Kursk Icon

On this day we venerate and celebrate the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God. This icon has an incredible history and has stood as a beacon of hope and healing and consolation for Orthodox people throughout many centuries.

It is unknown when the icon was originally created, but in the year 1295, in the region of Kursk, a hunter happened to notice an object lying on the ground next to the roots of a tree. He picked up the object and discovered that it was an icon of the Mother of God. The icon’s first recorded miracle took place right at that moment, for as the hunter picked up the icon, a spring of pure water began to flow from the place where the icon had rested.

The hunter constructed a small wooden chapel at the site where he had found the icon and placed the holy icon in reverence in this chapel. Residents of the surrounding areas soon began to visit the little chapel and news of miraculous healings began to spread forth. Prince Vasily Shemyaka of Rylsk ordered that the icon be brought to the city of Rylsk and the icon was indeed brought there in solemn procession. The prince himself declined to attend the festivities welcoming the holy icon and was immediately struck with blindness. He repented and his eyesight was immediately restored. In light of this miracle, he constructed a large church in honor of the Nativity of the Theotokos and enshrined the Kursk icon there.

But something interesting began to happen… The icon mysteriously vanished from the newly constructed church and was discovered back at the small chapel where she had originally been discovered. Several times, the people brought the icon back to the city church and each time, she would disappear, only to be found at the small chapel at the roots of the tree where she was discovered. The people finally submitted to the clear will of the Mother of God and left her there.

In the year 1383, the province of Kursk was invaded by the Tartars. They attempted to set fire to the chapel where the icon was, but it refused to burn – even though they piled up fuel all around it. They accused the priest who was the guardian of the icon with sorcery, but he attributed the miracle to the Mother of God and her icon. They then ceased upon the icon and cut it in two, casting the pieces off to two sides. The chapel then did indeed catch fire and they carried the priest, Fr Bogolev, off as a prisoner.

Throughout his captivity, Fr Bogolev held firm to his faith and prayed daily to the Mother of God. When he was freed, he went straight away to the site where the chapel had been and searched for the two pieces of the icon. He found them and, placing the two sides together, they miraculously fused back into one piece.

Throughout the centuries, the Kursk Icon has inspired, consoled, and been the conduit of healing for thousands of people throughout the Russian land. St Seraphim of Sarov, as a child, was healed through the intercessions of the Mother of God in her Kursk Icon.

The miracles associated with this icon are too numerous to recount in a short homily such as this. Throughout tumultuous times, the Kursk icon has stood firm… there have been many occasions where the enemies of God have tried to destroy the icon – which they saw as a symbol of the people’s faith in God. In 1898, a group of anarchists, attempted to blow it up with a bomb. The bomb went off and brought tremendous destruction to the church where the icon resided. Windows were blown out, huge metal candlestands were hurled into the walls, a door of cast iron was knocked off its hinges and smashed against the wall. And, there amid all this chaos and destruction, the icon of the Mother of God remained intact and even the glass within the frame was unharmed. In attempting to destroy the icon, the anarchists only brought greater glory to it and further strengthened the faith of the people!

In the 20th century, as chaos and murder fell upon the Russian land, the icon accompanied Bishop Theophan of Kursk and others fleeing the Bolsheviks. The icon was brought to Serbia, where the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia resided. Then it was taken to Munich and finally brought to the USA, where a hermitage was constructed in her honor… becoming her place of residence until today. Throughout those war-torn years of the 20th century, the icon would be brought to pious Orthodox souls for their consolations and encouragement.

The Kursk Icon has been the Protectress and Patroness of the Russian Church Outside of Russia for all these many years. She has visited our diocese many times and has been present at many of our greatest celebrations. Many of us have been blessed to have the icon come to our homes. And what a humbling and awe-inspiring thing it is to have such a vessel of grace in our midst! To think of the history and the personalities this icon has seen over so many centuries!      

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are so blessed to have such a rich inheritance in our Orthodox faith and to experience the miraculous presence of God’s grace through such things as the Kursk Root Icon, the myrrh-streaming Hawaii icon, and let us never forget or neglect to appreciate the utmost miracle of the offering of Christ’s precious Body and Blood which occurs each time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy. We are blessed to live in a world that is infused and energized by heavenly grace. Our job is to attune ourselves to that grace which God provides all around us. It is that grace of God which lifts us up from the weight of our earthly lives and all of the sorrows and trials they may contain. Just as Christ healed the woman who was stooped over in today’s Gospel, so too does Christ straighten us so that we may arise to the full stature of what we are called to be as children of God. May each of you stand aright, attentive to God and to the many outpourings of His grace which fill our lives if we have eyes to see and ears to hear.