Our Lady of Utina

Marian Invocation of Śutina (Eastern Slovakia)

The devotion of the utina is linked to great Greek-Catholic Marian Shrine from eastern Slovakia, developed around the celebration of the Sleeping of the Mother of God and the annual pilgrimage that has made the place a spiritual centre of reference for the faithful of Byzantine rite in the country. The official name of the temple is Basilica of the Sacred Mother of God ("Basilica of the Sleeping of the Most Holy Mother of God"), which shows that devotion is integrated into the Eastern liturgical piety, centered on the Sleeping / Assumption of Mary.

Main data

Origin and history

The devotion of the utina is linked to great Greek-Catholic Marian Shrine from eastern Slovakia, developed around the celebration of the Sleeping of the Mother of God and the annual pilgrimage that has made the place a spiritual centre of reference for the faithful of Byzantine rite in the country. The official name of the temple is Basilica of the Sacred Mother of God ("Basilica of the Sleeping of the Most Holy Mother of God"), which shows that devotion is integrated into the Eastern liturgical piety, centered on the Sleeping / Assumption of Mary.

The sources consulted do not contain a tradition of apparitions associated with the "utina" comparable to other contemporary Marian shrines in Slovakia. Nor does it contain, with the verified information available, a precise foundational chronology of the primitive sanctuary in the materials provided; therefore, for a rigorous sheet it must be distinguished between the Consolidated historical veneration of the place and any local narrative reconstruction that is not documented in a safe way.

The image and the sanctuary

A detailed description of the concrete image venerated in "utina" - specific type, material, dating or iconographic attributes - so no precise identification should be invented. It is clear that the devotional center is the Basilica of the Sleeping of the Most Holy Mother of God in the country's main Marian and Greek Catholic sanctuary.

For the documentation available, the place works as Marian sanctuary of great pilgrim influx and as a liturgical and pastoral reference of the Greek-Catholic Slovak Church. In the absence of a specific ecclesial source provided here, it is not certain if it also has an additional canon recognition as National sanctuary o diocesan at the time of writing.

Sponsorship and coronation

A patronazgo civil or eclesiástico specific - for example, from a city, municipality or diocese - to be attributed to Our Lady of the United States without direct documentary support. The verifiable is its character of main Byzantine Greek-Catholic santuary of Slovakia, closely linked to the epoch of Prešov.

It also does not contain a documented canonical coronation for this purpose in the sources consulted; therefore, the document must state: does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

The great feast of the sanctuary is celebrated around the Sleep of the Mother of God, that is, the liturgical commemoration of Byzantine tradition. In the Greek-Catholic Slovak field, the "utina" is especially known for its annual pilgrimage and to concentrate an important participation of the faithful, with expressions of popular piety of the eastern rite.

The available sources describe the place as a sanctuary to which they come thousands of people in its main celebrations, although the exact flow data are not uniformly fixed in the results consulted. In a sober and secure wording, it should simply be said that this is a pilgrimage centre of great national importance and that his devotion is marked by the liturgy, community prayer and Marian veneration of Byzantine tradition.

Link to the Rosary

There is no specific and unique historical relationship of this advocation with a crown of the Rosary or with a particular rosarian practice documented in the sources consulted. However, like every authentic Marian devotion, the utina is well integrated into the spirituality of the Rosarywhich contemplates the mysteries of Christ with Mary and accompanies the faithful in the meditation of the Incarnation, the Passion, the glorification of the Mother of God and the hope of resurrection.

In a Byzantine sanctuary such as "utina," the Rosary can present itself as a Marian prayer of great value for Catholic piety, although the liturgical accent of this place is more attached to the Sleep and to the Eastern praying tradition that to a strictly local devotional use.