Icons of the Mother of God
Icon of the Mother of God “Socola”
The Socola Icon of the Mother of God was in the church of the Transfiguration in the Orthodox Theological Seminary at the Socola Monastery in Romania. In February 1854, it became famous for the remarkable miracle of shedding tears. After the Divine Liturgy on February 1, 1854, a frightened member…
Icon of the Mother of God “Divnogorsk”
The Divnogorsk-Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God received the first part of its title from where it was enshrined when it was glorified: the Dormition monastery of Divnogorsk, in the former Ostrogozhsk district in Voronezh governance. Its title of “Sicilian” comes from its place of…
Icon of the Mother of God “Elets-Chernigov”
The Elets-Chernigov (Chernigov Spruce Tree) Icon of the Mother of God appeared on a spruce or fir tree near Chernigov in the year 1060, in the time of Prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, as was recorded in the Synodikon of Bishop Zosimus Prokopovich of Chernigov (1655-1657). The icon was placed in a…
Icon of the Mother of God “Seeker of the Perishing”
From time immemorial the Russian people, with faith in the all-powerful help of the Most Holy Theotokos, considered the title “Seeker of the Perishing” to refer not only to those who are dying, but to those whose souls are in danger of spiritual death. There are no reliable accounts of the…
Icon of the Mother of God “Areovindus”
There is little information about the history of this Icon, and the story of its appearance is shrouded in mystery. We only know that the now lost original was painted around 845. However, there is reason to believe its iconographic type was the same as the Hagiosoritissa Icon.1 Copies of the…
Icon of the Mother of God “Ivḗron”
During the reign of Emperor Theophilos (829-842) the Byzantine Empire was in turmoil because of the heresy of iconoclasm. In accordance with the Emperor’s orders, thousands of soldiers scoured the Empire, searching in every corner, city, and village for any hidden icons. A pious widow living…
Icon of the Mother of God of Dalmatia
In Perm Gubernia, Shadrinsk county, on the banks of the Iseti River, is the Dalmatian Monastery of the Dormition. In the cathedral church of this monastery is a wonderworking Icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which belonged to Father Dalmatios (Δαλμάτιος), the founder of this…
Vil'na Icon of the Mother of God
Today's celebration commemorates the transfer of the Icon from Moscow to Vil'na (Vilnius), Lithuania. According to local tradition, this Icon (of the Hodēgḗtria type) was painted by the Holy Evangelist Luke, and was brought from Palestine to Constantinople. For many years it belonged to the…
Weeping “Tikhvin” Icon of the Mother of God on Mount Athos
The Weeping Tikhvin Icon of Mt. Athos is to be found behind the altar in the Prophet Elias Skete. On February 17, 1877 (Thursday of the Second Week of Lent) seven monks remained in the church after the Hours had been read. They were astonished to see tears flowing from the right eye of the icon,…
Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus
The Cyprus Icon of the Mother of God. In this icon the Mother of God is depicted sitting on a throne with the Divine Infant in Her arms. There is an angel on either side of Her. The prototype of this holy icon manifested itself in the year 392 on the island of Cyprus at the tomb of Righteous…
“Kozelshchansk” Icon of the Mother of God
This Icon is one of the latest of the wonderworking icons of the Mother of God to be glorified, and one of the most revered. The event which glorified this Icon received the widest publicity, and produced the deepest impression. This was not some ancient tradition which might be denied, but it…
“Mezhetsk” Icon of the Mother of God
The wonderworking Mezhetsk (Межецкая) or Mezhitsk (Межетская) Icon of the Mother of God appeared near Kiev in 1492 and became renowned because of the numerous miracles which took place when people…
Devpeteruv Icon of the Mother of God
This Icon appeared on February 29, 1392. One of the oldest shrines of the Devpeteruv (Девпетерувская) Icon of the Mother of God is now located in the Nikolaev church of the village of Batyushkova, or Batatkova, Dmitrovsky district of Moscow Province. In this image, the child Jesus is…