On Saturday, July 16, on the eve of the feast of the Holy Royal Martyrs, the famed copy of the myrrh-streaming Montreal-Iveron Icon of the Mother of God of Hawaii visited St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, DC. Two hours before the arrival of the miraculous Icon, the faithful began to gather at the church, so as not to be late. Cathedral clergy and parishioners triumphally greeted the Icon at the entrance to the church, to the peal of bells.

Cathedral rector Archpriest Victor Potapov led the moleben and akathist to the Mother of God. He was co-served by Archpriest George Alexson (cleric of the Greek Archdiocese), Archpriest George Johnson (rector of Holy Apostles Church in Beltsville, MD), and parish clerics Priest Alexander Resnikoff, Protodeacon Leonid Mickle, and Deacon Damian Dantinne. The church was filled with worshippers, who fervently prayed for healing of soul and body. The Icon was only in the cathedral for several hours, as its guardian, Reader Nectarios Yangston, intended to visit several parishes of the Greater Washington and Baltimore areas. Parishioners were overjoyed to hear that the Icon would return in October for a longer period of time. At the end of the service, all of the faithful were anointed with myrrh from the wonderworking Icon, and many received a piece of cotton soaked in the holy myrrh.

Earlier that day, 52 parishioners, led by assistant rector Priest John Johnson, departed for the parish’s first annual pilgrimage to Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, WV. The pilgrimage will be covered in a separate story on the diocesan website.

Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese

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