In Bukovina, the Boyan Miraculous Icon Was Honored in Spite of Persecutions

Hierarchs of the UOC at the celebration of the Boyan Icon. Photo: UOJ

BOYAN — On September 25, 2025, celebrations dedicated to the Boyan Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God took place at the Boyan Women’s Monastery, reports a correspondent of the Union of Orthodox Journalists Ukrainian branch.

The festive Divine Liturgy, celebrated under the open sky, was led by Metropolitan Meletiy of Chernivtsi. He was joined by Metropolitan Longin of Bancheny, Bishop Nikita of Ivano-Frankivsk, Metropolitan Eusebius of Shepetivka and Slavuta, Archbishop Siluan of Hertsa, Bishop Kleopa of Novoselytsia, and clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Thousands of faithful attended the service, many of whom had arrived at the monastery the day before in a religious procession from Chernivtsi.

“Surely, each of us knows from our own experience what the protection of the Most Pure Virgin Mary means. And today, when we see this miraculous icon with our physical eyes—an icon that is glorified and meaningful for our native land—we bow our hearts and our heads before the Mother of God, asking that She always be present in our lives,” said Metropolitan Meletiy after the service.

He emphasized that the Boyan miraculous icon is venerated all over the world.

“Today we thank God, we thank His Most Pure Mother, the Theotokos, for the mercies we have. These are difficult times, and this encourages us to pray even more earnestly and fervently to the Most Holy Virgin. And we know that through Her intercession, through Her prayers, we will endure all these difficulties, problems, and hardships. We will endure them, and the Lord will grant us His blessing, His grace, and His mercy,” the Metropolitan concluded.

In turn, the Bancheny hierarch Longin emphasized that today, “we live in times when we must suffer a little for God, for our faith.”

“We are all sinners, we are all guilty before God. But glory be to God that the Lord has strengthened us in faith and has not allowed our souls to be lost. We have long been trying to be faithful to Heaven. Now the time has come. The people of God are being born through the Mother of God. The Savior is born for our salvation. Because the time has come when the Lord saw that everything is already wavering among the people, and faith is being destroyed,” the Metropolitan emphasized.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Metropolitan Meletiy blamed the Tomos of Autocephaly granted to the OCU by the Patriarch of Constantinople as the root cause of the ongoing religious strife, saying it “created the calamity we are witnessing today.”

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