July 21/8 - appearance of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in the city of Kazan (1579).translated

On October 1, 1552, on the Feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, at night, John IV, the leader of the Russian soldiers preparing for a decisive assault on Kazan, suddenly heard the sound of Moscow bells. The Tsar realized that this was a sign of God’s mercy: through the prayers of the Elected Voivode, the Lord wanted to convert the Kazan people to Himself.

The conquest of Kazan under the protection of the Most Holy Theotokos completed the work begun in 1164 by the holy Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky († 1174; commemorated July 4). The Volga, the country's main waterway, became a Russian river. 60,000 Russian people were freed from Tatar captivity. The enlightenment of the Tatars with the light of the Gospel truth began. The first martyrs appeared - Saints Peter and Stephen (March 24). The newly established Kazan diocese became part of the Russian Church and soon shone with its archbishops: St. Gury († 1563; commemorated December 5) and St. Herman († 1567; commemorated November 6).

But what especially contributed to the rise of Orthodoxy among the Volga Mohammedans was the appearance in the city of Kazan on July 8, 1579 of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God.

The Most Holy Theotokos, patroness of preachers of the Word of God, who even in Her earthly life shared with the holy Apostles...