Montreal Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. Icon of the Mother of God "Iverskaya" Montreal

The Montreal Iveron Icon was painted on Mount Athos in 1981 by a Greek monk from the original icon of Our Lady of the Goalkeeper.

In 1982, this icon was brought from Mount Athos to Montreal by Joseph Muñoz Cortes, a Spaniard by birth who had long ago converted to Orthodoxy. This is what happened, says Joseph Muñoz: “On November 24, at three o’clock in the morning, I woke up from a strong fragrance. At first I thought that it came from the relics or a spilled bottle of perfume, but, approaching the icon, I was amazed: it was all covered with a fragrant peace! I froze in place from such a miracle!”

Soon the myrrh-streaming icon was taken to the temple. Since then, the icon of the Mother of God has constantly streamed myrrh, with the exception of Holy Weeks.

It is remarkable that the myrrh flows mainly from the hands of the Mother of God and Christ, as well as the star located on the right shoulder of the Most Pure One. At the same time back side icons are always dry.

The presence of the myrrh-streaming icon with its fragrant myrrh spreads special grace. Thus, a paralyzed young man from Washington, by the grace of the Mother of God, was healed. In Montreal, the icon was brought to a seriously ill man who could not move. A prayer service and akathist were served. He soon recovered. The miraculous icon helped a woman suffering from a severe form of pneumonia. A fourteen-year-old girl suffered from a severe form of leukemia. Having high hopes for help from miraculous icon, she asked to bring her to her place. After prayer and anointing with chrism, the child's health began to improve rapidly and, to the surprise of her doctors, after some time the tumors disappeared.

The miraculous image has already visited America, Australia, New Zealand, Western Europe. And everywhere this icon radiated peace and love.

First of all, believers are struck by the strong fragrance of the oil flowing from the hands of the Mother of God and Christ, and sometimes from the star depicted on the right shoulder of the Most Pure One. This distinguishes it from other miraculous icons, where tears flow from the eyes, as if the Mother of God is sobbing, whereas here She seems to be teaching Her blessing.

Myrrh usually appears during prayer or shortly after it, in quantities depending on the event or the prayerful zeal of those present. Sometimes it is so abundant that it appears through the protective glass and floods the support of the icon, the wall, the table. This happens on the days of great holidays, in particular on the Dormition of the Mother of God.

There were also cases when, after the expiration stopped, it resumed in an unexpected way. Thus, when visiting the Boston monastery, the myrrh flowed out in streams, but then completely dried up when the icon was transferred to a nearby parish. Upon returning to the monastery, the flow resumed so strongly that it overflowed. In another case, after the distribution of the world to 850 pilgrims, the icon turned out to be dry, but arriving the next day at the parish, where a mass of believers were waiting for it, it miraculously restored the flow of the world. Only once did the myrrh disappear and not expire for a relatively long time: during Holy Week 1983, from Holy Tuesday to Holy Saturday.

Myrrh flows down the icon, where pieces of cotton wool are placed. Once soaked, they are distributed to the pilgrims. It was noticed that although the ointment dries out quite quickly, the fragrance continues for a long time, sometimes months, and intensifies during especially fervent prayers. Often it fills the place where the icon was (room, car).

The mystery of these signs confuses many skeptics. Indeed, one could imagine that some fragrant liquid was deliberately introduced with reverse side icons. In Miami, one scientist had the opportunity to examine the icon from all sides and, having established that it was completely dry from behind, came to the conclusion that we were talking about the greatest miracle of the 20th century. A special examination of part of the upper edge of the icon showed that the image was written on ordinary wooden board, not containing internal cavities and foreign inclusions. But such research has its limits. So, when skeptics wanted to make a sample of the world for the purpose of analysis, they were denied this, because such an act is disrespect for the Mother of God. “The icon is in front of you, and no one is urging you to recognize the miracle, it is up to you to believe or refuse to believe,” says Joseph Muñoz. A young man once answered him: “I see what is happening in front of me, but my mind is not able to believe it, but my heart believes it.”

Wherever this icon went, it spread love and harmony, as, for example, in one community, where quarreling parishioners again found the way to prayer and church unity. Her presence increases the fervor of prayer to such an extent that the liturgies celebrated with her can be compared with Easter, so fiery in Orthodox Church.

There are many known cases of people returning to church, confession, and communion. Thus, one poor woman, having learned about the death of her son, was preparing to take her own life, but, touched to the depths of her soul by the sight of the miraculous icon, she repented of her terrible intention and immediately confessed. The blessed influence of the Most Pure One awakens and transforms the faithful, who are often frozen in inert beliefs.

The fame of the icon spread widely beyond the Orthodox Church: many Catholics and Protestants came to honor it...

However, on the night of October 30-31, 1997, the keeper of the icon, Joseph Muñoz Cortes, was killed under mysterious circumstances, and the Miraculous Iveron disappeared without a trace...

Rocky Athos paths lead to a small bay next to which tower stone walls Iverona. It was here that she sailed along the waves famous icon Mother of God, called Iverskaya.

During the time of Byzantine iconoclasm, a warrior, breaking into a pious house, struck this image with a spear. And then, to his horror, blood began to flow down the face of the Mother of God. He fell to his knees. On his advice, the widow, the owner of this icon, saving the image from desecration, sent it flying across the waves with prayer. Several centuries have passed. And so he miraculously, in a column of light rising to the very heavens, sailed to the shores of Athos. The icon was placed in the altar of the church of the Iversky Monastery, but the next morning it ended up above the gates of the monastery. This went on for several days. Finally, the Mother of God appeared in a dream to the elder and said: “I do not want to be protected by you, but I want to be your Guardian... As long as you see My icon in this monastery, until then the grace and mercy of My Son towards you will not become scarce.”

According to Athonite legend, before the End of the World, Athos will plunge into the abyss of passions. And then the icon Holy Mother of God The goalkeeper will leave the Holy Mountain in the same miraculous way as she appeared. This will be one of the omens of the Second Coming.

Now those old gates are blocked. Next to them is a small church, in which the miraculous Iveron icon is located. Everyone can look at the wonderful image. It's different from most of the lists we know. It looks like there is a fresh hole on the chin. A stream of dark, dried blood froze on his neck.

