In the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos and Saint Nicholas in Churkin, in the Astrakhan region, which is located on one of the small islands of the Volodarsky District, 59 icons exuded myrrh. The miracle happened last year in 2014, when the first icon - that of the Imperial Family of Tsar Nicholas II Romanov - exuded myrrh on June 22nd, specifically from the images of the Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra. On the day of the murder of the Imperial Family - July 17 - the other five martyrs of the family represented on the icon also exuded myrrh. This icon was painted seven years ago by the artist Vladimir Voronkov from Astrakhan.
Then the other icons began to "weep", among which are Sts. Seraphim of Sarov and Joseph of Astrakhan. On November 26th, the feast of St. John Chrysostom, tears appeared on the icon of the Three Hierarchs - Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian. In all, to date, 59 icons of the monastery have exuded myrrh.
In the film that you can watch below, a novice of the monastery said that the fragrances are different depending on the category of saints depicted on the icons: fathers, monks and martyrs. Word has now spread beyond the region throughout Russia of this miracle. Healings have occurred, particularly of cancer and alcoholism. But first, a monk recalls that these events are a reminder to every believer to reconsider their life and repent.
"Perhaps change is coming or a serious test, and thus the Lord is strengthening people in their faith. There is also a view that the icons begin to stream where people have lost faith in God, and therefore he sends them signs," — said Monk Mitrophan.
Yet some believe the miracle is connected to the history of the Monastery. It appears for the first time in documents in 1568. In 1919 the Monastery was closed, and in buildings outside the walls there was founded a children’s orphanage. In 1930 the bell-tower was demolished with the church of the monastery, and the bricks were brought to the village of Volodarsky for the construction of the fish factory. Subsequently in the buildings of the Monastery there was housed a boarding school, a sanatorium, a tuberculosis hospital, and even a mental hospital that was closed in the early 1990's. To revive the Monastery it reopened only in 2004.
