About miracles (+VIDEO)
Why did Christ ask people about their faith before performing a miracle? Can miracles be harmful to us? Should faith be confirmed by miracles? And how to distinguish genuine miracles from false ones? Archpriest Oleg Stenyaev answers.
Today we will talk about miracles. People love to talk about miracles. When someone hears about some miracle, they immediately want to share this news with others. But in the Church, first of all, they paid attention to the miracle of faith. The miracle of the moral rebirth of man, which looked, in the understanding of the holy fathers, as something more significant than the miracle of the resurrection of the dead, the miracle of the healing of the sick and other miracles.
Thus, the Monk Macarius of Egypt wrote about miracles:
“Now, after the sign of the cross, grace acts in such a way and pacifies all the members and the heart that the soul, with great joy, is likened to a gentle baby and a person no longer condemns either a Greek, or a Jew, or a sinner, or a layman, but the inner man looks at everyone with a pure eye , and rejoices over the whole world, and in every possible way wants to honor and love the Greeks and Jews. At other times he, the son of kings, trusts so firmly in the Son of God as in a father. Doors open before him, and he enters into many monasteries, and as he enters, doors open before him again in proportionate numbers, for example, from a hundred monasteries to another hundred monasteries, and he becomes enriched; and to the extent that he is enriched, new miracles are shown to him.”
As we see, in the understanding of St. Macarius of Egypt, a true miracle is a miracle of moral rebirth, when a person, having achieved certain moral positions in his life, discovers some new universe, which he hastens to enter. Thus, it is said about Moses in the book of Exodus that when he climbed a mountain, he suddenly found himself at the foot of another mountain, as if a spiritual mountain; and, having ascended Sinai, he felt that completely new horizons of the Divine were opening up to him.
Moses receives a revelation on Mount Sinai in front of the elders of Israel. Mosaic of the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna
The Lord protects man’s free will, therefore a miracle is always God’s response to man’s faith
The Lord protects the free will of man, therefore a miracle is always a response to the manifestation of precisely this free will: only when a person confesses Christ as his Lord can Christ begin to act in the life of this person. Even when people ran to Jesus Christ asking for help, He asked them if they had faith. Why did He ask that? So that a miracle does not destroy a person’s free will. A miracle must be something organic, natural in a person’s life, corresponding to the level of his faith. That is why in ancient times there were more miracles, but now there are much fewer of them: the level of faith has decreased.
If the Lord invaded our reality with a cascade of miracles, this would mean violence against our free will. On the other hand, this would not be necessary. So, for example, St. John Chrysostom writes: “Miracles are offered for unbelievers, not for believers. An infidel, given the opportunity, will treat miracles with contempt.” That is, a miracle, in a sense, is also a crutch for doubters. And Christ once said: “When you do not believe Me, believe My works” (John 10:38). And we, Christians, believe not because He convinced us with a cascade of miracles, but first of all because we loved the Lord with all our hearts, with all our thoughts and with all our strength.
“What is needed most of all is a heart sensitive to goodness. And if it does not exist, then the signs will be of no use.”
And one more quote from the works of St. John Chrysostom: “Where are those who seek signs now? Let them hear that what is most needed is a heart sensitive to goodness. And if it does not exist, then the signs will be of no use.” These words of Chrysostom echo the statement of St. Macarius of Egypt, which we cited above. It is absolutely necessary to experience the miracle of moral rebirth. And if this does not happen, then an external miracle can hardly help in any way.
Moreover, let's remember that the Bible talks about the miracles of the last miracle worker - the Antichrist. In the Revelation of John the Theologian we find the following words: “And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. He acts before him with all the power of the first beast and forces the whole earth and those living on it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed; and performs great signs, so that fire comes down from heaven to earth before people. And with the miracles that he was given to perform before the beast, he (that is, the Antichrist - Archpriest O.S.) deceives those who live on the earth, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast, which has a wound from the sword and is alive" ( Rev. 13:11–14). As we see, the last miracle worker, the Antichrist, will perform great wonders and signs. And those who base their faith in miracles not on moral regeneration, not on love for the Lord, but on some external effects, risk being fascinated by the miracles that the Antichrist will perform.
Photo: Emil Gataullin / Expo.Pravoslavie.Ru
The miracle of faith is truly the most amazing miracle. I know people who would like to have faith in God, but they don't have it, and they don't know how to find it. And at the same time, we, Orthodox Christians, know from the Bible that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). The Word of God reaching each of us is the miracle of the Divine presence. And in the days of the earthly life of Christ the Savior, His life is the Word of God, Who became flesh and dwelt with us, full of grace and truth. And, although we were not witnesses to His earthly life, in the Holy Gifts, tasting His Body and Blood, we partake of those miraculous changes from the Lord that can happen in our lives in such a way that the miracle of our moral rebirth will become a kind of objective reality for us. Therefore, we must realize the significance of the spiritual aspects when miraculous manifestations of Divine grace occur in our lives. And do not pay attention to external miracles, some effects that the world offers us, including for the purpose of seducing us.
The Holy Fathers emphasized: a true miracle is the acquisition of faith by non-believers
And the holy fathers emphasized: a true miracle is not to raise the dead, a true miracle is not to heal a sick person, a true miracle is when an unbeliever becomes a believer, when a pagan becomes a Christian, when a heretic becomes Orthodox. It is this miracle of faith that we must seek for ourselves and for others.
