The image of “Our Lady of Saint Theodore” (“Feodorovskaya”) belongs to the iconographic type known as Eleusa (the Virgin of Tenderness). The main peculiarity of such icons is manifested in the arrangement of the figures of the Mother of God and Jesus Christ. The Infant Christ is turned to the Mother of God, embracing Her by the neck, with His cheek pressed against Her cheek. The Savior appears as if sitting on the arm of the Virgin Mary. “Thou hast favored to sit in the flesh on the arms of the purest Virgin, ” says the canon of the icon of “Our Lady of Saint Theodore”. The Mother of God is wearing a gold-colored omophorion and a green chiton. The Divine Child is dressed in an orange-colored chiton and a green himation. On the margins are full-length figures of saints. From top to bottom: on the left — the Martyr Theophilus, the Venerable Mary of Egypt, and the Martyr Lazarus, on the right — the Martyrs Natalia and Pelagia.

“Our Lady of Saint Theodore” is one of the first Christian relics to appear in Russia. Versions about the emergence of the icon differ, the first references to an icon with similar iconographic features dating back to the 12th century. According to one of the legends, the icon was kept in a monastery near the town of Gorodets. The monastery was burned down during the invasion of Batu Khan’s troops. But a century later the icon was rediscovered. In 1239, Prince Vasily Georgievich was hunting in the forest near Kostroma when he saw the face of the Mother of God on a tree. As he stretched out his hands to the icon, it rose into the air. At the same time in the city, many residents saw a certain warrior walk through the city, carrying an icon in his hands. The warrior looked similar to the image of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, in whose honor the cathedral in Kostroma was built. The prince with the bishop and all the clergy carried the icon with prayers to the city and placed it in Saint Theodore’s Cathedral.

The common veneration of the icon is associated with the cessation of the Troubles. According to some historians, in 1613, Mikhail Romanov was blessed with the icon of “Our Lady of Saint Theodore” when he was elected as the tsar. On this account, there are different points of view. For example, a direct participant in events Abrahamy Palitsyn does not mention this icon in his “Tale”. Nevertheless, the icon of “Our Lady of Saint Theodore” became especially venerated in the new royal family. In honor of the election of Mikhail Feodorovich as the tsar, a feast of the icon was set for March 24.