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AUGUST 13)
Miraculous Icon of St Volodymyr of Minsk.
This Icon was originally taken by St Volodymyr the Great from
Korsun at the time of his Baptism. The
Icon was used to bless the River Dnipro-Slavutych and was present at the
Baptism of Rus’-Ukraine. It
was the main Icon of the “Desyatynna Tserkva” or the Church of the
Tithe built by St Volodymyr on the spot of the Martyrdom of Sts. Theodore
and John, his soldiers who were martyred for refusing to render human
sacrifice to the gods. It was called the “Church of the Tithe” since it was
built with one-tenth of St Volodymyr’s wealth.
After the destruction of the Church, the Icon was taken north to
where Minsk is now and was placed in a Shrine facing the source of the
river Dnipro. This is an
ancient Icon of Kyvian Rus’-Ukraine, glorified by many miracles and a
great Protector of Ukraine. 15)
Miraculous Icons of the Dormition or “Uspenie” of the Mother of God.
This day being the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, a
number of miraculous Icons are honoured.
In fact, the Ukrainian Church has an entirely unique way of
venerating this Feast Day. The Dormition or “Falling Asleep” of the Virgin Mary is
often honoured with a special Shroud, Epitaphion, or Plaschanytsia
depicting the Dormition. Many
Ukrainian Churches dedicated to the Dormition have special, separate
Chapels where this Shroud is enshrined throughout the year before it is
taken out, much like the Epitaphion of Christ during the Feast of Pascha.
The miraculous Icon of the Dormition of the Kyiv Caves is the
Patronal Icon of the Great Church of the Kyivan Caves.
St Peter, Metropolitan of Kyiv, wrote a miraculous Icon of the
Dormition which is now in the Dormition Sobor in Moscow.
Other miraculous Icons of the Dormition of the Kyivan Church are at
Minsk, Novhorod-Siversk and Kishinev as well as Pochayiv.
The Icon of Bakhchysaray is a famous miraculous Dormition Icon
located in Crimea. On this
day is celebrated the great Icon of Volodymyr-Rostov, written by none
other than St Alypius of the Kyivan Caves. This Icon, ordered by a wealthy merchant at the Kyivan Caves,
was being written by St Alypius who could not, because he was tired,
complete it. It was
completed, according to Tradition, by Angels as St Alypius slept.
It was brought by Volodymyr Monomakh to Rostov, then a part of the
Kyivan Empire, to the Sobor of the Dormition there, and this is why it is
called “Volodymyr-Rostov.” On
this day of the Dormition of the Theotokos, other Miraculous Icons are
celebrated including the Icon of St Sophia in Kyiv (on the Iconostasis),
that of Novhorod, the Icon of Tupychevsk
In Volyn on this Feast Day, the following Icons are celebrated:
The Icon of Nesolon, the Icon of Khrystynovka, and the Icon of
Mezhyrich. 19)
The Icon of the Mother of God of the Don.
The Patronal Icon of the Don Kozaks is celebrated on this day,
(actually two miraculous copies) glorified by many miracles, especially
miracles associated with assisting the Kozaks during their battles. 23)
The “Mykhaylivska” Icon of the Mother of God. It is enshrined
in the Dormition Church of the town of Bilsha Pysarevka near Kharkiv. 24)
The Icon of St Peter, Metropolitan of Kyiv is celebrated on this
day. |
