Icon of the Mother of God “Neamts”

Commemorated on June 26

In 1399, the Neamts Icon of the Mother of God was given as a gift by Byzantine Emperor Andronicus Paleologos to the Moldavian ruler, Alexander the Voevod, and then placed in the Moldavian Neamts Ascension Monastery.

A Moldavian prince gave a copy of the icon to a Russian landowner named Chertkov. One of Chertkov’s descendants presented this copy to his village church in 1846. An inscription on the icon said that this was a faithful copy of the icon sent by Byzantine Emperor Andronicus. However, in 1399, the Emperor was Manuel II Paleologos. One of his sons was named Andronicus, and perhaps he sent the icon to Moldavia.

At this place, many ascetics of the Russian Church became saints under the holy Elder, Schema-Archimandrite Paisius Velichkovsky, and also through the guidance of the Mother of God.

By permission of the Orthodox Church in America (www.oca.org)