Between September 16th and 18th, 2024, the Orthodox Christian faithful from the Chicago metropolitan area had the blessing to venerate the wonderworking and myrrh-streaming icon of the Holy Mother of God from Hawaii. On Wednesday, September 18th, at 7.00 pm the icon arrived at the Ss. Constantine and Helen Romanian Orthodox Cathedral in Chicago.
His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae, together with the clergy of the Cathedral and hundreds of Orthodox Christians from Chicago, welcomed the icon in front of the church. In a majestic procession the icon was taken into the Cathedral where the Acathist of the Mother of God Portaitissa was read both in Romanian and English. Father Nectarios, the guardian of the icon who accompanied it in this pilgrimage to Chicago, talked about the history of the icon and the many miracles made through prayer in front of her. About 600 faithful had the blessing to venerate the icon and to be anointed with the holy myrrh that is streaming from it.
The history of this icon starts in 1997 when Subdeacon Nectarios received it on his nameday as a gift from Father Anatole Lyovin. A copy of the Iveron icon of the Theotokos (from Mount Athos) was brought to Montreal, Canada in 1982. The Hawaiian icon is a copy of the Montreal icon manufactured at Sofrino, Moscow. In October 2007, Subdeacon Nectarios and his wife smelled a strong scent of roses and observed that myrrh was streaming from the icon.
In June of 2008, the “Hawaiian” Myrrh-streaming Iveron Icon was officially recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) as miraculous and worthy of veneration, and was given the blessing to travel to various Orthodox churches and monasteries. The original “owner” of the Icon, Subdeacon Nectarios, was charged by the Russian Orthodox Church to be Her guardian. Since June of 2008, She has been to over 2000 churches in America and throughout the world. Requests have now been made for the Wonderworking Icon to be brought to Orthodox Christians all over the world.
