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We knew that honey had preservative qualities to it, but we never imagined that bees could preserve icons. That’s just what happens near Athens, Greece, where a Catholic beekeeper likes to adorn his hives with icons.
For a decade, a beekeeper named Isidoros Ţiminis, living in the region of Kapandriti, near Athens, has kept a tradition: every spring, he slips icons of Christ, the Holy Virgin and different saints in his beehives, in order to bless his bees and his yearly honey production.
Every year, the very same mysterious phenomenon occurs: bees make their honeycomb cells around the pious images, meticulously avoiding covering them. Could it simply be a phenomenon related to some effect in the painting itself, which might prevent bees from building their honeycombs on them? In any case, the work of these peculiar Greek bees remains interest-worthy.
On a blog concerned with Orthodox Christianity, a monk named Simon documented his own efforts to bring icons to these bees. He brought a handmade icon of the Crucified Christ flanked by the two thieves who joined him. The bees reportedly built their hive around the icon, but refused to cover either Jesus or the figure of the “good thief,” at Christ’s right hand. The thief on his left, who rejected Christ’s invitation to paradise, was however covered.
It’s not just Jesus and the Blessed Mother who the bees seem to not be interested in covering. Monk Simon also reported bringing an icon of St. Stephen the Proto-Martyr and Archdeacon, which was left uncovered over the saint’s face and body.
The mystery endures as to how the bees can recognize holy images, let alone treat them in a respectful and pious manner. We may never know the exact reasons, but we can enjoy the fascinating photos that this curious occurrence has produced.
Click the slideshow below to see more.
