Case file · Apparition / miracle
The icon that crossed Lake Ladoga in the air
Tradition says that in 1383 fishermen on Lake Ladoga saw an icon of the Virgin moving through the air in a radiant light; it appeared at several places and finally came to rest by the Tikhvinka river, where the Tikhvin monastery was built.
1383 CE · 59.64, 33.51 · status: legend
The account
The Tikhvin icon became one of Russia's most venerated images. It was taken from the monastery by German troops in 1941, reached the United States via Riga, and was returned to Tikhvin in 2004 under an agreement with the family of the bishop who had kept it.
The sceptical view
A foundation legend written down long after 1383.