Sermon by Archimandrite Hesychius (Klypy), delivered on September 8, 2014.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”- says our Lord Jesus in His Holy Gospel. And we, Orthodox Christians, must, first of all, seek the Kingdom of Heaven, study the commandments of God, try to fulfill them in our lives, ask for God's help and the grace of the Holy Spirit for this saving procession into the Kingdom of Heaven.

But we often, due to our sinful weakness, due to our enthusiasm for universal worldly pleasures, various pleasures, forget about this main goal our Christian life- about acquiring the Holy Spirit, about the journey into the Kingdom of Heaven. And being carried away by this or that pleasure, we spend most of our lives in negligence, forgetting the Commandments of God and walking along the narrow path.

And the Lord, knowing that such is our condition and such our life will lead to the fact that we, due to the attraction of our sinfulness, will not be worthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but will end up in eternal torment He, wanting to correct us and turn us away from this temporary and vain life, first sends us good thoughts. These good thoughts represent to us the short duration of this life, the vanity of those goods that we are chasing. After all, many people, although they put all their desire to acquire either wealth, or fame, or other earthly honors and benefits, but even in this temporary life, often due to illness, or relaxation, or because of imprisonment, or any other external circumstances, they were unable to take advantage of all these benefits that they strived for and wanted to acquire. And in any case, death inevitably takes away from us everything that we strived for and wanted to acquire.

The Lord, wanting to show us this vanity, first gives us these thoughts. But a person often does not pay attention to these thoughts, does not look at other people who have suffered such a “shipwreck”, but, nevertheless, begins to continue to strive to acquire earthly pleasures. Then the Lord sends small sorrows and temptations to a person so that they shake off his mind and direct him in the right direction, but often this does not affect him. And then the Lord, in His mercy, wishing to correct us so that we would not perish for eternal life, is already sending some kind of national disaster.

All this happens not for the reason that the Lord wants to torment us or humiliate us in any way, but He wants us not to cling to this temporary earthly life. We must remember the words of Christ that even two small birds that are sold for a small coin do not fall to the ground without the will of the Heavenly Father, remember that all the hairs that are on our heads are numbered. We don’t know how many hairs we have on our heads, and we’ve never even thought about how many there are, but the Lord provides for even this little.

Moreover, no more significant events occur without His will or without His permission when we need to be corrected. And we see that our pious ancestors, during these public disasters, remembered all these words of Christ, began to sincerely repent and correct their sinful lives. And people live a sinful life not only in our time, but also in those ancient times, although outwardly, perhaps, then there were not so many conveniences and various sinful pleasures that exist now. But, nevertheless, you can forget about your purpose, that we are Christians, at any time, and get carried away by this earthly and vain life.

And our ancestors, encountering national disasters, immediately remembered these words of Christ, sincerely uttered the words of prayer that “we have sinned, committed lawlessness, and acted unrighteously, O Lord, before You,” and that everything that befell us did not happen due to any reason. either external circumstances, or the hatred of certain peoples, but all this happened precisely because main reason- because of our sinful and unrepentant life.

And when they, with such a contrite heart, turned to the intercession of the saints of God, the sorrowful of the Russian land - Sergius of Radonezh and others, to the intercession of the Mother of God, they often saw a wondrous and extraordinary intercession. And on this holiday we remember the great help of the Mother of God, which in 1395 She showed over Holy Russia.

At this time, the huge hordes of Tamerlane, who with his troops came from Mongolia, and, having passed through all the lands Central Asia, having ruined all the states that were on his way, approached the Russian land. He reached the city of Yelets and stopped there, executed many Orthodox Christians, and stayed there for two weeks. At this time, Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich, the son of Dmitry Ioannovich Donskoy, together with his spiritual father, Metropolitan Cyprian, remembered the miraculous original painted icon of the Mother of God - Vladimir, which was, by its name, in the city of Vladimir. And they wanted this miraculous icon to be transferred to their capital - to the city of Moscow, in order to encourage the Russian army, who were in despondency, and all the inhabitants who were in the capital of Holy Rus'.

