Only on major Orthodox holidays, the icon of the Mother of God of Chełm is exhibited in the halls of the Museum of the Volyn Icon (a department of the Volyn Museum of Local Lore) (by the way, the Museum of the Volyn Icon is the only museum of this type in Ukraine). On September 15, 200, the shrine was transferred to the museum by the World Society of Chełm Residents. \nUntil recently, museum visitors could purchase only postcards with the image of the icon; or postcards on the reverse of which a brief history of it was placed (author Olena Romaniuk); or postcards with the image and text of prayers to the image of the Mother of God (translation into modern Ukrainian by Nataliia Pushkar), which were printed by the publishing house "Initsial". \nThe uniqueness of the monument — a Byzantine icon of the 11th–12th centuries — formed the social commission of the Department of Culture of the Volyn Regional State Administration for a separate publication, which coincided with the subsequent cooperation of the museum and the publishing house. As a result of joint efforts, the world saw a wonderful scholarly-popular essay "The Mother of God of Chełm. Return from Oblivion" — Lutsk, "Initsial", 2003. The author of the text is Olena Romaniuk, a research associate of the museum. The artistic design of the publication is by Viktor Fedosiuk, director of the publishing house; photos by Hryhorii Zablotskyi (Chełm, Poland), Anatolii Kvasiuk (Lutsk), Volodymyr Tsytovych (Kyiv), Viktor Chukhrai (Lutsk). \nThe essay by Olena Romaniuk, page by page, turns over the history of the existence, non-existence and return from oblivion of the "Faithful Guardian of the entire Ukrainian land," the "Faithful Guardian for the entire Ukrainian people," in the words of Metropolitan Ilarion (Professor Ivan Ohienko) — the icon of the Mother of God of Chełm with the Child. \nThe author's presentation of the history of the icon is in fact a presentation of the history of Ukraine, at the same time the history of Volyn — the Chełm region, one of its historical-cultural regions, or of a specific person, or of a pastor and his flock. Olena Romaniuk, who together with Anatolii Kvasiuk first introduced this icon into scholarly circulation, also gathered together evidence from written sources and visual material. Olena Romaniuk proved that the icon is that very sacred image, one of the four apostolic ones (known since the times of Kyivan Rus), for which Prince Danylo of Halych built a church in the city of Chełm. Part of the author's narrative is devoted to the various stages of restoration, which demonstrate the gradual disappearance of various layers and the revelation of the true image, thanks to the efforts of the restorer Anatolii Kvasiuk. \nThe success of the publication is undoubtedly promoted by its artistic design, found by V. Fedosiuk. The proportions of the publication approach the parameters of a Ukrainian liturgical book — both manuscript and printed. The placement on the upper cover of the most important fragment of the icon — the faces of the Mother of God and the Child — corresponds to the text of the first writer of the history of the Mother of God of Chełm, Bishop Yakiv Susha: "and as if alive, she looks not only into the Divine Eye, but also into the heart of the Son; and everyone who looks at Her, she wounds with her dove-like gaze." And thus an unconditional reaction of attracting attention arises, since when looking at an anthropomorphic image, the eyes always stop first of all on the face. The photo of the Museum of the Icon on the lower cover attests to the place of the icon's present location after long wanderings and hardships. \nFrom now on, every visitor of the Museum of the Volyn Icon, in the event of the absence of the icon of the Mother of God of Chełm from the exhibition (the icon continues to be in the process of restoration), is able to purchase a fascinating publication devoted to the shrine "restored from ashes," seemingly forever lost. \n \nOlena Ohnieva, \nCandidate of Historical Sciences \nfor www.invest-ua.com \n \n