The Montreal Iveron Icon was painted on Mount Athos in 1981 by a Greek monk from the original icon of Our Lady of the Goalkeeper.

Soon the myrrh-streaming icon was taken to the temple. Since then, the icon of the Mother of God has constantly streamed myrrh, with the exception of Holy Weeks.

It is remarkable that the myrrh flows mainly from the hands of the Mother of God and Christ, as well as the star located on the right shoulder of the Most Pure One. At the same time, the back side of the icon is always dry.

The presence of the myrrh-streaming icon with its fragrant myrrh spreads special grace. Thus, a paralyzed young man from Washington, by the grace of the Mother of God, was healed. In Montreal, the icon was brought to a seriously ill man who could not move. A prayer service and akathist were served. He soon recovered. The miraculous icon helped a woman suffering from a severe form of pneumonia. A fourteen-year-old girl suffered from a severe form of leukemia. Having high hopes for help from the miraculous icon, she asked to bring it to her. After prayer and anointing with chrism, the child's health began to improve rapidly and, to the surprise of her doctors, after some time the tumors disappeared.

The miraculous image has already visited America, Australia, New Zealand, and Western Europe. And everywhere this icon radiated peace and love.

The mystery of these signs confuses many skeptics. Indeed, one could imagine that some kind of fragrant liquid was deliberately introduced from the back of the icon. In Miami, one scientist had the opportunity to examine the icon from all sides and, having established that it was completely dry from behind, came to the conclusion that we were talking about the greatest miracle of the 20th century. A special examination of part of the upper edge of the icon showed that the image was written on an ordinary wooden board that did not contain internal cavities or foreign inclusions. But such research has its limits. So, when skeptics wanted to make a sample of the world for the purpose of analysis, they were denied this, because such an act is disrespect for the Mother of God. “The icon is in front of you, and no one is urging you to recognize the miracle, it is up to you to believe or refuse to believe,” says Joseph Muñoz. A young man once answered him: “I see what is happening in front of me, but my mind is not able to believe it, but my heart believes it.”

The fame of the icon spread widely beyond the Orthodox Church: many Catholics and Protestants came to honor it...

However, on the night of October 30-31, 1997, the keeper of the icon, Joseph Muñoz Cortes, was killed under mysterious circumstances, and the Miraculous Iveron disappeared without a trace...

JOSEPH MUÑOZ: "WE SHOULD NOT FEAR DEATH FOR CHRIST"

On the night of October 30-31, 1997, an event occurred that shocked the entire Orthodox world - Joseph Muñez-Cortes, the keeper of the miraculous myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God “Iverskaya” (Goalkeeper) was killed in Athens. On November 12, 1997, he was buried in the cemetery of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York (USA). The House of Icons Society in Montreal published the following obituary:

“Fifteen years ago, in the fall of 1982, by ways unknown to the mind, an Orthodox Spaniard, a teacher of art history at the University of Montreal, was called by the Lord to a special ministry, which he happened to be sealed with a martyr’s death. The ominous circumstances of the death of Brother Joseph are still far from clear, but in the face of this death, you involuntarily ask questions that are far from those that form the subject of the police investigation. What did he feel when he first visited the Nativity monastery on Mount Athos, where he was shocked by the image of the Iveron Mother of God, as if by accident? How did he understand the then words of the rector of the monastery, Father Clement? , who unexpectedly yielded to the requests of a visiting young icon painter and said: “ Holy Virgin will go with you"? What was the gradual awareness of the miracle for him since that very day on November 24, 1982, when at about three o'clock in the morning Jose, waking up in his Montreal apartment, felt a fragrance coming from out of nowhere?..

He was destined to be present at a miracle in a world that could not accommodate such a miracle, for the holy myrrh-streaming image of the Hope of the hopeless healed not only the bodies, but also the souls of those who turned to him, pacifying evil hearts, giving the gift of tears, helping to find hope. Whoever happened to see the faces of people - Orthodox and non-Orthodox - in numerous parish churches and monasteries, where Brother Joseph the Guardian brought the blessed, myrrh-streaming image of the Goalkeeper, who opens the doors of heaven to the faithful, handed to him, he could not help but feel, to the extent allotted to him, how terrible and overwhelming obedience is given to this man, and how unbearable it must be to the ancient serpent, the enemy of the Church of Christ."

Let's touch the fate of a man who, in our pragmatic, computerized and rational age, gave his life for an Orthodox shrine, according to the word of our Lord Jesus Christ: Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you, and slander you in every way unjustly for My sake. Rejoice and be glad; for your reward is great in heaven... (Matthew 5: 11 - 12).

A descendant of an ancient Spanish family, Joseph (Jose) Muñez-Cortez was born on May 13, 1948 into a pious Catholic family in Chile. When he was barely fourteen years old, on his way to catholic cathedral got lost in the streets of Santiago and mistakenly entered Orthodox church. That day, September 27, was the Feast of the Exaltation Life-giving Cross The Lord's. The beauty of the decoration of the temple, icons and worship struck the youth, shocked him to the depths of his soul, and from then on he began to visit this church. Two years later, Archbishop Leonty of Chile, with the knowledge of his mother, blessed him to convert to Orthodoxy. For three years Joseph studied iconography and theology at college. Having moved to Canada, he completed courses there at school fine arts and subsequently taught the history of icon painting at the University of Montreal. Joseph hoped to become a monk, but there was no Orthodox monastery for men in Canada.

In 1982, during a pilgrimage to Holy Mount Athos, Joseph visited the Nativity of the Savior monastery. Here, in the icon-painting workshop, he saw the image of the Mother of God that deeply struck him. He persistently asked to sell him this icon, but was refused. The young pilgrim fervently prayed to the Mother of God to allow him to take Her image to America. Already leaving the gates of the monastery, he saw the abbot hastening to him, who handed him an icon with the words: “The Blessed Virgin must leave with you.”

While on board a ship heading to the Athos port of Daphne, he heard a voice commanding him to go to the Iveron Monastery and attach his icon to the miraculous image of the Mother of God "Goalkeeper", the heavenly Guardian and Patroness of Athos. The icon given to him was copied from this image. He fulfilled this command. Returning to Montreal, Joseph placed the Goalkeeper icon in his room and read an akathist before it every night.

