Thursday, April 14, 2011
Icon of the Mother of God of Vilnius
The Vilnius (Vilna) Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke. For a long time it was in the family of the Greek emperors at Constantinople. In 1472 Sophia Paleologina, wife of the Moscow Great Prince Ivan III (1462-1505), transferred the icon to Moscow.
In 1495 the Great Prince blessed his daughter Elena with this icon before giving her in marriage to the Lithuanian king Alexander. The Church celebrates the transfer of this icon to Vilnius on February 15.
Later, the holy icon was placed in the church of St John the Forerunner, in which Princess Elena was buried. Afterwards, they transferred the icon to Vilnius's HolyTrinity monastery.
The Vilnius icon is also commemorated on February 15.
SOURCE:
SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2010(with 2009's link here also and further, 2008's):
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