www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Boronyavo and Mariapocs Icons

CIX!

Does anyone know why the icons of the Mother of God of Boronyavo and of Mariapocs are of the same basic style and "format"?

The site http://www.missionboronyavo.org didn't explain the similarity; it said the Boronyavo icon was painted by a monk following a vision (which occurred in the 1700's, after the original Mariapocs icon had been painted).

Any insights?

Dave

Boronyavska:
[Linked Image]

Povchanska:
[Linked Image]

Our very dearest Chtets!

I don't know, but it seems to me that there can be several icons written in the same style but named differently.

For example, the Kazan icon has many miraculous copies, each of which is written/painted differently, even though, to see them, leaves no doubt that they are of the "Kazan" type.

And they are named after their towns or cities where they are venerated - although a number are "hyphenated" names such as: Kazan-Kaplunivka.

So, hopefully without stating the obvious, the two icons above are separate Mariapocs icons, but the first one is named after its own locale.

Alex

Thanks, for your reply, Dr. Alex!

I am familiar with this practice of naming copies of famous icons after a new locale. One can even say that the Mariapocs icon is just a variant of the Portaitissa, etc.

I just am curious as to the history of the Boronyavo icon. The story mentioned on that website has a monk painting the icon after what he saw in a vision, but it seems pretty obvious that it is a copy of the Mariapocs icon. Perhaps it was just a way for the people in Transcarpathia to venerate the Mariapocs icon without having to go all the way to Hungary. Or maybe Our Lady appears in the same way to all those in the Carpathians.

Dave

Online searching hasn't yielded much. I Googled Боронявска, Боронявская, and just Бороняво, but only came up with a pic of the monastery:

http://www.zakarpattja.westportal.net/Images/223.html

Perhaps I will contact the Mission Society for more information.

Dave

Dear Chtets,

Well, in the Podillia area of Ukraine are five miraculous icons - and all of them look the same, more or less.

People did all sorts of interesting things with icons in history.

If you, for example, happened to conquer a Christian people and wanted to begin the process of getting them to accept your rule over them, the first thing you would have done is to somehow take their most venerated miraculous Icon and have it brought to your own capital city.

The conquered people would then be obliged to go on pilgrimage to your capital city in what would be for them a foreign, oppressive land.

Over time, because their icon was in your hands, you and your country would stop being looked upon as those people's enemies - or so you would hope.

And what you say happened with the Black Madonna of Czestochowa.

As Vladislav Opolski took the icon from Belz to Czestochowa, wherever his train spent the night, there miraculous events took place soon after.

People had copies of the Black Madonna written and enshrined in churches or sometimes monasteries at those spots - and again this meant they didn't have to travel all the way to Czestochowa to see the original Icon.

Alex