On November 24, 1982, he woke up around three in the morning and felt a strong fragrance. Looking at the image of the Most Pure One, he noticed drops of moisture on it and thought that it was oil dripping from the lamp. But, wiping them, he was amazed to discover that the fragrance came precisely from them. It became clear to him that this was fragrant myrrh. Since then, the icon has continuously streamed myrrh, with the exception of Holy Week.

Through the icon, by the grace of God, many miraculous healings took place: a paralyzed young man and a man suffering from spinal cancer, a child with severe rickets, whom the doctors refused, and many others were delivered from the disease. But Joseph said more than once that the greatest miracle of the myrrh-streaming icon was that it moved people to repentance.

Archpriest Viktor Potapov, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Washington, said in his sermon: “The long-suffering Orthodox peoples surround the icon of the Goalkeeper with high veneration, partly because she herself is long-suffering. More than a thousand years ago, a daring warrior struck Her Most Pure Face with a sword, and from the resulting blood flowed from the wounds. This was the first miracle of the icon visible to human eyes. The second sign was of a spiritual nature: the warrior, struck by the miracle, brought heartfelt repentance, abandoned the iconoclastic heresy and accepted monasticism. On November 24, 1982, the copy of the Iveron Athos icon, kept by Brother Joseph, revealed the first miracle - the flow of myrrh. Her second sign was expressed in the repentance of many people."

Jean Bas continues his memoirs: “Joseph rarely spoke about his inner life, but when communicating with him, people physically felt that before them was a man of the greatest purity. Without any doubt and without a shadow of lyricism, we can say that he was the earthly lily of the Queen of Heaven. Every day, in front of the miraculous icon, he read an akathist to the Mother of God (usually in French) and to the saint whose memory the Church celebrated. During church services, he behaved very modestly and never attracted attention to himself: he stood quietly behind, unnoticed, like a real person. monk".

There is unconfirmed information that Joseph took monasticism on Mount Athos with the name Ambrose (in honor of the Venerable Ambrose of Optina). He was tonsured by Elder Clement, who once handed him the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God.

Getting acquainted with the testimonies of people who knew him closely, you see that Joseph in his character combined openness in communicating with people with a firm stand in the faith. Like a true hidalgo, he despised intriguers, lukewarm and calculating people. The miracle, which he was destined to be the first to witness, deepened his already strong spirit of prayer. It is said that he had fifty-eight godchildren. And he prayed for each of them daily – and not only for them. His memorial was like a monastic synodikon. Every day he turned with prayer to the Mother of God for the Orthodox youth - “so that they all become holy husbands and holy wives.”

One of Joseph’s French acquaintances, Vladimir, says in a private letter: “The icon always overshadowed brother Joseph (on the most legitimate basis). To us he seemed simple, modest, always one of us (almost everyone could say he was my friend), but the same like us, an ordinary person, however, upon whom such a miracle befell... But now that the icon is gone, his appearance began to emerge differently. After all, it was he who prayed in front of the icon for three weeks, reading the akathist every day, because it was through his prayers that the icon began to stream myrrh, that is, as if there was an accumulation, an overflow of his love, and it began to overflow over the edge of the vessel, and the Mother of God responded with a reciprocal act of miracle-working. After all, it was he who wandered with the shrine all over the world - no matter what - not personal illnesses, hardships of travel, lack of funds... not the resistance of some people (until recently, and he himself told me about this many times), and At the same time, he managed to complete his extensive prayer rule (up to a thousand Jesus prayers in addition to everything else), paint icons... He could not have any personal life. People came, called, wrote, asked for help, intercession, prayers. And he prayed for everyone."

Joseph did not have much money. Having found the icon, he made a vow that it would not become a source of his enrichment. And he carried it out until his death. “I know for sure,” Archpriest Viktor Potapov testifies, “that sometimes he did not have enough money to buy medicines and basic necessities. Often he gave his last money to those in need.”

A note was found in Joseph's papers: French, made by his hand in 1985, from which it is clear how difficult it was for him to bear the obedience of the guardian of the myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God, and which testifies that long before his martyrdom he foresaw it.

Here is the text of this note: “Lord Jesus Christ, Who came to our earth for the sake of salvation and was voluntarily nailed to the Cross and endured passion for our sins, let me also endure my suffering, which I accept not from my enemies, but from my brother. Lord! Don’t count this a sin on him.”

Dimitry Mikhailovich Gortynsky, regent of the Church of the Ascension in Sacramento (California, USA), in a private letter to Mother Maria Potapova dated December 25, 1997, reports next case from the life of Joseph: “He woke up at night and felt that he was tied hand and foot. His mouth was also tied, and he could neither speak nor scream. He tried to free himself, but could not, and only prayed within himself. He knew what it was evil spirits, and she kept him like that all night. Jose himself told this in Spanish to my wife a year ago, and she then translated it to me, and now she retold it again so that I could write it down accurately." According to Joseph himself, it was not a dream at all, but everything happened in reality .

In his last interview, published in the Russian Shepherd magazine, published in San Francisco, when asked if, over fifteen years, he had gotten used to a miracle, Joseph replied: “No, you can’t get used to this, just like you can’t get used to a miracle in general. It’s like if the celebration of the Eucharist would become a habitual, routine action for the priest... I never approach the icon with curiosity to check where and how much of the world flows out... We should never get used to miracles. If this happens, then the miracle will stop. be a miracle. A person who understands what holiness and shrine are can never get used to a miracle.”

Then Joseph was asked a question: “Many people believe that the icon is your property and that you can dispose of it as you wish. How do you answer such people?”

“This is not so,” said Joseph. “I am only the custodian of the icon. If the icon belonged only to me, I would sit quietly at home, and not travel around the globe from parish to parish... The icon is miraculous, and we cannot control or dispose of it. Once I went from Montreal to New York, where the believers were waiting for me, but the plane circled over New York and returned. What did this mean for me? The answer is clear: I should not have gone there. I got into a taxi, and suddenly a car appeared in front of us: I had to brake sharply. The glass on the icon case cracked. Nothing happened to us, but I had to return home to clean the icon. broken glass, and the plane took off without me at that time... In July 1995, when I was in the skete on Mount Athos, where the icon was painted, the abbot of the skete ordered me to bow to the ground before each trip with the prayer: “Mother, bless.” After that, the abbot said, go with God. I believe that since I started doing this, sometimes I especially feel in my soul the need to go to one place or another."

