“Myrrh drips from Putin Icon” according to cult followers
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (R) attends an Orthodox Christmas service in the XIX century church of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God in Turginovo, about 160 kilometers northwest of Moscow on Jan. 7, 2011. Thirteen days after Western Christmas, on Jan. 7, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates its Christmas, in accordance with the old Julian calendar.
MALMO, Sweden — The cult that worships Vladimir Putin as a saint has announced that myrrh has begun to drip from its icon of the Russian prime minister.
“Attention! Starting from Thursday, the icon of Vladimir Putin was renewed and started seeping myrrh," the group said in a statement. "God is giving us signs of His gracious presence."
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The Chapel of Russia’s Resurrection was founded by a former convict called Svetlana Frolova in the Nizhny Novgorod region, and believes that Putin is a reincarnation of both St. Paul the Apostle and Vladimir the Great, the first Christian ruler of the Kievan Rus.
“"Now Vladimir Vladimirovich will baptize anew our pagan country!" Mother Fotina, as Frolova calls herself, declared on the group's website.
Neither Mr. Putin nor the Russian Orthodox Church have so far commented on the second so-called miracle surrounding the icon, which Frolova claims appeared from nowhere one day in her chapel.
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But Mr. Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, has made passing reference to the sect in the past, saying that it is “impressive” that they “think so highly of his [Putin’s] work," but cautioning that it is against the ten commandments to worship "false idols."
The sect reportedly consists entirely of women, who meet in a small three story brick building in Bolshaya Yelnia, a small town near the Volga River.
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