Archbishop Konstantin of Tikhvin consecrated the icon on Saturday.
"There is an ambiguity in the fact that such an icon has appeared," said Yevgeny Bronsky, the press secretary of Feofan, the Bishop of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz. "On the other hand, who has the heart to say that children who died in Beslan are not martyrs?"
"Even the best people, even those who suffered, who were very pious and saint, are not depicted on icons unless they are canonized," said priest Mikhail Dudko, secretary on church-society interaction of the Moscow Patriarchate.
However, this does not mean that people who were not canonized may not be saints.
"The circle of saints is much wider than the circle of canonized people. But as there was no canonization, such a painting cannot be considered an icon," he said.
The image will become the first shrine of the new Orthodox church, to be built in Beslan toward the tragedy's first anniversary. For the time being, the icon will be kept in the Alansky Assumption Monastery, which is not far from the Beslan school.
Meanwhile, Yaroslavl residents are also going to create an icon devoted to the Beslan tragedy.
"When the faces of saved children were shown on TV, my heart started to ache," said Andrei Shumikhin, the head of the Yaroslavl icon-painting crew.
He believes that painting this icon is a serious and responsible step and intends to consult a priest and ask him for blessing.
Shumikhin's workshop has for several years painted icons dedicated to the tragic events in Chechnya, and the Kursk nuclear submarine death.
