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I am curious if there have been apparitions to Byzantines as there have been to Romans (i.e., Fatima, Lourdes, La Salette, etc.)
Forgive the ignorance in this question, but I really would like to know.
Also, what about private revelations that have spurred devotions/conversion in the East? (i.e., Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Rosary, Devotion to the Sacred Heart, etc.)
I know in the East there are weeping/bleeding/oil-exuding icons. And I am assuming (without doing the homework) that Our Lady of Perpetual Help is from a private revelation/apparition.
Again, I would like to learn more about these type of experiences in the East.
Thanks,
God Bless
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And I am assuming (without doing the homework) that Our Lady of Perpetual Help is from a private revelation/apparition. This Orthodox icon was stolen and smuggled from Crete and ended up in Rome. The icon eventually fell into the hands of the thief's physician. The physician�s wife placed the image in her bedroom and then claimed to have received a series of visions from the Theotokos telling her to stop hoarding it. After her daughter claimed a similar vision, the wife donated the icon to a religious order (the Augustinians). So, yes, you are correct - their are claims of private revelations/apparitions associated with this icon, but only after it fell into Roman hands. ~Isaac
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In doing my readings it seems that there are apparitions in the Eastern Churches, however they seemed to be treated differently.
In reading Mountain of Silence, I get the distinct feeling that Eastern Catholics (including the Orthodox) tend to keep apparitions more to themselves. They seem to be more reluctant to speak about them and have to be urged to speak on them.
John Gibson
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John,
Mountain of Silence sounds like an interesting title. Is is about miracles? What's it about?
I wonder why they would be reluctant to talk about apparitions? It's a shame, because there is nothing more convincing than having the Mother of God/Jesus give witness to your faith. Many conversions have come from these miracles, even from athiests.
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I wonder why they would be reluctant to talk about apparitions? Perhaps in the east the reasoning is that private apparitions are just that � private.
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They are not so private when the message is for all of humanity - as was the case at Fatima, with miracles all 70,000 present could see. Or like miraculous healings at Lourdes.
I'm really looking for something in the east that started conversions from hardened sinners the way the above mentioned Heavenly visits have done.
These events have made more believers than anything else I know of - yet. Yet being the key, I really would like to know of more.
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They are not so private when the message is for all of humanity - as was the case at Fatima, with miracles all 70,000 present could see. Or like miraculous healings at Lourdes. Ah - now you're talking of both apparitions and locutions. I personally find it odd that at Fatima Our Lady is said to have appeared (apparition) to 70,000, but only spoke (locution) to Sr. Lucy. Appearing to 70,000 by definition precludes such an event from being a 'private' apparition but rather a 'general' apparition. The same however cannot be said for the purported locution(s). If the locution(s) at Fatima had been 'general' in nature, then they would properly have been imparted in a 'general� fashion, not privately. There are instances in the east of just such 'general' apparitions and accompanying 'general' locutions imparted by Our Lady � witness the events recorded in the Akathist: �Veil of the Theotokos, Our Lady of All Protection.� This particular akathist commemorates an apparition of Our Lady, which took place on October 1, 911 A.D., at 4 AM, when the Mother of God appeared above all the people and prayed aloud in the crowded Church of the Theotokos at Blachernae in Constantinople, during an all night vigil. As recorded in tradition: �Our Lady held in her outstretched hands a long veil. Witnessing this while standing in the rear of the Church, Saint Andrew, �the Fool for Christ,� turned to his disciple Epiphanios and said, "Do you see how the Queen and Lady of All is praying for the whole world?" To which Epiphanios replied, "Yes, Father; I see it and stand in awe." No private locution here � Our Lady prayed aloud for the �whole world� while appearing before all present at the all-night vigil (and as is recorded, this was a standing-room only vigil). Contrast this to the private apparition and locution of Our Lady experienced by St. Romanos � both of which were meant specifically for him and were directed specifically to him: �Saint Romanos was assigned to lead the singing one evening at the All-night Vigil [again, at the Church of the Theotokos at Blachernae]. To put it charitably, St. Romanos was less than gifted when it came to singing and after everyone had left, he remained in the Blachernae Church and tearfully entreated the Mother of God to help him. Exhausted, he fell asleep with his sorrow. In answer to his prayer, the Mother of God appeared to him in a dream. She handed him a scroll and said to him gently, "Here, eat this." Romanos did so and awoke, overcome with joy and the lingering presence of the heavenly visitor. The rest is history � St. Romanos went on to be called �the Melodious� and became one of the preeminent hymographers of the Eastern Church.� ~Isaac
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Thank you Issac!
Now I have someplace to start. How wonderful that The Mother of God prayed out-loud in front of all the people and for all the world. A rarity and special grace indeed.
I would love to hear of more.
God Bless!
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Have you heard about Soufanieh. http://www.soufanieh.com/ The visionary and stigmatist Myrna Nazzour who lives in Soufanieh, has many gifts. She has an icon that exudes oil, and sometimes the oil also exudes from. She has had apparitions of the Virgin Mary and Christ, and she has also recieved the stigmata. Click on the icon on the website I posted above to enter the site, and then pick your language from the side menu to find out more.
