The Hawaiian Iveron Myrrh-Streaming Icon (2007)

On October 6, 2007 — the Orthodox feast of the Conception of St. John the Forerunner — an Iveron reproduction icon in a private home in Kailua, Hawaii was noticed to be exuding a fragrant oily substance. The icon was brought to the attention of local clergy, and streaming continued. In June 2008, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia formally recognized the icon as miraculous, and it subsequently traveled to over 1,000 parishes across North America, Europe, and Georgia, where more than a million faithful reportedly venerated it in 2014.

The Orthodox theological tradition holds that myrrh streaming is a divine sign rather than a permanently explainable phenomenon, and the Church actively investigates such claims before recognition. The eight-month observation period before ROCOR's formal recognition is somewhat longer than most such cases, providing at least some internal quality control within the tradition.

Natural mechanisms for apparent oil streaming from icons include: 1) release of drying oils (linseed, walnut) used in icon varnishes under temperature-change stress, 2) capillary migration of oils through aged paint layers, and 3) application of aromatic oils during veneration that redistribute over the surface. Russian investigators who have chemically analyzed other streaming icons have consistently found plant-based oils.

The Hawaiian icon remains active and accessible, which distinguishes it from the Montreal case — independent chemical analysis of the streaming substance would significantly advance the evidential picture but has not been publicly reported.