The icon of the Mother of God of the Unburnt Bush is an ancient one that is widely venerated in Russia, and is popularly believed to offer protection against fire. Its significance, however, is far deeper and more expansive, and this beautiful, complex, yet unified icon is in fact a theological reflection on the position of the Mother of God in the economy of salvation.

According to legend, the icon was thought to have originated at the Monastery of Saint Catherine, in the Sinai Desert, one of the oldest extant Christian monasteries, where its prototype was depicted on the stone of the rock where God appeared to Moses from the mysterious burning bush (Exodus 3: 1-15). Its feast day is celebrated on September 4, together with the memory of the prophet Moses.