It is no coincidence that the Kazan icon of the Mother of God is one of the most revered in Russia. The history of its appearance, the miracles associated with it - all this makes Russians treat the image as the greatest shrine of the Orthodox world. The Appearance Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated in Russia as one of the most important church holidays.
The Kazan icon of the Mother of God is widespread in Russia in thousands of copies. Its very discovery is a miracle, it was found shortly after the fire in 1579, which destroyed part of the Kazan Kremlin and adjacent city buildings. The fire victims began to rebuild their homes, among them was the archer Daniil Onuchin. It was his nine-year-old daughter Matrona who saw the Mother of God in a dream, who informed the girl about the place where the icon was hidden. The Mother of God told the girl to get the icon, but the adults did not pay attention to the words of Matrona.
After the vision was repeated three times, Matrona and her mother themselves began to dig in the place indicated by the Mother of God and really found the hidden icon. Accompanied by Archbishop Jeremiah, she was brought with the greatest honors to the Church of St. Nicholas, and from there to the Cathedral of the Annunciation.
From that time on, the distribution of copies of the miraculous icon began throughout Russia. At the place of its acquisition, at the direction of Ivan the Terrible, a temple was built, in which the acquired shrine was placed.
On July 21, the day of the celebration of the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God, the traditional procession with the miraculous icon is being held in Kazan. At 9 in the morning, a solemn liturgy begins in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kazan Kremlin, after which the miraculous image is carried along the city streets to the Kazan-Mother of God Monastery. The procession is accompanied by bell ringing.
The appearance of the icon of the Mother of God is also celebrated in other cities of Russia. In 2012, on this day, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia led a service held at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. It is in this place that one of the lists of the miraculous icon is kept. On the day of the celebration of the appearance of the icon of the Virgin, solemn events are held not only in Russia, but also in Orthodox churches around the world. The miraculous icon is also revered in the Catholic world - it is no coincidence that its list was for many years in the bedroom of Pope John Paul II.
