VATOPEDI MONASTERY NOVITIATE DID THE UNTHINKABLE! In a moment of spiritual darkness, he struck the very face of the Most Holy Mother of God with a knife
There are between 200 and 260 million Orthodox Christians in the world, most of them in the Balkan countries, Russia, and Greece, where faith and tradition still live to the fullest.
TL;DR
- The 'Esfagmeni' icon in Vatopedi Monastery depicts a 14th-century event where a monk attacked the Virgin Mary's face with a knife.
- Blood flowed from the icon's wound, and the monk was blinded and suffered mental distress.
- After three years of sincere repentance, the monk's sight was restored, and he was forgiven by the Virgin Mary.
- Upon the monk's death and subsequent exhumation, his right hand, used for the sacrilege, was found to be completely black and incorruptible, preserved next to the icon.
- This event serves as a warning against uncontrolled anger and sacrilege, while also demonstrating the boundless mercy of the Virgin Mary towards true repentance.