Voronin Icon of the Mother of God

Commemorated on June 15.

They went to the Konchnov forest, and with great joy, they saw the Icon of the Theotokos in the tree. They fell down before before it with tears, asking for mercy from the Sovereign Lady. Raising their hands to heaven, they reverently removed the Icon from the tree and brought it to their church. It was placed in the altar and a Moleben was served before it.

Imagine the shock of the priest and sexton when they entered the church in the morning, but did not find the Icon. Fear and trembling seized them, and they understood that this was not the work of men, but of God. Then the priest summoned the parishioners and told them about the miracle, after which the faithful, led by the priest, went to the place with candles and lamps and found the Icon. Among those present was a girl named Theodosia, who was blind from birth.

Arriving at the place, the pilgrims saw the Icon of the Sovereign Lady, glowing with an unearthly light. The priest, sexton and all the people, prayed fervently, and began to take turns venerating the Icon. The blind maiden Theodosia was led to the Icon and she said: "O Sovereign Lady of the world, Helper of Christians, Most Holy Theotokos, grant that I may see and venerate your wonderworking Icon."

After making the Sign of the Cross on herself, Theodosia raised her eyes to the tree, and suddenly she saw the Icon in it, like a ray of sanctifying sunshine, and she was completely healed of her ailment.

From that time, the Voronin Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos has been renowned for its many miracles, the number of which, according to ancient sources, is incalculable: the blind received their sight, the lame walked, and those possessed by unclean spirits were cleansed.

Following Father Andrew's advice, a chapel was built beside the linden tree where the Sovereign Lady's Icon first appeared, and it was placed inside. The Dormition Voronin Hermitage was established there and was highly esteemed by the pilgrims.

In 1688, Voronin Hermitage was assigned to the Cherepovets Resurrection Monastery, and was listed in the category of Patriarchal possessions. The glory of the Hermitage was so great that in 1764 it was not abolished like most of the other Vologda monasteries. In 1792 however, the Monastery burned down under mysterious circumstances, and the brethren were transferred to the Saint Philip-Irapsk Hermitage.

According to tradition, this Icon was stolen. It is believed that the Voronin Icon was seen in the southern Dorotheiev Hermitage in the Yaroslavl Diocese. In 1794, a parish church was established on the site of the burnt Monastery, where a magnificent stone church was built in 1804 in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God, with side altars dedicated to the Nativity of Saint John the Forerunner, and to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. Its ruins are still preserved today.

The name of the miraculous Voronin Icon of the Mother of God, and the Hermitage established on the site of its appearance, came from the nickname of the Superior of the Monastery, Mark "the Raven," who lived in the XVI century. That is how the village received its name.

In the XVIII century in "The Story of the Voronin Icon of the Mother of God," the Icon is called "Hodēgḗtria of Voronin," because of the antiquity of the Hodēgḗtria (She who shows the way) which refers not to the Icon of the Mother of God, but to the Most Holy Theotokos herself.

Similar cases are known in Russian history. For example, on June 25, 1682, at the coronation of Tsar Peter and John V a solemn Moleben was served before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which belongs to the "Tenderness" type in manuscript Sborniks in the middle of the XVIII century. But in the annals it was called "Vladimir Hodēgḗtria." Later, the Voronin Hodēgḗtria was mistakenly believed to be a copy of the Smolensk Icon (July 28).

In accordance with ancient tradition, the forgotten Feast Day of the Voronin Icon of the Mother of God has now been revived on June 15, the day of its historic appearance.

Due to the early loss of the original wonderworking Icon itself, its image was unknown for a long time, no copies have survived. It was fortunate that a miniature depicting the Voronin Icon of the Mother of God was found in a manuscript collection from the middle of the XVIII century. It is remarkable that the collection was compiled at a time when the wonderworking Icon was still at the Voronin Hermitage.

On the basis of a miraculously preserved image, an Icon was painted, in which a Cross Procession took place on the day of the Leushinsk Monastery's Altar Feast.

There is a Troparion and Kontakion for the Voronin Icon of the Mother of God which have been blessed by Bishop Flavian of Cherepovets and White Lake, for use within the Diocese of Cherepovets.