Icon of Mother of God "The Grower of the Crops"

 

It was with the blessing of St. Amvrosy, a monk of the Optina Hermitage of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin in the Temple (d. 1891), that this icon was given its name and a feast day was instituted in its honor. The great Starets was canonized at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on June 6, 1988, and on October 16, 1988, Ik Saint's relics were uncovered. The icon was invented in ihe late 19th century and has since wrought a great many miracles and delivered numerous believers from death from starvation. It depicts the Mother of God standing on clouds with Her arms outstretched over a lush grain field. The symbolic meaning of the picture is help bestowed by the Most Holy Theotokos upon people in their labors aimed at winning their daily bread-Feast day: October 15/28.