The miracle-working icon of the Mother of God from the monastery of Letca Nouă is placed in the nave, on a carved wooden tetrapod. Although the icon of the Mother of God is very famous among Orthodox Christian believers, few know its entire story.
The legends of the place say that the icon appeared in a dream to a young man from the village. He was guided by an old man in a white robe to the icon, telling him that it would be found only by “the one with the purest soul and the greatest faith in God.” The next day, the young man went in search of the icon and was amazed when he found it.
This is, however, just a legend, it would be superfluous to try to confirm or refute it. What is certain is that the history of the icon begins around the beginning of the 1950s, when Father Florea, parish priest at that time, brings the remains of the wooden church from the cemetery courtyard to the place where it is today. Along with the wooden monastery, the icon of the Mother of God is brought, made by the painter Gheorghe Tăttărescu.
From the first years he was in the new church, rumors were circulating about his powers. One of the village elders says that, in the 50s, on one of the Sundays, Father Florea saw that water was infiltrating through the painting, thus appearing a lake around the icon. The incident could only be confirmed by the priest and a villager. Of course, we can speculate that the story did not spread even in the village because of the hostile period to the religion in which they were.
According to official sources, the icon of the Mother of God was anointed for the first time on November 3, 2002. Since then, more and more people come on pilgrimages and services. There are people from the surrounding villages and communes, from distant cities, and sometimes foreigners. Some come to pray and show their faith, but most come with pressing problems.
The priest of the monastery states that there are many people who prayed and whom the icon helped. These are children who did not speak, and they spoke in front of the icon for the first time. There are people who found work after praying in front of the icon. Mothers who could not give birth, or who gave birth to children with disabilities, would have managed to get pregnant and give birth to healthy children.
Both the icon and the iconostasis and the icons near the nave of Saint Demetrius and Saint George were made by the great painter Gheorghe Tăttărescu and are well preserved to this day. His paintings are made in the secco technique, in oil. These were covered for a long time by the smoke of the candles, but with the weeping of the icon, extensive restoration work began.
If you find time in a day and you want to get rid of the urban agglomeration, and the steps take you to Letca Nouă, stop by the monastery in the village. You have the opportunity to see unique murals in the world.