Orthodox icon | Mother of God of Kazan | Kazanskaya | 24777

On this icon, Jesus is not sitting on the hand of the Mother of God but stands to the left of her. His right hand is raised in a blessing. The head of the Mother of God is slightly inclined towards the child.

The icon of the Mother of God appeared in the city of Kazan in 1579. The Mother of God appeared three times in a dream to a young girl in Kazan, the nine-year-old Matrona, and asked her to tell the archbishop and the city guides to dig up her icon from the earth. The Mother of God designated the place where one should look for her icon under the ashes of a house that had just burned down. But no heed was paid to the girl’s words. Then she decided to fulfill the mission of the Mother of God with the help of her mother. On July 8, Matronas’ mother began digging in the place the daughter showed her. But the icon was not found. After that, Matrona began to dig, and soon the sacred icon appeared. Although the icon had been in the ground, the icon was completely intact, and it seemed as if the icon had only just been painted.

Later the icon was brought to Moscow and in 1811 it was put up in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which was built especially for the icon. The Kazan icon of the Mother of God is particularly venerated in Russia. This image can be found in every church, in every believing family. The newlyweds are blessed with the icon of the Mother of God from Kazan’, and before her the welfare of the family is prayed for. The feast days of the icon are July 8 and October 22.

Icon fully painted. Metal riza with applied halos. Two angels hold a crown.