“The Unfading Flower” is one of the most revered icons of the Virgin Mary in the Russian Orthodox Church. It is believed that this icon type was created on Mount Athos in the 17th century.

The icon is based on the Byzantine Akathist Hymns which compare the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ to unfading and fragrant flowers. In the icon, the Virgin Mary grasps the Child Jesus with one hand and gently holds a delicate lily in the other. Legend has it that She received this lily from the Archangel Gabriel as a sign of the joyful news that She would become the Mother of God. This delicate flower is a symbol of Mary’s purity, immaculate nature, and eternal beauty.

This image of the Virgin Mary was brought to Russia by pilgrims in the 17th and 18th centuries. One of the first copies of “The Unfading Flower” icon appeared in the St. Alexis Convent which was located on the site of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow in the early 18th century. Probably around the same time, or slightly earlier, similar icons appeared in other churches in central and southern Russia. Most of them were brought from Mount Athos. Russian icon painters rarely painted this image.

At the bottom of the front side of the icon, there is a text detailing the icon’s appearance in the Sarov Monastery.

The text reads,