With prayer singing, the chosen people went from both the Tsar and the Metropolitan to the city of Vladimir, raised miraculous icon and then, with a procession of the cross, with many prayers, the icon was transferred. All residents of the city of Moscow came out to meet the miraculous icon. And knowing about the enormous strength of Tamerlane’s warriors, that it was impossible for the then devastated Russian land to resist them, knowing about the cruelty of Tamerlane, when he built entire pyramids from the severed heads of people in one or another captured city, they with great cry and tenderness They fell with their hearts to the icon of the Mother of God and asked Her intercession.

And the Queen of Heaven did not disgrace their sincere repentance of sins, their appeal to Her Mother’s protection. She herself appeared in a dream vision to this formidable conqueror, the Moscow saints walked ahead of her, holding golden staffs in their hands, and she, standing on top high mountain, was surrounded by the Heavenly Host. The Heavenly Host threatened this invader, and the Mother of God, raising Her hands to heaven, prayed to Her Son for the intercession of the Russian land, and showed Tamerlane with signs to leave Her borders.

When he woke up, all his bones were shaking, and he was in the greatest confusion and horror. Calling together his advisors and military leaders, he told them about this vision. And they said to him: “That Woman whom you saw is undoubtedly the Mother Christian God, Who intends to protect Her land." To this Tamerlane replied: “If She sends even one of those luminous youths whom I saw on the mountain surrounding Her, then he will defeat us all, and there will not even be a place on earth where we could escape.” And then all this huge army from the city of Yelets, without moving further, rose from its place and went to Asia Minor, to the territory of modern Turkey, where it ruined many states, and plunged many peoples and people into the greatest sorrow.

Even without this vision, the Mother of God could have simply brought fear and terror to this formidable army, and they would have abandoned their weapons, booty and captives and fled from our land. But the Queen of Heaven wished that we, in the vanity of our minds, would not attribute all this to any natural events, or the fear of this army, or what they heard about any rumors, or anything else, but Herself, having appeared to the terrible conqueror, wanted us to know the real reason, according to which the Russian land was spared from this terrible disaster in those days.

And we, brothers and sisters, looking at this intercession of the Mother of God, when not one person, but the entire land of Svyatorusskaya was delivered, we will try in our time with a sincere heart, with contrition for our sinful and uncorrected life, to pray to the Queen of Heaven. She has the same great boldness as in those days before Her Son, Creator and Creator. In the hands of Her Son are all destinies: both of an individual person and of each state. And therefore, He, looking at the state of people, what they strive for, how they relate to His holy and saving commandments, controls all these states and the destinies of each person.

Therefore, we will not give up and become discouraged, but following the example of our pious ancestors, who always intensified their prayer during public disasters, attacks and circumstances, we, imitating them, will cry out to the Queen of Heaven: “Queen of Heaven, save the land of Svyatorus, and cover us with Your honorable cover”. Amen.

26.08.1395 (8.09). - Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God

Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in the history of Russia

The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is the greatest shrine of our Church and our people. It was written by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior dined with the Most Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, seeing this image, said: “From now on, all generations will bless Me. May the grace of the One born of Me and Mine be with this icon.” The image is a little more than one meter high, about 70 cm wide. The frame on it is gold, ancient Greek work, sprinkled precious stones, high price; 12 Lord's holidays are minted on its margins.

In 1131, the icon was sent to Rus' from the holy prince Mstislav (†1132, commemorated April 15) and was placed in the Maiden Monastery of Vyshgorod, an ancient appanage city. The son brought the icon to Vladimir in 1155 and placed it in the famous Assumption Cathedral that he erected. From that time on, the icon received the name Vladimirskaya. In 1395 the icon was first brought to. Thus, with the blessing of the Mother of God, the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus' were sealed - through Kyiv, Vladimir and Moscow.

The celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs several times a year (May 21, June 23, August 26). The most solemn celebration takes place on August 26, established in honor of the meeting of the Vladimir icon when it was transferred from Vladimir to Moscow for intercession against the invasion of Tamerlane (Timur).

In 1395, the ferocious Khan Tamerlane entered Russia, horrifying the people. Having ravaged the Ryazan land and heading towards Moscow, he approached the banks of the Don. He went out with his army to Kolomna and stopped on the banks of the Oka. He also prayed for the deliverance of the Fatherland and wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow, St. Cyprian, so that the upcoming Dormition Fast would be devoted to fervent prayers for pardon and repentance.

