Some faithful see a divine sign after a caretaker at a Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Chicago’s Northwest Side witnessed what appeared to be tears streaming from the Virgin Mary’s eyes.
In fact, the Holy Metropolis of Chicago issued a statement, stressing that, 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.
The Holy Metropolis also pointed out that “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.”
The Metropolis of Chicago asked believers to remain vigilant, stressing that faith rests not on “signs,” but on Christ crucified.
It should be noted, however, that the Church finds itself in serious economic difficulty and is due to go to the competent court on Tuesday morning.
Church officials said that a bank rejected a loan request after the church was not able to secure $ 1.6 million in pledges in an effort to save it.
You can read the full statement issued by the Metropolis of Chicago:
A Statement by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago Regarding the Icon of the
Virgin Mary in the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Chicago.On September 10, 2019, the Metropolis of Chicago made the following statement:
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).
