The TIkhvin icon of the Mother of God is one of the most revered miraculous icons in the Orthodox Church; according to the legend, it appeared to people in 1383 near the city of Tikhvin. The first stone of the Tikhvin Monastery was laid on the banks of the TIkhvinka River in 1560. The copy of the icon displayed at the museum was made at the end of the 19th century.
The Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God is a HodegEtria, which is Greek for ‘Guide, ’ or ‘Pointing the way.’ Such icons differ from others depictions of the Mother of God with the Divine Infant: Jesus holds a scroll in his left hand, which symbolizes his salvific teaching, and with his right hand he blesses humankind. A distinctive feature of the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God is that the Infant’s heel is turned towards the devotees.
The palm of Mary’s right hand is open and directed at the Son, pointing to the path that will lead everyone to salvation. The Mother of God is dressed in a red or burgundy maphorion, an outer garment decorated with three stars. They symbolize Mary’s virginity before the Nativity of the Savior, at the moment of the Nativity and after. The golden color of the clothes worn by the Infant Jesus symbolizes the Kingdom of God.
This image is associated with an icon that has been in Constantinople since the 5th century. Prior to this, the icon was kept in Jerusalem, and before that in Antioch, where it was brought by Luke the Evangelist himself. 70 years before the Turks conquered the BYzantIne capital, the icon miraculously arrived in Russia.
The Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God is a HodegEtria, which is Greek for ‘Guide, ’ or ‘Pointing the way.’ Such icons differ from others depictions of the Mother of God with the Divine Infant: Jesus holds a scroll in his left hand, which symbolizes his salvific teaching, and with his right hand he blesses humankind. A distinctive feature of the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God is that the Infant’s heel is turned towards the devotees.
The palm of Mary’s right hand is open and directed at the Son, pointing to the path that will lead everyone to salvation. The Mother of God is dressed in a red or burgundy maphorion, an outer garment decorated with three stars. They symbolize Mary’s virginity before the Nativity of the Savior, at the moment of the Nativity and after. The golden color of the clothes worn by the Infant Jesus symbolizes the Kingdom of God.
This image is associated with an icon that has been in Constantinople since the 5th century. Prior to this, the icon was kept in Jerusalem, and before that in Antioch, where it was brought by Luke the Evangelist himself. 70 years before the Turks conquered the BYzantIne capital, the icon miraculously arrived in Russia.
Stories about the miraculous appearance of the image of the Mother of God were first recorded in writing at the end of the 15th century. The icon is mentioned in a large number of manuscripts, including the Resurrection Chronicle and the Illuminated Compiled Chronicle.
The Legend of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God contains information from various sources. According to the legend, the icon floated over the waters of Lake Ladoga, surrounded by light. The fishermen noticed the image of the Mother of God, but the icon floated away. Soon it was seen in other places near Tikhvin. Residents of the surrounding villages fervently prayed to the Mother of God, and during the next apparition the icon descended to the ground.
The Tikhvin icon was called the intercessor of Russia with good reason. It appeared here during the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, when Russia first challenged the Horde’s rule. During the attack on Novgorod by the Swedes, the Mother of God saved the Tikhvin monastery from ruin, chasing away the enemy army. The Swedes were struck by the failure no less than the inhabitants of Tikhvin were struck by their miraculous deliverance from the enemies, and decided to seize the shrine at all costs. The people of Novgorod even wanted to take the miraculous icon out of the monastery to save both it and the city, but the Mother of God seemed to refuse to move. Even the strongest men could not get it out of the icon case. The icon remained, and the monastery was not taken. At the time several copies of the icon were made, which were distributed throughout Russia and later became miraculous.
The Legend of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God contains information from various sources. According to the legend, the icon floated over the waters of Lake Ladoga, surrounded by light. The fishermen noticed the image of the Mother of God, but the icon floated away. Soon it was seen in other places near Tikhvin. Residents of the surrounding villages fervently prayed to the Mother of God, and during the next apparition the icon descended to the ground.
The Tikhvin icon was called the intercessor of Russia with good reason. It appeared here during the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, when Russia first challenged the Horde’s rule. During the attack on Novgorod by the Swedes, the Mother of God saved the Tikhvin monastery from ruin, chasing away the enemy army. The Swedes were struck by the failure no less than the inhabitants of Tikhvin were struck by their miraculous deliverance from the enemies, and decided to seize the shrine at all costs. The people of Novgorod even wanted to take the miraculous icon out of the monastery to save both it and the city, but the Mother of God seemed to refuse to move. Even the strongest men could not get it out of the icon case. The icon remained, and the monastery was not taken. At the time several copies of the icon were made, which were distributed throughout Russia and later became miraculous.
