The Miracle of "Manna" Associated with Saint John the Theologian
"The
feast day of this great apostle and evangelist is celebrated on September 26.
This day (May 8) commemorates the miracle which appeared at his grave. When
John was over one hundred years old, he took seven of his disciples, went
outside the town of Ephesus and ordered them to dig a grave in the form of a
cross. After that, the elder went down into this grave and was buried. Later
on, when the faithful opened John's grave, they did not find his body. On May 8
of every year, dust [also called 'manna'] is raised from his grave from which
the sick are healed of various diseases."
St. Nikolai Velimirovich
Each
year, for about a thousand years, from the grave of the holy Apostle John on
May 8th, there came forth a fine ash-dust, which believers called
"manna", and gathered it up after an All-Night Vigil and were healed
of sicknesses by it. Therefore the Church celebrates the memory of the Apostle
John the Theologian still on May 8 to commemorate this annual miracle, even
though his main feast is on September 26.
Many
pilgrims of medieval times made note of this extraordinary annual miracle. Both
Augustine and Gregory of Tours make reference to it. Anglo-Saxon Willibald,
later a bishop and a saint, visited Ephesus in 724 and marveled at the miracle
of the manna that bubbled from the tomb of the Apostle. Symeon Metaphrastes in
the tenth century writes of the festival on May 8th being of such great
magnitude that it seemed there were more people in attendance to take part in
the miracle and receive a portion of its distribution than there were stars in
the sky. For the unhappy Metropolitan George Tornikes (1155–56), the tomb with
its inexhaustible dust was his sole consolation for having to live in what he
considered a barbarous place with a dilapidated church.
Abbot
Daniel, a Russian pilgrim of the early 12th century, visited the Basilica of
St. John that was built over his tomb, and described the feast celebrated on
May 8th as well as the shrines and relics surrounding the area:
"It
is 60 versts from the isle of Chios to Ephesus; and at this latter place is
seen the tomb of St. John the Evangelist. On the anniversary of his death, holy
dust rises from this tomb, which believers gather as a remedy against every
kind of disease; the garment which John wore is also here. Quite near is the
cave in which rest the bodies of the Seven Sleepers who slept for 360 years,
having fallen asleep in the reign of the Emperor Decius, and awakened in the
time of the Emperor Theodosius. In this same cavern are the (remains of the)
three hundred Holy Fathers and of St. Alexander; the tomb of Mary Magdalene is
also here, as well as her head; and the holy Apostle Timothy, the disciple of
St. Paul, reposes in his ancient coffin. In the old church the picture of the
Holy Virgin is preserved; it was with this that the holy (fathers) refuted the
heretic Nestorius. Here, too, one sees the Bath of Dioscorides, where St. John
the Evangelist labored with Prochorus in the house of Romana. We saw, also, the
harbor, named the 'Marble Port', where St. John the Evangelist was cast up by
the sea."
According
to one author, the most elaborate description of the miracle dates to 1304 by
Catalan Muntaner who arrived in a mercenary force:
"On
Saint Stephen’s day, every year, at the hour of Vespers, it comes out of the
tomb (which is four-cornered and stands at the foot of the altar and has a
beautiful marble slab on the top, full twelve palms long and five broad), and
in the middle of the slab there are nine very small holes, and out of these
holes, as Vespers are being sung on St. Stephen’s day, (on which day the
Vespers are of St. John), manna like sand comes out of each hole and rises a
full palm high from the slab, as a jet of water rises up. And this manna issues
out . . . and it lasts all night and then all Saint John’s day until sunset.
There is so much of this manna, by the time the sun has set and it has ceased
to issue out, that, altogether, there are of it full three cuarteras of
Barcelona [about 120 quarts]. And this manna is marvelously good for many
things; for instance he who drinks it when he feels fever coming on will never
have fever again. Also, if a lady is in travail and cannot bring forth, if she
drinks it with water or with wine, she will be delivered at once. And again, if
there is a storm at sea and some of the manna is thrown in the sea three times
in the name of the Holy Trinity and Our Lady Saint Mary and the Blessed Saint
John the Evangelist, at once the storm ceases. And again, he who suffers from
gall stones, and drinks it in the said names, recovers at once. And some of
this manna is given to all pilgrims who come there; but it only appears once a
year."
Regarding
the Basilica of St. John the Theologian built by the Emperor Justinian,
originally it had been in a cruciform shape with six massive domes. More
recently they have uncovered a baptistry and and a small chapel to the side.
The tomb of the Apostle is today exposed to the elements, but originally it was
located under the main central dome of the church. Unfortunately three relics
which were still in the church during Ottoman times are now lost to us - a
piece of the True Cross worn by the Apostle John around his neck, a garment of
the Apostle made by the Theotokos, and most significantly for biblical
scholarship today was the original manuscript of the Apocalypse (Book of
Revelation) which was authored by this apostle. Today the Basilica is in ruins.
Source: johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/05/manna-of-saint-john-theologian.html
