False icon — an icon that is rejected in Orthodox circles. Probably, the icon was created and distributed without the blessing of the highest spiritual authorities. At the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2004, the Patriarch called on bishops “to pay attention to the restoration of the practice of evaluating unusual icons and related texts at the level of diocesan commissions, as well as withdrawing amateur icons from circulation.” He also noted “a growing number of cases of non-canonical creativity and the publication of literature related to such icons as “Resurrecting Russia” and “Giving Gifts” The Mother of God, as well as icons dedicated to Grigory Rasputin and Ivan the Terrible.”
