Icon rescued from detonation of Christ the Savior Cathedral discovered in Moscow parish

Moscow, June 19, 2024

Photo: Moscow Diocese (Telegram) Photo: Moscow Diocese (Telegram) A 19th-century icon of the Most Holy Theotokos that was saved from being blown up together with Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral in 1931 has been identified and will soon return to the reconstructed cathedral.

The copy of the famous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was found in the altar in Moscow’s St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church in Transfiguration Cemetery, reports the Moscow Diocese.

A member of the Patriarchal Commission for the Restoration of Icons recently visited the church, and a scientific and artistic examination confirmed that the icon is that which used to be in the altar at Christ the Savior.

The icon has been in the altar of St. Nicholas’ Church since 1933.

The icon was pained in 1881 by Evgraf Sorokin. It was removed from Christ the Savior in 1931 to save it from destruction by the Soviet authorities, and in 1933, it was taken to St. Nicholas’ by Fr. Vasily Orlov, priest of the parish in the 1920s and 30s.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill decided that the icon should return to Christ the Savior Cathedral, which was rebuilt in the 1990s and consecrated on the feast of the Transfiguration in 2000. It will return on Sunday, June 23, the feast of Pentecost.

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6/19/2024

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The cross bears the inscription: “To the venerable Mother Abbess Anastasia from the grateful nuns and sisters of the Hodigitria Monastery. 1916.” Just Around the Corner. Where the Vladimir Icon is Kept Just Around the Corner. Where the Vladimir Icon is Kept Just Around the Corner. Where the Vladimir Icon is Kept Just Around the Corner. Where the Vladimir Icon is Kept
Maria Vologzhanina
Today, not a copy but the very icon that had been taken out of the Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin after the revolution and imprisoned in a museum, has since 1999 been located in the Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi, which was returned to the Church in 1993 with the status of the church of the Tretyakov Museum. Virtual tour of Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral launched Virtual tour of Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral launched Virtual tour of Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral launched Virtual tour of Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral launched
With the tour, you can “visit” the main church, including the altar, the lower Church of the Transfiguration, the Hall of Church Councils, the observation deck, and more.

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