The bedroom of Their Imperial Majesties at the Livadia Palace houses a color copy of the icon of Our Lady of Saint Theodore in a gilded frame decorated with gemstones. The round border scenes depict half-length images of saints: two at the top of the icon and another three at the bottom. Both to the left and to the right of the centerpiece, three saints are depicted in full-length one above the other. There are also two white circles with inscriptions in Old Church Slavonic that read “МР” and “ОУ” and represent an abbreviation meaning “the Mother of God”.
Our Lady of Saint Theodore has always been one of the most revered icons in Russia. Legend has it that the icon was painted by Luke the Evangelist, but it is unknown who and when brought it to Russian land. The icon was first mentioned in Rus as early as the 12th century when it was kept in a chapel near the city of Kitezh. On August 16, 1239, Prince Vasily of Kostroma, the younger brother of Prince Alexander Nevsky, got lost in the woods while hunting. On one of the trees, he saw a miraculous icon of the Mother of God. When he tried to take it down, the icon suddenly rose into the air. Upon returning to the city, Prince Vasily informed the clergy and the citizens about the miracle he had witnessed. A crowd of people set out to the place indicated by the Prince. The priests took the icon and brought it to a cathedral in Kostroma. While the Prince was away, some of the residents claimed to have seen a warrior saint, resembling Theodore Stratelates, the Great Martyr, carry the icon around the city. This is how the icon became known as Our Lady of Saint Theodore.
Our Lady of Saint Theodore is particularly revered in Russia because it was used to bless the new tsar Mikhail Romanov, whose accession to the Russian throne in 1613 ended a long period of turmoil. In memory of this event, an annual feast was established in honor of Our Lady of Saint Theodore to celebrate in addition to the day of the icon’s appearance. Since that time, the icon was greatly venerated by all members of the House of Romanov.
Our Lady of Saint Theodore has always been one of the most revered icons in Russia. Legend has it that the icon was painted by Luke the Evangelist, but it is unknown who and when brought it to Russian land. The icon was first mentioned in Rus as early as the 12th century when it was kept in a chapel near the city of Kitezh. On August 16, 1239, Prince Vasily of Kostroma, the younger brother of Prince Alexander Nevsky, got lost in the woods while hunting. On one of the trees, he saw a miraculous icon of the Mother of God. When he tried to take it down, the icon suddenly rose into the air. Upon returning to the city, Prince Vasily informed the clergy and the citizens about the miracle he had witnessed. A crowd of people set out to the place indicated by the Prince. The priests took the icon and brought it to a cathedral in Kostroma. While the Prince was away, some of the residents claimed to have seen a warrior saint, resembling Theodore Stratelates, the Great Martyr, carry the icon around the city. This is how the icon became known as Our Lady of Saint Theodore.
Our Lady of Saint Theodore is particularly revered in Russia because it was used to bless the new tsar Mikhail Romanov, whose accession to the Russian throne in 1613 ended a long period of turmoil. In memory of this event, an annual feast was established in honor of Our Lady of Saint Theodore to celebrate in addition to the day of the icon’s appearance. Since that time, the icon was greatly venerated by all members of the House of Romanov.
