April 16
Unfading Flower, Moscow, Russia
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The Russian Orthodox churches honor the icon of the
Unfading Flower Mother of God on April 3 in the Julian liturgical
calendar, April 16 in the "new style" calendar. The oldest
example in Russia, destroyed after the Revolution, was in All Saints
Church in the Alexeyevskoye Convent in Moscow. The Virgin bowed her
uncovered head toward the barefoot Child, who held her shoulder with his
right hand and a scepter in his left; in the foreground was a spray of
flowers in a vase. The holy icon was thought to have originated in Mt.
Athos in Greece, or in Constantinople, but there are no Greek examples
with similar iconography, and the Greek Orthodox churches do not celebrate
the Mother of God under this title. The floral imagery in the icon recalls
passages in the ancient Akathist hymn:
It may also reflect influences from Renaissance and Baroque Western art, where Mary was often portrayed with flowers symbolizing purity and love. The example at left, by Tikhon Filatov, 1691, from the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Golutvinski Lane in Moscow, seems to recall the Alexeyevskoye version, but is more formal, with more regal symbolism and less intimacy between the subjects. (Information and picture from "Православная икона Богородицы НЕУВЯДАЕМЫЙ ЦВЕТ и ее католический прообраз," Католический форум "Гефсимания", katolikforum.ru/index.php?showtopic=429.) |
Also commemorated this date:
 | Virgen de Ujarrás, Cartago, Costa Rica. Fiesta celebrates repulse of pirate attack, 1666. |
| Madonna del Puglia, Gaietole, Collazzone, Umbria, Italy. Festa. |
| Maria Santissima della Consolazione, Paternopoli, Avellino, Campania, Italy |
| Our Lady of Altötting, Washington, D.C., USA. Replica of German Black Virgin presented at dedication of German Oratory in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 2005. |