The Kursk Root Icon of the Sign (also Our Lady of Kursk) (russian: Богоматерь Курская Коренная, Bogomater Kurskaya Korennaya, literally ''

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

of Kursk, Found Among the Roots'') is an

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

of Theotokos of the Sign, apparently painted in the thirteenth century and discovered in a forest near

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

ca. 1295.

History

The icon was preserved in the Black Hermitage of the Roots (''Chornaya Korennaya Pustyn''), an abbey founded on the spot of its discovery. It was regularly brought from the abbey to Kursk in a great procession involving thousands of peasants and pilgrims. This ceremony is depicted in the famous painting by

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...

; see ''

Religious Procession in Kursk Province '' Religious Procession in Kursk Governorate'' (also known as ''Easter Procession in the District of Kursk'' or ''A Religious Procession in Kursk Gubernia) (Russian: ''Крестный ход в Курской губернии'') is a large oil ...

''. The icon actually incorporates as many as twelve figures on it:

, Infant

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

, the Lord Sabaoth above them (with the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

as a

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

) and nine

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

s. The image of Theotokos belongs to the

Panagia Panagia ( el, Παναγία, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panajia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern ...

type. It was regarded as a

palladion In Greek and Roman mythology, the Palladium or Palladion (Greek Παλλάδιον (Palladion), Latin ''Palladium'') was a cult image of great antiquity on which the safety of Troy and later Rome was said to depend, the wooden statue (''xoanon' ...

of the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

. In the autumn of 1920, the icon was taken by the Gen

Pyotr Wrangel Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel (russian: Пётр Никола́евич барон Вра́нгель, translit=Pëtr Nikoláevič Vrángel', p=ˈvranɡʲɪlʲ, german: Freiherr Peter Nikolaus von Wrangel; April 25, 1928), also known by his ni ...

′s

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

outside Russia; it was kept in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

until September 1944 (mostly in the Russian church in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

), then in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, finally, since January 1951 — in the United States (since 1959, in the cathedral named after the icon, in the new headquarters of the

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (russian: Ру́сская Правосла́вная Це́рковь Заграни́цей, lit=Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, translit=Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' Zagranitsey), also called Ru ...

93rd Street 93rd Street runs from Riverside Drive, overlooking the Hudson River, to the East River, through the New York City borough of Manhattan. It traverses the neighborhoods of the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Carnegie Hill, and Yorkville; the str ...

New York City). Since 2009, the icon is regularly brought to

Kursk Oblast Kursk Oblast ( rus, Курская область, r=Kurskaya oblast, p=ˈkurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

, Russia, and other places in Russia for veneration by the faithful.Обращение митрополита Курского и Рыльского Германа по случаю прибытия Курско-Коренной иконы Божией Матери
/ref>

References

External links

*https://www.blagovest2000.ru/blog/svitki-prorokov-na-ikone-kurskaya-korennaya

This site describes the prophets depicted in the borders of the Kursk Root icon and the texts on the scrolls they hold. *On the left side, starting from the top: 1. Holy Prophet and King David. Scroll text: “Arise, O Lord, unto Thy rest” (Psalm 131/132) 2. Holy Prophet Moses. Scroll text: “I beheld a bush unconsumed” xodus 3'' 3. Holy Prophet Isaiah. Scroll text: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive” saiah 7'' 4. Holy Prophet Gideon. Scroll text: “I beheld thee as a fleece” udges 6'' Right side, starting from the top: 5. Holy Prophet and King Solomon. Scroll text: “Wisdom hath built herself a house” roverbs 9'' 6. Holy Prophet Daniel. Scroll text: “I beheld a mountain from which was cut a stone” aniel 2, referring to the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream'' 7. Holy Prophet Jeremiah. Scroll text: “Lo, the days cometh, saith the Lord” eremiah 23:5'' 8. Holy Prophet Elijah. Scroll text: “I have been zealous for the Lord God Almighty” Kings 19'' Bottom: 9. Holy Prophet Habbakuk (Abbacum). Scroll text: “God shall come forth from Thaeman

he south He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

and the Holy One from the mountain” abbakuk 3''
History with photo of Icon in its ''riza'' (metal cover)
{{Authority control

Shrines to the Virgin Mary Kursk Russian icons Paintings of the Madonna and Child