“Unfading Flower” Icon of the Mother of God at Ardatov

There is an Icon of the Mother of God with this name in Moscow, in the Dormition church of the Mogil'tsy.

Another "Unfading Flower" Icon is in the third-class Ardatov women's monastery of the Protection, in the city of Ardatov, 50 versts from Arzamas.

The Unfading Flower Icon shows the Mother of God with her Divine Son on her lap. The Child's face is turned toward the right side of the icon, i. e. toward the left shoulder of His mother. She looks at her Son, Who holds a flower in His left hand. This is why the Icon is called the Unfading Flower, because the flower symbolically represents the unfading flower of the virginity and purity of the Theotokos.

The icon is adorned with a riza, and there are haloes around the faces of Christ and the Virgin. The Mother of God has a crown on her head, and at the bottom of the riza is the inscription: The Unfading Flower Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

This Icon is one of several icons which are revered at the monastery.

Information about other icons with the same name may be found under April 3.