Русская Версия

January 16, 2010
Staten Island, NY: The Kursk Root Icon visited the Church of the Mother of God "Unexpected Joy"

Several days before Christ’s Nativity, our little mission parish on State Island, NY, named in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Unexpected Joy" experienced the Unexpected Joy Herself. The wonder-working Kursk Root Icon was given to our rector, Archpriest George Kallaur, for a day. We visited parishioners who could not attend church on their own, and so many tears of tenderness and repentance were shed before the Heavenly Queen. These elder parishioners sincerely prayed and tearfully repented aloud of their sins before the Sovereign Lady, asking her intercession for when they must make the transition to Eternal Life. That evening, upon arrival at the church, which was overflowing with the worshipers, a moleben with akathist was served before the icon. In a tight and cozy atmosphere, everyone prayed tearfully, and the Heavenly Queen bestowed up her great mercy on us sinners, blessing us with her sweet fragrance. After the service, one parishioner invited the icon to visit her home, where her daughter lay ill. After the icon visited her bedside, the girl immediately felt better. These parishioners smelled a sweet fragrance in their homes well into the next day. The Mother of God truly bestows unto us her mercy through her wonder-working icon; this is something to which we, in a very short time, have become witnesses.

Archpriest George Kallaur