Icons of the Mother of God: “Znamenie” of Novgorod and “Znamenie”, the Kursk-Root

In the Novgorod tradition, the icon of the Mother of God “of the Sign” (Znamenie) belongs to the siege of Novgorod in the winter of 1170 by the army of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky of Suzdal. The tale tells that Archbishop Elijah (Ilya) prayed, the icon was carried onto the city wall, and an arrow struck it. The icon is said to have turned its face to the city and to have shed tears.

In the tale, the besiegers were thrown into confusion and the Novgorodians won. The icon is kept in the Cathedral of St Sophia in Novgorod, and 27 November is its feast. The Kursk-Root icon of the Sign, which according to tradition was found near Kursk in 1295, is also remembered on this day.