Historical memory: August 10 - the feast of the Smolensk Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the defender of Rus'translated
The Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, called “Hodegetria” (“Guide”), according to Church tradition, was painted by the holy evangelist Luke during the earthly life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Saint Demetrius of Rostov suggests that this image was painted at the request of the Antioch ruler Theophilus. From Antioch the shrine was transferred to Jerusalem, and from there Empress Eudokia, wife of Arcadius, transferred it to Constantinople to Pulcheria, the emperor’s sister, […]
