The revered Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, believed to be painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist, has been brought from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. The icon is placed in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where it will remain from May 22 to May 26.

Faithful gathered at Moscow's Leningradsky Railway Station to greet the miraculous icon. Clergy carried the icon from the train carriage, accompanied by the chanting of Easter hymns, "Christ is Risen," "Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos," and "O My Most Gracious Queen." Bishop Mstislav of Tikhvin and Ladeinopol performed a prayer service before the icon in the station's official delegation hall.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Rus' presided over the reception of the icon during the all-night vigil at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

"Twenty years ago, the great miraculous image of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God was returned. Back then, it seemed that the return of the icon symbolized the revival of our Church's life in its fullness, and all these hopes have been fulfilled. Today, the Church permeates many aspects of our people's lives," said the Patriarch, addressing the faithful gathered in the cathedral.

Patriarch Kirill emphasized the significant changes within the Church over the past two decades since the icon's return to Russia.

"The face of the Church has changed. Today, the Church indeed penetrates many spheres of our people's lives, prays for people, unites them, and educates them in the Orthodox faith. We know that today, the Church's children are not only those who dared to come to the temple even during Soviet times when the authorities could do nothing to them, but also people of various standings, including those in power, those engaged in crucial sectors of our country's economy and politics, and, of course, our pious people," stressed the Patriarch.

The Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God is one of the greatest Orthodox relics. According to tradition, the icon was painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist during the earthly life of the Mother of God and later moved from Antioch to Constantinople. According to the "Legends of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God," dated to the 15th-16th centuries, the icon miraculously appeared in Russia in 1383, having "flown from Constantinople by the will of God."

For several centuries, the icon was kept in the Assumption Monastery of Tikhvin near Saint Petersburg. In November 1941, during the German occupation of Tikhvin, the relic was taken to Pskov and handed over to the Pskov Spiritual Mission. It later ended up in the American occupation zone in Germany, from where it was transported to the United States and placed in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago. In 2004, the icon was ceremoniously returned to its historic location in the Assumption Monastery of Tikhvin. In July 2024, the Tikhvin Monastery will celebrate the anniversary of the icon's return to its abode.