BULGARIA: Icon of holy virgin in small church said to beat those faithfuls who have sinned

Record ID: 861329

  • Title: BULGARIA: Icon of holy virgin in small church said to beat those faithfuls who have sinned
  • Date: 15th August 2003
  • Summary: (L!1) SVIRACHI VILLAGE, BULGARIA (AUGUST 15, 2003) (REUTERS) OLD WOMAN WALKING TO CHURCH SWALLOWS SITTING ON TELEGRAPH WIRES CHURCH BELLS RINGING WOMEN ENTERING CHURCH PRIEST HOLDING BIBLE ICON OF HOLY VIRGIN WOMEN KISSING ICON AND PRAYING OLD WOMAN TOUCHING HANDS OF HOLY VIRGIN PRIEST CARRYING ICON PEOPLE WATCHING OLD WOMAN HOLDING ICON, WHICH APPEARS TO BEAT HER ON THE HEAD ANOTHER WOMAN APPEARS TO BE BEATEN CHILDREN WATCHING THIRD WOMAN APPEARS TO BE BEATEN WOMEN AND CHILDREN WATCHING MONEY ON CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (Bulgarian) WOMAN WHO WAS BEATEN, SAYING "I remember this since I was a child. Our mothers were taking us as small girls in their laps while the icon was jumping in their hands, but nobody knew why this was happening and nobody knows now". (SOUNDBITE) (Bulgarian) PRIEST, SAYING "The fact, that the icon jumps in the hands of some people means that it really is the Holy Virgin and it possesses enormous power. She is too powerful to be controlled by the people." PRIEST CARRYING ICON BACK TO WALL EXTERIOR OF CHURCH
  • Embargoed: 30th August 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SVIRACHI VILLAGE, NEAR IVAILOVGRAD, BULGARIA
  • City:
  • Country: Bulgaria
  • Topics: Quirky,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA6RT3PPPWA2JP35RC0WRSJ0I2B
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: An icon of the Holy Virgin in a small Bulgarian Church is said to beat those faithfuls who have sinned.
    Every year on Assumption Day the priest of this small church in Bulgaria, moves the icon of the Holy Virgin from its place on the church wall and places it amongst the local people who come to see it.
    The village of Svirachi, near Ivailovgrad, has become well known for its Holy Virgin and the unusual way she appears to 'test' the virtue of her faithful. People say she 'beats' those who have sinned.
    Apparently, those who hold her up and have 'sinned', get hit by the Holy Virgin. How the virgin knows, no one is certain.
    The tradition is rooted deeply in the church's past.
    The icon itself is more than one hundred years old and the church was built in 1856.
    One of the local women says: "I remember this since I was a child. Our mothers were taking us as small girls in their laps while the icon was jumping in their hands, but nobody knew why this was happening and nobody knows now".
    The local priest firmly believes in the power of the virgin: "The fact, that the icon jumps in the hands of some people means that it really is the Holy Virgin and it possesses enormous power. She is too powerful to be controlled by the people."
    And there's more. Whilst the Virgin's seems to test older people, she is said to very rarely move in the hands of a younger person.
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