Sacred Image of Christ Comes Home After Nearly 100 Years
A revered 19th-century icon connected to the Battle of Borodino has been restored to its original monastery after decades in a museum.
MOSCOW — An historic Icon of Christ Not Made by Hands has been returned to the Russian Orthodox Church after nearly a century in museum custody. On February 13, the principal sacred treasure of the Spaso-Borodino Convent was transferred from the Borodino Field Museum-Reserve, where it had been preserved since 1929.
The icon bears deep historical significance. On the eve of the 1812 Battle of Borodino, Major General Alexander Tuchkov entrusted the image to his wife, Margarita Mikhailovna. After his death in combat, she founded the Spaso-Borodino Convent on the battlefield and in 1820 placed the icon in its first church. When the monastery was closed in 1929, the image was preserved by the Borodino Field Museum-Reserve.
Abp. Thomas of Odintsovo and Krasnogorsk celebrated the Divine Liturgy in St. Vladimir Cathedral, and a thanksgiving moleben was served before the icon was installed in its historic place.
Previously, the UOJ reported that the Bulgarian Antarctic science base received icons of the Virgin and Child, and St. Demetrios.