Joseph continued: “In our time, as in the time of Christ, holy things should go to people, just as holiness went to them. This is not a tradition that I myself established. The Lord knows how hard it is for me to travel, it affects my health , but I joyfully fulfill this obedience before the Mother of God and the people of God, who with great joy await the Queen of Heaven. The Abbot of Athos, who gave me the icon, said: “A Church in which there is no love, compassion and mercy is not the Church.” the teaching is deeply imprinted on my heart..."

In the same interview, as if anticipating his martyrdom, Joseph said: “Believers must be ready to die for the truth, not to forget that by acquiring enemies here, we acquire the Kingdom of Heaven... He who is faithful in small things will be faithful in great things , when necessary. If we have the opportunity to become confessors, we should not miss this. Having lost our earthly life, we gain a heavenly life. We should not be afraid of death for Christ.”

The room in which Joseph was martyred is in the corner and opens onto a balcony - the only one in the entire hotel with access to the roof of the neighboring building. This explains why the door of the room in which Joseph was killed was locked from the inside. According to the doctor who examined the body, the murder was committed by two or three people: one held him, another tied his arms and legs, and the third struck him. Apparently, the killers wanted to find out where the icon was. Let us clarify that the location of the icon is currently unknown.

How Joseph was lured to the hotel room in which this terrible murder was committed remains a mystery. Jordanville monk Vsevolod Filipev in his essay “Transformed Suffering, or Conversation with the Murdered Brother Joseph” makes the following guess: “What did the killer lure you with? Maybe he promised you money or did you need some of his services? Oh, no. He lured you by asking for your help. The demon who taught him this, of course, knew that your kind heart could not refuse someone asking for help..."

At the trial, the doctor testified that everything showed that Joseph did not resist. He lay tied across the bed. Traces of torture are visible on the legs, arms, and chest. Joseph died long and painfully alone...

Priest Alexander Ivashevich, who lives in Argentina and accompanied Joseph on his last trip to Greece, talks about his last days, which he was destined to witness: “On the last night I couldn’t sleep, a long conversation turned into a mutual confession... in an instant brother Joseph went through his whole life...” At the airport they parted: “That’s all - it’s time to say goodbye.” When we reached the entrance to a separate hall, Brother Joseph said to me: “Forgive me, Father, for everything I did wrong, and if you. I offended you, I sincerely ask for forgiveness." I told him: "Forgive me, Jose." "God will forgive! - he answered. “Thank you for everything, thank you so much.” Immediately at the airport, Brother Joseph bowed to me, and I... hugged him long and tightly. I had to move on, and Brother Joseph exclaimed: “Bless, Father!” “God bless you, Jose!” He said to me: “With God!” - for the last time... This is how we said goodbye to brother Joseph just a couple of hours before his death... "

In the summer of 1996, Joseph went to Athos to say goodbye to Schema-Abbot Clement, his spiritual father, who was departing to God. Then the schema-monk told him that the next year - 1997 - would be fateful for him and terrible events would occur. On the eve of his martyrdom, Joseph and priest Alexander Ivashevich visited the monastery of St. Nicholas on the Greek island of Andros to venerate its shrines. The monk, who opened the doors of the main church of the monastery for them, was extremely surprised that the ancient wall image of the Mother of God began to tear profusely. The rector of the monastery, Archimandrite Dorotheus, explained that the icon cries when terrible events are brewing or during such events. This sign of the Mother of God made a deep impression on Joseph, and he repeatedly said to Father Alexander: “Father, I feel that something terrible will happen very soon. I don’t know what exactly, but something will happen.” And on the very day of his death, in the morning, Joseph once again shared his premonition with Father Alexander.

The keeper of the myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God "Goalkeeper" was buried 13 days after his murder in Athens. They wanted to perform his funeral service with a closed coffin and in a sealed plastic bag. But God judged differently. The coffin was open, the bag was torn, and everyone saw signs of torture. There were no visible signs of decay.

Monk Vsevolod Filipev in the article quoted above says: “Hello, brother Joseph. Your soul, of course, sees me standing and looking at your body, resting in a coffin, in the center of our Holy Trinity Cathedral. You were brought today at noon, and now it’s already evening. All this time, the brethren are reading the Psalter over you. Tomorrow the funeral service will be held, and your body will return to the earth to rise at the Second Glorious Coming of Christ. I didn’t know you during my life, but tell me where this feeling comes from. Have we known each other for a long time? Where does this quiet, bright, joyful sadness come from in the soul? Perhaps such feelings always come to mortal people when they meet saints? But although I never knew you, I still do not doubt your holiness. not from the mind and not from feeling, it came from somewhere from more subtle and higher spheres; the soul believes in this, but our soul is smarter than our outer man...

Tell me, dear brother Joseph, why does the news of your death pierce your soul to the very depths? Why is your heart and mind so affected by what happened to you? Why do you want to stand next to you again and again and don’t want to leave the temple? Probably because through you, as through every Christian martyr, the souls of believers seem to meet their Master Jesus Christ, Who is the first of all martyrs.

In God's holy men we honor Christ. By worshiping the martyrs, we worship the Divine Sufferer. Is it not His mysterious presence that the soul experiences so clearly and joyfully at these moments? And I believe that you, dear Joseph, are already seeing our Sweetest Savior, Who promised to grant salvation to all who endured to the end... I would like to tell all people about your face, about what we saw on it in these moments of farewell to you . And we saw – transformed suffering. The amazement of the soul was imprinted on your face, realizing that the hour of suffering was about to end and in a moment she would meet God..."

