Icon of the Mother of God of Sven

Commemorated on August 17 (also commemorated on May 3)

The Sven Icon of the Mother of God of the Caves has two festal celebrations: May 3 (the day of the repose of St Theodosius of the Caves), and August 17 (the day of the repose of St. Alypius), who wrote the icon.

The August 17 celebration was established in 1815 in thanksgiving for the deliverance of the city of Briansk (around which the icon appeared in 1288) from invasion during the 1812 Napoleonic War.

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