Iveron Icon of the Mother of God
California church place of special visit from Hawaii With the blessing of Hilarion, metropolitan of Eastern America, and the Right Rev. George, vicar-bishop of Eastern America, Archpriest Stephan P. Romanchak, rector, announces the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God of Hawaii will visit Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church in California on Monday, Oct. 18. A moleben or service of intercession will be held at 7 p.m.
The church announced in a press release, “This myrrh-streaming icon depicts the Mother of God holding the Christ Child. The myrrh that flows from this icon is an oil-like substance possessing the fragrance of roses. It is considered a great blessing from the Mother of God and many healings, both spiritual and physical, have been attributed to it.
“The Hawaiian Iveron Mother of God has a unique history; the icon is a mounted replica of the original Montreal Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, made by the Sofrino Church Supply Co. in Russia. It was given as a gift to an Orthodox believer in Hawaii by the parish rector in the summer of 2007. It was in October 2007 that the believer, Reader Nectarios, smelled a strong fragrance of roses coming from the area in which the icon was placed in his home. As he approached the area searching for the source of the strong aroma, he noticed the icon of the Mother of God that he had received as a gift was completely saturated with the fragrant myrrh. After the notifying the parish priest, the icon was brought to the church and completely wiped dry. A service of intercession was held before the icon and, by the end of the service, the icon was again streaming myrrh and the church was filled with the fragrance of roses.”
In June 2008, the Holy myrrh-streaming Hawaiian-Iveron Icon was officially recognized by Kyrill, archbishop of San Francisco and Western America of the Russian Orthodox Outside of Russia, as miraculous and genuine. The icon and its bearer have been given the blessing to travel to various churches and monasteries of Orthodox Faithful.
Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox church is located at 630 American St. in California.