Visit of the Kursk-root Icon

On the 10th of November Vladyka Irenei arrived at Heathrow with the wonderworking Kursk-root icon of the Mother of God where he was greeted by Father Spasimir and Subdeacon Sergey, who then took the icon to our parish – which had the blessing of being the first stop during its time in the UK. The icon was greeted by our parishioners, and others who had travelled from across the region to see it, holding candles they reverenced the beautiful and miraculous icon as the Moleben was read.

The following morning the Hours were read, and the Divine Liturgy was served, joined by Father Dobromir and Subdeacon Kirill from the Bulgarian Orthodox church in London. There was a very joyous and prayerful atmosphere in the church, with everyone feeling the great blessings that this historic icon had brought to our church. After the Liturgy and sharing some festal food, Father Spasimir worked tirelessly to bring the icon into the homes of our parishioners, not arriving home until late in the evening and stopping only to serve the Moleben to the Kursk-root icon in our church before heading out to bless more homes. Father Spasimir blessed a total of 17 homes with the icon.

The next day we celebrated the Liturgy once more, after which Father Spasimir delivered the wonderful news that the Blessed Mother of God had worked yet another miracle through her precious icon. Whilst on their lunch break, before picking the icon up from Vladyka Irenei, Father Spasimir and Subdeacon Sergey received the news that after 7 months of preparation and waiting, they received approval of the pre-planning for extensions to our church building. The news was greeted with joy and amazement, as our parish venerated and bid farewell to the icon before it went on its way to Bury St Edmunds.

It is such a great blessing for our parish to have such a long visitation of this sacred icon, an icon with a long history, venerated by many great Saints, and with countless miracles associated with it. We will never forget this wonderful occasion and the miraculous blessing of the Mother of God to our parish!