There are many revered miraculous icons of the Virgin. One of these is the Tolgsky Icon of the Mother of God, which is located in a monastery near Yaroslavl. The celebration of this icon was established by the Russian Orthodox Church on August 21st.
The image of the Most Holy Theotokos of Tolga got its name due to its appearance on the Tolga River, which took place in 1314. This event was preceded by the following story.
Bishop Prokhor of Rostov and Yaroslavl, on one of his trips to protect the diocese entrusted to him, stopped for the night seven miles from Yaroslavl on the right bank of the Volga. At midnight the Rostov ruler saw on the opposite bank of the river a pillar of fire and a fiery bridge leading across the Volga to the other bank, where a dense forest was located. The bishop made a prayer and, taking with him his archpastoral staff, set off across the wonderful bridge, consisting of water condensed by the supernatural power, to the other side.
There the bishop approached the pillar of fire and saw in the air an icon of the Mother of God with the infant Jesus Christ. Vladyka Prokhor began to pray long and earnestly in front of the icon. After the prayer, the bishop returned back, having forgotten his rod at the place of the appearance of the icon.
In the morning, when they began to look for the rod, the bishop remembered where he had left it. Vladyka told about the night event and sent his novices to fetch the rod. When the novices came to the place, they saw the holy icon between the trees. Then the saint himself hurried to the other side of the river and recognized the icon he had seen at night.
Immediately after the miraculous appearance of the image of the Virgin, a decision was made to build a temple. Residents of Yaroslavl, having heard about such a miraculous apparition of the Mother of God, with great enthusiasm provided assistance in the construction. Subsequently, on the site of the appearance of the Tolgskaya icon of the Mother of God, a monastery was founded, in which the holy image is still located.
The Tolgskaya Icon of the Mother of God is miraculous. From her, believers received and receive various healings in diseases, as well as help in everyday needs and sorrows.
