The Montreal Iveron Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Mother of God

Commemorated November 11/24

Today we commemorate one of the copies of the Iveron Mother of God Icon, called the Montreal Iveron Icon, a miraculously myrrh-streaming icon from which abundant grace poured forth to the Russian diaspora and many other Orthodox Christians. As God’s Providence and the Mother of God would have it, the man who was found worthy to receive this icon from Mount Athos and become its custodian was in fact a convert to Orthodoxy from Catholicsim—José Muñoz from Chile, now also known as “Brother José.” Archpriest Victor Potapov spoke with the icon’s custodian on one of his visits to Washington.

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The Iveron Icon, which at present is preserved in a monastery on Mount Athos, was according to tradition painted by the Apostle and Evangelist Luke. In November 1982, a copy of the Iveron Icon of the Mother God began to stream myrrh in Canada. In 1983, the Icon was in Washington for the first time, and I then asked its guardian, the Spaniard José Muñoz, how he had received the Holy Object, and when it had begun to stream myrrh. Here are his own words, which were recorded during our conversation with him:

“Once during our pilgrimage on Athos, after several hours of walking, we got lost. It began to get dark. We needed quickly to find shelter for the night. Going along a path, we stumbled upon a small, poor skete. There the fourteen Greek monks of the skete were engaged in iconography. They received us very cordially. Having rested a little, we began to examine the icons of their work. One of my fellow travellers, who spoke Greek, got into a conversation with the monks and told them who we were and where we were from. I, though, taking advantage of the moment, began more attentively to examine everything round about. Suddenly my gaze stopped at an icon of marvelous artistry with dimensions of approximately fifteen by twenty inches. I asked a monk if he could not sell it to me. He refused, having explained that this image was the first to be painted in that skete and therefore could not be sold. I could not tear my eyes from that wondrous icon. We stayed the whole night in the skete and in the morning stood through the Liturgy. During the singing of “It is truly meet”, I begged the Queen of Heaven on my knees to let the Holy Image go with me... Bidding farewell in the morning, all the monks accompanied us, but the hegoumen [abbot.—O.C.] was not among them. And then at the last minute before our departure from the monastery we saw him: he quickly descended the staircase with the wrapped-up icon in his hands. He came up to me and said, “Take it. I am gifting it to you. It must be with you.” I offered to pay for the icon, knowing that the monks were needy; but the hegoumen said severely, “One must not take money for such a holy object!” I crossed myself, kissed the image and made a vow to myself that that image would never become the source of my enrichment...

Jose Muñoz-Cortes Jose Muñoz-Cortes
“After this, we set out at once for Iveron Monastery in order to receive the superior’s blessing and to touch the icon received by me to the original, which is preserved in this famed monastery. But by far not everyone is allowed to approach and touch the ancient wonderworking icon. Glory be to God, we were permitted! In the chapel, we knelt, and gazing at the holy object, froze in prayer before the image of the Iveron Mother of God. The image was so majestic, so shiningly beautiful, and radiated such spiritual power that it was difficult to gaze at it for long! A hieromonk helped me touch my copy to the Original.

“Soon after this we went home to Canada. We returned on November 3, 1982. I put the icon next to the relics of the saints of the Kiev Caves Lavra and the New-martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, which I had received from the reposed Archbishop Leonty of Chile. A lampada flickered before it all the time, and each day before sleep I read Akathists to it. On the 24th of November, I was awakened at three o’clock in the morning by the powerful aroma of roses—the whole room was filled with it. At first I thought that it emanated from the relics or from a spilt vial of perfume; but upon approaching the icon, I was struck! The whole icon was covered with oil—a fragrant oil! I froze on the spot at such a miracle!”

Consolation of the faithful

Upon the advice of a local Orthodox clergyman, the Icon was taken to church and placed on the altar. During the entire liturgy, myrrh flowed from the hands of the Christ Child. Since that time, with the exception of several days during Holy Week, when the Icon is absolutely dry, the myrrh has continued to flow almost uninterruptedly. (Holy Myrrh is a sweet, fragrant oil which was used in the Old Testament for the anointing of kings. In contemporary Orthodox church practice, a newly born Christian is anointed with Holy Myrrh during which the words “The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit” are said by the priest.)

In the years since, Jose traveled to many cities and parishes where the Icon was venerated to the great joy and consolation of the faithful.

Wherever the Icon went, there are always many questions. Some people initially had doubts. A scientist in Miami was astounded to see that the back of the Icon remained perfectly dry. He later surreptitiously chipped off a small piece of the board on which the Icon is painted for scientific analysis: it was found to be ordinary pinewood, nothing more.

