The Mother of God of Hodigitria

Mother of God Hodegetria of Smolensk, Russia 19th/22nd c. The Smolensk Mother of God icon, popularised by numerous copies, like the displayed S.12785MŁ, has been venerated in the historical lands of Rus since the middle of the 11th c. The original Smolensk Hodegetria was sent to the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin between the years 1398-1404 - see S.12677MŁ, S.12777MŁ. In turn, the Principality of Smolensk, located on the upper reaches of Dnieper, Volga, and Daugava, captured in 1404 by the Grand Duke of Lithuania, functioned as the Smolensk Voivodeship. In 1456, the delegation sent by the Smolensk Metropolitan asked the Great Duke of Moscow, Vasily the Blind, to return the wonderworking depiction of Hodegetria. After a copy was made for Moscow's Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Kremlin, the icon was solemnly sent to Smolensk. During the war fought by Grand Duchy of Moscow with the Kingdom of Poland, Prince Vasili III besieged and captured Smolensk in 1514, annexing it to his realm. Novodevichy Convent (Most Holy Hodegetria New Maidens' Monastery) was built to commemorate this event, and in 1525, Moscow's copy of the painting was transferred there. To celebrate this, the feast day of the icon, from then on known as the Smolensk Hodegetria, was established for the 10th of August (July 28 in the Julian calendar). As a result of the ruthless reign of the first Russian Tsar, Ivan IV the Terrible, the Moscow State was experiencing a crisis known as the Time of Troubles or 'Smuta'. It was a time of self-proclaimed rulers and frequent changes to Moscow's throne. As a result of the armed intervention of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Russian Tsardom, after two years of siege, Smolensk was captured in 1611 and annexed into the Commonwealth, remaining part of it until the middle of the 17th c., which is described under S.12786MŁ. Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967