The history of Our Lady of Tender Mercy, or Virgin of Vladimir (Russian: Владимирская Икона Божией Матери) is intertwined with that of the Hodegetria; as some say it developed from the Smolensk Icon into the Panagia Eleousa (Virgin of Tender Mercy). Others say that Saint Luke painted three icons of the Theotokos, one being the Hodegetria and another being the Panagia Eleousa. Whatever the origin, many miracles are attributed to this icon, and Mary’s graces constantly pour onto those who pray her by this image...

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Oh ! I would like to sing, Mary, why I love you,
Why your sweet name thrills my heart,
And why the thought of your supreme greatness
Could not bring fear to my soul.
If I gazed on you in your sublime glory,
Surpassing the splendor of all the blessed,
I could not believe that I am your child.
O Mary, before you I would lower my eyes!...

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The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help also has a fascinating story. It too has been traced back to the portrait painted by Saint Luke. It also features the archangels Michael and Gabriel, and the infant Jesus sits on the same side of Mary as in the famous “Our Lady of the Way” icon. However, the angels hold the cross and nails, instruments of the passion of Christ, and Jesus is seen leaning into Mary. Mary's hands hold the child Jesus possessively and lovingly, because she is his Mother...

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In 1812, Napoleon enters Russia, with the intent to spread his revolutionary and freemason ideas. The tzar at the time, Alexander I, does not want these ideas penetrating Russia and leads his army into battle. Before one of the most important battles, the battle of Smolensk, the Russians invoked the ‘Hodigitria of Smolensk’ to come to their aid. On the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows, on August 5, 1812, the Russians carried a copy of the Icon with them to the camp. Before the battle, the Icon was taken around the camp to bless and strengthen the moral of the troops. The original Hodigitria, together with the Iveron and Vladimir Icons, were carried in procession through the streets of Moscow and to the sick and wounded in the Lefortovsky Court. General Kutusov is also said to have toured the Russian Army preceded by the Virgin of Smolensk, with Orthodox priests praying and sprinkling the faithful with holy water...

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In the middle of the 15th century, the Catholic Church was in great turmoil. In the midst of an equally tense political situation and the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the Pope opened the Council of Florence. In 1439, the Council attempted to reunite the Western and Eastern Christian Churches, however, the Eastern Church eventually rejected this attempt and declared that the Eastern Orthodox Christians were the one true church. This caused a deeper separation between both Churches and even led to armed conflict. At the time, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania comprised territory which is now part of Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Latvia, Moldova, Romania and Russia, and most importantly for us, included the town of Smolensk...

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The icon pursues its journey: In the fourteenth century, Smolensk fell into the hands of the Lithuanian princes. Sophia, the daughter of Prince Vitovt, is given in marriage to Moscow’s Great Prince Basil Dimitrievich and in 1398, she brings the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God with her to Moscow. The holy image is placed in the Annunciation Cathedral in the Kremlin, on the right side of the Royal Doors where it is venerated for more than fifty years...

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The Icon, sent by Luke to the “most excellent Theophilus” in Antioch, was first transferred to Jerusalem. During the fifth century the wife of Emperor Arcadius, Empress Eudoxia, donated the Icon as a gift to the sister of the Emperor, Pulcheria, who carried it to Constantinople where it was placed in the Church of the Holy Reliquary. Several centuries later, in 1046, Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos gave his daughter, Anna, in marriage to Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich...

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Our journey starts with what is probably the very first icon ever written: The Virgin Hodigitria, or Одигитрия, in Russian. "She who shows the Way" is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to Him as the source of salvation for mankind. This icon is also called “Our Lady of the Way” in the Western church.

According to tradition, this icon is said to have been painted by Saint Luke and was blessed by Our Lady who said: “My blessing will remain always with this Icon"...

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