July 15
Akhtyrskaya Icon of the Mother of God, Croydon, North Queensland, Australia
On July 2, 1739, Rev. Daniil Vasiliev was mowing hay near his church in
Akhtyrka, Russia (now Okhtyrka, Ukraine), when he saw an icon in the tall grass. Blindingly radiant, the
image depicted the Mother of God contemplating her Son's crucifixion. For three years he kept the icon in his house in a room of its own. Then he again saw light around the
painting, and the Holy Mother appeared to him in a dream, instructing him to dust off the icon, wash it, and cover it. He immediately woke and began to follow her requests. As he
was carrying the wash water to the river, the Mother of God told him to use it to bless the sick instead, and they would be healed. His daughter drank some and soon recovered from
her illness. After several other miracles, the empress ordered an investigation, which concluded, in 1751, that "this icon be venerated as miracle-working." Under the
Soviet regime, the icon went into exile, and is now in the care of the
Russian Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand, headquartered in
Croydon. The feast day of the Miracle-Working Icon of Akhtyrka is July 2 (July 15 in
the modern calendar).
Sources:
 | "Mother of God Akhtyrskaya," The religious antique shop Sancta, Russian icons, www.icon.lt/list/akhtyrskaya.htm |
| "His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates the second day of the Nativity of our Lord at the Church of All Russian Saints, Croydon – photoreport," Australian and New Zealand Diocese (ROCOR), www.rocor.org.au/?p=2730 |
| "История Храма," Храмы Подмосковья, www.ioakimanna-mozhaysk.ru/about/06/ (photo) |
Also commemorated this date:
| The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae, Russian Orthodox Church (July 2 Julian), commemorating the transfer of Mary's robe and mantle from Palestine to the Church of St. Mary in Blachernae, outside Constantinople, in 473 |
| Mother of God, Hruzdava, Molodechno, Minsk, Belarus |
| Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Laurent de Grandin, Saskatchewan, Canada. Pilgrimage July 15-16. |
| Madonna del Carmine, Rome, Italy, Santa Maria in Traspontina. Statue crowned, 1928. Procession Sunday before July 16 solemnity. |
| Madonna Addolorata, Foggia, Apulia, Italy (Sorrowful Madonna). Festa commemorates statue's coming alive and end of cholera epidemic, 1837. |
| Virgen del Rosario, Torre-Pacheco, Murcia, Spain. Statue crowned, 1979. Fiesta October 7. |
| Mother of God, Krekhiv, Lviv, Ukraine. Icon wept, 1688 (July 2 Julian). |
| St. Mary, Evesham, Worcestershire, England, UK. Market Place statue unveiled, 2008, of 700s apparition to swineherd Eof, indicating location of future abbey. |