Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Icon of Russian Soldier Beheaded for Refusing to Renounce Orthodoxy Gives Myrrh in Church

The Interfax-Religion website reports today that an icon of Evgeny Radionov has started giving myrrh in St. Lukas Church in the Russian city of Penza. In 1996 Russian soldier Rodionov was beheaded in Chechnya -- a predominantly Muslim-populated state in Russia -- because he refused to renounce the Orthodox faith.

"Myrrh came out in two spots, in a palm of his hand and where one wears the cross," the church Rector Alexy Burtsev told journalists.

Burtsev said it happened during the All-Night Vigil on February 15. Parishioners, who stood behind praying, could smell a strange pleasant aroma.

The priest noted that on February 15, 1996, Penza-born Evgeny Radionov was captured in Chechnya; imprisoned for a hundred days; and when he refused to renounce his Christian faith, militants beheaded him.

No comments:

Post a Comment