Many people from all over the world who came to Jordanville in those days testify to the gracious atmosphere of the funeral. The same monk Vsevolod writes: “Dear brother Joseph, your funeral service attracted hundreds of people to our Holy Trinity Monastery. As many of them gathered as there are at Easter. However, the mood, according to at least For me, it was a little different than on Easter. It seemed to me that I was present at the services of Holy Saturday; I remembered the reverent presence before the Shroud, when the souls of believers with fear and tenderness behold the saving passions of the Lord and remember His burial. Everything that happened today, during your funeral service and burial, dear Joseph, was also mysteriously majestic and lightly sad. Of course, there were tears, and how could our eyes resist them when daylight we saw more clearly your weary face, your martyr’s body, decorated with sores, as if with some kind of Divine pearl. We saw your hands, on which there were crimson scars from the bonds with which the executioner tied you. Joseph, Joseph, our poor dear, beloved Joseph. Was there such a stony soul among us that could remain indifferent to your suffering?"

One person who recently arrived from Russia and attended Joseph’s funeral said to the monk Vsevolod: “You know, I had the feeling that I was not present at a funeral service or funeral, but at the rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. I realized quite clearly that even if At these moments, they would have taken us all out of the temple and shot us, but it wouldn’t matter – we won!”

Vladimir Voropaev

Recently I visited the memory of the Iveron Montreal Icon.

A story about the miraculous rescue of an airplane.

Today the Mother of God saved us!
Before boarding the plane in Montreal, some person who could read Russian, approached Jose (Joseph Muñoz-Cortez), read the embroidered words “Most Holy Theotokos, save us” on the case in which the Myrrh-streaming Icon was kept, and read it with mockery and irony. The plane flew safely to Chicago and began to land, but the following happened: another plane that landed before it hit the generator set, and the entire airport was plunged into darkness. An order immediately came from the navigation tower - not to land under any circumstances. Having received such an order, the pilot, who almost
landed, had to turn the steering wheel sharply, giving a strong speed. The plane rushed into the heights, but lost its balance and began to fall in a zigzag pattern. The shelf doors opened and hand luggage fell on people. A cry and crying arose, and in this complete confusion Jose Muñoz took the Miraculous Myrrh-Streaming Icon out of its case and raised IT high above everyone. Immediately everything changed. The plane regained its balance and began to calmly circle over the city. Soon after, the airport's lights were restored and the plane was cleared to land. When the passengers got off, the flight attendant, saying goodbye to them, said: “Today the Mother of God saved us!”

BLESSED BY PURITY OF HEART, AS THEY SHALL SEE GOD
On the night of October 31, 1997, the custodian of the Montreal miraculous Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, Joseph Munoz-Cortez, was killed in Athens. On the day when the Church remembers the Apostle Luke, according to the legend of the first icon painter, and many celebrate Halloween, our contemporary suffered torment for the faith of Christ and accepted the crown of martyrdom.

The path to Orthodoxy

Joseph (or in Spanish Jose) Muñoz-Cortez was born in 1948 in Santiago (Chile) and belonged to a very noble family - the Spanish aristocrats Muñoz-Cortez. In addition to its antiquity, this family was distinguished by its ardent commitment to catholic religion. In 1962, passing by an Orthodox church on the way to the church, young Joseph heard something coming from open doors wonderful singing, and his feet themselves carried him inside...... He came to Orthodoxy forever....

Miraculous Icon

When Jose was asked why the Lord chose him as the custodian of the miraculous icon, he answered: “I always prayed to the Blessed Virgin and never asked for a miracle, never asked the Blessed Virgin to give me any proof of Herself. I believe in the Mother of God, just as I believe in God. I greatly honor the Mother of God, because this is what I was taught in childhood by my mother. I believe that the Blessed Virgin manifests Herself wherever She wants."

Martyr's Crown

He was found in a room at the Athens Grand Hotel. The door was locked from the inside; the maid was unable to enter the room in the morning. Room No. 860 was a corner room and opens onto a balcony, the only balcony in the Grand Hotel, from which you can access the roof of the nearest building. The killers entered the room relatively easily and left just as easily, unnoticed by anyone. Romanian Nikolai Ciaru appeared before the court as a defendant, but he, apparently, was not the main one. actor. Presumably there were three killers: one held, the other tied his hands and feet, and the third struck. The murder was carefully planned. The doctor who conducted the examination explained that in ordinary murders, victims are usually tied up in a hurry and carelessly. Joseph was tied very carefully and in such a way as to cause him great suffering. Terrible torture lasted about half an hour, after which Joseph died alone for a long time. A man who during his life did not give a single reason to doubt his moral purity, after his painful death was also subjected to many reproaches, speculation and gossip appeared in the press, and only after some time a reassessment of what had happened began.

It is unknown where the Miraculous Montreal Icon of the Mother of God is located.
Joseph Muñoz Cortes suffered for the true Orthodox faith, drinking the cup of sorrow one for all. He was killed by a Romanian Satanist who hated Orthodoxy. As Tsar Martyr Nicholas II once suffered, drinking the cup of sorrow for all of Russia alone, and, having become like Christ, Joseph thereby cleansed us from corruption, so that it would be easier for us to sail on a spiritual ship on the sea of life. Joseph, for his holiness and devotion to the Church, had from God the gift of foresight. Foreigner-truly Orthodox soul Joseph. Joseph Muñoz Cortes, as a faithful servant of the Mother of God, fulfilled Her blessing: he visited all Russian foreign parishes and monasteries. The Mother of God showed her mercy to the Russian people and the whole world, pouring out grace on her icon. She sent her servant to martyrdom, the world poured out its blasphemy on him. But the Mother of God glorified him immediately after his death: when they opened the coffin, she was lying on it white rose, as just laid down as a sign of his purity, purity and holiness. The relics turned out to be incorruptible,
although they lay there for 13 days, they gave off a subtle fragrance of roses. On the thirteenth day after his death, the body of the murdered man arrived at the Trinity Monastery in Jordanville. It was there that Brother Joseph bequeathed to bury himself. They planned to bury the martyr in a closed coffin, but by order of Archbishop Laurus it was opened plastic bag in which the body was transported. Traces of suffering and torture to which he was subjected were clearly visible. last hours of his life: fingers broken at the joints, purple scars from the rope on his face, neck, in places where his hands were tied. But everyone was struck by the absence of any signs of decay.
The many people who came to Jordanville from all over the world in those days testify to the gracious atmosphere of the funeral. One former monk of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, wrote about the mood that reigned on the day of the funeral and funeral of Brother Joseph:
“It seemed to me that I was present at the services of Holy Saturday; I remembered the reverent presence before the Shroud, when the souls of believers with fear and tenderness behold the saving Passion of the Lord and remember His burial. Everything that happened... was also mysteriously majestic and lightly sad. Of course, there were tears, and how could our eyes resist them, when in the daylight we saw more clearly (his) exhausted face, (his) martyr’s body, decorated with sores, as if with some kind of Divine pearls. We saw (his) hands, on which there were crimson scars from the fetters with which the executioner tied (him)...".
One servant of God, who came from Russia and attended Joseph’s burial, said: “I had the feeling that I was not present at a funeral service or funeral, but at the rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. I realized quite clearly that even if at those moments we were all taken out of the church and shot, it would still be the same - we won!”
When Joseph was being carried to the cemetery, the ill hieromonk Averky, who was unable to attend the funeral service due to weakness, left his cell to observe funeral procession, and at this time he felt a strong aroma of peace. Other pilgrims heard the same aroma. Thus, the Mother of God anointed Her martyr with incorruptibility and the fragrance of heavenly peace as a sign of his acceptance into the Heavenly Kingdom as a martyr. On the fortieth day after the death of Joseph Muñoz-Cortes, the keeper of the Myrrh-streaming Icon of the Iveron Mother of God, at his grave, located in the monastery cemetery blown by winds from all sides, one could observe another miracle - candles that cannot be extinguished in the snow and in the wind...
Currently, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is collecting documents for the possible canonization of the custodian of the Montreal Iveron Icon, Br. Jose Muñoz-Cortez. A diocesan commission was created, which will then transfer collected documents to the Synodal Commission for further consideration.
Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), First Hierarch of the ROCOR

