Cyprus' crying icon

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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.

See the article in its original context from February 1997.

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Kykko Mountain, Cyprus (AP) Thousands of pilgrims led by the head of Cyprus' Greek Orthodox Church gathered Sunday at a mountain monastery to pray before an icon of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus that reportedly has begun to weep.

Many Greek Cypriots regard the 400-year-old icon's tears both as a miracle and a sign from God that a major calamity is impending. Monks at the 11th-century Kykko Monastery first reported last weekend that they noticed tears forming in the eyes of both the Virgin and Jesus and flowing slowly down the icon.

Hundreds of pilgrims have since travelled to the monastery, but Sunday's congregation, estimated at 2,000, was by far the biggest in a single day. More than 20,000 stopped at the icon throughout the day, said Nikiforos, the monastery's abbot.