Reproduction of Tikhvin Icon to visit Chicago Deanery parishes during Dormition Fast


Reproduction of Tikhvin Icon to visit Chicago Deanery parishes during Dormition Fast

CHICAGO, IL [MW Diocese Communications] — The reproduction of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God enshrined in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral will be traveling to several locations throughout the Chicagoland area during the Dormition Fast.

“During this holy time, an Akathist will be served before the icon every day until the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God,” said Priest Alexander Koranda, Priest-in-Charge of Holy Trinity Cathedral.

The Icon’s visitation schedule may be found below.

Chicagos Holy Trinity Cathedral welcomes Archbishop Leo of FinlandAccording to ancient tradition, the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist.  In the fifth century, the icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose.  In 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod in northern Russia witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light.  Shortly thereafter, the icon appeared in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin.  A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God was built on the site.  In 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church.  Over the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide, with copies of the original adorning countless churches throughout Russia and beyond.

During the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from whence it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia.  When Riga was evacuated, His Grace, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga — later Archbishop of Chicago and Minneapolis — in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war.  While Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the US in 1949, where it was venerated for many years at Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago.  After Archbishop John’s repose in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, his adopted son and Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral, became the icon’s guardian.  In July 2004, the icon was returned to Russia and once again enshrined in the Tikhvin Monastery.

Visitation Schedule for the Tikhvin Icon
The public is invited to all services.

August 01st – Protection of the Virgin Mary Church, Merrillville, IN, Akathist, 6:00p
August 02nd– Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 6:00p
August 03rd – St. Nicholas Church, Joliet, IL, Akathist, 6:30p
August 04th – Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 11:00a
August 05th – Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 6:00p
August 06th– Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 6:00p
August 07th– Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 6:00p
August 08th – Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 8:00a
August 09th – St. Joseph Church, Wheaton, IL, Akathist, 7:30p
August 10th – St. Peter and St. Paul Church, Burr Ridge, IL, Akathist, 7:00p
August 11th – Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 11:00a
August 12th– Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 6:00p
August 13th – Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 6:00p
August 14th – Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 6:00p
August 15th– Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago, Akathist, 6:00p

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