Church celebrates Pochaiv Icon of Most Holy Theotokos
On August 5, the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of the Pochaiv Icon of the Mother of God – one of the most venerated shrines of the entire Slavic Orthodox world. Divine services are held at the Holy Dormition Pochaiv Lavra.
The feast was established in memory of the deliverance of the Pochaiv Monastery from the Turkish-Tatar siege of July 20–23, 1675, by the old style. According to tradition, during the assault the monks prayed fervently before the icon of the Mother of God, and the Most Holy Theotokos herself appeared above the lavra with angels, putting the invaders to flight. The wonderworking icon has resided in the Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra for nearly four centuries and is venerated as a source of numerous healings.
On the feast day, thousands of pilgrims from various regions of Ukraine and other countries traditionally gather at the Pochaiv Lavra. The faithful participate in solemn Divine services, venerate the wonderworking icon and the Holy Footprint of the Mother of God, an imprint left, according to tradition, on a stone during the apparition of the Mother of God.
As the UOJ reported, celebrations honoring the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God began at the Pochaiv Lavra. In addition to the August celebration, the memory of the wonderworking icon is also observed on September 21 – the day of the finding of the icon and the founding of the monastery on that site. The Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra remains the second most important Orthodox monastery in Ukrainian lands after the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
