Our Lady of Kazan Icons

Kazan Icon of the Theotokos - background and overview

Experts in iconography and icon-lovers are unanimous in calling the image of Our Lady of Kazan the jewel of Russian religious art. Her eyes in the icon glow with unspeakable purity, gentleness and peace. Her face and the child in her arms irradiate love and harmony, putting the viewer in awe. It occupies the place of honour in church altars. To the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God are dedicated many churches. Some of the best known among them are in Kazan and Saint-Petersburg.

According to tradition, this icon was painted in Byzantine and brought to Kazan sometime in the 13th century. In 1438, the Tartars seized Kazan, and the icon was lost. Soon after the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible retook Kazan, a ten-year-old girl saw the Mother of God in her dream. The Most Holy Theotokos instructed her to find her icon in the basement of a burned-down house. The icon wrought multiple miracles, which brought many Muslim Tartars to convert to Christianity voluntarily.

Its sixteenth-century copy, stolen from Saint Petersburg, re-emerged at Fatima, Portugal, where it stayed until recently. In 1993, Pope St. John Paul II received it as a gift. After several years returned it to the Orthodox Church as a gesture of goodwill. Nicknamed our Lady of the Vatican, it is now kept at the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Kazan.

The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is especially revered among married couples. We turn to it in our prayers for a happy marriage, peace and harmony in our families and resolution of our marriage problems. Many newlyweds choose it as their wedding icon in a church marriage.

Painted icons of Our Lady of Kazan - process and delivery

At St Elisabeth Convent, we have been painting icons Mother of God of Kazan since 1998. We adhere to the Byzantine and Russian traditions of iconography passed on over centuries from generation to generation. We strongly recommend placing your icon in a kiot for maximum durability.

Enrich the icon collection at your home or church with the Kazan Icon of the Theotokos. Choose from a variety of sizes and multiple variants available, or place a custom order. We will contact you to confirm the details after receiving your order.