Yaroslavl Mother of God

description

An icon of the Eleousa type. It depicts Mary and Jesus in a very tender relationship. In Byzantium this type was known as Glykophilousa (Gr. sweet kiss). The Child sits upright in the arms of the Mother of God, holding His Mother’s chin with His right hand and the edge of Her garment near the neck with His left. The Child’s legs are held together, and only the feet are uncovered. According to Orthodox Church tradition, this icon was the first image to be revealed during the period of Mongol captivity of the Land of Rus', in 1238, shortly after Batu Khan’s invasion of Rus'. It was brought to Yaroslavl by the holy princes Basil and Constantine. The history of this icon is very interesting. For centuries it was surrounded by veneration, but at times its memory faded, and later it was remembered again. The most recent revival of the veneration of this icon came with the new millennium. The icon, lost during the communist era, was found in 1998 in an old shed near Rostov the Great. After several years of conservation the icon went to Saint Petersburg and then, in 2003, to Yaroslavl. An old 15th-century copy of this icon is held in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

how it was made

An icon written for Halina.