Miraculous events are illustrated in icons such as the Mother of God Tikhvinskaya where the Virgin and Child are shown held by two angels floating in the sky over three fishermen in a boat. In the icon of the Mother of God of Bogolyubskaya, the Virgin appears to Grand Prince Andrey in 1157 as he approaches the city of Vladimir, commanding him to build a church at the site of his vision.

A retablo ex-voto— “the promise of,” “the miracle of,” “the vow made,”—is an object offered in gratitude for a heavenly received grace. These are small tin plates depicting scenes of distress with supplicant(s) praying to divine mediator(s) floating on the upper sections of the images. Below, textboxes describe the miracles including names of mediators, petitioners, persons in distress, locations, and dates. The supplicants make a vow to commission paintings celebrating the miraculous events and offer them as a testimony at pilgrimage sites.