Muscovites, frightened by rumors about the countless forces of Tamerlane, prayed earnestly for deliverance from the invasion of foreigners and fasted; The Metropolitan almost never left the church. The Grand Duke, not relying on his own strength, asked to send St. Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. After the liturgy and prayer service in Vladimir, the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the clergy accepted the icon and carried it to Moscow with a procession of the cross. Countless people on both sides of the road, on their knees, prayed: “Mother of God, save the Russian land!”

Chroniclers testified that at the very hour when the residents of Moscow met the icon on Kuchkovo Field, Tamerlane was dozing in his tent. Suddenly he saw in a dream great mountain, from the top of which saints with golden rods walked towards him, and above them the Majestic Woman appeared in a radiant radiance. She ordered him to leave the borders of Russia.

Waking up in awe, Tamerlane asked about the meaning of the vision. Those who knew answered that the radiant Woman is the Mother of God, the great Protector of Christians. Then Tamerlane gave the order to his regiments to go back. In memory of the miraculous deliverance of the Russian land from Tamerlane, the Sretensky Monastery was built on Kuchkovo Field, where the icon was met, and on August 26, an all-Russian celebration was established in honor of the meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Subsequently, the Vladimir Icon more than once demonstrated its intercession to the Russian people in various disasters and wars. The miraculous icon proved to be the savior of the capital both in 1408 () and in 1451, when Tsarevich Mazovsha approached Moscow with a huge army of the Nogai Khan. The Tatars had already set fire to the suburbs of Moscow and were happy that they would have many prisoners and gold.

A recently published textbook for universities reports that in 1451 Moscow “was not captured by a miracle.” True, by what miracle, he does not specify. And the chronicles describe how during the fire he made religious processions along the walls of the city, and Moscow soldiers and militia fought with the Tatars until night, expecting a new attack the next day. But in the morning there were no enemies under the walls. The chronicler says that they heard an extraordinary noise and “imagined that it was the Grand Duke coming at them with his army.” The Grand Duke himself, whose army was small and stood far away, after the departure of the Tatars, as legend says, wept before the Vladimir Icon... The Russian people also attributed this victory to the intercession of the Mother of God.

Included in the chronicle of miracles from the Vladimir icon. When he tore up the khan's basma and refused to pay tribute to the Horde, in 1480 the hordes of Khan Akhmat rushed to Moscow. Having reached the Ugra River (between the Tula and Kaluga regions), the khan's army concentrated in anticipation of a favorable moment for an attack. Russian troops lined up on the opposite bank of the Ugra. In the front rows, the soldiers held the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God.

There were isolated skirmishes, there was a small battle in the lower reaches, but the main parts of both troops - both Russian and Tatar - still occupied their positions on different banks. The parties waited long and tensely for the decisive battle; but none of the opponents wanted to attack first, crossing the river. The Russians moved away from the river a little, giving the Tatars the opportunity to begin crossing, but the Tatars also began to retreat. The Russian army stopped, but the Tatar army continued to move away. And suddenly the formidable Horde horsemen rushed away without looking back, panicking and as if trembling with fear, although no one attacked them, no one pursued them. Russian soldiers interpreted this event as a clear expression of the new patronage of the Lady Heavenly Earth Russian. Grateful compatriots after standing on the Ugra called this place “the belt of the Mother of God.” “Let the frivolous not boast of the fear of their weapons,” the chronicler wrote. - No! It is not weapons and not human wisdom, but the Lord has now saved Russia.”

In 1521, the holy icon defended Moscow from the invasion of Muhammad-Girey.

After the revolution, the miraculous icon painted by St. by the Apostle Luke, was placed in, now it is in a temple specially opened for her on the territory of the gallery. On great patronal holidays, the shrine appears in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.

