The following excerpt is from the Associated Press, written by Joseph Marks:
A Greek Orthodox nun looks at a painting of St. George, at a church in Ramle, central Israel, Tuesday, June 9, 2009.
Christians have been flocking to this heavily Muslim suburb of Tel Aviv for two days to see what local Christians are calling a miracle, streaks of what looks like oil mysteriously dripping down an icon of St. George, at a Greek Orthodox church named for the 3rd century saint.
El-Edam, 47, said she was convinced the streaks were a miracle in part because of a strange smell emanating from the icon. She said it reminded her of her visit as a teenager to the site of a miracle in Ermysh, Lebanon. There, she said, the odor came from a recently deceased woman whose Christian faith was legendary.
"It's a special, holy smell," she said. "It's not ordinary, like olive oil. It's something strange that comes from God."
The Greek Orthodox patriarch inspected the painting Sunday, el-Edam said, and the church has sent a sample of the oil to a laboratory.
Father Nifon said the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate had asked him not to speak publicly or to answer questions about the streaks, so that believers could draw their own conclusions.
"People these days, they've forgot God and this is a sign to tell them, 'I'm still here,' said Edith Fanous, 31, who works for a local trucking company and said she has been attending St. George's since she was a little girl.
Fanous said she was singing in the church choir when the oil streaks appeared Sunday. She guessed as many as 1,000 visitors had been to the church since then. She dismissed the idea that the streaks could just be paint running on a hot day.
"This icon is 114 years old," she said. "It passed through so much weather, hot and cold. And now that we have air conditioning in the church it's started to melt? I don't think so."
Kosty Tannous, 33, an Israeli customs worker, said he thought the streaks may have appeared now because God sees trouble in Israeli society.
"There's war and discrimination," he said. "I see a lot of discrimination against Arabs here in Israel, and maybe this is a good lesson for everybody to love each other and live with each other with equal rights."
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Icon Miracle
