Akhtyrskaja-icoon van de Moeder Gods
Akhtyrskaya icon of the Mother of God
Croydon, Australia (1739)
On July 15, 1739, a priest was mowing hay near his church in Akhtyrka, Russia, when he saw a radiant icon in the tall grass. For three years he kept the icon in his house. Then he again saw light around the painting, and the Holy Mother appeared to him in a dream, instructing him to wash it. As he was carrying the wash water to the river, the Mother of God told him to use it to bless the sick instead. His daughter drank some and soon recovered from her illness. After several other miracles, an investigation concluded in 1751that it was “miracle-working. The icon went into exile, and later placed in the care of the Russian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia. The feast day is July 2 in the old calendar.