4
Icons of the Mother of God Gerontissa
The icon of the Mother of God, called Gerontissa (Elderwoman - Abbess), became famous in the Athos monastery of Pantokrator (Almighty).
The pious elder abbot of that monastery received a revelation of his imminent death. Before his death, he wanted to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and asked the serving priest to hurry up and celebrate the Divine Liturgy, but he did not heed his request. Then a menacing voice was heard from the miraculous icon of Gerontissa, which stood in the altar, commanding the priest to hurry up and fulfill the desire of his abbot.
Another miracle from the icon occurred when, through the prayer of the abbot of the monastery, the oil multiplied in the empty monastery vessels.
In the icon, the Mother of God is depicted in full growth without the Infant God. In front of Her is a vessel from which oil is pouring over the edges.
The famous icon of the Mother of God Gerontissa in the altar of the cathedral church of the Dormition Pochaev Lavra. With the blessing of Archbishop Modest of Volyn and Zhitomir, the clergy, before the start of the service, asked the icon of the Mother of God for a blessing to begin the service.
St. Feona of Thessalonica, Metropolitan. († XVI, commemorated April 4)
Our God-bearing father Theona first labored in the monastery of Pantocrator, serving there as a successive priest, which is also evident from the life of St. Venerable Martyr Jacob of Iveron. Then, having kissed the silence, he united in the ascetic field with this venerable martyr, who at that time was asceticizing in the Iveron monastery of the venerable Forerunner. When the divine Jacob went into the world to preach the word of God, Feon followed him along with others and was inseparable from him almost until his martyrdom. After the passion-bearing death of his elder, he was primate and shepherd at the monastery of St. Anastasia the Patternmaker, located near Thessaloniki, and then, finally, he was elevated to the metropolitan see in Thessalonica. His holy relics are still intact in the above-mentioned monastery of St. Anastasia. (See about him in the life of the Holy Martyr Jacob and his disciples Deacon Jacob and Dionysius, November 1).
Prmch. Nikita Slavyanin, Athos, Hierom. († 1808, commemorated April 4)