Miraculous & Weeping Icon of St Nicholas

Kokkari, Samos, Greece, 1938

In 1902 residents of Kokkari began building a St. Nicholas church. The village is a fishing village and St. Nicholas is the patron saint of fishermen and sea-travelers, so he was the clear choice for the church. Political disagreements stopped the the church construction. However, an icon had already been commissioned from Mount Athos. When the icon arrived, many were not willing to pay for it and it was to be returned.

A wealthy local doctor received a message in a dream that greed shouldn't stand in the way of the icon remaining in Kokkari. The doctor paid the balance due.

A sailor from Marathokampos ran aground in stormy seas and was guided to a safe beach by light that came from an image of St. Nicholas. The sailor went to the closest church in Kokkari to give thanks to Saint Nicholas for his rescue. Imagine his surprise when the icon in the church was the same image that had led him to safety. This miracle helped heal the villages petty squabbles and construction of the church resumed.

After the church was completed in 1938, the icon began to weep in the summer of 1940. This was seen as a miracle that forewarned the terrible things that happened to Greece during World War II.

Numerous miracles have been attributed to the Kokkari St. Nicholas icon.

SOURCE
"Ten Miracle-Working Icons of Saint Nicholas," A Reader's Guide to Orthodox Icons

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