Pochaev Icon of
the Mother of God

Venerated as miraculous, the ancient Pochaev Icon is kept in the Dormition Pochaev Lavra in Western Ukraine, in the city of Pochaev, Ternopil region. According to legend, it was gifted to the monks by the noblewoman Anna Goiskaya, who in 1559 received it as a gift from the passing Metropolitan Neophytus, the future Patriarch of Constantinople.

Some time later, the icon was taken from the monastery by Anna Goiskaya's heir, the Calvinist Andrzej Firley. The icon stayed with him for about 20 years and was returned to the monastery in 1644. Legend associates its return with the story that Andrzej's wife became possessed, and on the advice of Job of Pochaev, to obtain healing, she returned the icon to the monastery.

Around 1721, the monastery along with the icon came into the possession of the Uniates. In 1773, the faces of the Christ Child and the Virgin were crowned with two gold crowns sent by Pope Clement XIV. In 1831, the monastery and the icon were returned to the Orthodox, and the monastery was granted the status of a lavra. In 1861, Fyodor Verkhovtsev made a star-shaped reliquary of silver and gold with stones, and the robe in 1866.

Currently, the icon is located in the Dormition Cathedral of the Pochaev Lavra, and an akathist is read before it daily.

The history of this miraculous icon of the Mother of God is inseparably linked with the Pochaev Monastery in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos (Ukraine). On the hill where the Dormition Pochaev Lavra is now located, two monks settled in 1240.

One day, after prayer, one of them went to the top of the hill and suddenly saw the Virgin Mary standing on a stone, as if enveloped in flames. He called the other monk, who was also granted the privilege of witnessing the miraculous apparition. The third witness of the vision was the shepherd John the Barefoot. Seeing the unusual light on the hill, he climbed up and, together with the monks, began to glorify God and His Most Pure Mother.

After the apparition disappeared, the imprint of Her right foot remained on the stone where the Virgin Mary had stood. This imprint has been preserved to this day and is always filled with water, miraculously emanated by the stone. The water in the footprint never runs dry, despite the fact that numerous pilgrims constantly fill their vessels with it for healing from ailments.

The Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God itself appeared in the monastery in the following way. In 1559, Metropolitan Neophytus of Constantinople, passing through Volyn, visited Anna Goiskaya, who lived on the Orlya estate, near Pochaev. As a blessing, he left her an icon of the Mother of God brought from Constantinople. Soon, it was noticed that the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God radiated light. When Anna's brother Filipp was healed before the icon in 1597, she donated the image to the monks who had settled on Pochaev Hill.

Some time later, a church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God was built on the rock, becoming part of the monastic complex. Throughout its history, the Pochaev Monastery has suffered many calamities: it was oppressed by Lutherans, attacked by Turks, fell into the hands of the Uniates, but thanks to the intercession of the Mother of God, all troubles were overcome.

On the lists of the miraculous Pochaev Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, the stone with the imprint of the Mother of God's foot is often depicted.