The Great Miracle in Syria, and the Convent of Our Lady of Saidnaya

Greetings!
The account of this truly amazing miracle has been told in numerous places, but I thought to
include it here also in case you haven't heard it yet. It should be a testament to the fact that our
Faith is truly alive, and that the great miracles of the scriptures and the traditions of the Church
are not fabrications, and that wonders that equal or exceed them continue to occur. For as Christ
said, "Lo I am with you always, until the close of the age."

Picture of the Holy Monastery of the Theotokos of Saidnaya (taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saidnaya)
The text of the story was taken from: http://www.pigizois.net/agglika/the_miracle_in_siria.htm.
"In December 2004 a Saudi Arabian man, a Moslem, appeared before several new agencies to
relate the following incredible event he experienced and which changed his life (this story
appeared on TV, the Internet, radio, and was circulated in newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets
throughout Saudi Arbia, Syria, Palestine, and evidently in all neighboring countries.
Some years ago, this man married a very rich Moslem woman but sterile. As the years passed,
and despite all their efforts and significant medical expenses with many doctors, they remained
childless. The man's parents suggested to him that he marry a second woman, while upholding
his initial marriage (as the local laws permits up to four concurrent marriages).
Being exhausted, worried, and downhearted, he did not accept his parents' advice but rather
chose to vacation with his wife in Syria. There, they hired a limousine with a driver who would

serve as tour guide fro all their site-seeing excursions throughout Syria. As the vacation
progressed, the driver noticed that the Saudi Arabian couple was experiencing bitterness, pain,
and grief. Having gained familiarity with the couple, the driver cautiously asked them whey they
appeared to be so unhappy-was it perhaps because he was not conducting the tour to their
satisfaction?
The couple confided to the driver that the source of their unhappiness was their inability to have
children. The driver who was also a Moslem, then told them that in Syria the Christians,
specifically the Orthodox Christians, have a monastery named Panagia Saidnaya (Arabic word
meaning Our Lady) and that many people who can't have children take refuge to Her miracleproducing icon. They go to the monastery and there they are given to eat, the wick form the lamp
which burns before the miraculous icon. And then the "Mary" of the Christians gives them
according to their faith, what they wish for.
Becoming excited, the Saudi Arabian and his wife asked the driver to take them to the monastery
"Saidnaya" of "The Lady of the Christians" and said that if we have a child, then I will come
back and I will give you $20,000.00 US and, I will give the monastery $80,000 US. So they went
to the monastery and did as they were instructed. Later they returned to their homeland and after
some time the wife was found pregnant. In a few months she gave birth to a charming baby boy.
It was truly a miracle of Our Lady Theotokos.
Now, as soon as his wife gave birth the Saudi Arabian man wanted to return to Syria to uphold
the promises he had made. Upon his return he called the same driver and asked to be picked up at
the Damascus airport. But the driver was cunning and wicked and he persuaded two of his
friends to go to the airport with him to pick up the rich Saudi Arabian man and to take his money
and kill him. So they picked up the rich man at the airport and he, as they drove, without
realizing that they had planned to kill him, told the friends of the driver that he would give them
also $10,000 US each.
These men still not satisfied, deviated from the route to the monastery and went to a deserted
place and proceeded to slay the Saudi Arabian man and to cut off his head and other parts (hands
and legs) of his body into pieces. Blinded by passion and overcome by the horrific act that they
just committed, they put the man's remains in the trunk of the car rather than just leaving him
there. After taking his money, watch, and all that he had, they proceeded to find another deserted
place to discard the remains.
Then on the National highway, their car broke down and stopped in the middle of that road. The
three men got out to determine why the engine had stalled. Then a passerby stopped to help them
but they, afraid that their terrible act would be discovered, pretended that they did not need any
help. But as the passerby motorist was leaving, he noticed blood dripping from the rear of the
vehicle and he called the police to investigate because the scene and the three men looked
suspicious. The police came and they saw the blood under the car and on the pavement so they
ordered that the trunk be opened.
Well, when the opened the trunk, lo and behold, the Saudi Arabian man lifted himself out,
obviously and amazingly alive and in good health, saying to them "Just now this PANAGIA

