The icon depicts two miracleworking Madonnas: Feodorovskaya Mother of God and the Lifegiving Spring Mother of God shown in separate panels.
The Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, also known as Our Lady of Saint Theodore and the Black Virgin Mary of Russia is the patron icon of the Romanov Imperial family and one of the most venerated icons in the Upper Volga region. Her feast days are March 27 and August 29.
The Mother of God of the Life-giving Spring icon originated with the revelation of a sacred spring in Valoukli, Constantinople, to a soldier named Leo Marcellus, who later became Byzantine Emperor Leo I (457-474). Leo built the historic Church of St. Mary of the Spring over this site, which witnessed numerous miraculous healings over the centuries, through her intercessions, becoming one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Greek Orthodoxy. The feast day of the Life-giving Spring is celebrated on Bright Friday in the Orthodox Church, and in those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. Additionally, the icon of the Theotokos the "Life-giving Spring" is commemorated on April 4 / 17 in Slavic Orthodox churches.
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