Hoshiv Monastery: Yasna Hora, The Miraculous Icon 'Queen Of The Carpathians', The 2020 Coronation And A Visitor Guide • Monasteries, Monasteries: Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast

Hoshiv Monastery on Yasna Hora in the village of Hoshiv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, is the most famous Basilian monastery in Ukraine and one of the main pilgrimage sites of the Carpathian region. It keeps the miraculous Hoshiv Icon of the Mother of God, popularly called the “Queen of the Carpathians,” while Yasna Hora itself has been known for centuries as the “sun of Pidhiria.” In 2020 the image was solemnly crowned with golden crowns blessed by Pope Benedict XVI. [4][5][7]

At a glance

Full name: Basilian Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Yasna Hora.
Location: village of Hoshiv, Dolyna municipality, Kalush district, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast.
First record of the monastery: 1570 (church and monastery built by the knight Kuchulad).
Main shrine: the miraculous Hoshiv Icon of the Mother of God (a copy of the Częstochowa icon).
Icon’s status: recognised as miraculous by a decree of Metropolitan Athanasius Sheptytsky of 11 July 1737.
Coronation: 28 August 2020, with crowns blessed by Pope Benedict XVI.
Order: OSBM — the Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat (UGCC).

History of Hoshiv Monastery

The knight Kuchulad and the first Basilians

The first historical record of a monastery in Hoshiv dates to 1570: according to the monastery chronicle, Kuchulad, a knight of the royal army, built a church and monastery here, which Crimean Tatars burned in the early 17th century. In the second half of the 17th century the community moved to the hill later famed as Yasna Hora. [2][8]

According to tradition, during one of the fires the Mother of God appeared to hegumen Josaphat Lenchevych, giving him strength and counsel for rebuilding the church. By 1771 a monastery already stood on Yasna Hora, and the church restoration was completed the following year. By the end of the 18th century the monastery chronicle had recorded 117 miracles worked through the intercession of the Mother of God of Hoshiv. [2][4]

The icon’s journey: from Oława to Yasna Hora

The story of the Hoshiv icon goes back to 1704–1705: the nobleman Andriy Shuhai of the Berezhany region, while on service, bought a copy of the Częstochowa image from a painter in the town of Oława. Tradition says that when his house burned down, only one wall survived — the one on which the icon hung. To protect his daughters from Turkish or Tatar captivity, Shuhai took them to acquaintances, the Hoshovsky family, in Dunaiv; on leaving, the daughters forgot the icon. Eventually Shuhai yielded the image to Mykola Markovych Hoshovsky of Hoshiv. [4][6]

In 1736 a miracle occurred in the Hoshovsky home: at midday the icon shone with heavenly light and, according to witnesses, tears fell from the Mother of God’s eyes. The witnesses — Hoshovsky’s wife and her acquaintance Sepravska — called the priests, and all beheld “the Most Pure One in heavenly brightness.” After a church investigation in which witnesses testified under oath, Metropolitan Athanasius Sheptytsky, by a decree of 11 July 1737, recognised the image as miraculous. [1][4]

On 5 August 1737 the icon was solemnly transferred to the Basilian church on Yasna Hora. Tradition relates that during the procession the daughter of Kateryna Khoietska regained her sight. In 1746 Metropolitan Athanasius Sheptytsky proclaimed the icon miraculous before the people and crowned it. In 1759 Mykola Hoshovsky donated the entire hill “called Yasna Hora” to the Basilians in perpetuity; a wooden church rose there with the miraculous image in the main altar. [4][5][6]

The great church of 1842 and the “sun of Pidhiria”

The icon’s fame grew: thousands walked to Hoshiv every year on pilgrimage, and Hoshiv was called the “sun of Pidhiria,” while the Mother of God of Hoshiv became the “Queen of the Carpathians.” The old church grew too small, so in the first half of the 19th century Father Yulian Mokrytsky began building a large new church, completed in 1842. It was adorned with a fine iconostasis and a pulpit shaped like Saint Peter’s boat; the miraculous icon was placed in the main altar. This Transfiguration church still stands on Yasna Hora today. [3][5]

Soviet closure and the loss of the original

When the Soviet authorities began liquidating the Basilian monasteries of Galicia, the Hoshiv monks — who by God’s grace held out until 1951 — secretly entrusted the miraculous icon to villagers for safekeeping. Yet on 1 June 1950 the image was confiscated by agents of the Stanislav UMDB (secret police). Since then, nothing is known of the whereabouts of the original miraculous icon. [4][6]