Of course, the world will always chase after external miracles. Father Seraphim (Rose) once wrote a book about the future religion of the Antichrist (“Unified Religion of the Future”), where he talks about these demonic miracles that are becoming a reality for many people in the modern world. Thus, he describes the effect of flying saucers, when the devil and demons create, as it were, their own religion from the back door. But Father Seraphim (Rose) draws attention to the meaninglessness of those contacts that people allegedly have with aliens. He gives an example of how a plate flew towards an American farmer, humanoids climbed out of it and began to teach this American farmer how... to feed his chickens. It's hard to imagine that aliens flew so many light years to teach a farmer how to feed chickens. Most likely, this is a devilish mockery of a person in order to amaze him with something miraculous, not related to moral conclusions and spiritual rebirth.
Therefore, a true miracle is one that changes us, and a false miracle is one that leaves us in the state we were in before, and even plunges us into a state of superstitions and complexes.
Orthodox Life
For several months, the icon of the Mother of God streams abundantly in the monastery.
Archimandrite Agapit (Shpinyak) near the myrrh-streaming icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Look at Humility”
Since ancient times, Christians have believed that through the flow of myrrh, God shows His mercy to people in order to strengthen their faith and enlighten them in difficult times. And today, icons continue to stream myrrh, showing people the real miracle of God’s love. Such a miracle in the Mukachevo diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Look at Humility” from the Seletsky St. John the Theological Monastery, on the surface of which myrrh has been abundantly appearing for several months now.
The details of this miraculous phenomenon were shared with the Orthodox Life portal by the abbot of the monastery, head of the diocesan youth department, Archimandrite Agapit (Shpinyak).
– Father Agapit, when were the first drops of peace noticed on the icon “Look at Humility”?
– This was first noticed in the monastery on March 29, 2021, during the singing of an akathist. Drops of peace flowed down on both sides of the image of the Mother of God. The fact of myrrh-streaming was witnessed by our bishop, Metropolitan Theodore of Mukachevo and Uzhgorod.
Metropolitan Theodore changes the cotton wool in which the ointment was collected
– And since then the icon has been continuously streaming myrrh?
- Yes. And I can say – it doesn’t just stream myrrh, but streams myrrh abundantly for several months. The Lord has already changed the cotton wool from the inside, thoroughly saturated with the world, twice. Myrrh even spills onto the icon case, so cotton wool is laid on it too, and is changed almost every other day.
– Where does the cotton wool soaked in myrrh go after replacement?
“With the blessing of the bishop, we collect it, divide it into small pieces so that there is enough for everyone, put it in tightly sealed bags and distribute it to believers: people take it to hospitals or to their homes, as a shrine, because the cotton wool is saturated with peace.
Separating cotton wool soaked in peace
– As you said in one of your interviews, the icon was painted by the hierodeacon, who carried out obedience in the monastery. Tell us the story behind this image.
– The original icon of the Mother of God “Look at Humility,” with which the icon in our monastery was painted, is located in the Vvedensky Monastery in Kyiv. It is known for being reflected on the glass of the icon case without the help of human hands.
Our icon was created about 6-7 years ago. With the blessing of Bishop Theodore, a list of icons of the Most Holy Theotokos was compiled that needed to be painted for the monasteries. According to this list, the image of the Mother of God “Look at Humility” was supposed to appear in the Seletsky Monastery. Having received the blessing, Hierodeacon Prokhor began work. This is how the most revered icon of the Mother of God appeared in our monastery.
The miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Look at Humility”, with which the image for the Seletsky Monastery was painted
– How do they determine whether the icon is streaming myrrh or is there another, scientifically explainable reason for the appearance of moisture on the image? Is an examination needed or is it enough for the bishop to acknowledge the fact of myrrh streaming?
– Myrrh-streaming is a miracle of God. In the Orthodox Church, it is sufficient for the bishop to recognize this fact. In the Seletsky Monastery, the fact of the icon’s myrrh-streaming was immediately witnessed by the Bishop. The extraordinary smell of peace that spreads from the icon cannot be described in simple words.
– How to treat myrrh streaming correctly? Some people are afraid of such phenomena and consider them a harbinger of troubles, while others are sure that this is a sign of God’s grace.
– This is a rather difficult question. The answer to this can be found in the Gospel, when one of the apostles, to the phrase: “Until I see, I will not believe,” replied: “Come and see.”
Now is a very difficult time for the Church and the state. And every believer, who has his own hopes and preferences, faces sin, fights with it in order to receive the crown of the Kingdom of Heaven. We search, make mistakes, stumble, and then we come and see what the Mother of God does - she shows Her love, protection, and support to a tired, confused, insecure person. What is this if not the grace of God? And it is noticeable not only in the monastery where the myrrh-streaming icon is located, but also beyond its borders.
Metropolitan Theodore anoints a believer with myrrh from the icon
Many people from Ukraine and abroad, having learned about the myrrh-streaming of the icon in our monastery, come to venerate the image. The number of pilgrims is growing daily. Children, elderly people, sick people come...
– Are there cases of help for those who pray at the icon, and if so, are records kept about them?
“Such cases were first noticed and described by people themselves, and they turned to us. Now testimonies of help and healing are entered into a special journal in dioceses so that we all remember the grace of the Queen of Heaven.
We must also understand that help comes to the person who turns to God with all his heart and asks for it.
Interviewed by Elena Sukhinina,
especially for the portal “Orthodox Life”
