Celebration in honor of the Vilna Icon of the Mother of God (28/02)

The Vilna Icon of the Mother of God was painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. Celebrations of the icon take place on April 27 and in honor of the transfer of the icon to Vilna in 1495 (Vilnius, Poland). Wilno; until 1939 official Russian name — Vilna) — February 28 new style.

For many years, the Vilna Icon of the Mother of God was the ancestral shrine of the Greek emperors in Constantinople.

In 1472, Zoya Paleologus arrived in Moscow from Rome, who, after her wedding with Grand Duke Ivan III Vasilyevich of Moscow (1440—1505), took the name Sophia. It is believed that she transported the icon to Moscow.



History suggests that the Russian tsars twice attempted to return the icon. The first time was in 1569 during the Livonian War, when 50 prisoners were promised to be released for the return of the icon. The second time was in 1655 after the capture of Vilna by the troops of Alexei Mikhailovich, when, on the orders of the tsar, they tried to find the icon, but it had already been taken to the Konigsberg monastery.

During the First World War, the Vilna Icon of the Mother of God was evacuated with other shrines and brought to the Donskoy Monastery in 1915. Her further fate is unknown.

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