Yes. Some icons are miraculous.
But we need to be careful what we mean by that. The power isn’t in the wood or paint. It’s not like the icon itself has magic properties. God chooses to work miracles through certain icons because it pleases him to do so. The icon becomes a channel of his grace, a place where heaven touches earth in ways we can see and touch.
St. Theophan the Recluse put it plainly: “Some icons are miraculous because it so pleases God, but the power is not in the icons, or in the people turning to them, but the mercy of God.” That’s the key. We’re not venerating the icon because we think the board and pigment can heal us. We’re approaching the person depicted, Christ, his Mother, a saint, and God responds through that meeting point.
What Makes an Icon Miraculous?
Sometimes an icon streams myrrh. Sometimes healings happen when people pray before it. Sometimes there are other signs that get the Church’s attention. About 95% of myrrh-streaming icons depict the Theotokos, which makes sense when you think about it. She’s the one who made the Incarnation possible. Her body was the first place heaven and earth met in Christ. So when God wants to remind us that he still dwells among us, he often does it through icons of her.
The Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God has been streaming myrrh since 2007. People have witnessed it. The icon points to Christ, just like Mary always did. At the wedding in Cana she told the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.” That’s what a miraculous icon does too. It doesn’t draw attention to itself. It calls us to repentance and faith.
But here’s what matters: not every miracle is from God. We have to test these things spiritually. Does the miracle glorify Christ? Does it affirm the Incarnation? Does it build up the Church and lead people to repentance? Or does it just create a spectacle? The Church has always been careful about this. We don’t chase after signs and wonders. We receive them when God gives them, and we test them.
All Icons Are Miraculous, Really
In a broader sense, every icon is miraculous. Think about what an icon proclaims: the Word became flesh. God took on a human body and can therefore be depicted. That’s already a miracle. The icon shows us that the invisible God made himself visible in Christ.
And icons of the saints? They show us people who’ve been transformed by grace, who’ve achieved theosis, union with God. They’re windows into the Kingdom. When you stand before an icon of St. Mary of Egypt or St. Seraphim of Sarov, you’re looking at what God can do with a human life. That’s miraculous even without myrrh or healings.
The Seventh Ecumenical Council settled this back in 787. The veneration we give to an icon passes through to the person depicted. We’re not worshiping paint. We’re honoring Christ, his Mother, the saints. The icon is the meeting place.
Why This Matters in Southeast Texas
If you grew up Baptist or non-denominational around here, this probably sounds strange. Maybe even dangerous. I get it. We’ve all heard sermons against graven images. But icons aren’t idols. An idol claims to be God. An icon points beyond itself to the true God who became man.
When someone’s healed at a prayer meeting, we don’t say the building is magic. We say God worked there. Same with icons. God chooses to work through matter because he sanctified matter in the Incarnation. Your body matters. The physical world matters. Christ didn’t save us by escaping the material world but by entering it, dying in it, and rising in it.
So yes, some icons are miraculous. They’re signs that the Kingdom of God has come near, that Christ is still with us, that the saints are alive and praying. If you visit St. Michael’s and feel hesitant about venerating an icon, that’s okay. Take your time. But don’t dismiss what God might want to teach you through these windows into heaven. The same Lord who healed the blind man with mud and spit still works through physical things to bring us to himself.
