June 4, 2010
Mayfield, PA: The Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God visited
the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
On
Sunday, May 30, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Mayfield, PA
was granted a great blessing in the parish visitation of the Hawaiian
Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. The holy icon was invited to the
nearby monastery of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk by Igumen Sergius and the
monastic brotherhood to celebrate their annual pilgrimage. While it
was planned for the Mother of God to be solely at St. Tikhon’s
Monastery, it would seem that the Mother of God heard the prayerful
requests of the parish’s faithful and the dean, Archpriest John
Sorochka, who had issued an invitation to the ikonophoros ("he
who bears the icon") nearly one year ago. While the greeting of
the Mother of God was scheduled for 6:00 PM, huge crowds of people
began arriving at the Cathedral from five o’clock to await the
arrival of our Heavenly Queen. The cathedral was filled with over 600
people by six o’clock, when the clergy exited the altar to receive
the Mother of God from the parish house. As the altar servers and
choir waited outside the parish house, Fr. John and the cathedral’s
protodeacon, Fr. Gregory Petrochko, went to receive the icon of the
Mother of God. To the beautiful peal of the cathedral bells, Fr. John
emerged from the parish house holding the wonder-working icon of our
beloved Mother of God. Local government authorities were also present
for the reception of the icon, as well as members of the press and
television media outlets.
As the
icon processed into the cathedral to the beautiful singing in honor of
the Mother of God, many in attendance could not hold back their tears.
It cannot be overlooked that the composition of the congregation
reached far beyond the local community of Mayfield. People came from
as far as Texas, Delaware, and Massachusetts. The appeal of the Mother
of God reached even those people who are not of the Orthodox faith.
One woman was quoted as saying that she drove one hour and was Roman
Catholic but felt compelled to come and venerate the Mother of God. It
is also noteworthy that this particular Sunday was a part of the civil
holiday celebration of Memorial Day, when many people begin summer
travel. In spite of this fact, the cathedral was filled to capacity.
As
there were such significant crowds present, Fr. John allowed people to
venerate the icon immediately. At seven o’clock, a moleben
was served by Fr. John, who was joined by Archpriest Vladimir Fetcho
(rector of Saint Nicholas Church Olyphant, PA) and Archpriest Zoran
Radovic (rector of St. George Serbian Church in Elizabeth, NJ). The
choir, under the direction of Gary Brzuchalski, sang magnificently in
both English and Slavonic.
At the
completion of the service, Fr. John asked Brother Nektary, the
icon-bearer, to speak about this myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of
God. Brother Nektary spoke softly and humbly about the origins of the
icon and the relationship between the martyred Brother Jose Muñoz-Cortes
and the original Iveron Icon of the Mother of God of Toronto and the
Hawaiian Iveron Mother of God. He emphasized that the ukase issued to
him by the Synod of Bishops charges him to travel with this miraculous
myrrh-streaming icon to all of the churches of Holy Orthodoxy. He
ended by reminding everyone present that, ultimately, the Mother of
God is everyone’s Mother, regardless of the country of our origin or
the language we speak.
As the
crowds once again came to venerate the Mother of God, everyone
proceeded in a peaceful and calm fashion to be anointed by the clergy
with fragrant myrrh. The anointing of the crowds lasted nearly two
hours. Afterwards, many people with various illnesses remained with
the icon, asking their Heavenly Mother for healing of the body as well
as the soul.
It is
also worth noting that the covers on the analogia both in the parish
house and in church were saturated with the holy myrrh that streamed
from the image of the Mother of God.
O Most
Holy Theotokos, save us!
Media
Office of the Eastern American Diocese
