Middletown, New York, October 29, 2026
Photo: mitropolia.us
The patronal feast of St. Dumitru Romanian Orthodox Monastery in Middletown, New York, over the weekend was blessed by the presence of the wonderworking Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God, brought with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of ROCOR.
His Eminence Metropolitan Nicolae of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolia of the Americas presided over the celebrations with a large synaxis of priests and deacons from several Orthodox jurisdictions. The festivities began Friday evening with Great Vespers and continued Saturday morning with the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, served in the presence of the icon, the Metropolia reports.
In his homily, Metropolitan Nicolae recalled miracles attributed to St. Dumitru the New, the monastery’s patron, who he said has protected Bucharest from calamities many times. In 1814, under Prince Ioan Voda Caragea, relics of the saint were carried in procession around the city during a severe plague, and “from that very day,” the Metropolitan said, “the plague ceased to claim new victims.” In 1827, during a prolonged drought under Grigore Ghica IV, the reliquary was carried through the city on the shoulders of priests, and “God bestowed abundant rain for the benefit of both people and animals.”
Photo: mitropolia.us
Fr. George Temidis of ROCOR then told the story of the Kursk Root Icon. He said the Kursk region was devastated and emptied during the Tartar Mongol invasion of Russia in the 13th century. Hunters from nearby Rylsk, which had been spared, roamed the abandoned land. One of them found the icon lying face-down near the root of a tree.
“When he picked it up, the icon’s first miracle occurred,” Fr. George said. A spring of very pure water gushed from the ground at that spot, and it still flows today. According to Fr. George, this happened on the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God, September 8, 1295. The icon wasn’t new when it was found, so nobody knows its age. The hunter built a small wooden chapel for it, and word of its wonderworking spread.
Fr. George went on to describe another Tartar Mongol invasion, in 1383. The invaders tried to burn the chapel, but it wouldn’t catch fire even after they piled more fuel around it. “Until the holy icon was removed from the chapel, they weren’t able to burn down the chapel,” he said. Angered, the warriors cut the icon in half and threw the pieces in opposite directions. After the invasion ended, people went looking for it. They found both halves, and the two instantly grew back together. A scar remains where the icon was cut, Fr. George said, “but the icon is whole.”
Photo: mitropolia.us
Archimandrite Ieremia, the monastery’s abbot, thanked all the participants and volunteers who helped organize the feast. He also presented Metropolitan Nicolae with a hand-embroidered epitrachelion and omophorion set to mark the 10th anniversary of his elevation to the rank of metropolitan.
The feast day ended with an agape meal.
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