Church of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Ochakovo-Matveevskoye
The Iveron icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, also known as the Keeper of the gate or the Portress, belongs to the iconographic type of Odigitria and is revered in the Orthodox tradition as miraculous. The original icon has been kept in the Iveron Monastery on Mount Athos (Greece) since ancient times and has never left its borders. According to legend, in the 9th century, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus, iconoclasts persecuted worshippers of holy images. A pious woman who lived near the city of Nicaea lowered the icon into the sea to save it. About two centuries later, the monks of the Iversky monastery discovered the icon in the waters of the Aegean Sea, accompanied by a shining pillar of fire. In a dream, St. Gabriel of Svyatogorets was instructed by the Mother of God to take the shrine, and he stepped onto the water and brought it to the monastery. However, the next morning the icon was not in the temple, but above the monastery gates. This miracle was repeated several times, after which the monks decided to leave her at the entrance to the monastery, giving her the name Vratarnitsa, or the Keeper of the gate. Initially, the shrine was located in an open kiot above the gate, but later it was moved to a specially built chapel, where it remains to this day. In the 16th century, the icon was decorated with a silver frame created by Georgian craftsmen, while only the faces of the Virgin and Child of God remained open. According to the revelation of St. Nile the Myrrh-streaming, revealed after his death in the 19th century, Athos will plunge into chaos and turmoil before the end of time. At this moment, the icon will miraculously leave the Holy Mountain, as it once appeared, which will be a sign of the nearness of the Second Coming of Christ and a call for the Holy Mountain people to leave Mount Athos. In memory of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, the Temple of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Ochakovo-Matveevskoye was erected in Moscow, recalling the miracles and intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Address: Moscow, Michurinsky ave., 68, building 1
