Molebens held before the Sitka Icon of the Mother of God in parishes of the Russian Church Abroad

On October 8, over 500 parishioners and worshipers came to St Sergius of Radonezh Cathedral on the church's feast day, and to the Orthodox church in Akron, OH, to pray before the Sitka Icon of the Mother of God, through which many miracles and healings have taken place for Orthodox Christians. The services in St Sergius Cathedral were led by His Grace Bishop Peter of Cleveland, Administrator of the Diocese of Chicago and Detroit.

On October 19, the miracle-working Icon visited Epiphany Church in Boston, whose rector is Mitred Protopriest Roman Lukianov.

In the early 19th century, this icon was sent to the city of Sitka by St Innokenty (Veniaminov), Equal-to-the-Apostles, the first Ruling Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in North America. Employees of the company "Russian American" gave it as a gift to Archangel Michael Cathedral in Sitka in 1850. The icon survived during a firein 1966, when the original church burned down.

The clergymen of the Sitka church are performing a pilgrimage throughout America with the miraculous Icon. It will visit over 60 Orthodox churches and will conclude its journey on the East Coast on November 7.