{"id":113126,"date":"2026-04-03T22:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/?p=113126"},"modified":"2026-04-03T22:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:30:11","slug":"tretyakov-gallery-announced-the-transfer-of-the-vladimir-and-donskoy-icons-to-the-russian-orthodox-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/?p=113126","title":{"rendered":"Tretyakov Gallery Announced The Transfer Of The Vladimir And Donskoy Icons To The Russian Orthodox Church."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Moscow; April 2026<\/strong>: When the Christian Community across all continents are busy in revering the Good Friday, and Easter – the Tretyakov Gallery have announced the transfer of the Vladimir and Donskoy icons to the Russian Orthodox Church. According to a statement from the Tretyakov Gallery, the Donskoy Icon of the Mother of God will later be transferred to the Donskoy Stavropegic Monastery. Restoration work is currently underway in the monastery’s Great Church. Once completed, the icon will be placed in the church’s iconostasis. The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God will remain in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maverick News 30 has been officially informed by the Tretyakov Gallery: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “Our Lady of Vladimir” icon from the first third of the 12th century (Tretyakov Gallery, inv. 14243) and the “Our Lady of the Don” icon from the late 14th century (Tretyakov Gallery, inv. 14244) will be transferred free of charge to the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and will be on display in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour beginning April 4, 2026. Following the completion of restoration work at the Great Church of the Donskoy Stavropegic Monastery, the “Our Lady of the Don” icon will be placed in the monastery church’s iconostase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both icons will remain part of the State Museum Fund of the Russian Federation and will remain in the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery. In accordance with the terms of the transfer agreement, Gallery specialists will be granted unimpeded access to the icons for regular inspection and monitoring of their state of preservation. The icons themselves will be housed in specialized display cases that maintain the required climate and eliminate any risk of deterioration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Don Icon of the Mother of God arrived at the Tretyakov Gallery in 1930 from the State Historical Museum, where it was transferred by the Commission for the Uncovering and Preservation of Ancient Russian Art. The Commission’s restorers carried out the restoration of the icon, which was removed from the local tier of the iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin in 1919.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers believe that the Don Icon of the Mother of God was painted for the Dormition Cathedral in Kolomna, where it remained in the iconostasis until the mid-16th century, when, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, it was transferred to Moscow. The icon gained widespread veneration at the end of the same century: during the invasion of Kazy-Girey, Tsar Feodor Ivanovich prayed before it in a field church, on the site of which the Donskoy Monastery was founded in memory of the Mother of God’s intercession and the retreat of the Crimean army. According to the monastery’s inventory, in 1593, a copy was made of the ancient icon, which still hung in the local tier of the iconostasis of the Kremlin’s Annunciation Cathedral. This copy was later placed to the right of the Royal Doors of the Donskoy Monastery Cathedral (this image is currently housed in the monastery’s Great Cathedral).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The icon was brought to Rus’ (Russia) from Constantinople around 1130 as a gift to Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, who placed it in a church in Vyshgorod, a princely town near Kyiv. In the mid-12th century, while traveling to his patrimony and seeking heavenly protection, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, son of Yuri Dolgoruky, transferred the revered Vyshgorod icon of the Mother of God to the northeastern lands. Upon completion of the Vladimir Dormition Cathedral, he placed the icon there. Veneration of the icon grew, and it gradually became known as the Vladimir Icon, after the city where it became famous for its miracles and healings, and from where it was transferred to Moscow in the 15th century. Since then, the icon’s home has been the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the Revolution, in 1918\u20131919, the deeply revered icon, well-known from numerous references in chronicles, was cleared by restorers from beneath thick layers of soot and later overpainting, and a decade later, it was transferred to the State Tretyakov Gallery. Since 1999, the icon has been housed in the Church and Museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi, housed in a specially equipped display case, allowing both prayerful veneration of the ancient relic and its preservation for future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both icons remain part of the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation and will remain in the Tretyakov Gallery collection, the press service noted. Gallery specialists will be granted unimpeded access to the icons for regular inspection. The icons will be kept in special climate-controlled display cases to eliminate “any risk of deterioration” of the icons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vladimir and Donskoy icons of the Mother of God have been kept in the Tretyakov Gallery since 1930. The former dates to the 12th century, while the latter is associated with the work of Theophanes the Greek and dates to the late 14th to early 15th centuries. The Donskoy icon of the Mother of God was on display at the Tretyakov Gallery. The Vladimir icon was kept in the Church-Museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Donskoy Icon of the Mother of God was presumably painted for the Dormition Cathedral in Kolomna in the late 14th century. It remained on the church’s iconostasis until the mid-16th century. Then, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, it was transferred to Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The icon was widely venerated as the protector of the southern borders. Church tradition links the relic to the Battle of Kulikovo. It is believed that on the eve of the battle, it was in the Dormition Cathedral in Kolomna, where Dmitry Donskoy prayed before it. In 1591, Boris Godunov took the icon with him on his campaign against the Crimean Tatars. In memory of his victory and the intercession of the Mother of God, the Donskoy Monastery was founded in Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The icon is double-sided. The front depicts the Mother of God with the infant Jesus Christ. The icon is painted in the “Tenderness” style, the main motif of which is the embrace of the Mother of God and Christ. The figures face each other, cheek to cheek, with the infant making a gesture of blessing to his mother. The reverse depicts the Dormition of the Mother of God. Jesus Christ descends from heaven to take the soul of Mary (depicted as a baby in Christ’s arms) to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Mother of God is depicted before Christ on a bed, surrounded by the apostles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The icon is associated with the work of the Byzantine artist Theophanes the Greek. Researchers base this assumption on the dating (the artist lived between 1340 and 1410 ) and the stylistic features of the painting. One of the distinctive features of Theophanes the Greek’s style is the use of highlights to convey divine energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is double-sided. The front depicts the Mother of God with the infant Jesus Christ. The icon is painted in the “Tenderness” style, the main motif of which is the embrace of the Mother of God and Christ. The Child embraces the Mother of God around the neck, his gaze directed at Mary, while the Mother of God looks at us. The reverse depicts the Throne and the Instruments of the Passion. This is not the original depiction\u2014the painting dates back to approximately 1410.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tradition links the rise of Northeastern Russia, and later Muscovite Russia, to the icon’s intercession. The Church considers the icon miraculous. Chronicles mention the miraculous deliverance of Moscow in 1395 from Tamerlane’s invasion. At that time, the icon of the Mother of God was transferred from Vladimir and triumphantly welcomed in Moscow, after which Tamerlane had a vision. He turned his troops away from Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Donskaya Icon of the Mother of God<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suvro Sanyal – Team Maverick<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moscow; April 2026: When the Christian Community across all continents are busy in revering the Good Friday, and Easter – the Tretyakov Gallery have announced the transfer of the Vladimir and Donskoy icons to the Russian Orthodox Church. According to a statement from the Tretyakov Gallery, the Donskoy Icon of the Mother of God will …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":113129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[81],"post_format":[],"flags":[],"class_list":["post-113126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","tag-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=113126"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113130,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113126\/revisions\/113130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/113129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=113126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=113126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=113126"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_format&post=113126"},{"taxonomy":"flags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fflags&post=113126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}