Theotokos of Tikhvin

The Theotokos of Tikhvin (Russian: Тихвинская икона Божией Матери) is one of the most celebrated Orthodox Christian icons.

According to tradition, in the 5th century, the icon was transferred from Jerusalem to Constantinople, where a church was built specially for it.

This matches a further tradition that the icon miraculously appeared, hovering over a lake, in Russia near Tikhvin in 1383.

In 1941, during World War II, for a month Tikhvin was occupied by German troops, who looted the monastery and, in particular, took the icon to Pskov, and in 1944 transferred it to Riga.

The icon eventually was taken to the United States for safety by the former Latvian Orthodox Church Bishop of Riga - John Garklāvs.