The Smolensk Odigitria is attributed to the Apostle Saint Luke. It was said to have come from Byzantium to Chernigov when the Greek Princess Anna wed Vsevolod of Chernigov in the year 1046. Prince Vladimir Monamakh gave it to the Holy Dormition Catholicon in the city of Smolensk where it was enshrined and from that time the shrine was also called Smolensk. In 1308 the icon was taken to Moscow and then returned to Smolensk in 1456. The original Smolensk icon was appealed to for success during the Battle of Borodino against Napoleon in 1812. The icon is overlaid with a gilded copper riza and contained in a much later (circa 1890’s) hand carved kiot executed in the Pan Slavic style. The Smolensk icon is one of the most famous of the national “miracle-working” icons. It is celebrated on July 28th.
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