[occalmnab]

I am just trying to track down some information regarded a purported miracle in Syria from late 2003. Supposedly a moslem man looking whose wife was barran sought the interession of the Theotokos at a monastery in Syria and promised to give generously both to the monastery and the cabbie who took him there if he and his wife got pregnant. She did and when he returned to pay his vow the cabbie and friends decided they wanted all the money for themselves took the man, murdered and dismembered him and threw the body pieces in the trunk so they could take them elsewhere for disposal. They broke down on the highway and police who were alerted to blood dripping from the car came to them but when the trunk was opened the murdered man stood up bloody but whole and declared the Panagia had just then finished putting him back together. The murderers went mad and the story caused a sensation in that part of the world. It has been picked up and reposed on several Orthodox sites from Boise to Serbia, to Russia.

Potentially very inspiring story if true however, I found one internet poster who said He could not verify any particulars of the story. He said he called the Sayeedna monastery in Syria and though they knew of the story they denied their involvement. He could not verify the reportage of the event with Syrian media, and he also said he could not find a Monastery of the Shepherds in or near Bethlehem or its supposed abbot Fr. Ignatius who supposedly first began diseminating the story. Yet on another site a poster also looking for verification said that he had called the monastery of the Shepherds and talked to Fr. Ignatius who was a little fearful of Muslim reprisals in the aftermath of the story but still confirmed it.

So my questions are...Is there a Monastery of the Shepherds in or near Bethlehem with some association with the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre? Was there or is there such a monk/abbot as Fr. Ignatius with that Monastery, if it exits. Would fear of reprisals (because of active and potential conversions)by Muslims lead Christians there to keep mum about such a miracle? And is there any independant verificataion or debunking of this story. Most of what I see is just repostings of the same story, and since I don't read Greek or Arabic, or Syrian I can't check information from those quarters.

Thus find myself curious, hopeful...but cautious in the interim. Any additional info?

Here is where I first saw the story: http://manastir-lepavina.org/novosti...s_boise_idaho/

[popsicesHoupe]

The website Bartholomew's Notes on Religion lists the same story, plus notes a curiously similar one (where the problem was not a barren wife but a 5-year-old child unable to walk). That other version came from the Lebanese Forces Official Forums website, and was listed along with a second miracle. The poster said he read about them both in the newspaper.

As for the monastery, there is indeed a Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Shepherd's Field near Bethlehem (the mailing address is in East Jerusalem), whose superior is Archimandrite Fr. Agnatios Kazakos. I found their website after a bit of Googling, but it has no mention of the miracle.

There is an article online by a man who spent some time researching this story and, while unable to prove it is false, says that the evidence he found points in that direction. However, since one piece of evidence he claims is that there is no Fr Ignatios in the monasteries around Bethlehem or at the Church of the Shepherd's Field, I must question his researching. It took me maybe 10 minutes of Googling to find Fr Agnatios, and the one-letter difference in names seems completely understandable and excusable to me.

I have found one or two blog/forum posts of people confirming this miracle to others who were questioning, but there wasn't enough information given to know if they had any personal knowledge or were effectively just saying "I believe it".

All the accounts I found seemed to derive from Archimandrite Nektarios' account, except for the one on the Lebanese Forces forum. That's pretty much all I could come up with (I can't read Arabic or other Middle Eastern languages either, so that limited my searching).

In Christ,
Michael

[LeslieMoran]

http://www.pigizois.net/afieromata/afieromata.htm

You will find three links regarding the miracle, the first is to scanned pages of Abbot Ignatios' account, the second is a Word document with the same text, and the third is an mp3 of the radio interview Abbot Ignatios gave regarding the miracle (all three are in Greek). There is also a pdf with some background to the convent with which this miracle is associated and a link to a page about the Monastery of the Shepherds

http://www.pigizois.net/agglika/agglika.htm

This link is to their English page where you can find links to English translations of the above.

The only other suggestion I have is that you learn Arabic then find an archive of Syrian newspapers from around the date of the miracle and start reading.

In Christ,

John

[popsicesHoupe]

After looking at the last of the scanned pages at the site John mentioned - the one with Fr Ignatios' signature and seal - I'm curious, to say the least. The signature and seal definitely say Ignatios, not Agnatios, but the Monastery's own website lists the superior there as Fr Agnatios.

Also, the seal itself looks curious. While the top inscription appears to say "Hieromonk Ignatios" in Greek, and I can't read the second line except for "twn" which is definitely Greek, the line under the cross looks like "P.O. Box 10024" or "P.O. Box 16024" in English, and the last line, while very difficult to make out, looks like it might start with "East Jerusalem" - again, in English. Odd linguistic mix, if that is indeed the case, but since I don't know what such a seal should look like, and can't be sure of my reading anyway, it's all speculation on my part.

In Christ,
Michael

[biannaruh]

I would not find it peculiar that both English and Greek are used in the wording on the seal, given that Fr Ignatios' monastery is in the Holy Land, where English would be a widely-understood language. If I'm not mistaken, the Greek postal service now recognises addresses written in the Latin alphabet, as well as Greek. The bottom line of wording on the seal may well be "East Jerusalem, Israel".

