The Theotokos of Vladimir (Greek: Θεοτόκος του Βλαντιμίρ),
also known as Our Lady of Vladimir or Virgin of Vladimir (Russian: Владимирская
Икона Божией Матери) and "The Vladimir Madonna" - is one of the most
venerated Orthodox icons and a typical example of Eleusa Byzantine iconography.
The Theotokos (Greek word for Virgin Mary, literally meaning "Birth-Giver
of God") is regarded as the holy protectress of Russia. The icon is
displayed in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Her feast day is June 3. Even more
than most famous icons, the original has been copied repeatedly for centuries.
Many copies now have considerable artistic and religious significance of their
own. The icon is a version of the Eleusa (tenderness) type, with the Christ
child snuggling up to his mother's cheek. About 1131 the Greek Patriarch Luke Chrysoberges of
Constantinople sent the icon as a gift to Grand Duke Yury Dolgoruky of Kiev.
The image was kept in the Mezhyhirskyi Monastery until Dolgoruky's son Andrey
Bogolyubskiy brought it to his favourite city, Vladimir, in 1155.[1] Tradition
tells that the horses transporting the icon stopped near Vladimir and refused
to go further. People interpreted this as a sign that the Theotokos wanted her
icon to stay in Vladimir. To house the icon, the great Assumption Cathedral was
built there, followed by other churches dedicated to the Virgin throughout
Ukraine. In 1395, during Tamerlane's invasion, the image was taken
from Vladimir to the new capital, Moscow. The spot where people and the ruling
prince met the icon is commemorated by the Sretensky Monastery. Vasili I of
Moscow spent a night crying over the icon, and Tamerlane's armies retreated the
same day. The Muscovites refused to return the icon to Vladimir and placed it
in the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Moscow Kremlin. The intercession of
the Theotokos through the image was credited also with saving Moscow from Tatar
hordes in 1451 and 1480 ■
