January 2 celebration
At a distance of eight versts from the city of Novgorod-Seversk, in the Chernihiv province, lies the village of Lenkov, located on the banks of the Desna River. In ancient times, it was located closer to the city, and there was a temple dedicated to the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos, as a result of which the place is still known today as the Virgin. During the Polish invasion, the village and its church were looted by an impostor. In the second half of the XVII century, the village was moved, and a new church was erected, dedicated to the holy Archangel Michael, in which the miraculous icon of the Mother of God is kept. According to legend, the icon of the Mother of God was moved to this church from the former church of the Most Holy Theotokos. The legend of the appearance and glorification of this image is as follows. Next to the mountain on which the temple was later built, there was a dangerous whirlpool on the Desna River. Even experienced swimmers had difficulty crossing it. Often, huge barges carrying grain would get caught in this whirlpool and disappear into its depths, along with the people on board. One day, an icon of the Virgin was sailed to the river bank. The faithful, seeing this sacred image, placed it on the mountain, opposite the dangerous place. Later, the above-mentioned Church of the Most Holy Theotokos was built on this site. Since then, swimmers crossing the Desna River often stopped in the village of Lenkov to pray in front of the image of the Mother of God. Before continuing their journey through the dangerous maelstrom, they cast lots to decide which of them would stay on the barge. After the prayer in front of the icon of the Virgin Mary, accidents with swimmers began to happen less often and eventually stopped. The icon of the Mother of God, named “Savior of the drowning”, looks very old: the face of the All-merciful Baby is difficult to distinguish. Its dimensions are 10 vertexes in height and 6 in width. Out of the zeal of the faithful, the image was decorated with a silver robe. Among the local population, the icon of Lenkov enjoys a special popularity, attracting many believers, especially those who often have to face the forces of the water element.
