Reader Daniel Olson traveled by car from Washington to Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, in upstate New York, in order to pray at the grave of Joseph Muņoz-Cortes, the guardian of the Myrrh-streaming Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, on the occasion of the fortieth day after his demise. He arrived at the Monastery on Monday towards the evening of the 8th of December (1997), and he learned to his chagrin that the Panichida had already been performed. Daniel had expected that the Panichida would take place on Tuesday, since it had been announced in our Washington church that the fortieth day would fall on the 9th of December.
Daniel asked Hieromonk Averky to serve one more Panichida the following day, the 9th of December. In the evening of the 8th of December, Daniel met Matushka Maria Potapov and Maria (Shala) Rae, who had arrived at the Monastery from Washington on Saturday, the 6th of December. Daniel informed them that he had ordered a Panichida and invited them to join him.
On Tuesday, at the appointed time, Matushka Maria, Shala and Daniel set out with Father Averky for Joseph's grave. Snow had fallen; it was cold and windy. On Sunday, the 7th of December, three ordinary wax candles - two large and one small - had been stuck into the ground on the grave by Elena Sergeevna Golitzine-Navarre (one of the founders of the "Icon's House" society), Matushka Potapov and Shala. Two small candles had been left earlier on the grave by someone else. The women had attempted to light all the candles that were on the grave, but unsuccessfully; the wind prevented this - a common occurrence at the Monastery cemetery, which is situated on a hill. On Monday, before the beginning of the public Panichida, the women pilgrims had again attempted to light the candles. A candle would burn a few seconds and would be extinguished because of the wind. Some of those praying there advised them not even to attempt to light the candles since, unprotected from the wind, they would, all the same, not burn.
On Tuesday, the 9th of December, Daniel also attempted to light the candles. But, as also on the preceding days, the candles burned only two seconds in all and went out. The day was so windy that Daniel could not light a match in the open air in order to ignite the charcoal for the censer. Father Averky advised him to go to the automobile, where the wind would not interfere, and prepare the censer there.
While Daniel was occupied with the censer, Father Averky related to Matushka and Shala the following remarkable incident, bound up with Joseph's burial. Hieromonk Averky suffers from a diseased spine and was preparing for an unavoidable operation, and because of this, he was not present at the whole funeral and could only come to the church for a brief time and bid farewell to the martyred Joseph's body. Father Averky's cell is situated on the ground floor of the Monastery bell tower. After the funeral, when Joseph's coffin was carried out of the church and began to be carried in procession to the cemetery, Father Averky came out of his cell in order to observe the funeral procession at a distance. At this time, he felt a powerful aroma of myrrh.
During Father Averky's account, to the great astonishment of Matushka Potapov and Shala, all five candles ignited in one instant. The women pilgrims were so shaken by what they saw, that they could not utter a word. All five candles burned for at least fifteen minutes, after which the three small candles went out, while the two large candles continued to flicker during the course of the whole Panichida. The wind blew strongly, and it seemed at times that the large burning candles that remained would also be extinguished at any time; but the flame returned again and again.
After the Panichida, which had begun at 11:15 AM, Matushka and Shala went to the trapeza. At 1:00 PM, Matushka returned with Shala to Joseph's grave. The candles continued to burn! A feeling of consolation, grace and gratitude to God came upon them. In an hour, they returned to the grave and again saw the candles burning. They took several photographs of the candles burning in the snow. It is interesting that all attempts to light the small candles from the flame of the large candles were unsuccessful.
The time to depart arrived. On the way, they stopped at the Monastery in order to inform Father Luke that the candles continued to burn.
At about six o'clock in the evening, Father Luke went to the cemetery and saw that the candles were still burning - six and a half hours after they had ignited by themselves. It was dark. Father Luke relates that, at his visit to Joseph's grave, the candles had reached the size of two inches, but were still burning - the flame was below the level of the snow.
In this way, in the windy Monastery cemetery, two candles, put up on the martyred Joseph's grave, flickered about seven hours. The next day, Father Luke was again at the cemetery and reported that the candles had burned till the end.
This took place in the evening of the 17th of December, 1997. The Parish Council had held a session in the parish hall. At the end of the session, the rector, Protopriest Victor Potapov, related to the members of the Council some of the circumstances surrounding the murder of Joseph Muņoz-Cortes and the disappearance of the Myrrh-streaming Icon and shared the fact that he had just finished writing a letter to Metropolitan Vitaly regarding this. Father Victor then invited the members of the Parish Council to the church in order prayerfully to ask the blessing of the Mother of God on the dispatching of his epistle.
While people were assembling in church and Father George and Protodeacon Leonid were vesting, Father Victor went into the altar in order to take out a copy of the Iveron Icon-a large-size re-production glued on a board and acquired at one time at the icon shop of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville. The image had belonged to Father Victor's grandmother, and he had received it after her demise. Father Victor took up the icon in the dark and brought it out to the central analogion. When he put the image on the analogion, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that something shone on its surface. During a more thorough examination of the icon, Father Victor noticed a drop of liquid, which, beginning from the breast of the Mother of God, streamed down like a tear. At first he thought that in the darkness he had accidentally knocked the holy water sprinkler, which was in the altar next to the icon; but when he touched his finger to the liquid, he understood that it was not water, but a fragrant myrrh. Father Victor took the icon to the candle stand, where a group of people stood, and under a bright lamp showed them the image and asked: "Do you see what I see?" At that time, drops appeared in still other places.
Some of those who had assembled called acquaintances and told what had happened, and soon about forty persons assembled in church. After a Moleben with an Akathist to the Mother of God, a requiem Litia for Joseph was served.
The icon was left for the night on the altar table. The following morning, Father Victor checked the condition of the icon. He did not notice any traces of new myrrh.
On the 19th of December, after the Liturgy on the day of the commemoration of Hierarch Nicholas the Wonderworker, Father Protodeacon Leonid Mickle told a group of Orthodox Americans about the miracle, and when he showed them the very icon, a fresh drop of myrrh was noticed on it. Priest George Johnson served a Moleben with an Akathist in English. Since that time, the icon has not streamed myrrh any more.
Not far from Holy Trinity Monastery lives a servant of God, Peter Nelson by name. He has poor eyesight, and he cannot read without eyeglasses. On the 8th of December, Peter was praying at the Fortieth-day Panichida for Joseph Muņoz-Cortes, and he discovered, somewhere in the middle of the service, that he had not put his eyeglasses on and had been reading the words of the Panichida without them. The words on the pages of the book with which he was following the Panichida were clear to the utmost. This inspired him. This clarity of vision continued for two days - during this time he could read the smallest type without difficulty.
Truly - Wondrous are Thy Works, O Lord!
January, 1998