Famed icon visits Orthodox church
By KRISTEN HUFF
Article published on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007
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| Photo by KRISTEN HUFF |
| The icon of St. Irene Chrysovalantou is carried on the shoulders of a group of men into the Greek Orthodox Church of Holy Ascension in Clearwater. |
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CLEARWATER – The Greek Orthodox Church of Holy Ascension welcomed a weeping icon of St. Irene Chrysovalantou into its doors.
The icon was brought to Clearwater on Jan. 12 by Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana and members of the Sacred Patriarchal and Stravropegial Monastery of Saint Irene Chrysovalantou from Astoria, New York.
Hundreds of people came Saturday and Sunday to see the famed icon, which reportedly weeps, and to pray before it.
“When I saw her I came here in front of the altar. I said, ‘Well, my dream came true,’” said the Very Rev. Archimandrite Dorotheos, who has led the church on Laura Street since it opened seven years ago.
“I was visualizing this for years. Now I saw it and I thank God for this. I thank God.”
There are two icons of St. Irene, and both are considered to be miraculous. The icon that was brought to Clearwater earned such status just after the beginning of the Gulf War in 1991. During a visit to Chicago the icon reportedly began weeping and continued to do so for one hundred days.
“Irene in Greek means peace and she protects the peace,” said Dorotheous. “We believe that after the Gulf War a big period of war started. That was a sign of God of the coming days.”
According to John Mechas, a church volunteer, there were scientific studies of the icon, but no conclusion could be drawn. The icon has not been seen weeping since, but has been attributed to healing various illnesses and afflictions. Because of this, the icon often draws people before it asking St. Irene for help.
“During the service we received a phone call that a little girl was born and she’s in the ICU of the All Children’s Hospital,” said Dorotheous. “They named her Irene Chrysovalantou and asked all of us to pray for her. The bishop will pray for her. All of us will pray for her this afternoon. St. Irene will pray also.”
Nikki Voutsinas, 14, also asked St. Irene for help. “My grandpa is in the hospital. He just suffered a second heart attack and I’m hoping he gets well.”
The icon of St. Irene was not the only honored guest to visit Clearwater. Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana, also referred to as the Bishop, was welcomed with reverence as well.
This weekend was the first time Metropolitan Paisios, who has been a monk since the age of 3, had visited the Clearwater church since it opened. The icon of St. Irene was given to him by his spiritual father, who had ordered it to be painted in 1915.
“We don’t worship the icons, but we venerate the icons. The icons help us to see the person that is on the icon, like when we kiss an icon we feel that we kiss Jesus Christ,” Dorotheos said. “We don’t express our love to anything else – to a piece of wood and paint. The honor goes to Jesus Christ, the person that is on the icon.”
There were three services while the icon was visiting: the Great Hierarchical Vespers, the Divine Liturgy and finally, a healing service.
After the healing service Sunday night, the congregation had a candle-lit procession with the icon. Hundreds of people walked the streets surrounding the church, following behind the icon, which was carried on the shoulders of a group of men.
Police temporarily shut down a section of the southbound lane of Highland Boulevard to accommodate the procession.
When the procession made its way back to the church, the icon was held up over the entrance and the crowd passed beneath it. In so doing, it is believed they were blessed by St. Irene.
On Monday the icon returned to New York, however, Dorotheous hopes that the visit of the icon of St. Irene and Metropolitan Paisios will continue to help the church.
“Our church grows a lot now,” he said. “We want now to put a dome on the church and do other projects, if that’s God’s will. And now we have the blessing of the bishop.”
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Article published on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007
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