On September 21, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of the twelve greatest feasts – the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. On this same day, according to the church calendar, falls the veneration of the Kholm Icon of the Mother of God, which is one of the four apostolic icons that Kyivan Rus once possessed. On this day, the Lutsk-Volyn Eparchial Administration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate organized a pilgrimage to this great Wonderworking Image, which is located in the Museum of the Volyn Icon. The celebration began at 10 o'clock with the Divine Liturgy in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Lutsk, after which a procession set off for the museum. About five thousand people took part in the veneration of the Wonderworking Icon: approximately one hundred seminarians, more than thirty priests, choristers of two choirs, representatives of state authorities, educators of higher and secondary educational institutions, doctors, residents and guests of the city. Before the Image, which museum representatives installed on the porch, the clergy served a sung akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, while the faithful at that time approached the Image, kissed it, and made donations for its restoration (in this way, more than two thousand hryvnias were collected). The event that took place in Lutsk acquired general cultural significance, as it presented the commonality of interests of the religious and artistic cultural spheres. Volyn has more than once become a center of tolerance, as was also evidenced by the service in the Museum of the Volyn Icon. It is necessary to continue building relations based on the highest interests of the entire community. After all, the unification of efforts has always proven its effectiveness. Lutsk has its own Faithful Guardian (according to Metropolitan Ilarion), the Church received another symbol of unity for Lutsk, Volyn, and all of Ukraine.
Olena Ohnieva, Svitlana Onyshchuk: Reference. The Wonderworking Icon of the Kholm Mother of God with the Child is a Byzantine icon of the 11th–12th centuries. The icon is exhibited on great Orthodox feasts in the halls of the Museum of the Volyn Icon (a department of the Volyn Museum of Local Lore). Incidentally, the Museum of the Volyn Icon is the only museum of its kind in Ukraine. On September 15, 2000, the shrine was transferred to the museum by the World Society of Kholm Residents. This Wonderworking Icon is that same holy image, one of the four apostolic ones (known since the times of Kyivan Rus), for which Prince Danylo of Halych built a church in the city of Kholm (now the city of Chełm in Poland). The history of the icon is in fact an exposition of the history of Ukraine, at the same time the history of Volyn – Kholm region, one of its historical-cultural regions, which now belongs to Poland. Repeatedly the Wonderworking Image was lost as if forever, yet it rose from the ashes. So it happened also the last time. Only after Ukraine gained independence did it become known that the Kholm Mother of God icon had for decades been secretly kept in Lutsk, in the family of a priest from Kholm. Through the efforts of restorer Anatolii Kvasiuk, who works at the Museum of the Volyn Icon, the Wonderworking Icon returned to us from oblivion (the restoration process is still ongoing). More complete information about the Kholm Mother of God is contained in the publication: "The Kholm Mother of God. Return from Oblivion," – Lutsk, "Initsial," 2003. The author of the text is Olena Romaniuk, a research associate of the museum. Artistic design of the publication – by Viktor Fedosiuk, director of the "Initsial" publishing house, photos – by Hryhorii Zablotskyi (Chełm, Poland), Anatolii Kvasiuk (Lutsk), Volodymyr Tsytovych (Kyiv), Viktor Chukhrai (Lutsk). Visitors of the museum can (in addition to the above-mentioned publication) purchase postcards with the image of the icon; or postcards on the reverse of which a brief history of it is placed (author Olena Romaniuk); or postcards with the image and text of prayers to the image of the Mother of God (translation into modern Ukrainian by Nataliia Pushkar), printed by the "Initsial" publishing house.The Museum of the Volyn Icon (Lutsk, Yaroshchuka St., 5) is open from 10 to 18 o'clock. Days off – Wednesday and Saturday. During this week, the Kholm Mother of God icon will remain open to all who wish to bow to the Wonderworking Image, one of the most revered in our state – the Image of the "Faithful Guardian of the entire Ukrainian land," the "Faithful Guardian for the entire Ukrainian people," in the words of Metropolitan Ilarion (Professor Ivan Ohiienko).