finished stitching my neck, right here (showing them the area of his Adam's Apple), after first
stitching up the rest of my entire body". Seeing this, the three criminals immediately lost their
minds-becoming like mad. The police handcuffed them and as they were being taken away to an
asylum for the insane, the criminals started raving that it could not be possible that the Saudi
Arabian man whom they killed, beheaded, and dissected could yet be alive.
The Saudi Arabian went to a medical facility to undergo examination by doctors and medical
examiners who confirmed and attested that the stitching was done very recently, thereby
validating the miraculous event. The stitches were, and still are, obvious. When the Saudi
Arabian came out of the car's trunk, he had the appearance, literally, of just having been
refabricated (put back together) to which he continuously confessed that they PANAGIA had
rejoined his body and resurrected him with the help of her Son.
Immediately after this, the Saudi Arabian called his relatives to come to Syria and they all went
together to the monastery of Panagia Saidnaya and offered up prayers, praises, and glorification,
and instead of the initial gift of $80,000 US (which was promised), he gave $800,000 US to the
Theotokos.Today, as this man relates the details of that overwhelming miracle, he starts his
narration with "When I was a Moslem this happened to me" this indicating he is not longer a
Moslem, as neither is his family.This miracle stunned with awesome surprise the entire
Arabic/Moslem nation and all of the Middle East.
'LIVES LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD OF HOSTS' (Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher,
Patriarchate of Jerusalem)By Father Ignatios, AbbotHoly Monastery of The ShepherdsBt AhurBethlehemGREAT LENT, MARCH 2005
Submitted and compiled by Very Rev. Archimandrite Nektarios SerfesBoise, Idaho USA. Eve of
the Ascension of Lord, 8 June 2005. Glory to God for all things! Most holy Mother of God, save
us! Peace to your souls! Humbly In Our Lord God,+Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes Who prays
for you!"
The following information about the Monastery are taken from: http://saidnaya.com/:

Mosaic from the Moastery showing the Most-Holy Theotokos and Christ, and most-likely the
Emperor (Justinian) and Empress (taken from: http://homepage.mac.com/hobwahid/Syria_Photos/PhotoAlbum102.html)
"The Story of the Construction of the Convent
It is said that Justinian I, Emperor of Byzantium, while crossing Syria with his troops either on
his way to the Holy Land or on a campaign against the Persians, came to this desert, where his
army encamped and soon suffered thirst for lack of water. When they despaired, the emperor saw
a beautiful gazelle off in the distance. He vigorously gave chase, hunting the animal until it tired
and stopped on a rocky knoll and approached a spring of fresh water, but without giving the
emperor the opportunity to shoot it. Suddenly, it transformed into an icon of the Most-holy
Theotokos, which shone with a brilliant light. A white hand stretched forth from it and a voice
said, "No, thou shalt not kill me, Justinian, but thou shalt build a church for me here on this hill."
Then the strange heavenly light and majestic figure disappeared. Upon his return, Justinian
related what he had seen to his subordinates and ordered them immediately to draw up a plan for
the contemplated church. After some time had passed and the architects were unable to resolve
the problems of the plan, the Holy Virgin the gazelle reappeared to Justinian in a dream
and confided a magnificent plan to him for a convent, of which she would be the Protectress. It is
said that the basic structure of the convent follows this plan to this day. The convent soon gained
such renown that it came to be ranked second only to Jerusalem as a place of pilgrimage, and
nuns from every corner of Syria, Egypt, and other lands flocked to it. The holy Icon El Chagoura
appeared many years after the convent was constructed. "

Holy and Miraculous Icon of the Theotokos of Saidnaya (taken from:

http://www.impantokratoros.gr/8299EA31.en.aspx)

