In 1579, the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in Kazan. This event happened soon after the conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible. One night, the Virgin Mary appeared in the dream of a pious young girl Matrona, asking her to report a buried icon to the archbishop and the mayor so that it might be retrieved.
At first, Matrona recounted her dream to her mother who believed that this vision was nothing more than a child’s fantasy. After that, the Virgin appeared to Matrona two more times. On the third time, Matrona flew out of the window through some miraculous force, and in the yard, she saw an icon with bright rays of light shining from the Virgin’s face. Mary once again asked Matrona to have the icon retrieved.
After that, Matrona and her mother told the archbishop and the mayor about the vision. However, neither of them believed in that story. Then mother and daughter went to the place indicated by the Virgin. Trying to find the icon, people started digging the ground, but their efforts were in vain. Only when Matrona herself began to dig, the icon was found. When the icon was taken out of the cloth, it shone with a marvelous light.
There is reason to believe that the icon had been hidden by some Christian believer before the conquest of Kazan. Soon the rumor about the discovered icon spread throughout the city, and people started flocking to the icon, willing to worship the holy image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Our Lady of Kazan was named after the place of its discovery. Initially, the icon was placed in the nearby church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and later at the Annunciation Cathedral. Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered to build a church and a monastery on the site where the icon had been discovered.
The icon from the collection of the Museum-Reserve was painted in the 17th century. It depicts the Virgin Mary wearing Her traditional outfit, with Her head slightly inclined towards the Christ Child. Jesus is depicted face forward. His right hand is raised in a two-fingered blessing.
The centerpiece is
surrounded by twenty border scenes, depicting the events associated with the
icon’s discovery and the resulting miracles. These scenes include “The
Appearance of Our Lady of Kazan to the Sleeping Girl Matrona”, “Matrona and Her
Mother Reporting the Virgin Mary’s Request from the Girl’s Vision to the Kazan
Voivode”, “Matrona and Her Mother Reporting the Virgin Mary’s Request from the
Girl’s Vision to the Kazan Archbishop”, “Matrona Finding the Icon with a Crowd
of People Called by Her Mother”, and others.
