The Kursk Znamenie (Sign) Icon of the Mother of God
Commemorated on September 8, November 27, March 8 and on the 9th Friday of Pascha
The Kursk Znamenie
(Sign) Icon of the Mother of God – is one of the most ancient icons of the
Russian Church. In the XIII Century during the time of the Tatar invasion, when
all the Russian realm was put to the extremest tribulation, the city of Kursk,
ravaged by the Horde of Batu, fell into desolation. One day in the environs of
the city an hunter noticed the ancient icon, lying on a root face downwards to
the ground. The hunter lifted it and saw that the image of the icon was similar
to the Novgorod "Znamenie" Icon. With the appearance of this icon
immediately there appeared its first miracle. Just as the hunter lifted up the
holy icon from the earth, right then, at that place where the icon lay, gushed
up strongly a spring of pure water. This occurred on 8 September 1259. The
hunter decided not to leave the icon in the forest and settled on as a resting
place an ancient small chapel, in which he put the newly-appeared image of the
Mother of God. Soon inhabitants of the city of Ryl'a heard about this, and
being in location not far away, they began to visit the place of the appearance
for venerating the new holy image.
They transferred the
icon to Ryl'a and put it in a new church in honour of the Nativity of the
Most Holy Mother of God. But the icon did not long remain there. It disappeared
and returned to its former place of appearance. The inhabitants of Ryl'a
repeatedly took it and carried it to the city, but the icon incomprehensibly
returned to its former place. Everyone then realised, that the Mother of God
preferred the place of appearance of Her Image. The especial help granted by
the Mother of God through this icon is bound up with important events in
Russian history: with the war of liberation of the Russian nation during the
time of the Polish-Lithuanian incursion in 1612, and the 1812 Fatherland war.
From the icon several copies were made, which also were glorified.
© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.
