The feast of an icon
The Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God
The Feodorovskaya icon takes its name from the Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, in whose church it was kept and in whose form it was revealed to Prince Vasily of Kostroma in the thirteenth century. Before this icon, in 1613, the nun Martha gave her son Michael her leave to accept the throne, ending the Time of Troubles, and this feast was set on that day. The icon remains in Kostroma.
The dates
- Kept on
- 14 March (27 March on the Old Calendar)
- Next, New Calendar
- Next, Old Calendar
The New Calendar (the Greek, Antiochian, Romanian and Bulgarian churches, the OCA and most converts) keeps fixed feasts on the church date; the Old Calendar (the Russian, Serbian and Georgian churches, Jerusalem and Mount Athos) keeps them 13 days later. Pascha and the feasts that follow it are kept on the same day by both.
How the day is kept
St Ambrose of Optina taught that by Orthodox tradition women facing a difficult birth turn to the Mother of God through this icon, and families keep a lamp burning before it.
Women pray before it for a healthy pregnancy and a safe delivery, and couples for children and the wellbeing of their family.
It became the family icon of the ruling house: princesses who joined the Orthodox Church on marrying into it took the name Feodorovna in its honor, and St Alexandra the Passion-Bearer loved it deeply.
Its childbirth patronage is Russian Orthodox tradition, not known in Greek usage.
The saint
Icons for the feast
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