| Summary: | The History was written in Moscow in 1558/1559, as a compilation of the accounts of Hilandar monks who visited the Russian court, seeking charity and aid for the monastery, and describes the miracles that took place through the icons of Hilandar. The majority of miracles occurred during processions in the monastery and its vicinity, but there were some that happened before certain icons arrived in the Serbian monastery on Mount Athos. The latter deserve special attention, since they provide great help in shedding light on the place of origin, appearance and on the time when those icons arrived in the monastery, as is the case with the once deeply revered processional icon of the Theotokos Avramiotissa with the Prophet Elijah on the reverse side and, especially, the Theotokos Tricheirousa. The History confirms information from other sources, about this icon having been made in Skopje, and proves that the icon arrived in the monastery on the eve of the fall of Skopje to the Turks in 1392. It also describes its appearance - the Theotokos Hodegetria with the third arm painted below the one with which the Mother of God held the infant. As the earliest testimony about the existence of the cult of the Theotokos Tricheirousa in Hilandar, the text written in Moscow clearly singles out the initial story from the multitude of subsequent legends that have been told about it. The icon no longer exists and was replaced in the third quarter of the 18th century with the icon that is nowadays honoured as the Tricheirousa. Two more processional icons from the Hilandar katholikon can reliably be recognised in the text of the History the Theotokos Popska and Saint George, whereas for the others, some of which certainly no longer exist, this text does not provide sufficient data to identify them. Besides icons, the History also describes the most precious relics connected with the passion of Christ and other valuable works of art which are kept in the monastery in the present day, such as the crystal cross with the blood of Christ, a cross made of the Holy Wood on which Christ was crucified, a well-known Venetian diptych or the lavishly decorated Greek evangeliarion No. 105. In the mid-16th century, these objects were believed to have been brought by the founder of the monastery, Saint Sava, from his travels, as gifts to the monastery. Listed at the end of this interesting text are the gifts which Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible and the members of his family presented to the monks of Hilandar during their earlier visits to the Russian court.
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