35 years ago, Orthodox Spaniard Joseph Muñoz-Cortez was called by the Lord to a special ministry. This ministry began on Athos, when Joseph was given for safekeeping a copy of the glorified image of the Mother of God “The Goalkeeper,” which, on the night of November 23-24, 1982, began to flow myrrh in ways unknown to the mind. Joseph sealed his 15-year service to the Mother of God and the Church of Christ with his martyrdom 20 years ago, on the night of October 31, 1997.

In 2002, the Synod of Bishops of the ROCOR published an appeal to the flock on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the miraculous Iveron-Myrrh-streaming Icon of Montreal. Unfortunately, this appeal went almost unnoticed.

“This icon, pouring out abundant miraculous myrrh, consoled our Russian Church Abroad for 15 years,” says the Synodal Address, “being a visible and tangible sign of the merciful intercession of the Mother of God for us sinners... Have we used this visit to the Mother of our Lord to our advantage? for the soul, and wasn’t it our common sin of cooling towards shrines and prayer, towards works of piety and witness to the Orthodox faith that became the reason for the taking away of the holy icon from us by God’s permission?

Brothers and sisters! With reverent gratitude, let us prayerfully remember the presence of this wonderful myrrh-streaming icon in our Church and with repentance let us pray to the Most Holy Theotokos for the forgiveness of our sins, for the establishment of peace in our Orthodox Church...”

This call of the ROCOR bishops remains relevant today.

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the appearance of the myrrh-streaming Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, we have the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of God’s great miracle and touch the fate of a man who, in our pragmatic, computerized and rational age, gave his life for an Orthodox shrine.

Joseph (Jose) Munoz-Cortez was born on May 13, 1948 into a Catholic family in Chile. When he was barely 14 years old, on the way to the Catholic Cathedral he got lost in the streets of Santiago and, hearing unusual singing, went into an Orthodox church. That day, September 27th, was...

The beauty of the decoration of the temple, icons and worship struck the youth, shocked him to the depths of his soul, and from then on he began to visit this church. Two years later, Archbishop Leonty of Chile blessed him to convert to Orthodoxy. This was in 1964. For three years Joseph studied icon painting and theology. Having moved to Canada, he completed courses there at the School of Fine Arts and subsequently taught the history of icon painting at the University of Montreal. Joseph hoped to become a monk, but there was no Orthodox monastery for men in Canada.

In 1982, during a pilgrimage to Holy Mount Athos, Joseph visited the Nativity of the Savior monastery. Here, in the icon-painting workshop, he saw the image of the Mother of God that deeply struck him. He persistently asked to sell him this icon, but was refused. The young pilgrim fervently prayed to the Mother of God to allow him to take Her image to Canada. Already leaving the gates of the monastery, he saw the abbot hastening to him, who handed him an icon with the words: “The Blessed Virgin must leave with you.”

While on board a ship heading to the Athonite port of Daphne, he heard inner voice, who commanded him to go to and attach his icon to the miraculous image of the Mother of God “Goalkeeper,” the heavenly Guardian and Patroness of Athos. The icon given to him was copied from this image. He fulfilled this command. Returning to Montreal, Joseph placed the “Goalkeeper” icon in his room and read an akathist in front of it every night.

He woke up at about three o'clock in the morning and smelled a strong fragrance

Through the icon, by the grace of God, many miraculous healings took place, but Joseph more than once said that the greatest miracle of the myrrh-streaming icon was that it moved people to repentance.

The news of the new miraculous icon was received with particular joy in Russia at that time. I have repeatedly reported on it on the waves of the Voice of America in my program “Religion in Our Lives.” At one time, I received many letters from Russian listeners who wanted to learn more about the icon and about Brother Joseph. To this day I meet people who remember these programs. At one time, an Orthodox Spaniard named Jorge Fernandez found me and told me a wonderful story. I asked him to tell his story in in writing for our parish magazine, where we collect bit by bit everything we can about Brother Joseph and the Montreal Icon. Here is an excerpt from Fernadez's story:

“In 1984, in my Moscow apartment, I tried to tune my BF receiver to the religious program of the Voice of America, which was compiled and hosted by priest Viktor Potapov. This was not an easy matter, since the authorities were diligently jamming the radio signal in order to deprive us, the Orthodox, of one of the few sources of religious information. On this particular evening, I heard something amazing and deeply ingrained in my heart. Father Victor spoke about one Chilean who received an image of the Iveron Mother of God in a monastery on Mount Athos, and that some time later this image began to flow myrrh. I couldn’t hear all the details because of the poor sound quality, but I was greatly amazed and delighted by two circumstances: firstly, the miracle itself, and secondly, that there is another Latin American in the world who, just like me, became Orthodox Christian, but, unlike me, he followed this path so sincerely and deeply that he was awarded the great honor of becoming the chosen one of the Most Pure Mother of God. So I made a friend, although at that time I had no idea what role he would play in my life.”

