Crowds of people in Greece have been seeing the hand of God in politics after a statue of Jesus began "weeping" when an anti-austerity party won the January elections.

The oily tears of the early 20th century religious icon have drawn hundreds to St Nicholas Church, Asprokampos in Corinthia since Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Syriza party, gained power. The Bishop of Corinth Dionysios Mantalos, among the visitors, said afterwards that the colorless, odorless liquid running was down the entire body of Jesus on the cross.

The bishop plans to ask experts to examine the statue, which has become a separate of phenomenon on social media, where it is being described as the "Miracle of Syriza".

Tsipras, an atheist, had pledged to renegotiate Greece's debt with the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank and also to reverse austerity measures that have seen Greece plunged into mass unemployment, mass poverty and a dramatic rise in suicides.

There was controversy at his inauguration when he refused the usual tradition of being sworn in by the head of the Greek Orthodox church, Archbishop Ieronymos II.

However, not everyone is taking it seriously.

The Greek investigative journalist, Yiannis Baboulias, told Newsweek: "The weeping icon is an urban legend that resurfaces every now and again in Greece. Stories like this happen all the time, and this one is really funny."

He said such phenomena helped the Greek Orthodox Church attract followers. "What is really happening is simply that the paint on the icon is starting to leak due to environmental changes," he added. He also admitted it was the first time such a phenomenon had been linked to politics.

"The Greek church is not an apolitical entity. Different church officials back different political powers very openly - it's a mixed bag."

The area where the statue is has become a bedrock of support for the far right party Golden Dawn.