On September 29, the memory of the Icon of the Mother of God “Look on Humility” is commemorated

The Icon of the Mother of God, called “Look on Humility,” was revealed in 1426 in the Pskov region, on Lake Kamenoye. The circumstances of the miraculous apparition are unknown, but it can be assumed that the people of Pskov found the holy icon as a comfort when they suffered great disasters during the reign of Vasily II Dmitrievich: a pestilence and the invasion of the Lithuanian prince Vytautas, who came to conquer the Pskov lands. The Pskov Chronicle contains two references to the holy icon.

One of them reads: “In the summer of 6934 (1426), according to the old Kolozhe, on the Stone Lake, there was a sign: blood came from the icon of the Holy Virgin, on the 16th day of the month of Septevrea; this sign revealed the presence of the evil prince Vytautas and the many shedding of Christian blood.” Another, more complete indication of the miraculous sign from the image reads: “In the summer of 6934 (1426), the same autumn, there was a sign from the icon of the Holy Virgin on Kamenevskoye Lake in Vasily’s yard: blood came from the right eye and dripped to the place where it stood, and on the way there was blood, as they were carrying the icon to the ubrus, as the icon of the Blessed Virgin was carried to Pskov, on the 16th day of September. In memory of the Holy Great Martyr Euphemia.”

So, on September 16, the icon of the Mother of God was transferred to Pskov and placed in the cathedral church in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity. In memory of this transfer, the celebration of the miraculous icon was established on this day.

The Trinity Cathedral, which was greatly revered by the faithful of Pskov, housed many Orthodox shrines, including the miraculous Chirsk Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which has survived to this day, the Tikhvin image of the Mother of God, many valuable church utensils, princely charters, and other historical and cultural monuments.

However, in the description of the Trinity Cathedral sacristy drawn up in the nineteenth century, there is no longer any mention of the ancient icon “Look on Humility.” Since Pskov was often subjected to devastating fires in the times described, it can be assumed that the ancient miraculous icon of the Mother of God perished during one of the natural disasters that befell the cathedral church.

There are few known lists of the miraculous image. One of them, dating from the late seventeenth century, is in the Kyiv Florovsky Ascension Monastery, and the other is in the main church of the Kyiv Holy Vvedensky Monastery.

The icon of the Mother of God (nineteenth century) was donated to the Vvedensky church in 1992 by the monkess Theodora († 1994), who kept it for 55 years. The image, installed in a special Kyoto, attracted numerous believers with its extraordinary beauty.

In August 1993, the faces of the Virgin Mary and the Divine Child were miraculously imprinted on the glass that covered the icon and did not come into contact with it. As a result of a comprehensive study conducted by Kyiv scientists, it was found that the image on the glass is of organic origin and is not man-made, but at the same time they were unable to provide a scientific explanation for the miracle that occurred. The glass with the miraculous reflection was installed in the kiosk next to the icon.