Icon of the Mother of God of Minsk
The Minsk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was brought by the holy Prince Vladimir from Korsun in the Crimea, and placed in Kiev’s Cathedral of the Tithes, where it remained for more than 500 years. The consecration of that church in 996 is commemorated on May 12.
In the year 1500, during the capture of Kiev by Khan Mengli-Gyr, a certain Tatar stripped the riza and other adornments from the Icon, and threw it into the Dniepr River. After a while it was found floating in the Svisloch River near Minsk. Surrounded by an extraordinary light, the Icon was brought to shore and taken to the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, in the castle of the Minsk appanage1 Princes. This occurred on August 13, 1500.
The Minsk Icon was taken to the Uniate Monastery of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in 1616, and was returned to the Orthodox in 1839. The church of the Holy Spirit Monastery then became an Orthodox cathedral, which was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. Every Friday, an Akathist is served before the holy Icon, and many miracles have been recorded.2
On the Icon, which is on the left side of the iconostasis, the Mother of God is depicted with the Pre-eternal Child on her left arm. The Icon is painted with egg tempra on a wooden board, and in 1852 it was covered with a silver riza, over the faces of the Mother of God and the Savior, Who holds an orb in His left hand. In some icons, both wear gilded crowns with precious stones. At the bottom of the riza is the following inscription:
"This Icon of the Mother of God with the Child Jesus, was provided by the Great Prince of the Russian land, Saint Vladimir in Kiev, in the Church of the Tithes, and after the devastation of Kiev by the Tatars, it appeared in Minsk on August 13, 1500 on the Svisloch River, and placed in the castle church. Later, it was transferred to the cathedral. In 1852, by the diligence of the Orthodox, it was covered with a new silver riza."
The Minsk Icon, which belongs to the Hodēgḗtria type, is more than four and a half feet tall, and three feet wide.
1 Land or money given by a King or Prince to his younger children as a means of support.
2 In his book БОГОМАТРЬ (The Mother of God), Eugene Poselyanin states that the Akathist to the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Icon is read before the Minsk Icon every Saturday.