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Hello, can someone confirm what I figured out about this icon?
It should be Moskow 1860, assayer Ivan Vasilyevich Avdeyev and silversmith Mikhail Dimitriyev....is that correct?
If there's someone russian or familiar with cyrillic alphabet, I would very much appreciate your help to dechiper the upper left and right inscriptions...
Thank you very much!

You have found the answer. The old Russian text states Sergia (Sergius of Rodonezh, or ?) and Vedenia (?). Sergius is a saint (Monastery in Moscow). Speculations only... Let's hope somebody is able to tell more about them

A minor correction. The monastery is not in Moscow but close.

Thank you for your kind reply!
I found a very similar icon depicting the apparition of the Mother of God to St. Sergius of Radonezh. He is on the right, while the Virgin stands in front of him. Behind her there are St. Peter and St. John (or Paul?).
So I'm quite sure that my icon depicts the same scene. The only thing that leaves me doubts is the name on the upper right corner...Vedenia... I cannot find the meaning of it.
Hope someone can explain!
However, thank you Qrt.s!!!!!

My knowledge of Russian is very limited but an online dictionary gives a word ве́дение (vedenie) which means authority, conducting. Another possibility could be that the second to last letter isn't "i" (especially when compared to "i" in "sergia") but ж (zh) although I couldn't find any word matching it. And one has to take account that the letters could actually be Church Slavonic instead of standard Cyrillic (for example I is apparently used for "i" in Church Slavonic but normally "i" would be и). But maybe it could just mean something like Sergius is conducting.

Hi,
From left to right:
Apostle Peter, Apostle John, Mother of God,Monk Sergius

“Apparitions of Our Lady to Sergius of Radonezh”
(Явление Богоматери Сергию Радонежскому)
The iconography of the “Apparitions of Our Lady to Sergius of Radonezh” was based on the text of the Life of the Monk Sergius,Epiphanius the Wise, compiler of the first edition of his Life. He tells that on Friday of the Christmas fast after the prayer of Our Lady, the Monk Sergius addressed his disciple Mikhey with the words: “Child, be vigilant and awake, because the vision is wonderful and terrible for us this hour” . Then a voice rang out: “Behold the Most Holy One is coming!” Sergius hurried to leave the cell and saw the Mother of God accompanied by the apostles Peter and John. The reverend fell prostrate, and Mikhey covered his face with his hands, unable to withstand the radiance emanating from the Virgin. The Mother of God, turning to Sergius, promised never to leave the Trinity Monastery with her care.

Regards

Nice doing AG2012, but unfortunately it doesn't explain the word "vedenia".
As to Church Slavonic, there are so many variations of it, old and older...etc...not to talk about the Cyrillic letters in general. Unfortunately I couldn't either find anything matching this "I" in "vedenia"...or whatever it is. I've also checked with a Russian friend, but with poor result. Anyway, I believe Olimpia has got a fairly good explanation of what the icon express.

I searched for other icons of the same subject to find more information regarding "vedenia" and I found one where it was spelled differently. It seems to be виде́ние (videnie) - vision, sight, apparition, phantom - which would make perfect sense as it's the name of the icon Apparitions of Our Lady to Sergius of Radonezh.

Hi,
The same scene is often described in shorter version as Сергиево видение.The word is derived from видеть (to see),meaning apparition or vision.
Inscription in the icon Bидение Сергiа actually has the same meaning but in another case (genitive), showing possession.Compared with English it would be Sergei`s vision and Vision of Sergei.
Google for Сергиево видение

Regards

Thank you all guys! You are amazing!!! Everything is now clear and all my doubts have been satisfied!
Have a nice day...wherever you are ;-)
Olimpia