“According to the established tradition, the miraculous Gift Icon of the Mother of God will be delivered to the Donskoy Monastery from the State Tretyakov Gallery for prayer service. The transfer of the shrine will take place with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow . and All Rus’ with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the State Tretyakov Gallery,” the statement read.
It is specified that the icon will remain in the Great Cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery from 2:00 p.m. on August 31 to 10:00 a.m. on September 2. Before the sacred image, prayer songs will be performed with the reading of an akathist.
On the feast day of the Don Icon of the Mother of God, September 1, four Divine Liturgies will be held at 00:00, 6:30, 9:30 in the Great Don Cathedral and at 9:30 in the Church of the Archangel Michael.
The 9.30 a.m. liturgy in the Donskoy Grand Cathedral is expected to be led by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. At the end of it, there will also be a prayer service to the miraculous image.
The Don icon of the Mother of God was painted in the 14th century, presumably by the monk Theophan Grekm. The chronicles say that the image was handed over to the Right-wing Prince Dimitry Donskoy before the Battle of Kulikovo by the “Cossacks”, “people of Christian military rank.” Since then, the Don Icon of the Mother of God has been revered as the defender of the Fatherland. In 1591, in memory of the intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God for the city of Moscow, the construction of the Little Cathedral began – the first stone structure of the future Donskoy Monastery. Since then, the annual religious processions from the Moscow Kremlin to the Donskoy Monastery, in which members of the Royal House participate, have become a tradition.
After the revival of the Donskoy Monastery, the tradition of bringing the Donskoy Icon to the walls of the monastery for prayer worship was resumed.
