During the last few weeks, Asprokampos village, located in a mountainous region of Corinth prefecture, has been in turmoil due to a “holy war” that has broken out between the Orthodox Church and the local faithful.

It all started on Jan. 25 — election day — when the priest of the local St. Nicholas church saw an oily liquid substance pouring out of the temple’s wooden cross-shaped icon, dating back to the early 19th century.

From that day on, hundreds of believers have been flocking to the church of St. Nicholas to witness the miracle of Weeping Jesus and pay tribute to the icon. People are reportedly arriving everyday from all over the country, some driven by faith, others by curiosity for this strange phenomenon.

Intrigued by the rumors of a miraculous icon, the Greek Orthodox Church has expressed its intention to send the wooden cross to a lab in order to have the mysterious fluid analyzed.

Specifically, when Dionysios, the Bishop of Corinth, visited the small village of 150 inhabitants and witnessed this strange phenomenon, he told the locals that the Holy Synod should be notified at once and that the icon must be transferred to the Metropolis of Corinth to be examined by experts.

From that moment on, the villagers, not wanting the miraculous icon to be taken away from them, have been guarding the church around the clock, like modern-day Knights Templar, letting no one, including scientists, approach and take a sample of the “tears” to study them.