A $20 print of Jesus and Mary, once a humble second-hand purchase, has unexpectedly become the focal point of a fascinating international mystery.
This journey began in Toronto, Canada, where the print, a copy of a centuries-old Orthodox icon, was acquired more than 15 years ago. It now resides in a small Russian Orthodox church in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Recently, this inexpensive find has captured global interest for reasons unrelated to its cost.
Initially, locals assumed that the humidity was simply affecting the materials. However, parish priest Father Nectarios Yangson observed something extraordinary.
Father Nectarios shared in a letter to his parish: “During the last week of September, I began to notice an unbelievably strong smell of myrrh, at home, in my car, even at work. I couldn’t explain it,” he noted. “We were afraid. We asked one another if we had recently cleaned or anointed the icons, and both of us said ‘no.’”
What followed was extraordinary: a bead of fragrant oil appearing on the knee of baby Jesus, identified as myrrh, a resin mentioned in the Bible, began to seep from the print inexplicably.
The New York Post reported that images and videos showed the liquid pooling beneath the frame and soaking into the cloth beneath it.
Witnesses described the scent as a powerful aroma of roses, compelling even the priest’s cat to investigate.
Since then, believers have been drawn to the Holy Theotokos of Iveron Russian Orthodox Church, viewing this occurrence as a miracle.
The faithful report that the substance has cured ailments such as blindness, paralysis, chronic pain, and even cancer, as claimed in Father Nectarios’ letter.
In 2008, the Russian Orthodox Church officially declared the ‘Hawaiian Iveron Icon’ miraculous, allowing Father Nectarios to share it with churches globally. He has since displayed the icon in over 100 locations across the US and Europe, where millions have paid homage to it.
Father Nectarios remarked: “Some days have been completely dry, while on other days they are covered in myrrh. Yet whether they stream or not, they continuously give off an extremely strong scent of roses.”
He added: “It is truly a great miracle! I sometimes wonder if it is a warning.”