In 2018, the Archeparchy of Prešov will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the erection of the Greek Catholic Eparchy in Prešov. The first bishop, Gregor Tarkovič, was ordained as a bishop in the Monastery of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in Krásny Brod in 1821. This is where one of the most valuable icons of the Archeparchy may be found; naturally, it is one of the symbols of the Jubilee Year of the Archeparchy of Prešov.
The first written mention of the Icon of the Mother of God in Krásny Brod comes from a record of the burning down of the local monastery by Bálint Drugeth de Geren et Homonna − Valentine Drugeth − in 1603. However, traditionally it is believed that the Icon had already been made several centuries earlier. Even though both the monastery and the temple burned down, miraculously the Icon was saved. According to tradition the Icon wept until 1614, when a new temple was built.
Originally, the Icon, which is 110 × 75 cm in size, had a wooden bedding and might have had a rectangular shape. It portrays an image of the Most Holy Mother of God and Jesus Christ as a child. The uniqueness of the image comes from their clothes and the texts on the Icon. On the scroll held by Jesus Christ, there is a barely readable inscription in the Church-Slavic language. It is a verse from the Gospel of John: “Before Abraham was, I am!” (John 8:58) At the bottom of the Icon, there is another barely readable inscription. In 1769, the damaged Icon was re-painted by Tadeáš (Michal) Spalinský and in 1972 by Mikuláš Jordán. During the latest re-paining, the silver cladding that dates from the second half of the 17th century was removed from the Icon, as well as its wooden bedding. When the monastery was destroyed in 1915 and the Greek Catholic Church persecuted, the Icon was hidden by local believers. The Icon is currently in the Chapel of Beatified Pavel Peter Gojdič, in the Monastery of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in Krásny Brod. A copy of the Icon was given to Pope John Paul II by believers of the Greek Catholic Church during the beatification of P. P. Gojdič, the Bishop of Prešov, in 2001.

Juraj Gradoš