Our Lady of Kazan
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Our Lady of Kazan (16th century). |
Our Lady of Kazan, also called
Theotokos of Kazan (Russian:
Казанская Богоматерь), is a holy
icon which the
Russian Orthodox Church probably venerates the most. It has been considered a
palladium of Russia for centuries. Two major
cathedrals,
in Moscow and
in St Petersburg, are consecrated in her name.
The icon was discovered on
July 8,
1579, underground in the city of
Kazan, after the
Blessed Virgin Mary herself reportedly
revealed its location to a little girl. The icon was credited by the Russian commanders -
Dmitry Pozharsky and
Mikhail Kutuzov - with helping the country to repel the
Polish invasion of 1612, the
Swedish invasion of 1709, and
Napoleon's invasion of 1812. The original icon was kept in one of the monasteries in Kazan, whereas its ancient and venerated copies have been displayed at the
Kazan Cathedrals of Moscow,
Yaroslavl, and St. Petersburg.
In the night on
June 29,
1904 the icon was stolen from a cathedral in Kazan where it had been kept for centuries. Thieves apparently coveted the icon's golden setting, which featured many jewels of highest value. When several years later Russian police finally apprehended the thieves and recovered the precious setting, they declared that the icon itself had been cut to pieces and burnt down. The Orthodox church interpreted disappearance of the icon as a sign of tragedies that would plague Russia after the Holy Protectress of Russia had been lost.
After the
Russian Revolution of 1917, there were plenty of theories speculating that the original icon was in fact preserved in St. Petersburg and later sold by the
Bolsheviks abroad. Although such theories were not given credit by the Russian Orthodox church, one of several reputed originals (dated by experts to ca.
1730) was acquired by a shrine in
Fátima,
Portugal in the
1970s.
Pope John Paul II claimed that this icon saved his life during an assassination attempt on
May 13,
1981.
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Annunciation Cathedral, Kazan (1561-62) |
In 1993, the icon was given to the Pope, who took it to the
Vatican and had it installed in his bedchamber, where it was venerated by him for eleven years. According to his own words, "it has been by my side and accompanied me with a maternal gaze in my daily service to the Church".[
1] John Paul II wished to visit Moscow or Kazan in order to return the icon to the
Russian Orthodox Church. When these efforts were blocked by the
Moscow Patriarchy, the icon was presented to the Russian Church unconditionally in August 2004. On
August 26 2004 it was exhibited for veneration in the altar of
St. Peter's Basilica and then delivered to Moscow. On the next feast day of the holy icon,
July 21,
2005,
Patriarch Alexis II and
Mintimer Shaeymiev, the
President of Tatarstan, placed it at the Annunciation Cathedral of the
Kazan Kremlin (
illustrated, to the right).
*
Ikons: Windows into Heaven.
*
The Miraculous Icons—an entry on Our Lady of Kazan at OrthodoxWorld.ru.
*
OrthodoxWiki entry on Our Lady of Kazan.
