June 13, 2012
Howell, NJ: The Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God concluded
a two-week visitation to the Eastern American Diocese
On Sunday, June 10, the myrrh-streaming
Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God concluded a two week
visitation to the Eastern American Diocese. With the blessing of the
First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence,
Metropolitan Hilarion, the Icon visited ten parishes and monasteries
of different jurisdictions, located within the geographical borders
of the Eastern American Diocese.
Wherever the myrrhstreaming icon went,
hundreds and thousands of the faithful would flock to venerate it
and be anointed with the holy myrrh that poured from it. The paper
icon was produced in Moscow by the church supply firm Sofrino, and
is a scan of the original Montreal Ivernon myrrh-streaming icon of
the Mother of God, which disappeared in 1997 with the martyrdom of
its guardian, Brother José Muñoz-Cortes.
The current icon was given as a gift to
Reader Nectarios Yangson, a parishioner of the Holy Theotokos of
Iveron Church in Hawaii, by his parish priest. In 2007, during the
signing of the Act of Canonical Communion between the Moscow
Patriarchate and the Russian Church Abroad, the icon started to
stream myrrh and filled the entire house with the smell of roses.
The smell continued for several months, until Rdr. Nectarios
discovered the icon covered in myrrh atop his bookshelf in October
of 2007, the tenth anniversary of the martyrdom of Brother José.
After the icon was declared a genuine
miracle by His Eminence Kyrill, Archbishop of San Francisco &
Western America in June 2008, it began to travel to hundreds of
parishes and monasteries in the United States, healing the divisions
between the Orthodox jurisdictions and bringing the faithful closer
to God.
The final visit of the Icon was to
St. George’s Church in Howell,
New Jersey. The Icon was greeted by His Grace Eastern American
Diocesan vicar Bishop George of Mayfield, who led the divine
services, co-served by rector Archpriest Serge Lukianov, Archpriest
Boris Oparin, Priest Sergei Berezhnoy (cleric of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church), and parish Deacon Leonid Roschko.
After the divine services in St. George’s
Church, the icon returned to its home in Hawaii. The next visit to
the Eastern American Diocese is scheduled to coincide with the
official celebration of the 5th anniversary of the Reunification,
during a joint pastoral conference of Patriarchal and Diasporan
clergy on October 11-13 in Nyack, NY.
On October 27-28, the icon will be in Holy
Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY, for memorial services at the
grave of Brother José.
It is interesting to note that 2012 is the
30th anniversary of the appearance of the original myrrh-streaming
Montreal Icon, the 15th anniversary of Br. José’s martyrdom, and the
5th anniversary of the appearance of the Hawaiian Icon.
O Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
Republication of materials must include a reference to:
"Eastern American Diocesewww.eadiocese.org."
