Our Lady of Iviron

The origin of the icon of Our Lady of Iviron is shrouded in legend and mystery, but the icon is believed to have been painted by St. Luke.

According to tradition, a woman who lived in Nicea, Asia Minor, in the 9th century possessed an icon of the Mother and Child to which she had a great devotion.  As sacred icons during this period were being destroyed, the woman had to cherish the icon in private.

Unfortunately, a group of soldiers discovered the icon.  In anger, one of the soldiers struck the icon with his sword inflicting a wound in the Virgin's cheek.  Amazingly, the wound bled and the soldier became remorseful, seeking forgiveness from Our Lady.

The soldier then advised the woman to get rid of the icon to avoid likely desecration of the holy portrait.  After the woman spent an entire night in prayer before the icon, she decided to set it adrift in the sea where, miraculously, it drifted towards Mount Athos.

At Mount Athos, at the Monastery of Iviron, a monk by the name of Gabriel was instructed by Our Lady to retrieve the icon from the sea.  He brought the icon into the Monastery church and placed it on the altar.

The next day the monks were astonished to find the icon had moved to a wall next to the gate of the church.  In an appearance to Gabriel the Blessed Virgin insisted that the icon stay where she had put it.  The icon remains there to this day.

A copy of the Iviron icon was formerly kept in a special chapel at the gate to the Red Square in Moscow and venerated as the protectress of Moscow.  It was customary for the Tsars of Russia to visit this shrine and pay homage.  The icon was not confined to the chapel.  Each day the icon left to visit the sick, bless a wedding, a christening or was used for other celebrations.

In the 17th century Tsar Alexis of Russia suddenly fell ill.  He asked that the icon be brought from Athos to heal him.  The monks, however, were reluctant to do that and arranged for a special copy to be made.  The copy was sent to Moscow in 1648 and the Tsar was cured instantly.  After that, the image was placed in the little chapel on the Kremlin Red Square and it became a source of safety for the people.

Following the 1917 Revolution, the Moscow chapel of the Iviron icon was destroyed.  The icon, however, was carried away to safety and hidden for many years in the Donskoi monastery. In 1943 it was placed in the Sokholniki Cathedral, allowing Moscow believers to pray, once again, to Our Lady of Iviron.