ROCOR Remembers the Guardian of the Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God

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On Saturday, the ROCOR marked the anniversary of the death of José Muñoz-Cortes, the guardian of the miraculous Montréal Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. Hundreds of believers from all over the USA and Canada gathered at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville NY (the ROCOR’s main monastery). Clergy served pannikhida and an akathist at the monastery cemetery in honour of Brother José, murdered 20 years ago in Athens. Believers put dozens of candles that burned for several hours at Brother José’s grave. One of the ROCOR’s main holy objects… the Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God… was present at all the services. Amongst the believers was Angela Muñoz-Cortes, the sister of José Muñoz-Cortes. In an interview with us, she said:

In October 1982, I witnessed how the icon of the Mother of God began to glow in my brother’s house. I saw the miraculous flow from the icon, which happened at night. It woke up José with its strong odour. He didn’t know what it was. José thought that a friend who lived with him at that time used some cologne. Then, he saw the oily stains on the icon and thought that his friend carelessly poured oil on it. José wiped the icon, but soon the spots reappeared, then he realised that it was myrrh. My brother took the icon all over; it became one of the main holy relics of the Russian diaspora for fifteen years. He was very fond of the people that he met in parishes throughout the world. He was open to everyone and tried to help everyone.

José Muñoz-Cortes was a Chilean who converted to Orthodoxy in his youth at the Russian church in Santiago. In 1982, monks on Mount Athos gave him the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, which in a few months began to exude myrrh, and continued to do so regularly for almost fifteen years. Brother José was brutally murdered on 31 October 1997 in Athens, then, the icon disappeared. Presumably, the day before his death, he gave it to friends. Believers believe that the icon returned to Athos. The ROCOR Eastern American Diocese has set up a commission to collect documents for the glorification of Brother José. Ten years after the disappearance of the Montreal icon, in 2007 in Hawaii, a smaller copy, the Hawaiian Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, appeared, which exudes myrrh to this day. Believers believe that in this way the Montréal image returned to them.

29 October 2017

Dmitri Zlodorev

RIA Novosti 

https://ria.ru/religion/20171029/1507761157.html

See also:

Metropolitan: ROCOR Commission collects documents for the glorification of José Muñoz-Cortes

First Hierarch of the ROCOR: We don’t sense problems from ordinary Americans

ROCOR thinks that the meeting of the Patriarch and the Pope of Rome didn’t bring together two churches

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19 July 2016. A Thing of Beauty and Grace

Byodo-In Temple in O’ahu (Valley of the Temples)

Penny Adams

2010s

Real Orthodox Christians live in peace with all others of good will. Full stop. Truly, the hate spewed by Anglo konvertsy on the web has to stop…

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The Byodo-In Temple is at the foot of the Ko’olau Mountains in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park. It opened 7 June 1968, to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. The Byodo-In Temple in O’ahu is a small-scale replica of the over 950-year-old Byodo-In Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Uji, Japan. The Byodo-In Temple is a non-denominational Buddhist shrine, which welcomes all people to worship, meditate, or simply appreciate its beauty. It isn’t a functioning temple in the proper sense; it doesn’t host a resident monastic community or an active congregation. Hawaiians and Japanese visitors often use the temple grounds for wedding and other family events.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byodo-In_Temple

This is the temple website

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I’ve visited religious sites of other faiths many times. I’ve never made a rumpus nor tried to proselytise anyone. I’m a Christian… that’s what we do. We respect others for what they are. I apologise for the unfounded, hateful, and unreasonable posts by “Orthodox” konvertsy on the web. It’s just too much of a muchness…

BMD

Patriarch Irinej Asks Kosovo Serbs to Hang Tough… Serbia Won’t Give Up Kosovo for the EU… Serbian Believers to Celebrate Christmas

Patriarch Irinej Gavrilović (1930- ) of Serbia

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In his Christmas epistle, Patriarch Irinej Gavrilović told Kosovo Serbs to be determined and to stay in their homes. Patriarch Irinej said that anxiety marred our spiritual peace “and our everyday life is overshadowed with fear and worry about events in the world, especially the tragic events in our crucified Kosovo. We counsel our dear faithful flock, the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, to be determined and to stay in their homesteads, with their Church and their holy shrines, in the land of their ancestors”. He told the Serbs that the church was always with them and that it always would be. “Without suffering, there’s no resurrection. May our Lord be our measure even in our suffering”, the patriarch noted and wished everyone a merry Christmas. Patriarch Irinej pointed up that every day we face temptations, misfortune, and suffering, not only those caused by others, but also by ourselves, saying, “Afflictions in our homes, suffering in our schools, cities, and villages, and distress in different countries and between nations, attest to a deep division in the world, a division which can’t be overcome with human efforts”. The patriarch added that it seemed that chaos laid at the foundation of our society, but “chaos is actually present only where there’s a consciousness about the true measure of things and what we’ve lost, and that measure is love”.

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Patriarch Irinej Gavrilović stated that Serbia belongs in the EU, but that the EU shouldn’t ask Serbia to renounce its claims to Kosovo. He told the newspaper Alo, “We support and respect those who wish to join the European Union because we really belong there. We appreciate the invitation, but not conditions that they’re placing upon it”. He emphasised that Serbia shouldn’t have to renounce its claims to Kosovo in order to join the EU. The patriarch noted, “Therefore, if we need to renounce Kosovo in order to join Europe, thanks, but we’ll continue, in that case, to live with our poor people the best that we can”. He told Kosovo Serbs to stay united and to fight peacefully for their rights because it was the only way to endure and survive in the southern Serbian province.

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Serbian Orthodox believers will celebrate Christmas Eve on Friday, anticipating the celebration of Christmas. Orthodox Christians who follow the traditional Julian calendar celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas on 6 and 7 January. Patriarch Irinej Gavrilović will serve an evening worship service at St Sava Cathedral today, and Christmas liturgy at the Cathedral of St Michael the Archangel (“The Cathedral”) tomorrow. Both churches are in Belgrade

5/6 January 2012

B92

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=01&dd=05&nav_id=78142

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=01&dd=06&nav_id=78152

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/society-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=01&dd=06&nav_id=78150