Kostroma, Kostroma Province, Russia, November 15, 2023
Pat. Kirill venerates the Feodorovskaya Icon which was present during the consecration of the rebuilt Theophany Cathedral in the Kostroma Kremlin in September. The icon has since been permanently moved to the cathedral. Photo: kostromamitropolia.ru
One of the most revered icons in the Russian Orthodox Church was returned to its historical home earlier this month
On the evening of November 5, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the wonderworking Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, the main shrine of the Kostroma land, was transferred to the recreated Holy Theophany Cathedral in the Kostroma Kremlin, reports the Kostroma Metropolis.
Photo: orthodoxy.ru
The icon is perhaps best known as the patron of the imperial Romanov House. Grand Duchesses who were born in the West and later became Russian tsarinas took the patronymic “Feodorovna” in honor of the icon. For example, the last Russian empress became Alexandra Feodorovna in Orthodox Baptism.
The icon first appeared, miraculously, in Kostroma in the 1250s–1260s, and was then kept in the first Kostroma Kremlin, which was destroyed by fire in 1413. Shortly after, a new Kremlin was built on the site of the modern Kremlin, with the Holy Dormition Cathedral. The icon was kept there until 1929.
From 1929 to 1991, the icon was kept in various Kostroma churches, and since 1991, in the Holy Theophany-St. Anastasia Cathedral of the convent of the same name in Kostroma.
Photo: kostromamitropolia.ru
The revival of the Kostroma Kremlin in recent years made it possible to return the wonderworking icon to its historical place in the rebuilt Theophany Cathedral, which was consecrated by Pat. Kirill on September 24.
In the near future, a new canopy will be made for the Feodorovskaya Icon.
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