The following incredible story you are about to read, dear reader, is a true and undisputed event that constitutes a great blessing from our Panaghia (the All-Holy Virgin Mary). Before we begin, we should perhaps point out that the miracles that we, like many other Orthodox Christians, have lived in our own lives can fill a thick tome, and if we also include the personal stories of our neighbours alone, we reach the size of two large books. However, the Orthodox do not need miracles but place them inside their heart to help them in their struggle, because the faith is pre-determined by the Chief Cornerstone and not by miracles. Thus we base miracles upon the faith and not the other way around. Thus, if the reader disbelieves, we do not aim here to try to convince them, for the Truth of Christ shines through Orthodoxy without a single event. Nevertheless, as we have said in the past, many official miracles in Orthodox countries like Greece, for example, are usually not disputed even by atheists! For instance, the Holy Myrrh-Gusher Saint and protector of Thessalonica, Demetrius, oozes miraculously myrrh all the time. This has been certified even by scientists as a true miracle. Not even atheists dare deny this, for they are all welcome to go to Thessalonica to the temple of the Saint and see for themselves and try as hard as they like to find if there is a trick! The number of continuous miracles, constant impossibilities either of myrrh-gushing or of nature (e.g. in the village of Vasta in Peloponnese) are so numerous that one really needs to be blind to continue being an atheist (at least in Greece).
And millions of these events, dear reader, most of which you will never hear of because they do not always become known everywhere, and sometimes they are personal events (for example, we know of three great miracles that have happened to three Orthodox members of our Announcement List in the past few years!) are blessings from Christ Who acts in His Church, that is also particularly blessed in this way to be able to produce miracles catholically whereas no other Christian confession can. With the exception of special events in the lives of individual people, who still call upon His name and Christ helps them, the "churches" have no grace in their totality. If the Papics or Protestants try to bring the Holy Light in Jerusalem during one Pascha, they will not be able to. The Papics in fact tried in the past and failed; as did the Monophysites, of course, who, despite the constant signs from God against their heresy since the Synod at Chalcedon, insist on their heresy due to unrepentance and are now in "discussion" with some pseudo-Ecumenists, who are of course oblivious to all but their rationalism.
