Apparently it is not actually incorrupt (although it may have appeared so at first), hence the mask.
It would be interesting to see what the state of the body is about now, unwrapped.
There was an interesting thread not so long ago about incorrupt saints, but basically this is supposed by some to be a sign of the resurrection, hence the Christian interest in such things. If a body starts to evidently decompose at some point it is not really incorrupt.
There could be a lot of reasons why some bodies do not decompose right away, I would not automatically suppose either God or the devil has anything to do with it. It could be a miracle or it could be a natural thing. The phenomena have been reported in non Christian settings, but I think in most cases the body has to have some special care and enclosure once it has been revealed, or it begins to come apart.
In China there was a very old tomb opened (I believe over 1000 years, if I recall), and the woman’s flesh was still supple. It seems the tomb itself was constructed in such a way as to encourage that, although I don’t think the builders of the tomb expected such a result.
Wow, that’s quite interesting. That her flesh was still supple. I know it happens to saints, but I didn’t know it ever happened outside of that area.
But let me recall a fond memory, this time from the area of Russian Orthodoxy. In 2004, I attended a ROCOR conference, and two gentlemen who knew St. John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco in person, talked about their memories of him. I’m sure you know that St. John’s body is incorrupt. One of the lecturers was a child when he knew a younger Vladyka John (around WWII), and according to his memories, he was always a saint, visibly and without a doubt to anyone, even back then when he was younger. You just couldn’t mistake him for an ordinary person. The other gentleman knew St. John in the 1960s, during the last 5 years of the saint’s life. He (the lecturer) was a young man in his early 20s during that time. And he had a few miracles to recollect. Such us, St. John was receiving bunches of letters with prayer requests and requests for help, and miracles were happening and people were being helped as a result of the saint’s prayers, but after he died, some 2 or 3 big sacks were found with letters never opened. St. John was receiving more letters than he could possibly open and read, but he helped those who wrote to him, anyway. Hey, saints have some tricks up their sleeves and shortcuts that fall into the realm of supernatural, when they need them!
Another thing this second gentleman recollected was that the San Francisco cathedral was under construction, and he (the lecturer) was digging some chamber that was planned to be attached to the cathedral. St. John was passing by, and told him, “do it well, because it’s going to be my burial chamber!”. And sure enough, that’s exactly where his incorrupt body is buried in the Russian Orthodox cathedral of San Francisco, today.
St. John also lived a life of ascetism and prayer. He was in his 40s when his companions noticed that he was not using his bed. He would sleep about 2-3 hours after midnight in his chair, and that was it. He had been doing that for years, probably since his youth, and continued doing it for the rest of his life. His fasts were very strict, too. He would eat only once a day and have one cup of tea, after sunset. When he was visiting families and sick people, he would eat a little better, because he would eat whatever was served to him. But at home, he fasted very strictly.
The way St. John Maximovitch died, was also uplifting. He went to venerate a holy icon of Theotokos somewhere in Oregon or Washington state, and he died on that trip. There are indications that he knew he was going to die there, while venerating that holy icon. Some 6-7 years after his death, when his body was exhumed, his vestments were decomposed and black with mold. An iron crucifix buried with him was also reduced to rust. But St. John Maximovitch’s body remained incorrupt, in the grave.
It is not possible to mention the name of St. Josaphat and get away with it, so easily!