Miracle of the Panagia Saydnaya

I love hearing about the different miracles happening around the world and after Liturgy yesterday a few of us were discussing different miracles we've heard. There are so many different miracles to share!

Elder Joseph the Hesychast said that everyone should have a "favorite" icon of the Mother of God and we should look at it and pray for her intercessions everyday. My favorite icon that I carry with me is the Mother of God in Syria called Saydnaya. Two very dear friends who are from Syria brought it back for me after they visited there a few years ago, shortly after this miracle occurred. It is said to be one of the icons St. Luke wrote and the following miracle happened through her intercession. So I'm posting this miracle for you all to read! Post a comment if you play along so I can read yours!

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Holy Hagiotaphite Brotherhood of the Shepherds

"Glory to God in the Highest"

in Bet Sachur

Protos. Ignatius -- Abbot

In December 2004, a rich Moslem Saudi Arab appeared in the media and told the following vivid, soul-stirring event that he lived, and that changed his whole life: (he said this through television, radio, and it was also circulated in newspapers, magazines and leaflets in the whole of Saudi Arabia, Syria, Palestine; evidently in all neighbouring countries too.)

Many years ago he got married to a rich Moslem girl, who was barren. The years passed by, and they could not have children, even though they had a lot of money and they went to many doctors. His parents were telling him to marry also a second woman, and keep the first one, since their law allows them to have up to four women. The Saudi Arab, tired and quite sad, took his wife and went on holidays to our neighbouring from Israel country, Syria, in order for them to relax a little and forget themselves.

In Syria, he hired a limousine with a courier-guide that would drive them around all the worldly sights of Syria. The driver noticed a certain bitterness, pain and sadness on the face of the couple he was showing the sights to. After they got to know each other well, he took the courage to ask them why it was they did not seem pleased; could it be perhaps because of him, and they did not like something in his conducted tour, or perhaps it was something in the sights he showed to them?

Our Lady of Kykkos. They opened up to him and explained to him the problem of their childlessness. This Moslem driver told them then that here in Syria, the Christians, and in fact the Orthodox, have the monastery of Panagia of Saydnaya (which is Arab for Despoina - Lady) and many childless couples resort to her Miraculous icon. There, they receive a little from the wick of the lamp in front of her icon and chew it, then swallow it, and then "Maria" of the Christians, gives to them according to their good intention and faith.

Growing enthusiastic, the Saudi Arab and his wife told him: Take us there, to the Saydnaya, "the Lady of the Christians," and should the desired happen, if we have a child, I will come back and offer you 20,000 dollars, and 80,000 dollars to the monastery. They went thus to the monastery, did what they had to do, and when later on they returned to their country, his wife was found pregnant. In a few months she gave birth to a cute little boy, healthy and very handsome. A miracle of our Panagia.

After his wife gave birth, the Saudi Arab returned immediately to fulfill, to make a reality, the tama he had promised. He called that driver that had shown him around before, in order for him to wait for him at the airport of Damascus. The driver, though, turned out to be cunning and evil, and informed another two of his friends in order for them to go to the airport with him to receive the rich man, and then cunningly kill him and take all the money he would carry on his person. Indeed, that is how it happened. They picked him up at the airport. On the way, the unfortunate man, without knowing what awaited him, told them that because of his joy, he would give 10,000 dollars to each of the driver's friends (on top of the 20,000 dollars he had promised to give to the driver). These however simply changed course and instead of going to the Monastery, went to a secluded area, and butchered him, first cutting off his head and then the rest of his body, hands and feet, in small pieces. Their rage from this criminal activity blinded them, however, and instead of throwing him there and then, put him instead in the boot at the back of the car and started for another secluded spot to throw him there instead.

At some point after they got on the highway, however, the car broke down and they got out to see what had happened, why the engine was not working. A passing driver saw them, and stopped to help them. However, being afraid he might realize the terrible crime they had committed, they pretended they did not need any help. The passing driver though, while he was pulling back on to the road, realized that blood was dripping underneath the lower part of the boot, and when he got a little further down the road, informed the police to go and examine what was going on because these three had seemed suspicious to him.

The police soon got there, and seeing the blood on the road surface ordered them to open the boot immediately. As soon as they opened the boot, the Saudi Arab gets up and comes out, healthy, alive, bleeding of course, but stitched!!! "Just now", he told them, "Panagia did the final stitches, and sutures around my neck, right here ...", at this point he showed the mark in front of his Adam's apple on his neck, "... after having first stitched the rest of my body together".

The criminal driver and his companions lost their reason, went crazy, and after they were cuffed they were led to the psychiatric prisons. On the way, they would shout like possessed "we killed you, we chopped you into pieces, we cut your head off, how do you live?"!!!

The Saudi Arab went for authentication of the incredible miracle. He was seen by forensic surgeons, experts, policemen and they all testified for the authenticity of the miracle by signing ... The stitches were and still are evident. He looked newly-assembled! He would preach and confess at large that "Panagia stitched me, and resurrected me with the power of her Son". Afterwards, the resurrected called on the phone all his family and they came to Syria. They went to the Monastery, thanked the Theotokos and offered entreaties and doxologies, and instead of the amount of 80,000 dollars that the tama was before, they offered to the Monastery the amount of 800,000 dollars for the great benefaction that Panagia had offered him. He continually repeats today this shocking miracle that happened to him and always begins by saying: "When I was a Moslem, the following happened to me ...", confessing that he is not any more a Moslem, neither himself, nor his family ...

May God have mercy on us!