Icon of the Mother of God "Pantassa", hand-painted by the Sisters of St. Elizabeth Convent
On 31 August (18 August old style), the Orthodox faithful in Belarus celebrate the feast of the miracle-working icon of the Mother of God "Pantanassa".
Saint Elisabeth Convent keeps a copy of this miracle-working image.
So how did it find its way to us? It all begins with this story of an Orthodox faithful whose wife was suffering from cancer.
The gentleman approached Father Andrey Lemeshonok and asked him to travel with him to Mount Athos. Father Andrey declined. But he also promised: if the man brought to the Convent the icon of the Mother of God "Pantanassa", he would serve an Akathist to it and pray for all the ailing who pray to God for healing.
The man delivered the icon, and since then we have served a water blessing Moleben and Akathist to the miracle-working icon of the Mother of God "Pantanassa" every Friday at 5.30.
Church in honour of the Reigning Icon of the Mother of God, Saint Elisabeth Convent Icon of the Mother of God "Most Holy Queen of All" (on the left of the reliquary with the relics of Saints Peter and Paul)
The icon the parishioners see on the left of the reliquary with the relics of Saints Peter and Paul is an exact copy of the original icon from Mount Athos made by a Greek monk.
The original of the Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God "Panagia Most Holy Queen of All" dates back to the 17th century.
The Athonite elder Joseph Hesikhast gave the icon as a blessing to his disciples.
It had been brought to Vatopedi Monastery by a certain hermit who had a deep veneration for this image. The icon has remained at Vatopedi's main church to this day.
It depicts the Mother of God seated on a throne. On her lap, she is holding the Divine Child Jesus, who is giving His blessing to all who pray. They are surrounded by a host of angels dressed in white robes [4]
The first record of the icon's miraculous powers is from the witness of Elder Joseph.
One day a young man from Cyprus went to visit and entered the church. At that point, the elder witnessed a glowing light radiating from the face of the Theotokos and an invisible power pushed the young man down to the ground. When the young man had recovered from his fall, he began to repent and weep and confessed that he did not believe and was a participant in sorcery. He changed his life and became an Orthodox Christian.
Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos
Vatopedi monks eventually noticed that many found healing from cancer after praying before the Most Holy Queen of All Icon. Often, cancer sufferers have only a miracle to hope for, which is granted to them by God's mercy.
In gratitude to the Mother of God, survivors bring to the icon their small gifts: crosses, gold and silver jewellery items. Large numbers of these adornments are seen on the icon, telling us that the Queen of Heaven never rejects our prayers.
Today, the icon's copies can be found far beyond Mount Athos, and it is deeply venerated worldwide.
We accept prayer notes for the Akathist to the Icon of the Mother of God Most Holy Queen of All.
The Most Holy Mother of God knows our troubles and needs, hears our every prayer and hastens to offer Her reassurance to all who come to her in faith. With great love, we will read every name as we invoke the Queen of Heaven in our prayers for you and those you care about. Follow the link to submit your prayer note:
https://obitel-minsk.org/prayer-request