I will return to Jorge Fernandez's story a little later.

The second sign was expressed in the repentance of many people

In Russia, freed from the communist yoke, the believing people surround the Iveron Icon with special veneration. In my deep conviction, the long-suffering Orthodox peoples surround the “Goalkeeper” icon with high veneration, partly because she herself is long-suffering. More than a thousand years ago, a daring warrior struck Her Most Pure Face with his sword, and blood flowed from the resulting wound. This was the first miracle of the icon visible to human eyes. The second sign was of a spiritual nature: the warrior, struck by the miracle, brought heartfelt repentance, abandoned the iconoclastic heresy and accepted monasticism. On November 24, 1982, the copy of the Iveron Athos Icon, kept by Brother Joseph, revealed the first miracle - the flow of myrrh. Her second sign was expressed in the repentance of many people.

The keeper of the icon, Joseph, believed that the expiration of the world was connected with the glorification of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in 1981 by the Russian Church Abroad. He especially revered the venerable martyr Grand Duchess Elisaveta Feodorovna. French historian Jean Bas, who knew Joseph personally, says:

Without a hint of lyricism, we can say that he was the earthly lily of the Queen of Heaven

Joseph rarely spoke about his inner life, but when communicating with him, people physically felt that before them was a man of the greatest purity. Without any doubt and without a hint of lyricism, we can say that he was the earthly lily of the Queen of Heaven. Every day, in front of the miraculous icon, he read an akathist to the Mother of God (usually in French) and to the saint whose memory the Church celebrated. During church services he behaved very modestly and never attracted attention to himself: he stood quietly behind, unnoticed, like a real monk.

Partly out of gratitude, partly out of a desire to meet José in person, I went to his grave on the 10th anniversary of his murder. By this time, my wife and I had already read a book about his life, “The Montreal Myrrh-Streaming Icon and Brother Joseph,” which brought me even closer to him. After this second trip, upon my return home, Brother Joseph showed me great mercy.

I urge everyone who reads this clumsy story of mine to pray to him, ask him, thank him. If possible, go to him and light a candle. Pray at his grave. I know from my experience that no one will leave empty-handed. Brother Joseph and his miraculous icon were given to us by the Lord, as I understand it, as a reminder of the World to Come and to strengthen our faith. We don’t know where the icon is, but we know where its keeper is, come to him, and may our Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother protect us all.”

After the martyrdom of Brother Joseph in 1997 and the hiding of the Montreal Icon of the Mother of God, many asked: will the icon return to us?

By the grace of God, on October 6, 2007 (on the feast of the conception of the Holy Prophet and Forerunner John) - in the year of the restoration of canonical unity within the Russian Orthodox Church - a myrrh-streaming reproduction of the "Montreal-Iveron" icon, known as the "Hawaiian" icon, was revealed in the state of Hawaii. icon.

This was the answer to the questions of the faithful “will the icon return?” The return of the Iveron Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Mother of God was an important spiritual result of the Act of Canonical Communion and a sign of God’s favor to the Local Russian Orthodox Church.

November 24 - Feast of the Montreal Iveron Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Mother of God
The Montreal Iveron Icon of the Mother of God was painted on Mount Athos in 1981 by a Greek monk from the original icon of the Mother of God the Goalkeeper.

In 1982, this icon of the Mother of God was brought from Athos to Montreal by Joseph Muñoz Cortes, a Spaniard by birth who had long ago converted to Orthodoxy. This is what happened, says Joseph Muñoz: “On November 24, at three o’clock in the morning, I woke up from a strong fragrance. At first I thought that it came from the relics or a spilled bottle of perfume, but when I approached the icon, I was amazed: it was all covered with fragrant myrrh! I froze in place from such a miracle!”

Soon the myrrh-streaming icon was taken to the temple. Since then, the icon of the Mother of God has constantly streamed myrrh, with the exception of Holy Weeks.
It is remarkable that the myrrh flows mainly from the hands of the Mother of God and Christ, as well as the star located on the right shoulder of the Most Pure One. At the same time, the back side of the icon is always dry.
The presence of the myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God with her fragrant myrrh spreads special grace. Thus, a paralyzed young man from Washington, by the grace of the Mother of God, was healed. In Montreal, the icon was brought to a seriously ill man who could not move. A prayer service and akathist were served. He soon recovered. The miraculous icon of the Mother of God helped a woman suffering from a severe form of pneumonia. A fourteen-year-old girl suffered from a severe form of leukemia. Having high hopes for help from the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, she asked to bring it to her. After prayer and anointing with chrism, the child's health began to improve rapidly and, to the surprise of her doctors, after some time the tumors disappeared.
The miraculous image has already visited America, Australia, New Zealand, and Western Europe. And everywhere this icon of the Mother of God radiated peace and love.

First of all, believers are struck by the strong fragrance of the oil flowing from the hands of the Mother of God and Christ, and sometimes from the star depicted on the right shoulder of the Most Pure One. This distinguishes it from other miraculous icons, where tears flow from the eyes, as if the Mother of God is sobbing, whereas here She seems to be teaching Her blessing.
Myrrh usually appears during prayer or shortly after it, in quantities depending on the event or the prayerful zeal of those present. Sometimes it is so abundant that it appears through the protective glass and floods the support of the icon, the wall, the table. This happens on the days of great holidays, in particular on the Dormition of the Mother of God.
There were also cases when, after the expiration stopped, it resumed in an unexpected way. Thus, when visiting the Boston monastery, the myrrh flowed out in streams, but then completely dried up when the icon was transferred to a nearby parish. Upon returning to the monastery, the flow resumed so strongly that it overflowed. In another case, after the distribution of the world to 850 pilgrims, the icon turned out to be dry, but arriving the next day at the parish, where a mass of believers were waiting for it, it miraculously restored the flow of the world. Only once did the myrrh disappear and not expire for a relatively long time: during Holy Week 1983, from Holy Tuesday to Holy Saturday.
Myrrh flows down the icon, where pieces of cotton wool are placed. Once soaked, they are distributed to the pilgrims. It was noticed that although the ointment dries out quite quickly, the fragrance continues for a long time, sometimes months, and intensifies during especially fervent prayers. Often it fills the place where the icon was (room, car).

