During the difficult epidemiological situation and with the blessing of the Metropolitan Georgiy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas, the miracle-working “Oranskaya” Vladimir icon of the Mother of God is traditionally carried around the towns and villages of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese.

At noon on April 10, the revered holy icon of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese was greeted in the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery. The clergy, sisters, and pilgrims came together in the holy gates of the monastery. At the singing of the troparion, the icon was carried inside the Trinity Cathedral where the prayer service with the akathist was served before the holy icon. Prot. Alexander Dolbunov, acting dean of the Diveyevo Deanery, presided at the service.

After the prayer service, the icon was taken in a procession around the village of Diveyevo.

The “Oranskaya” Vladimir icon of the Mother of God was painted at the request of Nizhny Novgorod’s resident Pyotr Gladkov who deeply revered the Vladimirskaya icon from the Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral. He ordered a copy of this icon and took it home in 1634. A few years later, he saw the Queen of Heaven in a dream Who instructed him to build a church in her honor at the Oran field. Soon thereafter, Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich commanded to build a monastery next to the church there.

The Oranskaya icon became known for its many healings and miracles as She, our merciful Intercessor, offers help and consolation to anyone who appeals to Her with faith and hope. The grace-filled power of the Oranskaya icon became especially known in 1771 when the plague ran rampant throughout the province. By the request of the Nizhny Novgorod residents and with the blessing of His Eminence Theopan, the miracle-making icon of the Most Holy One was delivered to Nizhny Novgorod and carried in a procession around the kremlin. The pestilence subsided. The grateful local citizens vowed to take the icon every year in a ceremonial procession from the monastery to the city. Before 1917 and for almost 150 years, they never broke their vow. The tradition of the procession with the cross usually held in the middle of June was reestablished in 2004.