“Our Lady the Fiery” (“Ognevidnaya”) is a rare icon. Little is known about it, from either legends or historical documents. In the West this icon is uncommon; it can mostly be found in Russian Orthodox churches.

Icons of this type can be recognized by the vestments of the Mother of God, with the shades of flaming red prevailing in their palette. These are the colors that have probably given the name to the icon. However, there is another version, according to which in Russia the name of the icon originated from the text of the fifth hymn of the Сanon for the Mother of God, “The Fiery Chariot of the Word, Rejoice, Our Lady, the Animated Paradise.”

“Our Lady the Fiery” is mentioned in the Menaion (annotated church almanac) published in the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra. As is stated in this Menaion, the iconographic image in question appeared before the adoption of Christianity by Kievan Rus. Studying its iconographic features and trying to reconstruct the history of its appearance, researchers found that the original source of “Our Lady the Fiery”, from which iconographers made copies, had been in Rus in 845, long before the Christianization, at the beginning of the Rurikid dynasty. Yet, it was not until the 18th century that “Our Lady the Fiery” began to be honored and spread over the country.

The icon of “Our Lady the Fiery” is probably related to the Byzantine icon of Hagiosoritissa, the Greek version of the Virgin Paraklesis, or the Intercessor. In such icons, the Mother of God is depicted without Christ, Her hands folded in a gesture of prayer.

The icon of “Our Lady the Fiery” has a bust-length image of the Virgin Mary with a slightly bowed head. The maphorion of the Virgin Mary is decorated with stars on the shoulders and the head veil. In Orthodox prayers and hymns, the Blessed Virgin is often referred to as the “Candlestand with Divine Fire” and the “Throne of Cherubic Fire”. In the canon written in Her honor, the Mother of God is likened to the “Chariot of Fire of the Word.”

In the Orthodox prayer book, there is no prayer composed specifically for this icon. No Akathist to the icon of “Our Lady the Fiery” exists, either. Therefore, ordinary prayers to the Mother of God are offered before this icon. “Our Lady the Fiery” is an icon appealed to for healing from any disease, as well as for the cessation of wars and for the preservation of life and health of military servicemen.