The Metropolis released the following statement on September 10, 2019, regarding the Icon of the Virgin Mary in the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago.
The Metropolis asks the faithful to remain vigilant and reminds them that while it is indeed possible to experience the divine through temporal objects, our faith rests not on “signs,” but on Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1: 20-25).
Read the full statement below:
On Sunday morning, September 8, 2019, the icon of the Most-Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary on the iconostasis of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago
was discovered, by an employee of the parish, to appear to be weeping. In such cases, Orthodox clergy know to immediately inform their bishop so that he may take appropriate steps to discern the nature of the phenomenon. When similar events were discovered in the Metropolis in the past, such news was not shared until months later in order to discern that what was observed was truly a sign from God.
Unfortunately, appropriate discernment was not used in this particular instance, and an announcement was hastily posted on Facebook, which subsequently led to negative
public attention.
In order for the Church to lend its official voice to this event, the Holy Metropolis of Chicago has asked the parish for temporary possession of the icon. After a period of
prayer and examination, the Metropolis of Chicago will return the icon to the Holy Trinity parish and will issue an official statement on the nature of what was observed.
The Metropolis of Chicago asks the faithful to remain vigilant and also reminds them that while it is indeed possible to experience the divine through temporal objects, our
faith rests not on “signs,” but on Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1: 20-25).
- Source: chicago.goarch.org