icon of The Holy Virgin of Pochaiv. Second half of the 19th century. From the
Museum of Ukrainian Home Icons (
Radomysl Castle,
Ukraine) It has been in the
Pochaiv Lavra (monastery), in
Ternopil oblast,
Ukraine, since 1597, when it was given by a wealthy widow
Anna or Hanna Hoyska, who owned the town of
Pochaiv in the second half of the 16th century. Anna had received the sacred image from the
Greek metropolitan Neophyte. According to some sources, the
Virgin Mary depicted on the icon helped to heal Philip, the brother of Hanna Hoyska, from blindness. Later, the Theotokos of Pochayiv acquired a reputation as a miracle-working icon.
Crowning of the icon Coronation rites were practiced in the Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic churches. Count N. Potocki, who converted to the Uniate faith, began the coronation of the Pochaiv Mother of God in the 1760s. Evidence of miracles was studied by Bishop Sylvester Rudnytskyi, who specially arrived in Pochaev. After confirming the truth of the miracles, permission was given for the coronation. The general list of miracles starts in 1661. April 23, 1773,
Pope Clement XIV, meeting the request of the count Nicolas Potocki sent two small golden crowns for the icon — one for the Holy Virgin, the other for Jesus. The solemn coronation of the icon took place on September 8, 1773. It was conducted by two Greek Catholic bishops - S. Rudnytskyi and M. Rillo. More than 33,000 believers came to the ceremony. Nicolas Potocki published a book dedicated to the coronation of the icon. This event contributed to the establishment of the cult of the icon. In 1869, the icon was decorated with a golden robe with precious stones and placed in a gilded kiot. == Our time ==