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JULY 6.
Icon of the Theotokos of Blachernae. The famous Greek Icon was the favourite devotion of the early Fathers of the Kyivan Caves
Lavra. The twelve Greek
Saints-Builders of the Lavra and others brought a copy with them to Kyiv
and other copies of it were written and placed throughout the Lavra. 7.
The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
The popular Icon of Kazan has numerous Miraculous Copies in
Ukraine, some with a very rich history, such as in Peskakh in Kharkiv,
Derman in Volyn and Kaplunivka. The
Kaplunivka Icon, near Kharkiv and Okhtyrka refused to let the Church in
which it was enshrined burn at the instigation of the Swedish soldiers of
Charles XII. This was said to
have demoralized the Swedish Lutheran King, especially since Tsar Peter
had taken the original Icon with him into battle.
Another Kazan Icon is that of the Golden Gate in Kyiv in the
Trinity Church. Another
miraculous Kazan Icon is in the Nearer Caves of the Kyivan Lavra.
Other Volyn miraculous copies of the Kazan Icon are in Nikolsk
church in Little Sadochky and in Little Dederkal, in the town of Lopavshy. 9.
The Icon of Borkolabivska in Mohilev which was glorified with miracles
beginning in 1648. 15.
The Icon of Okhtyrka. A
Ukrainian priest was cutting grass with a scythe one day in the town of
Okhtyrka near Kharkiv when he saw a beautiful Icon of the Mother of God on
the ground. It showed the
Mother of God praying, hands folded, before Her Crucified Son.
He asked his daughter to wash the Icon which she did. In accordance with Orthodox tradition, water that has been
used to wash Icons is returned to the river and never thrown out just
anywhere. As she approached
the river, an elderly lady prophesied to her to take the water back to
Church for through it healings would occur.
324 miraculous healings have been officially attributed to the Icon
and it is one of only six world-wide that has the official seal of the
Tsar. It was totally covered with gold, but this was removed by the
Austro-Hungarian government and used to help pay for military costs during
World War 1. The Icon
disappeared and then reappeared in the Art Gallery of Mr. Kolankivsky in
Niagara Falls. He bought it
from a Bulgarian artist and the Icon was verified by Ukrainian Orthodox
Church authorities. The
author of these humble lines saw the Icon for himself and can attest to
its beauty and spirituality. The
icon was returned to Okhtyrka some years ago.
Copies of this Icon are used to bless holy water on this day, the
only instance in which the order is reversed, in memory of the original
finding of the Icon. 28.
The Icon of the Mother of God of Smolensk. This is an Icon of the Blachernae type brought to Ukraine by
a Greek Princess who married the Prince of Chernihiv in the tenth century.
The Icon was then placed in Smolensk, then a Ukrainian city, by
Grand Prince Volodymyr Monomakh. It is one of the most celebrated Icons in Ukraine and Russia
and has many miraculous copies such as at Suprasl and Kharkiv. |
