(A story of Thaddeus Bens, Moscow representative of the Valaam Society of America)
In September of 1997 Alla Dyakova of Moscow was given a large copy of an icon of the Tsar-Martyr by the St. Herman Brotherhood. On May 6/19, 1998 a procession was held in Moscow to commemorate Tsar Nicholas’ birthday. At this time the icon began to emit a strong fragrance. More than a hundred people witnessed this. One week later the icon was still emitting a fragrance and a moleben was served before it.
The second testimony concerns another large copy of the same icon, which had been received from the St. Herman Brotherhood by Fr. Juvenaly, the head priest of the St. Nicholas Almshouse in Ryazan. (Fr. Juvenaly is now building a church in honor of the Tsar-Martyr.) Fr. Juvenaly gave this icon as a blessing to a Moscow surgeon, Dr. Oleg Ivanovich Belchenko. On August 23/September 5, 1998 the icon began to exude a fragrant scent. The next day, a Sunday, Dr. Belchenko took the icon to the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow and showed it to Fr. Nicander, who was serving a moleben at the time. The icon was placed on an analogion at the side-altar dedicated to St. John the Forerunner, and an akathist to the Royal Martyrs was sung. Afterwards all those present smelled the strong fragrance coming from the icon. After the service Fr. Nicander took the icon into the main altar where it remained for three weeks and continued to emit its fragrance. Then Dr. Belchenko took the icon back to his home, but many people began to hear about the miracle and wished to venerate the icon. Since his home was too small, he took it to Alla Dyakova’s flat on October 16/29. An akathist to the Tsar-Martyr has been sung there each day since then. Up to twelve people (both clergy and laymen) visit her each day to venerate the icon.
On October 25/November 7 — Demetrius’ Saturday, as well as the anniversary of the bloody Bolshevik Revolution — Alla Dyakova phoned me and said that myrrh was streaming along the front edges of the case covering the icon. Alla said that she and Dr. Belchenko had been sitting and talking in her flat when the icon began emitting an extremely strong fragrance. A cloth had been placed around the top and along the sides of the icon case. When the doctor went over to the icon, he fell to his knees when he saw that myrrh was streaming down both sides of the front of the case. The size of the case itself is 15 by 17 inches. There were four streams on the right side of the case and two on the left. The streams did not flow straight down, as one would imagine. They originated in their respective corners at the top of the icon case and zigzagged downwards, moving closer and closer to the Tsar as they flowed.
I went to Alias flat, where I met Hieromonk Longinus and another monk from the Moscow metochion of the Solovki Monastery. We all witnessed this myrrh on the icon case. Even when it was wiped off with cotton, drops began forming again. The flow of myrrh on that day began at 12:28 p.m. and lasted until 4 p.m. The fragrance has continued since that time.
The following information comes from a book "Miracles Of Royal Martyrs," published in St. Petersburg, Russia.
"One of our parishioners, Yelena D. recounts of how she was childless for many years. She sought advice of different doctors, but they could hold out no hope.
"Her prayers were particularly often addressed to the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia, not only because of her deep reverence for them, but also because she remembered the miraculous bestowal of the Royal successor upon them after many years of holy matrimony.
"Once in her dream, she had a vision of the Tsar himself, in a blooming apple orchard, who, amid the blossoming trees, his face radiant uttered the words of consolation, which she could not remember. However, when she woke up, his words were perfectly clear. She was to give birth to a child.
"Today, she already has two children."
So, what do you think about these stories?
