Commemoration of the Miracle of the Icon of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Beirut — October 11 / October 24 (Julian Calendar)

On this day, October 11 according to the Julian Calendar (October 24 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates the Miracle of the Icon of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Beirut.

At the fourth session of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787), Bishop Peter of Nicomedia, to prove the necessity of venerating icons, cited the account of Saint Athanasius concerning a miracle that took place in the city of Berytus (present-day Beirut).

In this city a certain Christian lived near the Jewish synagogue. Later he moved elsewhere and left an icon of Jesus Christ in his old dwelling. The Jew who settled there did not notice the icon, but a fellow Jew who came to visit noticed it, rebuked his friend, and denounced him at the synagogue. The Jews took the icon down from the wall and began to blaspheme it: “As our fathers once mocked Him, so shall we mock Him,” they cried; they spat upon the Saviour depicted on the icon, struck it with a whip, and reviled it. They drove nails into the hands and feet, struck the head with a reed, and put a sponge soaked in vinegar to the lips. Finally they brought a spear, and one of them pierced the Lord’s side. From the pierced icon blood and water suddenly gushed forth. The rabbis who witnessed this miracle said: “The followers of Jesus Christ claim that He healed the sick. Let us take this blood and water to the synagogue, anoint the sick with it, and see whether what they say is true.”

When they learned of the wonders, the people of Beirut who were tormented by various illnesses hastened to the holy icon: some were led, others were carried, and all were healed by anointing with the blood that had flowed from the icon. The astonished Jewish priests and all the people believed in Christ. “Glory to Thee, O Christ, crucified by the hands of our fathers and crucified also by us in the form of Thine icon. Glory to Thee, O Son of God, worker of so many wonders! We believe in Thee. Be merciful and receive us!” prayed the awestruck people. They went to the Bishop of Beirut, showed him the wonderworking icon and the blood and water that had flowed from it, and confessed their crime. When the hierarch saw the sincere repentance of the sinners, he received them, enrolled them as catechumens, and after long preparation baptized them. The synagogue was consecrated as a church in the name of the Saviour, and at the people’s request the other synagogues of Beirut were also turned into Orthodox churches and consecrated in the names of holy martyrs.