At some times the myrrh would flow in greater abundance than at others. During the consecration of a bishop in Montreal there was such an outpouring of the myrrh that it streamed down from the analogion (lectern on which icons are kept in Orthodox churches) onto the floor. On another occasion, in Florida, the myrrh was seen to rise forth from the hands of the Mother of God and the Christ Child as though it were being pressed from within. Nobody had any power to regulate the flow of the myrrh, it would move at the will of God and His Most Pure Mother.

Jose Muñoz-Cortes with Montreal icon of the Holy Virgin Jose Muñoz-Cortes with Montreal icon of the Holy Virgin
The Icon was kept in a frame about two inches deep and measures about 12 by 18 inches. At first the myrrh flowed only from the hands of the Mother of God, from the star on Her left shoulder and, occasionally, from the hands of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet in March 1985, during a Lenten service, even the frame and glass of the Icon began to exude myrrh in such quantities, that the cloth of the analogion on which it lay was totally saturated. There was always a layer of cotton wool placed at the base of the Icon to absorb the myrrh: pieces of this cotton were distributed to the faithful.

Although there have already been several cases of physical healing (not only among Orthodox, but Catholics and Protestants, too), the purpose of the Mother of God seemed to be directed more at the healing of souls. Many who have stood before the Icon have testified to this, experiencing not only compunction and repentance, but consolation as well.

As mentioned earlier, the flow of myrrh would cease during Holy Week. It would cease on Holy Monday. After the Liturgy on the morning of Great Saturday, a light dew of myrrh would form on the Icon, its case and protecting glass. During Matins (the midnight service at which the glorious Resurrection of Our Lord is proclaimed), when the procession of clergy and faithful, holding icons and banners, would leave the church, the Icon would begin to exude myrrh in such quantities, that it would cover the hands of the person carrying it.

This is not the first time that the Orthodox Church has witnessed such a miracle. In the nineteenth century the Surety-of-Sinners Icon in Moscow exuded myrrh with which the sick were anointed and received healing. Earlier, there was a myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God in the Tolga monastery in Yaroslavl; and there have been others.

What is the meaning of this extraordinary manifestation of God’s grace in our time? It has been observed that in the history of the Church such miracles have occurred in times of great tribulation; we saw this in the Apostolic times, and, more recently, in Russia, where the Church suffered cruel persecution for 70 years. The miracles strengthen the faithful and prepare them to endure trials. The appearance of the myrrh-streaming Icon in our time may well signify a period of further great trials for the Russian Orthodox Church and, at the same time, offer consolation that the Mother of God will be a Protectress of the faithful: Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required.

The death of Brother Jose and the loss of the icon

José Muñoz lived a monastic life, and some say he was secretly tonsured. He spent his entire life after the miraculous manifestation of the icon taking it to different parishes the world over for veneration by the faithful, and when he was at home he prayed continuously before it, commemorating names sent by people requesting prayers. But such an angelic man soon became ripe for the Kingdom of Heaven, and on October 31, 1997 he died a martyric death. In a hotel in Athens, where he was staying before returning home from a grace-filled pilgrimage to the holy places of Greece, this servant of God and His Most Pure Mother was brutally tortured and murdered by unknown Romanian criminals. Although he had not taken the Icon with him to Greece, the whereabouts of the miraculous, myrrh-streaming Icon are still unknown.

However the Mother of God did not leave her children without this consolation, and just before the tenth anniversary of Brother Jose’s death, a printed paper copy of the Montreal icon began streaming myrrh in Hawaii. Now this icon is taken to parishes, bringing consolation and reconciliation.

Holy Brother José, remember us also in your prayers where you abide in the Heavenly Kingdom!

Adapted from an article on the website of St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Washington, DC

