Celebration: February 10
The city of Totma, located in the Vologda province, has a connection with St. Theodosius, known as Totemsky due to his exploits in the XVI century. Local residents of Totma treated this holy elder with respect and gave him support. When the Monk Theodosius decided to establish a monastery, they appealed to Tsar John the Terrible to allow him to build a monastery in their city. Their prayer was answered: in 1554, Archbishop Nikander of Rostov gave St. Theodosius a charter for the construction of the church and provided everything necessary for its consecration. The abbot of the Spaso-Prilutsky monastery also blessed the holy elder, giving him an icon of the Mother of God as a sign of the successful start of the new monastery. This holy icon confused the path of the holy elder to Totma. After the death of St. Theodosius, the miraculous icon was kept in a kiosk in front of the shrine in the Ascension Church of the monastery. In 1919, the Saviour-Sumorinsky Monastery was closed, and the icon disappeared, and the relics of St. Theodosius were seized by the authorities and transferred to the Vologda Museum. But since 1998, the relics were returned and are located in the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Totma, as the Saviour-Sumorinsky Monastery is in disrepair. On May 10, 2002, the holy icon returned to Totma. On this day, in the Church of the Nativity of Christ, the restored Totem icon was consecrated. A description of this event is given in the local newspaper: “The recreated icon was painted in one of the authoritative icon painting schools under the Moscow Patriarchate under the leadership of Ekaterina Ilyinskaya. The original source was the image of St. Theodosius on the icon’s porter. The people involved in the restoration adhered to all the canons of Orthodox iconography. The Totem-Sumorinsky icon of the Mother of God, recreated, was presented to the city of Totma forever thanks to Svetlana and Natalia Guzeev” (Uyezd News, May 23, 2002). This miraculous image of the Mother of God, sometimes called both the Totem and Sumorin icon, is known for its miracles. The wonderworking Totem-Sumorinskaya icon attracts many believers. Thanks to her, St. Theodosius is the one who helps the sick and brings them spiritual comfort. The celebration of the Totem Icon of the Mother of God takes place on January 28 and also on June 29.
