THE Holy Synod looks set to discuss how a paralysed Greek Cypriot man, Marios Stylianou, got out of his wheelchair and walked last Saturday on a visit to the church of the Apostle Barnabas in the north.
It was also reported yesterday that the icon of the Apostle inside the church near occupied Famagusta had started shedding tears. Weeping icons are also not a new phenomenon in Cyprus, but none have officially been declared miraculous by the Church.
According to reports, the Bishop of Arsinoe has said the Synod will probably discuss what happened to Stylianou, who had been left paralysed after an operation of a slipped disc in the UK last year.
Neurologist Michalis Protopapas told the Cyprus Mail earlier in the week that he had no explanation for what had happened other than the possibility that it was a miracle.
The doctor added yesterday that Stylianou did not want any more publicity.
Stylianou says the miracle happened after a vision of Barnabas appeared to him in a dream, asking him to write a book about the apostle’s life and then visit his grave; then he would walk again.
However, the Church is being cautious about proclaiming the case a miracle. The Bishop of Arsinoe said the Church did not rule out miracles but would not jump to any immediate conclusions.
Echoing his comments, Bishop Chrysostomos of Paphos, who is acting head of the Church, told the Cyprus Mail yesterday he would prefer not to make any judgments, saying it had not happened on his “territory”. If he had, he said he would be more than willing to give a lengthy statement. “I believe in miracles but we should not accept them at a glance,” he said. “It needs analysis.”
A miracle is defined as an event or effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a deviation from the known laws of nature, or a supernatural event. Usually, something is termed a miracle when there is no other explanation. It only refers to something good.
However, there are views outside the standard religious position that could account for what are deemed miracles. The power of the mind has long been investigated, and the possibility does exist that people, instead of just being the passive recipients of a divine action, may be more involved than they even realise. The Church calls it faith, which is essentially an unshakable certain belief in a particular outcome.
Spiritual healer Peter Pavlides said Stylianou walked on Saturday because of his strong belief in the fact the Apostle Barnabas told him that once he visited his grave, he would walk. After that the entire focus of his mind was geared towards that goal and the underlying desire for that to happen. In other words, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“Men are powerful and belief helps,” said Pavlides, but added that the power still comes from higher. “This man took his anger, his pain and his belief and worked towards his goal.”
He said it was possibly part of Stylianou’s life lesson to spend some time in a wheelchair, because that is where he found the time to pray and mediate.
“This leads to clear thinking.”
Thinking creates an image, images control feelings and desires, feelings and desires cause actions and actions create results, according to proponents of the “power of the mind” theories. Everyone can do it, they argue, even non-believers: all they need to do is believe they can.
As Christ told his disciples: “If you have enough faith you can move mountains.”
“Sometimes things go beyond what we are taught in this world,” said Pavlides, but he added: “A miracle is a miracle and there are plenty every day that we don’t hear about.”
