Russian Icon - Our Lady of Tikhvin

Our Lady of Tikhvin (Tikhvinskaya) is one of the most celebrated and beautiful wonderworking icons of the Mother of God. Traditionally, it is said to be one of the icons painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist and is a contemporary of the Mother of God herself. The appearance of the icon is celebrated on June 26. The icon has a long history. During the Soviet oppression of the Orthodox Church, the original Theotokos of Tikhvin icon was brought to the USA for safekeeping. In 2004 it was transferred back to Russia to return to its home village of Tikhvin. In the iconographic sense, it is a Hodigitria type with the slightly inclined position of the Mother of God toward the Infant, Who is depicted on the left side of the image. The hand of the Mother of God is raised toward her breast as a sign of silent worship of her Son.