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orthodoxydaily · 2 years

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THE LEGENDARY TIKHVIN ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

Celebrated on July 9 ( julian calendar) and June 26 ( Gregorian calendar)

According to ancient tradition, the wonderworking icon of Tikhvin is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. The icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the fifth century, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose.

In 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. According to an early sixteenth century Russian manuscript, “The Tale of Miracles of the Icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God,” the Theotokos herself decided that her image should leave Constantinople, perhaps in anticipation of the impending fall of the Byzantine Empire.

Shortly after its miraculous appearance, the icon was discovered in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin. A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos was built on the site of the icon’s final resting place. Miraculously, the icon survived a number of fires.

In the early sixteenth century, through the zeal of Great Prince Basil Ivanovich, a stone church was built to replace the original wooden structure. In 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church and enclosed with a stone wall.

In 1613-1614, the Swedish army, having seized Novgorod, made several attempts to destroy the monastery. The countless prayers offered to the Theotokos before the icon were heard, and the monastery was spared. On one occasion, after monks had been alerted to the approaching Swedish army, they decided to flee and to take the icon with them. But the monks soon discovered that they could not remove the icon from its shrine. Seeing this as a sign of the Theotokos’ protection, the monks decided not to abandon the monastery, begging the Theotokos to spare them and their beloved spiritual home. To their amazement, a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery.

When the Swedes encountered the army, they retreated immediately. Word of this miracle spread rapidly, and imperial emissaries soon visited the monastery. Accompanied by a copy of the wonderworking icon, they set off for the village of Stolbovo, 33 miles from Tikhvin, where they concluded a peace treaty with the Swedes on February 10, 1617. Afterwards, the copy of the icon was taken to Moscow and enshrined in the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral. Later, the same icon was placed in the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) cathedral in Novgorod at the request of the city’s faithful, who also found themselves under attack by the Swedes. Once again, through the intercession of the Theotokos, the city was spared.

Over the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide. Copies of the wonderworking icon began to adorn churches throughout the land. Some of these copies also proved to be sources of miracles, and it was not uncommon to find the faithful praying before the icon to seek healing for children who were ill.

No fewer than 24 processions with the icon were celebrated each year at the Tikhvin Monastery, where the icon was enshrined. A decorative cover, or “riza,” adorned the icon, exposing only the faces and hands of the Holy Virgin and Christ child. Numerous precious stones studded the riza, and many of the faithful, desiring to express thanksgiving for prayers answered through the Theotokos’ intercession, affixed precious jewelry to the riza.

Most miraculous is the fact that the icon was preserved from destruction or sale after the Russian Revolution, which ushered in a 74-year persecution of the Church. During the 1920s, the communist government demanded that the Russian Orthodox Church turn over countless icons and other precious liturgical items, which through the nationalization of private property were considered the property of “the people.” Many of these sacred items were sold, allegedly to raise money to feed the Russian and Ukrainian population which was afflicted by famine.

During the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from where it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia. When the city was evacuated, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga, in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war. While Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the United States in 1949, under the pretext that the icon in his care was a reproduction, the work of a simple monk, and that it was of little historic or monetary value. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Bishop John, who was later elevated to the rank of Archbishop, was elected to oversee the Diocese of Chicago, and the icon was regularly displayed and venerated in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Bishop John frequently took the icon on pilgrimage to various places throughout the United States and Canada. After his retirement in the late 1970s and death on Palm Sunday in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, Bishop John’s adopted son, became the caretaker of the icon. In 2003, over a decade after the fall of communism and the resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision was made to return the precious icon to its original home.

The icon began its year-long journey to Russia at the 99th annual Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, May 23-26, 2003. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful.

The icon follows the “Hodēgḗtria” model and is similar in style to the ancient Ivḗron icon of Our Lady. It differs in that the Christ child’s legs are crossed, while the sole of His foot is turned to the viewer. Several historic sources note that several other Hodēgḗtria icons of the Theotokos had been brought to Russia in the 1380s, during the rule of the saintly prince Demetrius Donskoy.

