It was the 5th century. At that time, in Constantinople, near the so-called “Golden Gates,” there was a grove filled with cypress and plane trees, which had long been dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. Within the grove there was a spring, likewise long renowned as a source of miracles. Gradually, the site became overgrown, and the water receded into the mud. Only from the dampness of the earth could one deduce the existence of the spring.

In the days of the Emperor Marcian, a soldier named Leo Marcellus (the future Emperor Leo I) passed the site. There he met a helpless traveler, a blind man who had lost his way and could not find his way out. Leo helped him get out onto the path, and led the man, weakened by exhaustion, into the shade to rest, while he himself went off in search of water to refresh the blind man.

Then he suddenly heard a voice say: “Leo, do not search far off for water. It is close by.” Leo, amazed by the mysterious voice, began to look around, but could find no water.

As he stood, sad and pensive, the same voice again addressed him: “King Leo! Go into the shade of the grove, draw some of the water you will find there, and give it to the one who thirsts. Place the mud which you find in the spring upon his eyes. Then you will learn who I am, who it is that for so long has blessed this site. Soon I will help you to build here a church bearing my name, and all who come here and with faith call on my name will have their prayers answered, and will be completely healed of their sicknesses.”

Leo hurriedly reached the appointed place, took mud from the spring and placed it on the eyes of the blind man, and gave him some of the water to drink. As soon as he had done so, the blind man immediately regained his sight. Without a guide, he went into Constantinople, glorifying the divine grace given through the Theotokos.

In time, Leo succeeded to the throne. He remembered the appearance of the Theotokos, and ordered that the spring be cleaned of the ooze. Earthworks were built to isolate the stream of that spring from other nearby springs, and the water was confined in a large stone pool, above which was built a church dedicated to the Theotokos.

Emperor Leo named it the Life-Giving Spring, for there was revealed to him the wonderworking grace of God, whi is wondrous in His saints.

One hundred years after Marcian reigned the emperor Justinian the Great (527-565), a man greatly devoted to the Faith. For a long time he suffered from edema, finding no help from doctors, and already considering himself condemned to death. One midnight he heard a voice saying: “O king, you cannot return to health unless you drink from my spring.” The king did not know of which spring the voice spoke, and he fell into despair. Then, the following day, the Theotokos visibly appeared to him, saying, “Arise, O king, go to my spring, and drink from it, and you will be healthy as you were before.” The sick man acted according to her words. He found the spring, drank from its water, and soon regained his health. Near the church built by Leo, the grateful emperor erected a new magnificent church, where later was founded a populous monastery.

In the 15th Century, the Imperial City fell into the hands of the Muslims. The famous Church of the Life-Giving Spring was destroyed, and its building materials were used to construct the mosque of Sultan Bayazet. The church site was covered with earth and crushed stone, so that the very foundations of the church disappeared from sight. The beautiful surrounding areas were turned into a Muslim cemetery. A Turkish sentinel, placed at the ruins of the church, forbade Christians not only to gather at the site, but even to approach there.

Little by little, the strictness of this ban eased, and Christians were permitted to build a small church there. However, in 1821, it was destroyed as well, and the spring itself was filled in. Once again Christians cleaned up the ruins, reopened the spring, and once again drew water from it. Even on these shards of the former magnificent holy structure, the Lord, as before, granted healings through the prayers of the Theotokos. Later, among the broken pieces a panel was found, already half-rotted away through time and dampness, on which were recorded ten miracles which occurred at the Life-Giving Spring during the period 1824-1829.

During the reign of Sultan Mahmoud, the Orthodox received a measure of freedom to conduct religious services. They used it to build, for the third time, a church above the Life-giving Spring. In 1835, the Ecumenical Patriarch Constantine, celebrating with 20 bishops and an enormous flood of the faithful, consecrated the church which stands to this day. Nearby was built a hospital and alms-house. Even the Muslims spoke with great respect of the Life-Giving Spring, and of the Theotokos, who through it pours out the divine grace given her. “Great among women, holy Mary” is how they refer to the Most Holy Virgin. The water from the Life-giving Spring they call the “water of holy Mary.”

It is impossible to recount all the miracles flowing from the Life-Giving Spring and bringing grace to kings, to patriarchs, to noted as well as ordinary people. The power of God acts to this day through the water of the spring, through the prayers of His holy mother. That power is experienced not only by Orthodox, but by Catholics, Armenians, and even by the Turks.