Feast of the Jerusalem Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos — October 12 / October 25 (Julian Calendar)

On this day, October 12 according to the Julian Calendar (October 25 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of the Jerusalem Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

According to tradition, the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the Evangelist Luke in Gethsemane fifteen years after the Ascension of Christ.

In 463 the icon was transferred to Constantinople. Through its intercession the Byzantine army turned back an invading host of Scythians. In 988 the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God was brought to Korsun (Chersonesus) and presented to the newly baptized Grand Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles. When the people of Novgorod accepted Christianity, Vladimir gave them the icon as a gift. In 1571 Ivan the Terrible sacked the city and transferred the holy icon to the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow. After Napoleon’s invasion the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God disappeared without a trace; in its place an exact copy was installed in the Dormition Cathedral.