Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan.
Our Lady of Kazan
Our Lady of Kazan, also called Mother of God of Kazan, is a holy icon of the highest stature within the Russian Orthodox Church, representing the Virgin Mary as the protector and patroness of the city of Kazan, and a palladium of all of Russia and Rus', known as the Holy Protectress of Russia. As is the case for any holy entity under a Patriarchate in communion within the greater Eastern Orthodox Church, it is venerated by all Orthodox faithful.
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, saints, and angels. Although especially associated with portrait-style images concentrating on one or two main figures, the term also covers most of the religious images in a variety of artistic media produced by Eastern Christianity, including narrative scenes, usually from the Bible or the lives of saints.
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church, also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The primate of the ROC is the patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'.
Kazan
Kazan is the largest city and capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of 425.3 square kilometres, with a population of over 1.3 million residents, and up to nearly 2 million residents in the greater metropolitan area. Kazan is the fifth-largest city in Russia, being the most populous city on the Volga and within the Volga Federal District.