KURSK-ROOT ICON OF THE THEOTOKOS

On the ninth Friday after Pascha, which this year falls on June 16, the Church celebrates the feast of the Kursk-Root “The Sign” Icon of the Mother of God. A great many events in the history of the Russian Church over the centuries are connected with this icon. “The Sign” is one of the most revered images of the Theotokos in our Latter Days.

Through her image, the Most Holy Theotokos has shown her intercession from ancient times. According to tradition, the icon was discovered at the end of the 13th century. During the dramatic events of the past century, the icon shared the fate of our divided Fatherland. Ultimately, after the Civil War, it ended up in New York and became the primary sacred treasure of the Russian diaspora. It is enough to note that it was under the protection of this image that the cathedral of the Russian Church Abroad was consecrated.

The daily celebration in honor of one or another icon of the Mother of God, or even several images at once, is an exceptional feature of our liturgical calendar. It inspires popular piety, and theology gains new impetus to comprehend how the practice and dogma of icon-veneration throughout the Church’s history have revealed to the world the Image of Her, whose intercession before her Son and God is immeasurably great.

It is also important to mention that during the tragic civil strife following the 1917 Revolution in Russia, the icon—or rather, She Who is depicted on it—traveled extensively with the White Armies. This tradition of the “Wandering Icon” has been preserved to this day. For us, Orthodox Christians of the 21st century living in a world of simplified communication and perhaps accustomed to the transfer of holy relics, it is important to appreciate its uniqueness. Grace is communication, and true communication between people and God is grace. “The only true luxury is that of human relationships,” as Saint-Exupéry wrote about this from a secular perspective.

Therefore, it is extremely important and truly precious that the clergy of the Russian Church continue to undertake pilgrimages with the icon to different countries to this very day. In this simultaneous pilgrimage—of the people to the icon and of the icon to the people—lies its amazing quality, a special, unifying a grace inherent in this sacred Marian image. Thus, the special connection between the Mother of God and the Church is revealed. “I believe in One Church,” states the Creed (the Symbol of Faith). Therefore, the true Orthodoxy of the Church lies in the visible unity of all who belong to it.