the cloud appeared.
This is what Tatyana Shutova, journalist, philologist, member of the scientific expedition says:
Without a meteorologist, such a study cannot be carried out. She pointed out what instruments needed to be purchased, and we bought portable weather stations to measure pressure, temperature and humidity, to determine the dew point. Got in touch withIsrael Meteorological Service. In the evening, having set up weather stations, we sat down among the many thousands of believers in the courtyard of the monastery, and Marina Makarova (meteorologist, researcher at the Hydrometeorological Center of the Russian Federation and the Phobos weather center) took weather data.
Greeks, Ukrainians, Georgians, Moldavians, ubiquitous Japanese and Russians all around. Marina said: “I don’t know what all these people are waiting for, but in such dry air at this temperature, fog cannot form!”
The purpose of the expedition was to record and describe the ongoing phenomenon and try to explain it from a scientific point of view. The scientific group set itself the task of measuring the process with the "algebra" of modern science - to measure humidity, dew point, pressure, air temperature, wind speed, and other meteorological parameters on the night of the holiday and the day before, in order to compare the "pre-cloud" and "cloud" parameters.
And Pavel Florensky (Professor of the Russian State University of Oil and Gas, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Chairman of the Expert Working Group of the Russian Orthodox Church on the Description of Miraculous Events):
For starters, satellite images of the mountain were studied on the designated day, August 19, and it was revealed that clouds begin to gather around the mountain at night. The phenomenon itself, according to the generalized data of informants, is gaining full strength closer to the morning. Further study of satellite images showed that the next day the cloud layer shifted towards the sea.
In the 17th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, it is said that Jesus Christ, along with the apostles Peter, James and John, ascended the mountain, wherechanged. "And His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. And, behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him." Perhaps in this passage we are dealing with an allegorical description of the consequences of the convergence of the cloud.
Whether these phenomena are of the same type has yet to be established. "Tavor light" - according to Christian tradition, the uncreated Divine light, which shone the face of Jesus Christ during the Transfiguration. It was this uncreated light that the apostles on Tabor saw at the moment of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, when his Divine glory was manifested.
Sergey Mirov (journalist and public figure, expedition coordinator) joins them:
“I didn’t understand much of what was happening, but I understood everything when the prayers of the Patriarch began to end and the sacrament of communion began. Suddenly there is general excitement: people wave their hands. We are enveloped in a mist from nowhere! Everyone around crosses themselves, I also do not lag behind and direct the camera lens into the thick of things. And… It can't be! The fluctuations of the foggy mass are clearly visible in the monitor window! The happy face of Florensky, the amazed face of Makarova … It was a miracle! Albeit not in that textbook form, but in all respects, the formation of fog under such conditions is impossible! And meteorology cannot give an explanation for this fact.
The miracle on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord is an indisputable fact, scientifically attested.
Miraculous icon
The beginning of the twentieth century, the Greek town of Messolongi was mowed down by a deadly flu epidemic. Dailybetween 25 and 50 people died. The virus was insidious, despite the best efforts of doctors, people died of dehydration within three days of infection. The same picture was observed in neighboring villages and small towns. The local authorities, realizing the scale of the tragedy, turned to the bishop with a request to send the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Prusiotissa" to Messolongi. This image is very revered by the Greeks.
The icon was transported by rail throughout the infected area. The first village that the Mother of God visited was the most "heavy". The epidemic claimed the lives of half the population of the village. In the first hours from the moment of arrival, the icons of death stopped, and the sick recovered. The authorities planned to leave "Prusiotissa" in the village for a few days, but people from other settlements asked to urgently give them an icon in order to stop the epidemic. In each village, the icon remained for three to four hours.
In November 1918, the inhabitants of Messolonga were waiting for the image of the Virgin. The icon arrived at Phoenicia station in the morning, and the inhabitants waited for it all night in the pouring rain. The local authorities tried to disperse the crowd of those who met, since a large crowd of people in an epidemic is not acceptable. But the inhabitants of Messolonga trusted the Mother of God more than the officials. They met the icon and with great reverence, in their arms, carried it to the town. The believers' expectations were justified, none of the participants in the procession contracted a dangerous disease. The procession through the streets drove the infection out of the city, the sick recovered, the epidemic stopped.
In gratitude to the Mother of God and in memory of the miracles of protectionGod's Orthodox Greeks presented the monastery with a superbly executed menorah. They made a copy of the miraculous icon and placed it in the church of the holy martyr Paraskeva. The documented testimonies of participants and witnesses of these miracles of God in our time are kept in the city archive of Messolonga.
Willow in December
Another inexplicable event that repeats annually, on the feast of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos. The power of God is truly incomprehensible to the human mind. On the night of December 3-4, willow blossoms for 20-30 minutes. This happens shortly before midnight. This can be easily checked, just go to any bush half an hour before midnight and look. If the willow is not touched, it will close at twelve o'clock. If you break a branch, it will remain blossoming.
