Lost miraculous icon of Mother of God recreated in Rivne Eparchy

Sisters of the Horodok Convent have recreated a lost image of the Mother of God. Photo: Rivne Eparchy

The sisters of the Horodok St. Nicholas Women's Monastery of the UOC have recreated the miraculous Dubno Icon of the Mother of God, which has been considered lost for more than a hundred years, reports the Rivne Eparchy of the UOC.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Pimen of Rivne and Ostroh, the nuns restored the image that disappeared without a trace during the First World War. The idea of recreating the historical relic belonged to the abbess of the monastery, Hegumeness Mikhaila (Zayets). An ancient engraving found in a book, which was given to the abbess during her stay at one of the monasteries of the Odessa Eparchy, served as the model for the iconographers.

The Dubno Icon is one of the most venerated shrines of Volhynia. The pious princes of Ostroh donated this ancestral image to the Transfiguration Monastery in Dubno, where it became glorified through numerous miracles. For centuries, thousands of the faithful prayed before the shrine; however, following the events of the early 20th century, the whereabouts of the original remain unknown.

The sisters of the St. George Metochion of the Horodok Convent worked on the recreation of the shrine. The faces of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Christ Child were painted by nun Arsenia, who gave the image a special tenderness and spiritual expressiveness. Particular attention was paid to the icon's riza, which was hand-embroidered with pearls, beads, and precious stones by nun Vinira.

At present, the sisters of the monastery are gathering archival materials and historical documents related to this image. The collected information will serve as the basis for the further ecclesiastical glorification of the recreated miraculous icon.

As the UOJ reported, scholars presented a restored 13th-century icon from the Rivne region.

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