Our Lady of the Don

Marian devotion of Moscow (Russia)
Recognized by the Church

La Theotokos del Don (Donskáya) is one of the most venerated Marian icons in Russia and is historically associated with Donskói Monastery of Moscúwhere he was especially honored. The sources consulted do not specify with certainty the date of their origin, their author or the documented circumstances of their entronization, so on these details not documented enough.

Main data

Origin and history

La Theotokos del Don (Donskáya) is one of the most venerated Marian icons in Russia and is historically associated with Donskói Monastery of Moscúwhere he was especially honored. The sources consulted do not specify with certainty the date of their origin, their author or the documented circumstances of their entronization, so on these details not documented enough.

According to the tradition Orthodox, the icon is linked to the protection of Russia in times of war and to the help of the Mother of God to the people of Moscow. These stories belong to the field of popular piety and not to a critically verified history; they are therefore offered as tradition, as documented hecho.

The image and the sanctuary

It is venerated in the form of Orthodox icon of a Byzantine type, in which Mary appears as the Mother of God with the Child Jesus. Its main place of worship is the Donskói Monastery of Moscúwhose fame as the center of intercession for the city is linked to the prestige of the icon. The sources consulted do not specify the material, technique or measures of the copy; no consta ese nivel de detalle.

Sponsorship and coronation

Russian tradition has considered various Marian icons as protectors of the nation, and Russian military piety linked the Virgin of Don to the defense of the country; however, no consta an official decree of canonical patronage verifiable. For being an icon of tradition orthodoxalso does not contain a canonical coronation according to the praxis of the Latin Catholic Church: no consta.

Party and devotion

The sources consulted do not safely require the date of the liturgical feast of this icon, so it is indicated no consta a verifiable date. On the devotional plane, the icon is linked to the fame of the Donskoi monastery as a place of prayer for Moscow and to the popular piety that invokes it as the protector of the city.

Link to the Rosary

The icon of Don belongs to the Orthodox traditionwhere Marian devotion is expressed above all by the veneration of the icons, the akathists and the hymns of the Byzantine rite, rather than by the Latin Rosary. No consta a specific historical link of this icon with the Rosary. Even so, Marian contemplation unites both traditions: the Catholic who venerates the Mother of God of the Don can integrate that devotion into the prayer of the Rosary, contemplating Mary as a protector of the people of God.