11/24/2016

See also
Mount Athos. Procession with the Iveron Icon Mount Athos. Procession with the Iveron Icon
Photogallery
One of the greatest sacred shrines of the Christian world is the miracle-working Iveron icon of the Mother of God, located in the Iverson Monastery on Mount Athos. Twice a year the monks make a solemn cross procession with this icon.
Icon of the Mother of God “Iveron” Icon of the Mother of God “Iveron” Icon of the Mother of God “Iveron” Icon of the Mother of God “Iveron”
Commemorated on February 12
The widow spent the whole night in vigil, praying before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. In the morning, according to God’s will, she took the icon to the sea and cast it upon the water. The holy icon stood upright on the waves and began to sail westward.
New Miracle of the Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God New Miracle of the Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God
Subdeacon Nectarios
New Miracle of the Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God New Miracle of the Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God
Subdeacon Necatarios
Remember that throughout this time, the Lord is with us, and here in Hawaii the Mother of God has taken a particular interest in our well being. She loves us, and wants us to succeed in our path home to Christ Our Lord.
Jose Munoz-Cortez, Guardian of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God Jose Munoz-Cortez, Guardian of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God Jose Munoz-Cortez, Guardian of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God Jose Munoz-Cortez, Guardian of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God
While the sinister circumstances of his death are still unclear, it is tempting to speculate concerning the motive for such a ghastly murder; after all, the Icon was not in Brother Joseph's possession at the time. From a spiritual perspective, however, the explanation is apparent. As written in an obituary prepared by the Icon's Home: "We live in a time of great spiritual awakening, but the spirit that awakens is that of satan, and all that is of Christ, of Jesus, of God, is a goading irritant to the carnal man, inciting the infernal wrath of the deluded."
Comments
Jordan Herndon6/16/2024 9:05 pm
Please pray for us
Ametgebreal2/15/2022 12:56 pm
I am HOMILY ON THE DAY OF THE IVERON ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD Hieromartyr Thaddeus (Uspensky) Brothers and sisters, our celebration is in honor of the holy icon of the Iveron Mother of God, which was first in the home of one pious widow in Nicea in the ninth century, during the years when holy icons were being persecuted under Emperor Theophilus. Powerless to save the holy icon from desecration, the widow set it out to sea, and it miraculously sailed toward the holy Mountain of Athos, which the Mother of God had chosen as her portion on earth along with Iberia. She had sent to Iberia the holy equal-to-the-apostles virgin Nina, the enlightener of Iberia. The Athonite monks saw a fiery pillar rising up over the holy icon, but they could not reach it. Then by a special revelation one monk from Iveron Monsastery, Gabriel, walked across the water and took the holy icon into his hands, then carried it to the church of the Iveron Monastery. But on the next day it was found over the monastery gates, where the Mother of God had chosen her abode. Several copies were made of this holy icon to be spread throughout the Russian land, and they became famous for their miraculous signs. One particularly remarkable copy is in the Iveron Valdai Monastery, brought there under the auspices of Patriarch Nikon who built that monastery. Then there are the copies in the Novodevichy Convent, and in the Iveron Chapel at the Resurrection Gates [to Red Square. —Trans.] in Moscow. Everyone knows how the Muscovites revere the holy Iveron icon as do all the pious sons of Russia, how thousands of pilgrims from tsars and tsarinas stream every day to the chapel to venerate the icon, how it is taken to people’s homes for molebens, and so on. One of these copies of the holy Iveron icon is the revered Mozdok icon of the Mother of God. How wondrous was the appearance of the Iveron icon of the Mother of God, and how it reminds us of her wondrous protection of the human race! How her transport across the sea in a pillar of fire reminds us of when Israel traversed the Red Sea without drowning, led through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud and fire; and yet earlier, how God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, indicating first of all the people of Israel’s troubles in Egypt—that furnace of troubles in which God’s chosen people as if burned without being consumed, preserved by God’s power! This preservation of God’s people and their being led through the wilderness is not just some brief help and protection, but the whole education of a stiff-necked people—something much harder and more troublesome, requiring greater and more constant attention than, for example, what is demanded of a mother to bring up her child from diapers to where he stands on his own feet and attains the desires of his own life. To us, the new Israel of God (Gal. 6:16), the burning bush, the pillar of cloud and fire, Israel’s walk through the Red Sea, and other such things remind us of how the Mother of God guides us throughout our earthly sojourn in our traversing, instead of the Red Sea, another, “mental” sea of life’s passions, in which we can so easily be drowned by the “Pharaoh of the mind”—the devil. That is why we call the Mother of God the “Pillar of fire that guideth those in darkness” (Akathist to the Mother of God, Ikos 6). We are also reminded that the “bush that burned yet was not consumed” is the Mother of God herself, who received God the Savior in her womb, “received the fire of the Divinity in her womb without being burned” (canon for Lazarus Saturday, irmos of the ninth ode); and why she is called the “bush that burned without being consumed” when, for example we sing in the church hymns, “Rejoice thou bush that burned but was not consumed!” We are reminded of how we also are delivered by the Mother of God from the furnace of troubles and passions, as Israel was delivered from the furnace of Egyptian sufferings, when we sing the hymn: Wherefore we now entreu to Christian
haykel2/14/2022 7:02 pm
hi I really interested to have mother of God icon plz let me know how i can f get it thank you may GOD bless you
Sarah Hodgins8/7/2017 2:40 am
Wow! If only it was still in Montreal
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