Ozeryana Icon of the Mother of God

Not far from Kharkov, in the Transfiguration Kuryazh Monastery, the wonderworking Ozeryana Icon of the Mother of God was kept. According to tradition, the Icon appeared at the end of the XVI century during Tatar raids on Ukraine near the village of Ozeryana - hence the name of the Icon. It is thought that the Icon was was brought to Ukraine from beyond the Dnieper, that is, from Galicia. Later, a Monastery was built on this site, which was also called Ozeryana. Many miracles occurred before the Icon at the Ozeryana Hermitage. But despite this, no one knew just who put the Icon in the Monastery's trapeza church.

It is said that a certain Ukrainian peasant was cutting hay and split the Icon of the Mother of God in half. Realizing that what he had done, though unintentionally, was a terrible thing for him and for those around him, the man took the two halves of the Icon, and reverently placed the Icon in his prayer corner, and lit a candle before it. The next morning he found the Icon intact, and only a thin trace of the break remained.

In 1794, the Ozeryana Icon was transferred to the Kuryazh Monastery, and after it was closed it was kept in the Kharkov church of the Protection for eight years. At the beginning of the XIX century, the Monastery was restored, and the holy Icon of the Mother of God was returned to the Monastery at the request of the brethren.

Many of the faithful from Kharkov and the surrounding villages came to venerate the wonderworking Ozeryana Icon, before which many healings of the afflicted occurred by the fervent prayers of the believers.

Beginning in 1843, the wonderworking Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was transferred to Kharkov every year on September 30 in a Cross Procession, where it remained all winter. On April 22 the Icon was returned to the Monastery in the same manner.

The Ozeryana Icon was adorned with an expensive riza made of red gold of ancient workmanship. The Icon was painted on canvas using an old Russian painting technique, and it belongs to the Hodegetria (Hodēgḗtria) type.

Unfortunately, during the years of religious oppression in the XX century the Ozeryana Icon, which is considered to be the patroness of Kharkov and the entire Sloboda region of Ukraine, was lost. Only one copy made according to Church canons has been preserved. According to the clergy, it possesses the same miraculous power as the original Icon.

The Ozeryana Icon is also commemorated on April 23 (movable Feast). The Troparion and Kontakion are the same as those for the Jerusalem Icon (October 12).