We thank everyone for their love for the Most Holy Theotokos!

Once upon a time, at the very beginning of the restoration of our convent, the abbess and several sisters came to the elder proto-priest Nikolay Guryanov, bringing him a small booklet about the convent which had the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God on it. As soon as he saw the icon, he beamed with joy and exclaimed with a kind of childlike love and amazement as if he saw a miracle: "The Mother of God!" He loved the Most Holy Theotokos very much; he could never pass by Her icon in a church. He would always pause, bow with awe, and venerate it.

The childlike, sincere love for the Most Holy Theotokos is the feeling that every Christian has. She is our common Mother. And this is especially felt on the feasts of the Theotokos. In those days, we come to Her as children to address Her in prayer, to venerate Her icon, to feel Her love. This year, as always, the feast of the Tikhvin icon was filled with consolation and joy. Thousands of people – hierarchs and priests, monastics and laity, adults and children, people from Ekaterinburg, out-of-town and out-of-country guests – all were sharing the same feeling...

Our hierarch, the metropolitan of Ekaterinburg and Verkhoturye Kirill, in his homily after the festive service, said that the fest of the Tikhvin icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is the common feast for all the Orthodox people of Ekaterinburg. If the days commemorating the Royal family gather together the Orthodox from the entire world, then the day of the Tikhvin icon is the feast for all the Orthodox of Ekaterinburg. It could be called the Orthodox day of the city.

This year, the feast was being celebrated not only in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos but also in honor of the equal-to-the-apostles prince Vladimir. This year the millennial anniversary since his repose is celebrated, and so the people of Ekaterinburg celebrated both feasts on one day. Hymnology in honor of the holy prince followed the troparia to the Theotokos; his icon was carried along with the Tikhvin icon at the cross procession, and this felt as amazing harmony. St. prince Vladimir loved the Most Holy Theotokos, and he built the first church in Her honor. Following his example, the Russian people loved the Mother of God.

With great inspiration actors and musicians participating in the theatric-musical production "The Saga about the Saint Prince Vladimir" narrated about the love and faith of the holy prince.

Dear brothers and sisters, we congratulate you on the feast of the Tikhvin icon! May the Most Holy Theotokos preserve you through Her prayers!