Theotokos of Tikhvin

The Theotokos of Tikhvin (Tikhvinskaya) is one of the most celebrated and beautiful wonderworking icons of the Mother of God (Theotokos). It is said to be one of the icons written by St. Luke the Evangelist. According to tradition, in the 5th century, the icon was transferred from Jerusalem to Constantinople, where a church was built specially for it. These are the same traditions as accrue to the Hodegetria icon, suggesting the stories have become conflated; in terms of composition the Tikhvin icon is of the Hodegetria type. Some art historians prefer a date of about 1300, and a Russian artist. This matches a further tradition that the icon miraculously appeared, hovering over a lake, in Russia near Tikhvin in 1383.

Since the 14th century, the icon was held in Tikhvin, where eventually Tikhvin Assumption Monastery was founded to host the icon. In 1941, during World War II, for a month Tikhvin was occupied by German troops, who looted the monastery and, in particular, took the icon to Pskov, and in 1944 transferred it to Riga. The icon eventually was taken out of Russia for safety by a Russian Orthodox bishop from Kolka parish and later Bishop of Riga – John (Garklāvs) of Chicago. In the period between 1949 and 2004 the icon remained at Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral in Chicago, IL United States. It was returned to Tikhvin, Russia in 2004 by his adopted son, Fr. Sergei Garklavs of Chicago. The icon is kept at the Tikhvin Assumption Monastery, where it was kept prior to 1917. Most of the icon, except the exposed skin of Jesus and Mary (the two faces and necks, both sets of hands, and the feet of Jesus), is normally covered by a chased frame of precious metals and jewels (riza).

On July 9th (June 26th by the old calendar) the Church commemorates the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God.

This icon of the Holy Virgin, holding the Infant Christ on Her left hand, appeared in Russia in 1382 under the following circumstances. In the region of Great Novgorod, a group of fishermen were fishing on Lake Ladoga. Suddenly a glittering ray of light illuminated them from above… Gazing up into the sky, they saw a wondrous miracle: an icon of the Mother of God, shining like the sun, glided in the air above the waters. The fishermen were terrified at first, but subsequently were overcome with great joy. Abandoning their nets, they ran after the icon, wishing to see where it was going and where it would rest. But the holy icon soon disappeared from view and became invisible.

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This piece of wood carving would be perfect for your home or for present for your loved ones. This item is made from the high quality natural solid Beech wood.
The item’s finest details and it’s sizing are involved computer processing technology with manual tuning and the final details are finished by hand and coverage with ecological natural oil for wood.

Thickness of the item

Total thickness of the item between extreme points is 1-2,5 inches or 25-65 mm. Thickness is different for each item’s design and size.
The item comes with a detent on the back side to hang it on the wall.

Color can be little different

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Please remember that color can be little different from different screen reproduction, conditions of photography and natural color of the wood. Also note that for different sizes of the item, the detailization can be little different.

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