It is no coincidence that the Kazan icon of the Mother of God is one of the most revered in Russia. The history of its appearance, the miracles associated with it - all this makes Russians treat the image as the greatest shrine of the Orthodox world. The Day of the Appearance of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated in Russia as one of the important church holidays.
The Kazan icon of the Mother of God is widespread in Russia in thousands of lists. Its very acquisition is a miracle; it was found shortly after the fire of 1579, which destroyed part of the Kazan Kremlin and the adjacent city buildings. The fire victims began to rebuild their homes, among them was Sagittarius Daniil Onuchin. It was his nine-year-old daughter Matron who saw the Virgin in a dream, telling the girl about the place in which the icon was hidden. The Mother of God told the girl to get the icon, but the adults did not pay attention to the words of Matrona.
After the vision was repeated three times, Matrona and her mother themselves began to dig in the place indicated by the Mother of God and really found a hidden icon. Accompanied by Archbishop Jeremiah, she was delivered with great honors to the church of St. Nicholas, and from there to the Annunciation Cathedral.
From that time, the distribution of lists with a wonderful icon began in Russia. At the place of its acquisition, according to the instructions of Ivan the Terrible, a temple was built, in which the found shrine was placed.
July 21, on the day of the celebration of the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God, a religious procession with a miraculous icon is held in Kazan. At 9 am, a solemn liturgy begins in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kazan Kremlin, after which a miraculous image is carried through the streets of the city to the Kazan-Bogoroditsky Monastery. The procession is accompanied by a bell ringing.
They celebrate the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God in other cities of Russia. In 2012, on this day, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill led the service held at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. It is in this place that one of the lists of the miraculous icon is stored. On the day of the celebration of the appearance of the icon of the Virgin, solemn events are held not only in Russia, but also in Orthodox churches around the world. The miraculous icon is also revered in the Catholic world - it is no accident that its list was for many years in the bedroom of Pope John Paul II.
