Faithful honor St. Anna at St. Tikhon’s Monastery celebration
Many faithful joined Archimandrite Sergius and the brotherhood of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery, South Canaan, PA, for their annual Saint Anna Day celebration on Sunday, July 26, 2015.
The focus of the celebration was the myrrh-streaming icon of Saint Anna and the Mother of God, which has been enshrined at the monastery since the fall of 2012.
The day began with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, followed by a pot luck dinner in the monastery dining hall. At 2:00 in the afternoon, a Molieben was sung, together with the Akathistos Hymn in honor of Saint Anna. After a festal procession, the faithful came forward to venerate the icon. All were anointed for spiritual and physical health.
The icon—formerly enshrined at the Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady, Joy of All Who Sorrow Church, Philadelphia, PA—began to stream myrrh on May 9, 2004. Archimandrite Athanasy, the parish’s Rector, noticed visible liquid streams and droplets. Accumulations of the liquid were observed on the cuff of Saint Anne’s left hand and on her left shoulder veil. Droplets also were found elsewhere on the icon. This fragrant, slightly oily liquid, is commonly referred to as “myrrh.”
Commissioned by Father Athanasy at the Russian Orthodox Convent on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, the icon was completed in 1998 and blessed at the Holy Sepulcher in the city’s Church of the Resurrection. According to the monastery web site, “assistance and healings are still wrought by the miraculous icon and she continues to work wonders for those who approach with faith.”