CHICAGO, IL [DOM] – On Friday, June 26, the annual diocesan observance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God will take place throughout the diocese. The main celebration will be led by His Eminence Archbishop Daniel of Chicago and the Diocese of the Midwest at the Diocesan Cathedral, and home to the Chicago Tikhvin Icon, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, IL.
Clergy and faithful are invited to attend the divine services at the Cathedral in honor of this feast to the Mother of God. Vigil will be celebrated on June 25, at 6:00 p.m. The responses will be sung by the Chicago Deanery Male Choir. On the following day, Divine Liturgy will be served at 9:30 a.m.
Those attending the service are invited to bring flowers to place before the holy Icon.
There are many miraculous icons of the Virgin Mary that have appeared throughout history and continue to be revealed to this day. One of the most ancient icons of the Mother of God is known as the “Tikhvin Icon” which has become the most revered icon of the Theotokos in the Diocese of the Midwest.
Although the Holy Icon’s origins began in Jerusalem at the hand of the Evangelist Luke, the Icon’s travels throughout history has connected many in the old world and the new to the rich history and presence of the Mother of God. From Jerusalem to Constantinople, to Tikhvin, Russia, through war-torn Europe to Chicago, this Icon has been present in significant places reminding those before her of the hope and consolation that she brings by her prayers.
The Tikhvin Icon’s history with the Diocese of the Midwest is not a simple a passthrough or that of storage of the Icon waiting for conditions to improve overseas, but rather, the Icon’s presence made a lasting impact that continues to touch the souls of the faithful in Chicago and the entire Midwest.
Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga, in whose care the icon was placed, was permitted to take the Icon to the United States in 1949, shortly after his arrival in the United States, Bishop John, who was later elevated to the rank of Archbishop, was elected to oversee the Diocese of Chicago, and the Icon was regularly displayed and venerated in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. Bishop John would frequently take the Icon on pilgrimage to various places throughout the United States and Canada providing comfort to those who prayed before the Icon, and a moment that they would not be quick to forget.
The Tikhvin Icon was present in the diocese for over fifty years which a natural devotion to this particular icon was developed within the clergy and faithful of the Midwest. The annual commemoration of the Icon has been solemnly celebrated since her arrival to America and has continued to be an important “summer feast” for the diocese. At this point, a generation of adults in the diocese have grown up with the celebration of this feast can not recall a time without it.
As the Icon has done throughout its existence, in 2004, the icon again moved locations and returned to its former home in Tikhvin, Russia. Since that time, a replica was given to Holy Trinity Cathedral from the Tikhvin Monastery and has been enshrined in the Cathedral and is often referred to as the Chicago-Tikhvin Icon.