-- Archpriest John Matusiak

#easternorthodoxy #icons #sacredart

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shewhoalwaysguides · 2 years

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Doxology to St George el-Mozahem

He was born to parents: of mixed heritage: his father was a Muslim: and his mother was Christian

His mother raised him: in Christian manners: his mother brought him: to the Church since a boy

He saw kids his age: dressing up in white: and always wondered: why was it so

The Christian children: were partaking in the Holy Mysteries: and He longed to be: just like them

His mother told him: that he could not receive: so she gave him the eulogia bread: and the bread tasted sweet

Travelled to Damietta: when he was older: for baptism: and his family found out

He was tortured by his family: but was able to flee them: he then went to Damirah: where he was born

The people found out: delivered him to the Governor: and was imprisoned and tortured: with his wife Ciola

He was released by the Lord: and he went to Saft El-Kodor: with his wife: the blessed Ciola

He was then seized by them: for they knew of his story: and wanted him: to return to their faith

With a rope tied to his neck: he was dragged on the streets: he was given respite: to renounce Christ by Friday

He ran away to Bosat: where he saw a vision: that he was going to receive: the crown of martyrdom

The people tortured him with rods: and scourged him: with green palm branches: then tied him to the mast of a ship

The angel of the Lord: strengthened and healed him: the angel came: with the Virgin

He was ordered to be beheaded: receiving martyrdom: and was cut into pieces: and left to burn

The Lord saved his body: and let a Christian woman find him: he was shrouded: and delivered to his wife

They built a Church for him: to bury his body: Ciola and his mother: served the Church till death

Pray to the Lord on our behalf: O athlete and martyr: St George el-Mozahem: that He may forgive us our sins

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girlandthedarkness · 3 years

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nothing will top the time when i confessed to our priest about thinking of k-word myself and he said that i should be grateful for having a soup in the fridge

#religious trauma #at it's finest #i can't believe this man heard a child saying that they think about dead and just dismiss it like that #he said i will go to hell of course #it's a classic #christian faith #ex christian #tw suicide mention #easternorthodoxy #gang

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istologiolavaron · 3 years

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Përlëshorja e Oshënare Makrina, që psalet sot e nesër, dt. 18 korrik pasdite dhe dt. 19 korrik paradite. Shërbesa me himne është shkëputur nga libri "Kremtore e Kishës Orthodokse", përkthyer nga greqishtja në shqip, nga Imzot Theofan Noli, Boston, Mass, 1947. . . . Radio "Ngjallja" Me Ju Për Një Shoqëri Dashurie! -Tiranë-Durrës 88.5 MHz - Korçë 88.7 MHz - Elbasan 93.4 MHz - Fier 98.7 MHz #saint #church #holyscripture #prayer #orthodox #christ #love #orthodoxy #albania #history #bible #αγιαγραφη #photography #orthodoxyliveorthodoxy #radio #kisha #krishterimi #perendia #easternorthodoxy #christianity #orthodoxchristian #christian #thegoodnews https://www.instagram.com/p/CRfaLTqrZla/?utm_medium=tumblr

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deborahdeshoftim5779 · 4 years

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Psalm 145 (144 in the Septuagint), noted for its Hebrew versification. Chanted here in Greek.

#greek #greeklanguage #koinegreek #psalm145 #septuagint #greekbible #psalms #psalmsofdavid #greekorthodox #easternorthodoxy #hebrew #easternchant #church #sacredmusic #musicblr

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pinuslibertatis · 5 years

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#easternorthodoxy #orthodoxchristian #deathtotheworld #christ #punk

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timoe · 5 years

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St. Mark's Church, Belgrade

autumn evening

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jacfalcon · 2 years

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Blessed day of the repose of my beloved patron Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica! Pray he is canonized, so that today will be his feast day, my name day! Grab a copy of his book Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives! #orthodoxy #easternorthodoxy #orthodox #thaddeus #elderthaddeus #elderthaddeusofvitovnica #feastday #nameday https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbz8mMern8O/?utm_medium=tumblr

#orthodoxy #easternorthodoxy #orthodox #thaddeus #elderthaddeus #elderthaddeusofvitovnica #feastday #nameday

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russianicons · 2 years

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It is believed that the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God was one of the first images painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. In the featured picture, you can see a 19th-century example of this particular icon painted by an anonymous master in the Vladimir region. The holy work features 16 border scenes designed in a way to tell about the appearances and revelations of the Tikhvin icon throughout history. It is now part of our Russian Orthodox icon collection.

#tikhvinicon #motherofgod #theotokos #saintluke #19thecntury #19century #russianiconcollection #holyicons #religiousicons #religiousart #christianart #iconography #religiousiconography #easternorthodoxy #orthodoxchurch

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justinsuvoy · 7 months

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This documentary was produced around the occasion of Fr. Alexander Schmemann's funeral at St. Vladimir's Seminary in 1983. It reflects on the life of this contemporary Orthodox Christian theologian, teacher, priest and friend and the impact he has had on the church in this country and through out the world.

