Miracle on a Budget: The $20 Mary-and-Jesus Print That Drips Myrrh and Claims to Heal the World
In Honolulu, a bargain-bin Mary-and-Jesus print—bought for $20 and reportedly rescued from a Toronto bargain bin—has become a focal point of what believers call a miracle. The image sits at the Holy Theotokos of Iveron Russian Orthodox Church, and it is said to be dripping myrrh, the resin associated with healing. Myrrh is a fragrant resin the Wise Men gave to the infant Jesus; today, many followers say it can cure chronic pain, blindness, and cancer. Fifteen years ago, Father Nectarios Yangson wrote of an unbelievably strong smell of myrrh 'at home, in my car, even at work. I couldn’t explain it.' A bead of myrrh emerged on the left knee of the baby Jesus in the icon. "We were afraid. We asked if we had recently cleaned or anointed the icons. We hadn’t," the clergyman added. The replica, based on a Montreal original, has since been 'streaming' the biblical resin.
In This Article:
Bead Emerges, Scent Spreads: The Stigmata of Myrrh
Photos were snapped by Father Nectarios and shown to fellow priests. By the next Sunday service, the congregation was diving in, scooping up the myrrh as if it were holy candy. The priest described the scent: 'Some days have been completely dry, while on other days they are covered in myrrh.' And he added, 'Yet whether they stream or not, they continuously give off an extremely strong scent of roses. It is truly a great miracle! I sometimes wonder if it is a warning.' In 2008, the Russian Orthodox Church gave the affordable Iveron icon its official stamp of approval, allowing Father Nectarios to hit the road with it. Since then, he’s paraded the sticky wonder to over 100 churches across the U.S., Europe, and beyond, drawing millions of believers along for the ride.
Ancient Bread, Modern Faith: A 1,200-Year-Old Jesus on a Burnt Loaf
Case in point: archaeologists in Turkey unearthed a burnt loaf of bread dating to the 7th or 8th centuries AD that bears the face of Christ. The Karaman Governorship announced the holy carb on Facebook on October 8, leaving believers and history buffs floored. Dating back to the 7th or 8th centuries AD, this holy carb is one of five charred loaves recently dug up at Turkey’s Topraktepe archaeological site, the ancient city of Eirenopolis. Photos show the blackened crust with a faint image of Christ, along with the inscription: 'With gratitude to the Blessed Jesus.' Even a millennium later, it seems someone baked their faith right into the crust.
What Do These Signs Say About Faith Today?
Across oceans and centuries, people seek tangible signs of the divine in ordinary objects—the modern, resinous myrrh icon and the ancient, crusted loaf. The stories reveal a tension between belief and evidence, devotion and scrutiny, and the enduring hunger for miracles in a modern world. What do you think? Post a comment.
