The Mother of God “The Joy of All Who Sorrow”

-

In 1688, a sister of the Patriarch—the head of the Russian church—was reportedly cured from a wound in front of an icon from Moscow’s Transfiguration Church. Soon, thousands of pilgrims began to visit the church to pray to the wonder-working image. The iconography of “The Joy of All Who Sorrow” is unique in that it does not follow a prescribed pattern, but allows for variations in the rendering of the image.  In this icon, the Mother of God is surrounded by biblical characters, angels, archangels, and depicted on the bottom row are petitioners who are seeking relief from their afflictions.