Justin Suvoy

#stvladimirsseminary #fralexanderschmemann #easternorthodoxy #justinsuvoy #justinsuvoyyoutube

#justinsuvoy #stvladimirsseminary #fralexanderschmemann #easternorthodoxy #justinsuvoyyoutube #Youtube

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orthodoxydaily · 2 years

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A journey in the Orthodox World

THE WONDERWORKING ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD FROM HAWAÏ

On the top picture we see the droplets of Myrrh the Icon is constantly releasing. People venerating wipe her with scarfs, prayer ropes, images, tissues and yet she never stop streaming filling the entire church. with an indescribable fragrance and a saintly atmosphere.

In his own words Fr. Deacon Nectarios, shares his life as caretaker of the Iveron Icon.

The Letter from Deacon Nectarios...

Dear beloved in Christ,

In humility and with extreme trepidation, I will attempt to relate to you what actually occurred before rumors spread, evolve, and eventually become untruths. Many have asked me to explain the events that have taken place in recent weeks regarding the two myrrh-streaming icons at the Holy Theotokos of Iveron Russian Orthodox Church in Honolulu, Hawaii. It has been hard to put into words the recent events that have taken over my life. I can't imagine how others would have reacted if they were in my shoes, God only knows. I pray God will guide me, and my family, to do and say things that are not contrary to His Will. I will attempt to tell the story of how these humble icons came into my life and how they changed it. Everything I write here is true.

The icons in question are two:

One is a mounted-print made, I believe, at the Sofrino Church factory near Moscow. It is an exact copy of the Montreal Myrrh-streaming Iveron Icon of the Holy Theotokos; this was the icon cared for by Blessed Martyr Brother José Muñoz. It is a small icon, roughly 7 x 9 inches and approximately one inch thick. My parish priest, Fr. Anatole Lyovin, gifted it to me for my Name's Day [in 1997]. He said he purchased it at a church bookstore in Toronto when the parish in which he had grown up celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its founding. The icons from Sofrino have a distinctive style with a beautiful silk-screen riza (or oklad in Russian, Pokamiso in Greek) built into the icon. This is done so that those who cannot afford beautiful and very expensive icons can have something equally beautiful from Sofrino for less.

The second icon is a hand-painted icon in the shape of a Cross, with the image of Our Lord's crucifixion in the traditional Byzantine style of iconography. A Greek monk from the Holy Mountain Athos painted it. It is roughly 8 x 11 inches and approximately 1 1/2 inches thick. I purchased a set of two near identical Cross icons and gave one to my father as a gift; I kept the other.

Before I relate to you the full story of the icons, let me say how it all began …

Over three months ago, sometime around May, June or July of 2007, my wife and I noticed a hint of the scent of roses in the area surrounding our icon corner in our home chapel. Something made us look at our Cross icon of Christ (located behind our family reliquary), we noticed a small bead of liquid around the side wound on the image of the Christ, where the "soldier pierced His side with a lance". The liquid smelled very sweet, like myrrh. My experience with myrrh is quite limited, my only contact being a cotton ball soaked with myrrh from the Montreal Myrrh-streaming Iveron Icon and several cotton balls of myrrh from the Myrrh-streaming St. Nicholas Icon. We told no one of this and proceeded to "keep an eye" on the icon for any new developments or any possible continuation of the "streaming". The bead of myrrh eventually dried out and we eventually forgot about it.

Now on to the most recent developments in my story …

During the last week of September I began to notice an unbelievably strong smell of myrrh, at home, in my car, even at work. I couldn't explain it. Was it all in my head? I asked my wife and she said she didn't smell anything. I spoke with several other people who visited our home, and they too said they didn't smell anything. (One of these people was our Serbian Orthodox kuma – she, too, couldn't smell anything.) I was convinced it was all in my imagination. This was on September 27th, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

