Icon of the Mother of God of the “Seven Arrows”

Commemorated on August 13

The "Seven Arrows" Icon of the Mother of God depicts the Virgin's heart pierced by seven arrows.

For a long time the icon was located at the belltower stairway entrance of a church near Vologda, Russia, in honor of the Apostle John the Theologian. Since it was face downwards, the icon was mistaken for an ordinary board and walked on.

A cripple in the city of Kadnikova then had a vision that he would receive healing after praying before this icon. A Molieben was served before the newly-discovered icon, after which the sick man became well.

The icon was glorified in 1830 during a cholera epidemic at Vologda.

By permission of the Orthodox Church in America (www.oca.org)