Kursk, October 2, Interfax – During his visit to the Kursk region, President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev visited the Cathedral of the Sign where the wonderworking Kursk Root icon of Our Lady of the Sign, the major holy item of the Russian community outside Russia, was brought for worship.

The icon arrived in Russia on September 12 and was put in Christ the Savior Cathedral, and after that it was taken to Kursk where it will stay until October 2.

When visiting Cathedral, President Medvedev bowed to the wonderworking icon and met with the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, including its head Metropolitan Hilarion.

The Kursk Root icon of Our Lady of the Sign is one of the most ancient icons of the Russian Orthodox Church discovered in the 13th century during the Tatar invasion when Kursk was completely destroyed by Tatar hordes led by the Mongol Khan Batu.

In 1919, the icon was transferred abroad and was kept in Serbia and Germany for different periods of time, and in 1951 it was taken to the United States. Since 1957, the wonderworking icon is kept at the purpose-built Orthodox Cathedral of the Mother of God of the Sign, the main cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in New York City.