It is impossible not to note the reaction of the shrine to the recent historical event in the fall of 1993 – . These days, the Vladimir Icon was brought from the Tretyakov Gallery to the Epiphany Cathedral in the Kremlin. On the eve of the shooting of parliament, on October 3, Patriarch Alexy II, in the presence of Mayor Luzhkov and other Yeltsinists, participants in the coup, “knelt before the icon for the salvation of Russia.” As Alexy II later wrote about this in the preface to the book about the negotiations of the parties in this coup d’etat, “Orthodox Muscovites prayed in Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral in front of the great shrine of the Russian land - the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. More than once in the history of Russia, through prayers before this icon, our country received from the Mother of God deliverance from war dangers and other great disasters. I am convinced that this time, despite the tragedy, Rus' was saved by the Most Pure Virgin” (“The Quiet Negotiations”, M., 1993). After the prayer service, a noticeable deterioration in the condition of the miraculous icon was discovered, and after the shooting of the parliament that resisted the “reforms” of Yeltsin-Gaidar-Chubais, the plunder and destruction of Russia began in full swing...

Yes, yes, thank you

This was the time, these were the people...
I just want to cry about the former spiritual greatness of Rus'.

Quite recently, it seemed, in Prechistensky Cathedral Festive services were held, led by Archbishop Innocent of Vilna and Lithuania, dedicated to the holiday Dormition of the Mother of God. Where all the believers, together with the clergy, prayed to the Mother of God, the intercessor of the Christian race.

And, today is September 8th Church calendar The Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated; the festival was established in memory of the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of Tamerlane in 1395. It was on the Feast of the Assumption that she appeared Vladimir icon The Mother of God told Tamerlane in a dream to leave the Russian land.
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, according to Church Tradition and the faith of our glorious ancestors, was written by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior ate with the Most Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph.
The Mother of God, seeing this image, said: “From now on, all generations will bless Me. May the grace of the One born of Me and Mine be with this icon.”

In 1131, the icon was sent to Rus' from Constantinople to Saint Mstislav and was placed in the Maiden Monastery of Vyshgorod - the ancient appanage city of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga.
The son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Saint Andrei Bogolyubsky, brought the icon to Vladimir in 1155 and placed it in the famous Assumption Cathedral, which he erected. From that time on, the icon received the name Vladimir. In 1395, the icon was brought to Moscow for the first time. Thus, with the blessing of the Mother of God, the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus' were sealed.

In 1395, the terrible conqueror Khan Tamerlane reached the borders of Ryazan, took the city of Yelets and, heading towards Moscow, approached the banks of the Don. Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich went with his army to Kolomna and stopped on the banks of the Oka. He prayed to the saints of Moscow and St. Sergius about the deliverance of the Fatherland and wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow, Saint Cyprian, so that the upcoming Dormition Fast would be devoted to fervent prayers for pardon and repentance. The clergy were sent to Vladimir, where the famous miraculous icon was located. After the liturgy and prayer service on the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the clergy accepted the icon and carried it to Moscow with a procession of the cross. Countless people on both sides of the road, on their knees, prayed: “Mother of God, save the Russian land!” At the very hour when the residents of Moscow greeted the icon on Kuchkovo Field, Tamerlane was dozing in his tent. Suddenly he saw in a dream a great mountain, from the top of which saints with golden rods were coming towards him, and above them a majestic Woman appeared in a radiant radiance. She ordered him to leave the borders of Russia. Waking up in awe, Tamerlane asked about the meaning of the vision. Those who knew answered that the radiant Woman is the Mother of God, the great Protector of Christians. Then Tamerlane gave the order to the regiments to go back. In memory of the miraculous deliverance of the Russian land from Tamerlane, the Sretensky Monastery was built on Kuchkovo Field, where the icon was greeted by Muscovites.

Thus, the intercession of the Mother of God saved Rus' from the invasion of Tamerlane, and thereby showed that whoever approaches the Mother of God with piety and prayer will fulfill Her words: “Rejoice, I will be with you all the days,” once spoken to the apostles on the third day , after His glorious Dormition.
And, as if as a pledge of Her invisible presence, She gave the Orthodox human race many tens, hundreds and thousands of Her holy, celibate and miraculous icons. Through them She conveys Her Motherly mercy to everyone who with faith, reverence and love falls before these holy icons, consoles, encourages, heals, helps to carry the cross of life to everyone who is looking for their own earthly path heavenly reinforcements.

Troparion, tone 4
Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God
Today the most glorious city of Moscow brightly flaunts, / as if we have received the dawn of the sun, O Lady, / Your miraculous icon, / to which we now flow and pray. We cry to you: / oh, wonderful Lady Theotokos! / Pray from You to the incarnate Christ our God, / that he may deliver this city, / and all Christian cities and countries unharmed from all the slander of the enemy, / and save our souls, as he is the Merciful.