Blood of Saint Januarius
The holy martyr came from a noble family and early became a Christian. During the reign of the Roman ruler Diocletian, Januarius visited the deacons Sosius and Proclus thrown into prison, celebrating the Divine Liturgy with them. During one divine service, he was seized by the Roman legates. Then the prisoners were tortured: they were thrown into the oven, but the fire did not harm them. After an unsuccessful burning, they were given to the animals to be eaten, but the animals did not touch the saints. In the end, Diocletian got tired of this and he gave the order to cut off their heads. Januarius was only thirty years old at the time of his execution.
In the middle of the fourteenth century, Catholics showed the world an ampoule with the blood of a saint. Hermetically sealed vessel with brownpowder, which several times a year turns into a liquid state. Spectral analysis of the ampoule showed that there is blood inside. But it is impossible to make more detailed studies, since the Catholic Church does not give permission. Scientists are still arguing about the nature of the blood of Januarius: is it related to the miracles of God or a chemical reaction unknown to science?
Appearance of the Virgin in Egypt
The Blessed Virgin Mary throughout the history of Christianity has marked many places on the planet with her visit. In the middle of the last century, She was noticed in the suburbs of Cairo on the ridge of the temple of St. Mark. Faruk Mohammed Atwa, who noticed a female figure standing on the edge, thought that a mad woman had climbed to the top of the temple with the aim of suicide. However, looking closer, he realized that this was the appearance of the Mother of God.
The Blessed Virgin stayed on the roof for about half an hour. A crowd gathered at the walls of the temple, someone even called the police. The investigation showed that access to the roof was closed. From this, the investigators concluded that one of the miracles of God and His Most Pure Mother takes place here.
And the waters will turn back…
From the Gospel it is known that during the Baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist, the Jordan River flowed in the other direction for some time. Another confirmation of the miracles of God on earth, witnessed by thousands of pilgrims, has occurred in our time. During the consecration of the water, two bishops from different banks simultaneously threw silver crosses into the river. The water suddenly began to boil and the current went in the other direction. The phenomenon was observed by about five thousandman within minutes.
Snakes celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin
On the Greek island of Kefalonia, to the temple where the miraculous icon of Panagia Fedus is located, small poisonous snakes with black crosses on their heads crawl from all around. This event can also be attributed to the repeated miracles of God. Snakes do not react to the presence of a person, do not harm anyone. People are also not afraid of such unusual neighbors, the holiday unites everyone.
Snakes are very fond of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, they crawl on it during the festive service. After the service, the reptiles leave the church and return to their natural habitat. And then it is better not to touch them: snakes are deadly for humans.
Flowering icon of the Mother of God
The place of the annual miracle is the same island of Kefalonia in Greece. On the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, parishioners bring white lilies to the temple, in memory of the one with whom the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin. The attendants put bouquets into the kiot of the icon of the Mother of God "Panagia-Krini" and leave them without water. The lilies are drying up because Greece has a hot summer. The Feast of the Annunciation is celebrated on April 7.
Five months later, in August, the Orthodox celebrate the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin. On this day, a small earthquake occurs on the island every year, although seismic activity has not been observed in this area. After that, it rains, and snakes crawl to the temple. Icons bloom on dry stems of lilies in an icon casedelicate white flowers. After the Liturgy, a prayer service to the Mother of God is served, then wonderful flowers are distributed to everyone.
Flowering icons in Odessa
You don't have to go to Greece to see lilies. Another regular miracle happens in the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Kulevcha, Saratsky District, Odessa Region. Parishioners bring lily bulbs for Easter, which they put in the kiot of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Soon, thin shoots stretch to the face of the Blessed Virgin. Bulbs, without water and air, without human intervention, bloom on the Trinity. The image of the Virgin is bordered by delicate flowers. If the appearance of sprouts can still be assumed, then scientists cannot explain the unusual form of flower growth.
A large number of pilgrims come to see the miracle. In addition to lilies, there are four myrrh-streaming icons in the temple: the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God, the Kasperovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, the Calvary Cross, the icon of Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia.
The relics of Alexander Svirsky
Only two people in history have been honored to meet God in three persons. The first case known to us from the Bible is immortalized by Andrei Rublev in his famous Trinity. The Lord in the form of three travelers appeared to the Old Testament Patriarch Abraham in the oak forest of Mamre before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The second contemplator was Alexander Svirsky, the only saint who saw God in Three Persons in the New Testament.
The life of an ascetic is full of secrets and mysteries. For example, in the nineteenth century, the icon "AllRussia wonderworker Alexander Svirsky" from nature. His relics are still incorruptible, the hair, nails and skin of the saint have been preserved. That is, he looks the same as in life. This inexplicable phenomenon made it possible to write a miraculous face from nature.
