MANY MIRACULOUS events are attributed to the “Virgin of Peschanskaya”, an icon of the Kazan style portraying the Mother of God and the Christ child. The icon of the Theotokos (“God-bearer”) is associated with Bishop Ioasaph (Joseph) of Belgorod and Oboyanska (born Joachim Gorlenko, 1705, Ukraine). Glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1911, Bishop Joseph is revered for his monastic piety and his devotion to the poor and sick of his diocese.
SHORTLY AFTER arriving in Belgorod (Russia) in 1748, Bishop Joseph had a dream in which he heard the Mother of God say, “Look what was done to my image by the servers of the Church.” Not knowing where to find the lost icon he saw in his dream, the bishop diligently inspected all of the Churches and places he visited in his diocese.
ONE DAY in 1754, the saint visited the Cathedral of the Holy Ascension in Izium (Ukraine), 100 miles southwest of Belgorod. There, stored with the charcoal used for the ritual censers, was the icon of his dream.
TO FULFILL his spiritual promise, Bishop Joseph ordered that the newly-discovered icon be housed in a suitable case and reverently displayed to honor the Virgin of Peschanskaya. The holy hierarch died December 10 the same year.
IN 1792 the Cathedral and icon were transferred to a new location in the Peschi district of Izium. During World War I, the icon was taken to the Prussian front to protect the Russian army which had suffered disastrous defeats. The Mother of God icon is revered as the guardian of Russia in perilous times. As well, the Virgin of Peschanskaya is universally venerated as the protectress of humankind.
COPIES OF the miraculous image are found throughout the world. The Peschanskaya icon of the Mother of God has worked many miracles: healings from incurable diseases, children brought back to life, unexpected monetary help, many monastic vocations, and the blessing of pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The feast day of the Icon is Oct 22/Nov 4. The Kazan style of iconography derives from the Our Lady of Kazan icon, said to have come from Constantinople to Kazan, Russia in the 13th century. Kazan, Tatarstan is about 500 miles due east of Moscow.
