Icon of the Mother of God “The Nurturer”
In the Icon called “Nurturing,” the Mother of God is depicted with her eternal Child sitting on her left arm. Christ’s right hand is extended upward to the face of the All-Pure Virgin.
Before 1917, the holy image was located in the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square, but it was lost after the destruction of that church in 1936. The church was rebuilt in 1993, and it houses a copy of the Nurturing Icon. At that place there is a list of wonderworking icons glorified throughout Russia for their miracles.
The title of the Icon speaks for itself. Parents pray for their children in her presence, asking the Most Holy Theotokos to take them under her protection, to send them understanding, and to fill their hearts with wisdom.
Until our own time, a brief prayer has been associated with this image:
O All-Holy Lady, Virgin Theotokos, save and keep under your protection my children (names), all boys and girls and infants, both those who are baptized and those who are nameless and those being carried in their mother's womb. Cover them with your own maternal mantle. Preserve them in the fear of God and in obedience to their parents. Implore your Son and our Lord to grant them what is needful for their salvation. I entrust them to your maternal providence, for you are the divine protection of your servants. Amen.