Kontakion, tone 8
To the chosen victorious Voivode, having been delivered from the evil ones by the coming of Your venerable image, to the Lady Theotokos we brightly celebrate the celebration of Your meeting and usually call You: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.

More than once miraculously preserved Russian army from inevitable defeats. In 1395, Tamerlane with hordes of Tatars entered Russian soil and was approaching Moscow. The number of his troops was many times greater than the Russian squads, their strength and experience were incomparable. The only hope remained in chance and God's help. Then the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich sent to Vladimir for the miraculous icon. The journey with the Vladimir Icon from Vladimir to Moscow continued for ten days, people stood on the sides of the road on their knees with the prayer “Mother of God, save the Russian land.”In Moscow, the icon was met on August 26: “The whole city came out against the icon to meet it”... At the hour of the meeting of the icon, Tamerlane was sleeping in a tent. The legend says that at that moment he saw in a dream a high mountain, from which saints with golden rods descended to him. Above them in the air, in the radiance of bright rays, stood the “radiant Woman.” Countless darkness of angels with swords surrounded her. In the morning Tamerlane called the wise men. “You won’t be able to deal with them, Tamerlane, this is the Mother of God, the intercessor of the Russians,” the fortune tellers said to the invincible khan. “And Tamerlane fled, driven by the power of the Most Holy Virgin”...

Grateful for their liberation, the Russians built the Sretensky Monastery at the meeting place of the icon. After 235 years in Vladimir, the icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir moved to Moscow and was installed in the cathedral built in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.And less than a century had passed, in 1480 the Khan of the Golden Horde, Akhmet, marched on Moscow. He had already reached the Ugra River. The Grand Duke of Moscow John III was waiting for the khan on the other side of the river. Chroniclers write that unexpectedly and without any reason, the Tatars were attacked by animal fear of an inexplicable nature. He paralyzed and physical strength, and the will of the Tatars. Khan Akhmet was unable to cope with the demoralized army and was forced to retreat... In memory of this event, until 1917, an annual ceremony was held in Moscow on June 23 procession with the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God from the Assumption Cathedral to the Sretensky Monastery.

Russian princes and tsars prayed in front of this icon when going on campaigns. When electing Moscow metropolitans, andsubsequently the patriarchs and the chosen lots were placed in the shroud of this icon. Before her, the noblest people of Moscow took the oath of allegiance to their sovereigns.

In 1547 there was a strong fire in the Moscow Kremlin. They were going to take out the miraculous icon: several of the strongest and bravest men were sent to remove it and take it to a safe place outside the Kremlin. But no force could move the shrine from its place. According to eyewitnesses, at that moment a vision of a “luminous Woman overshadowing the temple” appeared in the sky above the Assumption Cathedral... Soon the fire subsided. Among the ashes stood the Assumption Cathedral, untouched by fire.

Since then, the Holy Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God has always been in the Kremlin Assumption Cathedral. Before her, kings were anointed to the kingdom and high priests were elected. IN Soviet time the icon was placed in Tretyakov Gallery Fortunately, it was not lost like many Orthodox shrines during the years of persecution of the Church.

In September 1999, one of the main Orthodox shrines Russia - the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God - was transferred to the Church of St. Nicholas at the Tretyakov Gallery. There it is stored to this day under bulletproof glass, and special devices support special treatment temperature and humidity...

...A simple nun prayed with tears next to the holy fathers. Then, as if having come to her senses, she rushed to the people, telling about what she saw and heard that night. The rumor spread throughout the Kremlin and Posad, people ran to the cathedral to spend long hours standing in fervent prayer before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God...

What happened next is described by chroniclers dryly and sparingly, because there are no explanations for what happened, there are no versions and “earthly” assumptions. The combined Tatar troops, many times superior in strength and number, retreated. Chroniclers say that on the morning of May 21 (June 3), 1521, the Tatars saw “countless Russian troops” on the other side of the Oka and reported this to the khan with horror. Khan did not believe it and sent the most faithful people to make sure to intelligence. The messengers actually saw a large army and said: “King, why are you delaying? Let’s run quickly, an immense number of troops are coming towards us from Moscow.” The cruel, powerful Makhmet-Girey retreated. Shocked Muscovites praised the Mother of God and served thanksgiving prayers in front of her miraculous Vladimir Icon.

