Today, Sunday October 22, 2023 is the Feast of one of the most revered icons, the Kazan Mother of God. From the oral tradition of the Church, this icon was uncovered in 1579 by a girl named Matrona and her mother after the Most Holy Theotokos appeared repeatedly in the girl’s dreams, telling her of the buried icon. The Icon was dug up under the ashes of a destroyed house, directly under the stove and wrapped in cloth.
This icon is one of two of the most venerated icons of Russia along with the Vladimir Mother of God. On many occasions, this icon was processed first by soldiers freeing Moscow from the Poles in 1612 and was also with the troops fighting Napoleon in 1812, though in the latter case a copy is said to have been used. There is a belief that the original icon was destroyed in a fire, and that the image later considered to be the original was actually a recreation. The icon eventually disappeared in 1905 and there are many who speculate that the icon sold in America in 1970 to a Roman Catholic Society was the original. After being enshrined in Fatima and later relocated to the Pope’s apartment in Rome, the original icon has now been returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, where it is venerated by countless pilgrims the world over.
Most Holy Mother of God of Kazan pray unto God for us!
