Myrobletes Saints

JOHN A. MCGUCKIN

The term Myrobletes derives from the Greek for “emitting myrrh.” It describes a category of saint (and sometimes designates an icon, too – such as that of Christ, or the Virgin, or one of the saints) whose relics emit a sweetly and gently fragranced oil after their death. These relics (often but not solely the skull) are frequently kept separately in the cata­combs (many examples are preserved in the Kiev Pechersky Lavra, for example, or at Mount Athos) and can be recognized as such by the dark brown character of the bone. The perfumed oil is not always emitted, but is so on a regular basis, and often across many generations. If a perfume only is emitted (such as on the occasion of the opening of a grave of a saint) it is tech­nically called Euodia. The perfume from the phenomenon of myrobletes relics is quite unmistakeable when experienced, and is widely taken in the Orthodox Church as a sign of the great sanctity of the saint in question, and their bestowal of blessing on those who have come to venerate them in pilgrimage. Shrines of the Myrobletes saints are frequent sites of Orthodox pilgrimage, where pilgrims gather to seek the saint’s intercession and cures, for themselves or for family members. An icon can become a Myrobletes if it starts to emit perfume, oil, or tears. This phenomenon is often a temporary one. It is widely understood in Orthodoxy to mean that the sacred figure whom the icon depicts is giving a special blessing, or drawing attention to some notable thing transpiring, or delivering a warning to the faithful. The most notable of myrrh-gushing icons is perhaps the (Myroblitissa) icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the Malevi convent in Arcadia. Throughout the history of the Orthodox Church such things have been extensively recorded, understood as thaumata’(or signs to cause “wonderment” and spiritual reflection), and are still a regular feature of Orthodox life. The most famous of the Myrobletes saints is perhaps St. Dimitrios of Thessalonike, the Great Martyr. St. Charbal (Makhlouf), the 19th-century Maronite saint, is perhaps the most famous of the 20th-century Myrobletes, whose perfumed myron accounted for numerous cures all over the world, making his shrine in Lebanon one of the great pilgrimage sites of the Middle East in recent times.

SEE ALSO: Anointing of the Sick; Healing; Icons; Unmercenary Saints

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Thurston, H. (1952) The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism. Chicago: Regnery.