I am digging back into the Ethiopian tradition with this short tale about the Theotokos and her encounter with an Egyptian Priest named John Bakansi (at least that is how it’s translated). It has an odd turn of events, and I’m always up for quirky tales. What I really like about this short story is the venerating icon aspect and the miracle associated with it. As one who actively venerates icons, it definitely appealed to me. Like my other Ethiopic tales, I am using the E. A. Wallis Budge translation from 1900 with slight tweaking. I am presenting this story in full and be using traditional Ethiopian iconography to accompany this tale.
A miracle of Our Holy Lady, the two-fold Virgin Mary, who gave birth to God. May her prayer, and her blessing, and the mercy of her beloved Son be with our King David for ever and ever! Amen.
Now there was a certain priest in the city of Cairo called John Bakansi, and he dwelt in a church which had been built in the name of the martyr Mercurius; and the days of this man were a hundred years, and both his eyes were blind, and he remained for the whole of the past year seeing nothing at all. And when the light of his eyes failed he began to take an oath without any man knowing thereof. Now there was in that church a icon of our holy Lady, the two-fold Virgin Mary, which looked towards the east, and after the concluding prayer had been said at midnight, when the monks had departed unto their cells, that priest would go to the icon and to bow down before her a great number of times, and he used to salute her with the salutation of the angel three hundred times; and then he made entreaty unto her that she would restore the sight of his eyes. Now he continued to act in this wise for a whole year, and it came to pass that at the end of a full year, on a certain night, as he was singing the salutation of the angel according to his habit, and was standing before the icon of our holy Lady, the two-fold Virgin Mary, drowsiness came upon him and he fell asleep immediately.
And he saw in his dream that there came forth from the picture a most beautiful woman who shone with light which was seven times brighter than that of the sun, and she drew nigh unto him and took out her breasts from inside her apparel and pressed milk out of them upon his eyes; then she made the sign of the cross over him with her holy hands and disappeared into the picture. And straightway his eyes were opened and he saw the icon burning with fire, and he found in his eyes milk which sent forth sweet fragrance. And he cried out, saying, “Hail to thee, O thou that art full of grace, for God is with thee“; and when the monks heard his outcry they came unto him quickly, so that they might know what had happened. And the priest told them everything which he had seen, and they looked at his eyes, and they perceived the traces of the milk in them, and they laid their hands upon his eyes and they saluted him.
Then they went to the icon of our holy Lady, the two-fold Virgin Mary, and each one of them bowed down before her and prostrated himself before her as long as they were able to do so. And the priest John performed the service of the consecration of the Eucharist on that day, and he administered the holy Mysteries unto the monks and unto the people; and he lived twenty years after this, and he continued to minister in the church until he died in peace. May her prayer, and her blessing, and the mercy of her beloved Son be with our king David for ever and ever! Amen.
Thou didst receive his request, and didst give him of thy spiritual milk
Wherewith thou didst seal the eye of John the aged.
O Mary, the Virgin, daughter of the king of Heshbon,
Receive the words of my mouth, and pay good heed to my cry,
And moreover incline their ear to my petition!
-bP
Culmination of Wisdom 