Three times a year, a festival is held in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in gratitude for Her triple deliverance of our fatherland from enemies: June 3 new. old/May 21 old style, July 6 new Art./June 23 Art. Art., September 8 new. Art./August 26 Art. Art. But there are many more miracles associated with this icon and worthy of celebration.

The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted Evangelist Luke on the board from the table at which the Savior dined with the Most Pure Mother and the righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, seeing this image, said: “From now on, all generations will bless Me. May the grace of the One born of Me and Mine be with this icon.”

In 1131, the icon was sent to Rus' from Constantinople to the holy prince Mstislav and was placed in the Maiden Monastery of Vyshgorod, near Kyiv, where she immediately became famous for her many miracles.

Son Yuri Dolgoruky saint Andrey Bogolyubsky in 1155 he brought the icon to Vladimir and installed it in the Assumption Cathedral, hence the name Vladimir icon. By order of Andrei, the icon was decorated with an expensive frame. After the murder of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1176, Prince Yaropolk Rostislavich removed the expensive clothing from the icon, and it ended up with Gleb Ryazansky. Only after the victory of the prince Mikhail, younger brother Andrey, over Yaropolk, Gleb returned the icon and frame to Vladimir. When Vladimir was captured by the Tatars in 1237, the Assumption Cathedral was plundered, and the frame of the icon of the Mother of God was torn off. Subsequently, it is known about the restoration of the Assumption Cathedral and the renewal of the icon by the prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich.

The further history of the holy image is entirely connected with Moscow, where it was first brought in 1395 during the invasion of the Khan Tamerlane. The conqueror with an army invaded the borders of Ryazan, captured and ruined it and headed his way to Moscow, devastating and destroying everything around. While the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich gathered troops and sent them to Kolomna, in Moscow itself Metropolitan Cyprian blessed the population for fasting and prayerful repentance. On mutual advice, Vasily Dmitrievich and Metropolitan Cyprian decided to resort to spiritual weapons and transfer the miraculous icon of the Most Pure Mother of God from Vladimir to Moscow.

For more than ten days they carried the icon in their hands from Vladimir to Moscow. People knelt on both sides of the path and prayed to the Holy Image: “Mother of God, save the Russian land!”

The meeting place (or “candlemas”) of the icon in Moscow is immortalized Sretensky Monastery, which was erected in honor of this event, and the street was named Sretenka.

Tamerlane had a dream that Christian saints descended from the top of a high mountain, holding rods of gold in their hands, and a Majestic Woman appeared above them and told him to leave Rus' alone. Tamerlane woke up in alarm and sent for dream interpreters, who explained to the khan that the radiant Woman was the image of the Mother of God, the protector of all Christians. Having stopped his campaign, Tamerlane left Rus'.

In memory of the miraculous deliverance of Rus' from the invasion of Tamerlane, a solemn ceremony was established on the day of the meeting in Moscow of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God on August 26 / September 8 religious holiday Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.

In 1480, the icon was installed in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, on the left side of the Royal Doors of the iconostasis. A chasuble of Greek workmanship on an icon from pure gold with precious stones. In Vladimir there remains an exact list of the icon, written by the venerable Andrey Rublev.

In 1918, the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin was closed, the icon was removed from the cathedral for restoration, and in 1926 it was transferred to the State historical Museum. In 1930 it was transferred to the State Tretyakov Gallery. Since September 1999 it has been in the Church-Museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi at the Tretyakov Gallery.

Iconography

The icon of the Vladimir Mother of God belongs to the “Caressing” type, also known as “Eleusa” - “Merciful”, “Tenderness”, “Glycophilus” - “Sweet Kiss”. This is the most touching of all types of iconography of the Virgin Mary, revealing the intimate side of the Virgin Mary’s communication with Her Son. The image of the Mother of God caressing the Child, his deep humanity turned out to be especially close to Russian painting.

Leonid Bulanov, Chairman of the Cyprus Branch of the IOPS