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Also, just as Isaac mentioned a lot of times the apparitions are meant for a particular problem or a special need. In that case it is meant for the edification of a person, a warning, or as a means of help in a particular problem. An extra example would be St Irene Chrysovalantou who had an apparition of the Virgin Mary and St Basil when she needed help with one of the nuns in her care. See here: "At that time a young and beautiful novice came to the convent through a calling to follow the Lord rather than to be married and live in the world. But the devil incited her previous fianc� with such a passion that to retrieve her he had recourse to a magician. Weaving his spells in distant Cappadocia, this wizard caused the young girl to lose her mind and threaten all the time to drown herself. Lamenting her neglect of this young lamb, the saint received the power to defy the devil in this struggle. So she assembled the community, explained the situation and ordered everyone to fast for a week, make 100 prostrations a day and pray continually for an understanding of God�s will. On the third night of this discipline, Irene had a vision of St. Basil the Great advising her to take the novice to the convent of Vlachernae where the Mother of God would heal her. Arriving at that place with two of the senior nuns, they were so exhausted that they all fell asleep during their first all-night vigil of prayer. While Irene slept, her vision continued. A pilgrim procession appeared all clothed in white and golden robes and shinning with a strange and unearthly light, scattering flowers and incense on the path behind them. When Irene inquired to their purpose, they replied that the Mother of God was approaching. At that moment Blessed Mary (the Theotokos) appeared surrounded by hosts of angels, with such a radiant countenance that no one could look at her. She first visited the sick and then came to Irene who fell at her feet in fear; while lying there she heard the All-Holy One first call to St. Basil of Caesarea (in Asia Minor) and from there to cure the young girl, for as she said, �My Son and God has given you this power. Irene then awoke with the message, �Return to your convent and within three days your novice will be healed.� So she disclosed her vision to the others and they all departed in great joy, arriving home just in time for Friday Vespers. After Vespers she instructed the whole community to lift their eyes and hands to heaven and with all their heart to cry, �Lord, have mercy.� After many hours when the church was wet with tears, the voices of Basil and Anastasia said to Irene, �Stretch out your hand, accept the gift and do not trouble us any more.� The package which miraculously appeared contained all the evil magician�s aids, among them model idols of the nun and her ex-fianc�. They gave thanks to God during another all-night vigil and in the morning sent the sick nun back to Vlachernae with an offering of holy bread and all the magical aids. After the Divine Liturgy there, the priest anointed her and then solemnly burnt the satanic objects. As they were consumed by the flames the suffering patient was released from her invisible bonds, and the idols cried out from the fire like pigs anticipating slaughter. The nun and all who were present were filled with holy fear and gave thanks to the Lord Who had delivered her in such a wonderful way. " From http://www.serfes.org/lives/stirene.htm You might also want to check this site, because oftentimes apparitions in the Eastern church are connected with a specific icon. If you click on the names of the different icons on the side bar you will find the story of most of the icons, where you will find out about more apparitions http://www.angelfire.com/nh/milleniumikons/
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I think that perhaps my favorite �eastern� apparition would have be that of St. Michael at Chonae as commemorated in a portion of the akathist to �Saint Michael the Archangel, and All the Holy Angels.� To quote an excerpt from an introduction to the akathist: This akathist commemorates the ministry of Saint Michael throughout history and references his fourth century appearance in response to the prayers of Saint Archippus and the miraculous protection the mighty Archangel bestowed while guarding the Church of St. Michael the Archangel at Chonae (also spelled Khony).
As recorded in tradition, this Church was built to shelter a miraculous spring located near Hierapolis in Phrygia (near ancient Colossae, located in present-day Turkey). Its waters had come forth after a prophecy given at that place by Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Philip the Apostle. They both prophesied that a healing spring would gush forth at that place and that Saint Michael the Archangel would one day appear there. Soon afterwards, the spring appeared and many came to be healed in its waters.
Sometime later, Saint Michael appeared in the dreams of a wealthy pagan from Laodicea, whose daughter was mute. The Archangel Michael urged him in the dream to take his daughter to the spring. When he arrived, the wealthy man found a large gathering of Christians and asked them how his child might be healed, to which they replied, �In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, you must implore the Archangel Michael.� This he did while dipping his daughter into the waters and she was healed. The man, his daughter, and his entire household were then baptized and instructed in the faith. In thanksgiving, the wealthy man had built over the spring a Church dedicated to Saint Michael.
As the fame of the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel and his healing spring spread, the pagans of the region did not much appreciate the presence of this Christian holy place and the pilgrims it attracted. To do away with it, they constructed a dike to alter the path of a nearby river in order to flood both the Church and its spring. As the dike neared completion, Saint Archippus, a man who had settled there and served as the Church�s sacristan for over sixty years, implored Saint Michael�s aid. The mighty Archangel then appeared and opened a gaping fissure in the rocks just in front of the Church. The redirected river plunged through this fissure and both the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel at Chonae and its miraculous spring were spared. The word Chonae itself means, �plunging,� and it is from this event that the place received its name. Both the icon and the akathist remind us of how the Archangel Michael and All the Holy Angels deliver those who ask of their aid in times of distress. Below is an icon of the apparition of St. Michael and his miracle at Chonae. [ Linked Image] Below also is an icon depicting the apparition of the Holy Protection of the Theotokos as mentioned earlier today in my previous post. (St. Andrew and Epiphanios are depicted in the lower right quadrant of the icon.) [ Linked Image] ~Isaac
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Oh, how wonderful...
"For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit (of God), so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have finished preaching the gospel of Christ. (Romans 15:18-19)
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I know of apparitions in the Greek Orthodox Church, both private and communal, (and in my family no less). But most of the time it is in the form of crying icons, with either tears or myrhh. I have a piece of cotton from an icon that has the most pleasant scent of myrrh with just a slight tinge of roses. The miraculous thing is that when placed next to fresh cotton, the fresh cotton will absorb the smell, and eventually become oily...yet, the container holding it, no matter what it is made of will not absorb the scent. I just love smelling it!  Zenovia
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