The mystery of these signs confuses many skeptics. Indeed, one could imagine that some kind of fragrant liquid was deliberately introduced from the back of the icon. In Miami, one scientist had the opportunity to examine the icon from all sides and, having established that it was completely dry from behind, came to the conclusion that we were talking about the greatest miracle of the 20th century. A special examination of part of the upper edge of the icon showed that the image was written on an ordinary wooden board that did not contain internal cavities or foreign inclusions. But such research has its limits. So, when skeptics wanted to make a sample of the world for the purpose of analysis, they were denied this, because such an act is disrespect for the Mother of God. “The icon is in front of you, and no one is urging you to recognize the miracle, it is up to you to believe or refuse to believe,” says Joseph Muñoz. A young man once answered him: “I see what is happening in front of me, but my mind is not able to believe it, but my heart believes it.”
Wherever this MONTREAL Icon of the Mother of God "Iveron" arrived, it spread love and harmony, as, for example, in one community where quarreling parishioners again found the way to prayer and church unity. Her presence increases the fervor of prayer to such an extent that the liturgies celebrated with her can be compared with the Easter ones, so fiery in the Orthodox Church.

There are many known cases of people returning to church, confession, and communion. Thus, one poor woman, having learned about the death of her son, was preparing to take her own life, but, touched to the depths of her soul by the sight of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, she repented of her terrible intention and immediately confessed. The blessed influence of the Most Pure One awakens and transforms the faithful, who are often frozen in inert beliefs.
The glory of the icon of the Mother of God spread widely beyond the Orthodox Church: many Catholics and Protestants came to honor her...
However, on the night of October 30-31, 1997, the keeper of the icon, Joseph Muñoz Cortes, was killed under mysterious circumstances, and the Miraculous Iveron Icon of the Mother of God disappeared without a trace...

***

A priest from Argentina, Alexander Ivashevich, who accompanied Joseph on his last trip to Greece, said: “I couldn’t sleep on the last night, a long conversation turned into a mutual confession... in an instant brother Joseph went through his whole life...” They parted at the airport: “Here we go.” That's it - it's time to say goodbye. When we reached the entrance to a separate hall, Brother Joseph said to me: “Forgive me, Father, for everything I did wrong, and if I offended you, I sincerely ask for forgiveness.” I told him: “Forgive me, Jose.” “God will forgive! - he answered. “Thank you for everything, thank you very much.” Right there at the airport, Brother Joseph bowed to me, and I... hugged him long and tightly. I had to go further, and Brother Joseph exclaimed: “Bless, Father!” - “God bless you, Jose!” He told me: “With God!” And I tell him: “With God!” - for the last time... This is how we said goodbye to brother Joseph just a couple of hours before his death..."
Room No. 860 of the Athens Grand Hotel, in which Joseph’s body was found, is the only corner room and opens onto a balcony - the only one in the entire hotel with access to the roof of the neighboring building. This explains why the door of the room in which Joseph was killed was locked from the inside. According to the doctor who examined the body, the murder was committed by two or three people: one held him, another tied his arms and legs, and the third struck him. How Joseph was lured to the hotel room in which this terrible murder was committed remains a mystery. Monk Vsevolod Filipev in his essay “Transformed Suffering, or Conversation with the Murdered Brother Joseph” expresses the following guess: “What did the killer lure you with? Maybe he promised you money or you needed some kind of service from him? Oh no. He lured you in by asking for your help. The demon who taught him this, of course, knew that your kind heart could not refuse someone asking for help...”
At the trial, the doctor testified that everything showed that Joseph did not resist. He lay tied across the bed. Traces of torture are visible on the legs, arms, and chest. Joseph died alone for a long time and painfully... The accused at the trial was a certain Romanian Nikolai Ciaru, but he, apparently, was not the main character.
Since then, nothing has been known about the discovery of the Montreal Myrrh-Streaming Icon. According to one version, Joseph, who always took her with him on trips - and he visited most of the parishes of the Russian Church Abroad in America, Australia, New Zealand, Western and Central Europe, where hundreds of thousands of believers had the opportunity to venerate the icon - on this once he left her either with her mother or with some trusted person. According to another version, he returned the image to Athos. According to the third, it was stolen by Joseph’s killers. One of the priests of the Moscow Patriarchate, speaking at an event of the International Slavic Foundation, said back in the late 1990s that he knew the whereabouts of the icon and that it would return. Monk Vsevolod Filipev wrote in 1999-2002: “We are consoled by the opinion of two clergy, the abbot of the Nativity Skete on Athos and the abbot of the monastery of St. Nicholas on the island of Andros, where Joseph was the day before his death. Both claim that the icon is in good hands.”
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Prayer before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called the “Iveron” of Montreal

O Most Glorious Lady, Queen of Heaven and Earth, Virgin Mary! Before Your venerable icon, we now bow down and cry out to You with a tender heart, this little prayer of ours, as we are unprincipled servants who have received condemnation, but through Your omnipotent intercession the Judges have sought propitiation. We believe and trust, Lady, that although Thy Son did not want the death of sinners, He heeded Thy intercession, and now, informed of this wonderful sign from Thy myrrh-streaming icon, Thou hast abundantly flowed from healing and healing to all who flow to Thee with faith and love. For this reason, we cry out to You with tears: have mercy on our reproach, forgive us our infidelity, crush our exaltation of pride, drive away insensibility from hardened hearts, look upon the sighing of those who are struggling with despondency, give us chastity to the future reward of expectation. And grant, O Lady, to our Church an unshakable standing in truth and a good return in love, protect us from all the machinations of demons and heretical superstitions and gather the scattered faithful into one, so that all on earth who glorify You Orthodoxy and in the heavenly realms may be worthy to sing the all-honorable name of the Holy Trinity and Your merciful intercession for us forever and ever.
Amen.