Photo of oil oozing from icon Courtesy of parish website

Orthodox Christians are flocking by the thousands to a church in southwest Chicago where an icon of St. John the Baptist is allegedly leaking oil.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting on the icon which is housed on the front altar of Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Homer Glen, Illinois. Parishioners say the icon has been leaking a sweet-smelling oil, believed to be myrrh, from the halo, wings, hands and beard of John the Baptist. Collected every week by a reservoir of cotton at the base of the icon, parishioners believe the oil has healing properties and is a blessing from God.

The oil was first discovered by John Price, a 20-year-old altar server who noticed the droplets on the icon during a prayer service in July of 2015. His mother Miki, who was in attendance, noticed how transfixed her son seemed to be on the icon. When he told her later what he was seeing, she went back to the church and brought it to the attention of the priests.

"The first thing out of my mouth was 'What do I do?' " said the Rev. Sotirios "Sam" Dimitriou, the parish priest. "You don't expect anything like this. It's breathtaking. It's so powerful to see such an act of God before your eyes."

No one really knows if it’s an act of God or some kind of chemical reaction, but the Greek Orthodox community is not likely to investigate further. Clergy believe that if what seems to be a supernatural event draws people closer to God, it’s okay.

"We don't necessarily make official pronouncements on these things," said Bishop Demetrios, auxiliary bishop of Mokissos of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago. "We let the faithful believe it if they wish. … If it brings you closer to God that's wonderful. If it doesn't, it doesn't."

Thus far, Dimitriou has distributed more than 5,000 samples of the oil to pilgrims who are flocking to his church from all over. He has had several reports of divine healing such as the clearing of a blocked artery and another person who claimed to be cancer free after using the oil. Dimitriou, who suffers from a nerve condition that causes blackouts, said the episodes stopped since the oil appeared and he has now stopped taking his medication.

In the meantime, the church in Homer Glen is struggling to keep up with the number of pilgrims who are visiting daily to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon and a cotton ball soaked in the oil.

A statement from the diocese said: "We are blessed to have this occurring at our parish in Homer Glen, Illinois. We ask for patience and understanding when wanting to visit this icon or request additional information as this is a small community parish that is trying to work out how best to share this blessing with now a much enlarged audience."

The Orthodox churches are not in communion with Rome; however, Pope Francis did hold a brief but historic meeting with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church in the airport in Havana earlier this year, making it the first meeting between heads of the two churches in the history of the 1,000 year schism.

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