As for the name Agnatios, this name appears to be an Arabic variant of Ignatius/Ignatios.

[romalama]

I would not find it peculiar that both English and Greek are used in the wording on the seal, given that Fr Ignatios' monastery is in the Holy Land, where English would be a widely-understood language. If I'm not mistaken, the Greek postal service now recognises addresses written in the Latin alphabet, as well as Greek. The bottom line of wording on the seal may well be "East Jerusalem, Israel".

As for the name Agnatios, this name appears to be an Arabic variant of Ignatius/Ignatios.

on a greek site which i can't remember now, there was an excerpt from a greek church radio in which the woman speaker talks with a priest or something similar from the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and they talk on the same miracle.It was prineted on orthodox magazines as well.Also they talk of a miracle with an egyptian former muslim cleric, whose daughter was saved by a miracle of the cross.Also in a radio show of the church of greece they spoke with an archimadrate, not sure but I think an archimandrate, serving in the Jerusalem Patriarchate,he said that many miracles happen there now.He spoke generally and said about a young boy to whom angels appeared and even Lord giving the boy crosses and telling it to be baptised.The boy talked to the archimandrate and he said that many people are afraid to be baptized because of the muslims.Some people are baptized and leave the region for USA.So if you have connections there you could ask for orthodox christians eg immigrants, refugees ( for human rights) or young students in us universities .

Maybe in the greek archiodecese or the antiochean you could find more info.I have heard of the case of an ex muslim, now orthodox christian by miracle,there is a how do they call the death notes of islam fetvas? or something like it and they're hiding in usa.

Some of these stories are not heard for people's safety, but they say that many miracles happen and that many muslims want or are baptized orthodox christians.It happens also in Turkey, have u heard of cryptochristians? Some turks also have become orthodox christians.Because of the political instability in Turkey the turkish army lately declared christianity as an enemy of the state, not officially of course, because a military report said that in the next 20 years up to a 1/3 of the turkish population could become christians and thus threatening the character and uniformity of the cosmical kemal state.Maybe u heard of the murder of a catholic priest the burnings against catholics in smyrne izmit in turkish if I remember it right.The zelotic american evangelists preaching in Turkey, the cosmical regime was annoyed by them and even the State Department warned the turks not to harm them.A story: a cleric from greece went to Constantinople and met with a cleric of the patriarchate.they travelled with a small ship like those who make small voyages in Bosporus between the two sides of the city like taxis or buses.They were having a general talk, and en route somewhere, a turkish woman approached them and asked for blessing or kissed their hand?She said in turkish, the cleric of the patriarchate spoke turkish, that she was a hiding orthodox christian a cryptochristian but on the next stop she left the ship withouts saying names or more.Didn't Elder Paisios say that all the prayers or candles lit under the earth in turkey that soon would be lit or done above the surface?( not in hiding).
That turkish army report of 1/3 possibly becoming christians in an open turkish society, like if turkey was a EU member caused some steer here in greece because many said that it bears similarity to the Saint Cosmas's prophechy of 1/3 of them being baptised.They say that maybe we are near in these things to happen, they also mention of what Elder Paisios said on Turkey and Constantinople and many expect these things in this generation.This is a bit off topic.
If you can talk in Usa privately with members of the higher clergy or with libanese palestinean syrian orthodox christians living in usa you'll hear amazing things.These are not openly talked not "for the fear of jews" but for the fear of muslims.Also I have heard the story of a sister an orthodox nun in a woman monastery in Attiki athens jewish in origin from israel.Her family treats as if she is dead for them, and maybe she became orthodox nun due to a miracle but I don't know more on these.We are slowly living this change, maybe we are towards the years who will lead to the rise of Orthodoxy again.The fathers here in the forum community I am sure that know something more on these through an Elder a Starets or through personal experience.Some fathers are of Russian orthodox church outside russia and I'm sure they have been informed by elders or enlighted mothers or fathers from russia on this.Here in greece some frightening rumors are heard around on quick developments but I can't say or give credit to them because I can't verify them.

[occalmnab]

It would be wonderful to see the Turks...or any significant protion of them coverted as it would be good for those who wish to become Christian openly in the holy land to have that opportunity. But as good as such things would be, it is hard to see how they can come to pass without at least some blood...but then that is the seed of the Church.

[Marat]

This is a bit late sine I only recently joined but the monastery is:

http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Convent_...dy_of_Saydnaya

I have heard many talk back Greek radio programs discuss this miracle and the reason why it is hard to find information is because when the news of the miracle spread they family and the monastery have had many security issues (fear of extremists).

The man who is the center of this miracle avoids being interviewed and avoids public media in general - although the Greek media have managed to engage him once I think ...

Again, perhaps the lack of information is for their security and in some ways we are not helping them out. I often wonder how our curiosity to know things puts other people into danger ... perhaps we should consider how much we should post over the internet but its an impossible exercise to control!