Then in the first week of October, my wife and I were extremely ill and missed Vespers that night. We don't miss too many of the church's divine services, so we did take notice of the date, October 6th (Feast day of the Conception of St. John the Baptist). Around 10:30 p. m. that night, I was working in my office, which also doubles as our home chapel where our icon corner is located. My cat walked into the office and began to sniff around as if he smelled something. I did not smell anything. He proceeded to walk toward the area were our family reliquaries are kept. I thought this was strange since he would never go near the reliquaries; amazingly something always stopped him, and he's a nosy cat. Yet this time he stood on his hind legs and sniffed around, I assume in order to figure out what the smell was. I still didn't smell anything. I proceeded to pick him up and then I noticed the scent. It was so strong, even overwhelming. Never have I smelled anything like that in my life. I couldn't explain why I hadn't smelled it before. It was like a thousand roses had fallen into the room. I crossed myself and guarded myself with the Jesus Prayer. I put the cat down and proceeded to look at the icons. I admit I was afraid to look at the icons near the reliquaries. I finally came to the icon of the Cross and noticed that the bead of myrrh by the side-wound of Christ was still dry, for a split second I regained some composure, even as the smell of roses was getting stronger. I then looked down and my hand was wet -- it was myrrh. How did it get there? The icon was dry? Or was it? I then noticed that the left knee of the image of Our Lord was forming a bead of myrrh right before my eyes. I then called out to my wife. She came running, and when I asked her if she had spilled anything on the icons, she said no. She hadn't gone near them. I showed her the icon. She was in shock. I told her the smell is too strong. Help me look at the other icons. So she did. In my office I have two bookshelves, at the top of them are icons. We have many icons, maybe too many. I stood on my toes to reach for the icons at the top of my bookshelves. My wife did the same. Finally I grabbed the icon of Iveron given to me by Fr. Anatole. It was completely wet. And then the smell got even stronger. Even my wife could smell it. For those of you who don't know my wife, her sense of smell is very limited; she is only capable of smelling citrus scents. We were afraid. We asked one another if we cleaned or anointed the icons recently, and both of us said 'no'. 'What is going on?' I asked. I put the icons back where they were; we took a few pictures with our digital camera. Then I said an Akathist to the Mother of God in honor of her Iveron Icon and went to bed, or at least tried to.

The next day, Sunday October 7th, after much debate, we left the icons at home and went to church. After the Liturgy we spoke to our kuma, who instructed us to speak with the priest immediately. We told Fr. Anatole what had happened. He listened patiently and said, 'Bring the icons to church!' We then arranged with the priest, to bring the icons to church the next Wednesday, October 10th. Up until that Wednesday, the icons continued to stream. I collected the myrrh on cotton and before them I said prayers for my sister who was ill and for several other people.

[Fr Anatole's Note: The next day, his sister called her father to say that her doctor cannot explain it, but that her pancreas, which had completely stopped functioning had returned to its normal state and that her diabetes was under control.]

We couldn't wait until Wednesday.

On Wednesday October 10th, we brought the icons to church and placed them on two analogia (lecterns) in the center of the church. Fr. Anatole inspected them and wiped them down with cotton and proceeded to start the service of the Akathist Hymn of the Iveron Icon. After the service, the icons were wiped down again; they had streamed a little during the service. Fr. Anatole confirmed to us that it is 'definitely streaming myrrh' and that it is 'a very pure myrrh'. The smell of roses filled the air. I asked him what we were to do? He asked us to leave the icons in church for the time being. No one knew about the icons; they were safe at church.

The next Saturday, October 13th, just happened to be "clean the church day". We were preparing our church for the upcoming feasts; our parish feast day (November 24), Christmas, the Serbian bishop's visit, etc. So my wife, myself and another person were put in charge of cleaning. While we were cleaning the church we couldn't take our eyes off the two myrrh-streaming icons, which slowly streamed while we were cleaning. The smell of roses was quite pungent. The icons seemed to exude a strong smell of roses. The Icon of the Mother of God seems to smell more like 'roses' than the other icon. The Cross has a spicier smell to it. I can't explain it. While we were cleaning the church, our kumovi, came to see the icons. Not many folks could wait for Vespers that evening. Our Kuma later remarked to me that she's the 'doubting Thomas' and really couldn't believe it until she saw it for herself. Understandable. She didn't realize that the icons were actually streaming as we were cleaning. (They don't stream continuously.) She venerated the Cross and kissed the feet of Our Lord. She got a nice helping of myrrh in her mouth. Like the doubting Apostle Thomas who put his fingers in Christ's Hands and Side, she put her mouth right in the myrrh, where myrrh wasn't supposed to be! I couldn't help but laugh.

The next day, Sunday October 14th, was the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, and Fr. Anatole revealed the icons to the people. The icons streamed quite heavily; there was enough myrrh for everyone. They have continued streaming ever since. Many have come to see the icons, Russians, Greeks, Serbs, Roman Catholics, Protestants. All who approach the icons feel the Grace of God! There have been days when the icons have been completely dry, while on other days they are covered in myrrh. Yet whether they stream or not, they continuously give off an extremely strong scent of roses. It is truly a great miracle! I sometimes wonder if it is a warning...continue reading

#icon #wonderworking #motherofgod #theotokos #iveron #sacredart #easternorthodoxy

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