The Bogoliubskyaya icon is one of the most ancient wonderworking icons in Russia, painted in memory of an appearance by the Mother of God to Prince Andrew Bogolubsky.
According to Orthodox tradition, in the year 1155 when Prince Andrew was moving from Vyshgorod (Ukraine) to the Suzdal Region (Russia), he took with him a miraculous icon of the Holy Theotokos and served molebens—a supplication prayer according to the Byzantine rite—in front of it every day. Seven miles from the city of Vladimir (east of Moscow), the horses carrying the icon suddenly stopped and refused to move forward. After praying, the prince retired to his tent where the Holy Mother appeared to him in a vision. She commanded the prince to place her icon in Vladimir and to build a temple and monastery on the site of this vision. This icon is thus referred to as the Vladimir Mother of God. Prince Andrew fulfilled her command and commissioned a new icon of his vision to be placed in the completed church.
In the Bogoliubskyaya icon, the Theotokos is seen in full stature with a scroll in her left hand, as recounted by the Prince. With her right hand, she gestures towards Jesus Christ who appears in an aureole in the upper right-hand corner. In this version of the icon, various saints appear at the foot of the Holy Mother. While numerous copies have since been made, the original icon gained fame by working several miracles. The faithful appealed to the mediation of the Mother of God and her holy icon, especially during plague epidemics. In 1771, as a result of praying before the Bogoliubskyaya icon, the city of Vladimir and its environs were believed to have been miraculously delivered from the plague.