"The Icon of the All Virgin

In the late eighth century, a certain venerable Marina was abbess of the convent, and she was
widely revered for her piety and sanctity of life. It happened that a hermit monk, a Greek pilgrim
from Egypt named Theodore, stopped at the convent on his way to the Holy Land. When he was
leaving, Abbess Marina asked him to buy in Jerusalem a precious and fine icon of the Holy
Virgin. While at Jerusalem, he utterly forgot the task entrusted to him and started on his return
journey. However, when he had not gone far from the city, he was stopped short by an unfamiliar
voice: "Have you not forgotten something in Jerusalem? What have you done in regard to the
commission from Abbess Marina?" Monk Theodore returned at once to Jerusalem and found an
icon of the Theotokos. During the journey back to the convent, he was astounded by the miracles
accomplished through the icon. He and his whole caravan were ambushed by bandits, and then
attacked by wild beasts. Amidst these dangers, the hermit always invoked the aid of the Holy
Virgin while holding her icon, and he and all the caravan were saved from every peril.
When Theodore returned to the convent, these events tempted him to keep the valuable icon for
himself, and he decided to bypass Saidnaya and sail back to Egypt. However, he was unable to
set sail, for such a fierce storm arose, it seemed the ship would inevitably sink. His conscience
was pricked, and he quickly left the ship and returned by way of Saidnaya. After spending four
days in the convent, he was again possessed by an irresistible desire to make the icon of the
Mother of God his own. He apologized to the abbess, pretending that he had been unable to buy
the required icon, and then he decided to leave the convent secretly. The next morning, as he was
about to set out on the journey back to his own country and approached the convent gate, he was
amazed to find that an invisible power barred his way, and it was as though a stone wall stood
where the gate should have been. After many futile attempts, he was forced to hand the icon over
to the abbess, confessing his intention. With tears of gratitude she glorified the Lord and His Allpure Mother. Since that day, the holy Icon has remained in the convent and has been the object of
great veneration."

A more detailed view of the Mosaic of the Theotokos and Christ above (taken from:
http://homepage.mac.com/hobwahid/Syria_Photos/PhotoAlbum102.html)

Great are you, O Lord, and wonderful your works, and no word is adequate to sing the praise
of your wonders. Glory to you, Lord, glory to you!
(http://www.anastasis.org.uk/megagiasm.htm)

Tone 2.
A fervent prayer, and wall most unshakable A merciful spring And shelter of all mankind;
Fervently, we cry to you: Theotokos, our Lady, Come to us And from all dangers now deliver
us The only protection who speeds to us.
(http://www.goarch.org/chapel/chant/paraklesis/index_html)

Modern reproduction of the Wondrous Icon of the Theotokos of Saidnaya

(http://www.stjosephmelkitecatholicchurch.org/icons_of_our_lady_the_theotokos/theotokosofsaydnaya.jpg)

Most-holy Theotokos, save us!

Blessings Please read about what happened to the Nuns in Syria.

Miracle of Holy Theotokos in the Christian town of Saidnaya Exclusive
by OCP on January 26, 2014
in Featured News, News

A NEW MIRACLE AT SAIDNAYA

OCP News Service Exclusive

January 26/01/2014 Syria / Saidnaya:

A miracle by the Holy Theotokos was reported at one of the monasteries of

Saidnaya. This town is one of the most famous Christian inhabited and
pilgrimage places in the war torn Syria. The incident was told by one of the
Syrian Christian who visited her homeland recently. The ongoing civil war
has destroyed several Christian institutions and displaced thousands of
Christian families in Saidnaya.
The Miraculous incident took place last month when a rebel group fired
rockets at one of the monasteries. The Nuns inside the monasteries
experienced huge sound and vibration as part of the rocket launch. They
were sure that the rocket would kill them and also damage the monastery
complex. But nothing happened as they expected and the nuns wondered
on fate of the rocket.
A few days later one of the Military Generals from the Syrian Army visited
the monastery to convey Nativity and New Year greetings. During the
conversation the Officer asked whether the monastery experienced
anything unusual recently. The nuns told about the rocket which was fired
by some rebels at the monastery but did not strike them. The officer was
amazed to hear the same and he confirmed that even he saw the rocket
fired towards the monastery, but he along with some others saw something
very strange and unusual. The rocket was about to hit the monastery but
suddenly a women dressed in blue vestment appeared in the sky and took
the rockets by her hands and threw it away. This was great wonder to all of
them. The General wondered who that lady would be, who is dressed in
blue with amazing grace all over her. Finally they realized that it was none

other than the Holy Theotokos the mother of Christ our Good, Lord and
Saviour.