In ancient times, myrrh consisted of pure oil of a single plant. Later, to this oil were added balsam and aromatic substances. Today, the bishop has the exclusive right to prepare myrrh. The myrrh itself consists of 31 components.
Myrrh is prepared by human hands, but through the prayers of the bishop, becomes holy.
Sometimes, in a manner unexplainable, myrrh appears on some icons. Now, we will tell you of a new Myrrh-streaming Icon, by God's mercy revealed to the world. Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad stated that if it is confirmed that the moisture appearing on the surface of the icon is myrrh, it might be an important factor in deciding the question of canonization of the Royal Family. In 1981, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, which to this day does not maintain ties to the Moscow Patriarchate, added to the list of saints the family of the last Russian Emperor, shot to death in Ekaterinburg, as Passion-bearers. He added that the question of glorification as saints of the Royal Family would be finally decided at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, to be held in the year 2000.