The monastery was wrecked and the church stood empty. According to elderly villagers, during the shelling of August 1944 only one wall of the church survived — the very wall on which the icon of the Mother of God had hung. [2]

Revival: 1990–2020

In 1990 the monastery was returned to its rightful owners — the Basilian Fathers of the UGCC. On 12 July 2001 the benefactor Volodymyr handed the Basilians in Ivano-Frankivsk the oldest surviving copy of the icon (late 19th century), and on the feast of the Protection, 14 October 2001, it was solemnly carried to Yasna Hora. The Ukrainian iconographer Father Yuvenaliy Mokrytsky spent several years in Rome recreating the copy of the “Sovereign Lady of Yasna Hora,” which was blessed by Pope John Paul II. [2][5][6]

At the request of Fr Damian Kastran, on 1 July 2009 during a general audience in Rome Pope Benedict XVI blessed golden crowns and vestments for the Mother of God of Hoshiv; on the same occasion he received from the Basilian Order a copy of the Hoshiv icon. On 28 August 2020, the feast of the Dormition, the miraculous icon was solemnly crowned with those crowns on Yasna Hora, with Bishops Iryney Bilyk, Sofron Mudry and Taras Senkiv participating. [4]

The Hoshiv Icon of the Mother of God

The icon is a copy of the world-famous image of Our Lady of Częstochowa (Yasna Hora in Hoshiv was named after the Pauline monastery of Jasna Góra in Częstochowa). The Mother of God holds the Christ Child on her left arm. It was from 1737, when the miraculous image was transferred, that the locality received the name “Yasna Hora” — “the place of the never-fading radiance of the Mother of God’s glory.” [7][9]

The miracles recorded in the monastery chronicle and confirmed by the witnesses’ oaths number in the dozens — from terminal illnesses to musculoskeletal disorders. The present miraculous copy is the oldest preserved one (late 19th century); its benefactor was the family of Vasyl Bartkiv from the village of Roztochky. [6]

Practical information for pilgrims

Getting there: Hoshiv village is about 12 km from Dolyna (Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast); from Ivano-Frankivsk about 60 km via Dolyna.
Main church: Transfiguration Church (1842) on Yasna Hora; a footpath with panoramic views leads up the hill.
Type: active men’s monastery of the Basilian Fathers (UGCC).
Main feast: Dormition of the Mother of God (28 August) — the largest pilgrimage of the year; also the Transfiguration (19 August).
Don’t miss: venerating the miraculous icon in the main altar; the chapels and Way of the Cross on the hill slopes.
Side trips: Dolyna, Bolekhiv and Rozhniativ.

FAQ

Why is Hoshiv called the “sun of Pidhiria”?

Because of the all-Galician fame of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God: every year thousands of pilgrims walked to Yasna Hora, and Hoshiv became the spiritual focus of the whole region. [1][3]

Where did the Hoshiv icon come from?

It is a copy of the Częstochowa icon bought by the nobleman Andriy Shuhai in 1704–1705. The image later came to Mykola Hoshovsky, where in 1736 it reportedly shone with a miraculous light; in 1737 it was declared miraculous and handed to the Basilians. [4][6]

Where is the original icon now?

The original was confiscated by the Stanislav secret police on 1 June 1950 and its fate is unknown. Since 2001 the monastery has kept the oldest surviving copy, from the late 19th century. [4]

When was the icon crowned?

The solemn coronation took place on 28 August 2020 with crowns blessed by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome on 1 July 2009. [4]

Is Hoshiv connected with Częstochowa?

Yes: the icon is a copy of the Jasna Góra image, and the name “Yasna Hora” was borrowed from the Pauline monastery in Częstochowa. [7]

Conclusion

Hoshiv is a story of how a copy became a shrine: a picture bought in a small Silesian town in the early 18th century became famed for wonders, survived Tatar raids, fires and Soviet confiscations — and even the disappearance of the original did not stop the pilgrimage. Today Yasna Hora in Hoshiv is regarded as the spiritual heart of the Basilian Order, and the “Queen of the Carpathians,” crowned in 2020, again gathers thousands every Dormition feast. [2][4][5]

Hoshiv Monastery: Yasna Hora, the Miraculous Icon ‘Queen of the Carpathians’, the 2020 Coronation and a Visitor Guide