Icon of the Protection of the Mother of God

                                                     The Protection of the Mother of God

                The Carpatho-Russian church dedicated to the Protection of the Blessed Virgin or Theotokos has been standing on the south shore of the Chemung River in the city of Corning, NY. for close to 100 years.  The rather small and humble white-frame building is reached by 40 steps to tower over the river, but once inside the nave, the visitor receives his reward for the upward trek.  The interior of the church is like a jewelbox with contents spilled – the wall murals, the stained glass windows, the wall of icons, the ceiling, all bespeak the love of those who contributed them to the small church over those years.

 

                On October 1 (October 14 Old Calendar) Orthodox Christians celebrate a favorite holy day of the Slavic people, in which lies a little irony – more about that later.

                 The Protection, in Russian, the Pokrov, commemorates an event that took place in Constantinople in the 10^th century, in the church of Blachernae.  The city was under threat of an invasion by Slavic barbarians, and the church was filled with faithful gathered there in great fear to pray that their city be spared.  St. Andrew, the Fool for Christ, was in the church and saw the dome open and the Mother of God moving in the air in front of the altar.  She was surrounded by angels and saints as she prayed to God that He would accept the prayers of all faithful Christians and spare them and their city.  Also in the congregation was Romanos, Andrew’s friend who also saw the Virgin, who then appeared to all in the church.  In the synaxis of this holy day, St. Andrew is celebrated on October 2 and St. Romanos during that time also, because of the Christmas hymn he later wrote to the Theotokos.

                The icon of the Pokrov is one of the very few in which Christ does not appear with the Virgin.  In the icon we see her solitary figure with arms outstretched in blessing, and a white veil between them as if to protect us by it.  For close to 100 years the Theotokos has stood in protection over the city of Corning, which has undergone at least three disastrous floods and the little church of St. Mary’s has survived. 

                And the rest of the story?  Well, remember those Slavic hordes about to invade Constantinople? The Protection is a favorite holy day of the Slavic people today.  And the icon is not in the Byzantine (Contantinopolitan ) tradition