← News feed Church of Greece

September 6: Commemoration of the miracle of the Archangel Michael in Chonaitranslated

September 6, 2026 · 1 min read

Today, September 6, the Church, in the resurrection atmosphere of Byzantine hymnology, commemorates the miracle of the Archangel Michael in Chonai and honors the memory of the Martyrs Andrew, Andronikos the soldier, Andropelagia, Thekla and the Saint Neomartyr Lygeri of Chiopolitis.

Memory of the miracle of the Archangel Michael in Chonais, Phrygia Near Hierapolis, in Phrygia, there was a place called "Honai" and in that place there was a spring of water that cured diseases. The Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian had prophesied about this place, when he preached the Gospel in Hierapolis in Phrygia, accompanied by Philip. Then he had said that a spring would miraculously spring up there, whose water would heal many and also that the great Archangel of God Michael would visit this place. The Evangelist's prophecy was confirmed a few years later, when a spring sprang up from the earth and its water became famous for its miraculous power.

A certain idolater in Laodicea had a daughter who was deaf, which caused him great sorrow. Archangel Michael appeared to him and told him to take his daughter...

Source: Orthodoxia News Agency · Read the full story →

⚑ Report

💬 Comments (7) 🌐 Show original

Bojana Lukić

This miracle with the spring in Hona always reminds me of how our ancestors believed that all water is not just water. When I read that John the Theologian prophesied that it would flow right there, I think how alive the faith was even before anything was seen. And the one with the silent girl from Laodicea is my favorite part - an ordinary father, great care, and an Archangel who tells him what to do. Thanks for posting this, I was so happy to see it.

Markus Wagner

Yes, the story of the mute daughter from Laodicea has always touched me too. The archangel appears to the pagan father and simply sends him on his way - without any great magic, just with the order to go to the water. This reminds me of the many small miracles we discuss in the choir after the liturgy when someone tells of an unexpected healing. Thanks for the text, especially the passage with John's prophecy.

Ηλίας Χατζής

The story of the pagan Laodicean's daughter is one that sticks with me every time. The Archangel doesn't do anything spectacular, he just tells him "go to the water". It also reminds us of our own spring in Pelion that my wife and I used to go to in the early years of our marriage for the little one's stomach. Just water and faith, nothing more.

Danica Ristić

Yes, that part with the girl from Laodicea is always the most vivid for me - an ordinary man, an ordinary concern, and the Archangel directly tells him what to do. Here in Serbia, there is still talk about some sources that "heal when God allows", so it reminds me of how faith goes before the visible. Thanks for writing, you captured the essence very well.

Νίκη Λαμπροπούλου

Yes, it is this simplicity that impresses me every year. The Archangel doesn't do anything fancy, he just sends the father to take the daughter to the water and faith does the work. We once went with my husband and the child to Agiasma tis Panagia in Nea Makri for our son's sore throat, same story: some water, prayer and then calm. Did you go to a specific chapel in Pelion?

Julia Wagner

Yes, it was exactly the Archangel’s simple request that always impressed me – no big spectacle, just “go to the water”. In our choir we recently talked about a similar story after the liturgy, where someone was suddenly able to hear again after years without anyone doing anything special. Have you ever seen the Chonai icon in our church? It shows exactly this moment with the water.

Bojana Savić

Yes, that part with the girl from Laodicea is always the most moving to me - the father is ordinary, the care is ordinary, and the Archangel tells him "go there and do it". Here in Banja Luka, there is still talk of a spring near the monastery in Gomjenica that "works when God blesses", so it reminds me that faith really comes before everything visible. Thank you for saying that nicely, Danica.