Myrrh-Streaming Icon of St. Anna

Fr. Athanasy Mastalski of Our Lady Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church in Philadelphia carries the myrrh-streaming icon of St. Anna..

In conjunction with the Six Days of Creation workshop in Louisville, Ky., July 23-29, St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church will host an Akathist service to St. Anna, mother of the Theotokos and grandmother of Jesus Christ, Monday, July 24 at 6 p.m. Fr. Athanasy Mastalski, pastor of Our Lady the Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church in Philadelphia, will bring the myrrh-streaming icon of St. Anna for the faithful to venerate.

Brief History of the Myrrh-streaming Icon of St. Anna

On May 9, 2004 (Mother’s Day in the U.S.), the icon of St. Anna, mother of the Ever Virgin Mary and grandmother of Our Lord, held at Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady the Joy of All Who Sorrow in Philadelphia, began to stream myrrh.

On that Sunday a parishioner reported to Fr. Athanasy, pastor of Our Lady Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church, that the icon seemed to be “perspiring.” Fr. Athanasy confirmed that visible liquid streams and droplets were emitting from the icon. Accumulations of the liquid were on the cuff on St. Anna’s left hand and on the left shoulder of her veil. Droplets also appeared on other parts of the icon. This fragrant, slightly oily liquid is commonly called “myrrh.” In November of 2004, myrrh began to stream from St. Anna’s eyes as though she were weeping.

Fr. Athanasy commissioned the icon in 1998 from an iconographer of the Mount of Olives Convent in Jerusalem where he had served in 1980-1981; it was blessed at the Holy Sepulcher of Our Lord in the Church of the Holy Resurrection and brought to Philadelphia.

Fr. Athanasy has had a special devotion to St. Anna since childhood. When he was seven years old, he fell from the second story of a building, fracturing his right arm. Doctors at the hospital where the boy was taken could not find a pulse in the arm and considered amputating it. The boy’s mother, a devout Roman Catholic, prayed fervently to St. Anna for her son. She quickly procured oil from a nearby shrine to St. Anna and applied it to her son’s injured limb. A pulse was soon detected and after a minor surgical procedure, the arm was completely healed. Fr. Athanasy attributes the saving of his arm to St. Anna’s intercession before the Throne of God.

The icon of St. Anna continues to stream myrrh that is collected on cotton at the base of the icon. Each year, the icon dries up during Passion Week, but resumes producing streams of myrrh on Pascha. It has been observed that the volume of myrrh increases on feast days and when many are gathered for prayer. Every August 7, the feast day of St. Anna, Fr. Athanasy celebrates Divine Liturgy and anoints the sick with oil from the icon. The parish has also obtained relics of St. Anna for veneration.

Many miracles and healings have occurred in the lives of the faithful who venerate the icon and are anointed by its myrrh. Ever since myrrh began streaming from this icon, many individuals and whole parishes have invited the icon of St. Anna to visit them. As guardian of the icon, Fr. Athanasy cannot accommodate the ever-increasing numbers of invitations because of his poor health. But he declares that St. Anna goes where she chooses.

By the Grace of God, Fr. Athanasy has recently experienced some relief from his ailments and he is able to bring this wonder-working icon to St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church on Monday, July 24. We are thankful that the monks of Hermitage of the Holy Cross in Wayne, WV., have generously offered to transport Fr. Athanasy and the icon from Philadelphia to Louisville and back.

Fr. Alexander Atty, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, encourages all who are infirm of body and of spirit to come to meet her.

Do not miss this opportunity to receive the mercies of God!