Crown of thorns not made by hands miraculously appears on icon of St. Seraphim of Vyritsa

The icon was painted in the autumn of 2016 and brought from St. Petersburg. The board was made from a pine tree that grew on the grave of St. Seraphim’s parents, Nikolai Ivanovich and Khionia Alimpeivna, at the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Spass-Ukhra of the Yaroslav region. The tree which grew up between their graves became too large and was cut down. It dried over the course of ten years, after which icon boards were made from it. This particular icon was written on one such board last year by a nun from Diveyevo Monastery. It was decided to send the icon to Igumen Mitrophan in Varzuga, but he became the bishop of Severemorsk, so the icon was sent there.

However, by that time there was a “defect” on the icon—a bright circle had appeared on the cross on St. Seraphim’s monastic schema. The painter suggested perhaps there was a knot in the wood of the board, but the carpenter who made the board stated that there had been no knots. By the time of the icon’s arrival in Severemorsk, the circle had clearly turned into a painted crown, hanging on the Cross.

The miraculous appearance of the crown of thorns hanging on the Cross of Christ is obvious to all and the joy of this wondrous grace from God is felt by all who pray before the icon.

At the moment the icon is publicly displayed in the Severemorsk Church of Sts. Sophia, Vera, Nadezhda and Lyubov.

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