The history of the Vladimir Icon is connected with its arrival in Russia from Byzantium in the XII century as a gift to the Kievan Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich. During the campaign of 1164 against the Volga Bulgars, the Vladimir icon accompanied Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky. After the victory, the priest Nicholas (Mikula) walked around the city with the shrine, which helped stop the rebellion and looting. Later, thanks to prayers before this icon, the princes of Vladimir were able to preserve their independence. Later, at the end of the XIV century, with the arrival of Moscow, the Vladimir icon acquired a new meaning. In 1395, Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich, fearing the advance of Tamerlane, went to Vladimir for the icon. On August 26, 1395, the day the icon was brought to Moscow and a prayer service was held in front of it, Tamerlane unexpectedly retreated, and the Sretensky Monastery was founded in honor of this meeting. The final transfer of the Vladimir Icon from Vladimir to Moscow took place after the liberation of Russia from the Mongol-Tatar yoke in 1480. The importance of the icon continued to strengthen over time. John the Terrible prayed in front of it before and after military campaigns, and Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich Romanov held a prayer service in front of the icon in 1645 during his wedding. In 1812, on the day of the Battle of Borodino, a religious procession was organized with Vladimir and other icons in the center of Moscow. And in 1883, on the day of the consecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Vladimir Icon led a solemn procession from the Assumption Cathedral to the new church.
