Kazan icon Mother of God- a miraculous icon of the Mother of God revered by Orthodox Christians. Read about all the details of its appearance in the article.

Kazan Icon of the Mother of God: history, miracles, prayers

July 21 is the day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

1579 White mercilessly scorching sun, dust in a column on the roads of Kazan. Dust and ashes from a recent fire - a terrible fire burned here a week ago. It started near the Church of St. Nicholas and spread to the Kazan Kremlin. For long hours the glow blazed, women were wailing, children were crying - but how will it spread to the houses, what will happen?! And many laughed maliciously - where was your God that the church burned down? Apparently all your priests are lying - it was so blazing. And what do you say to this? And it’s true that many in those days doubted their faith - maybe God didn’t like the fact that they were turning to Christ from Islam? “The Faith of Christ,” says the chronicler, “has become a byword and a reproach”...

In that fire, many families were left homeless, but there was nothing to do, no one would return what was burned, and they had to build soon - in time for winter. The archer Daniil Onuchin, among other fire victims, was in a hurry to complete the construction. Daniel had a daughter, Matrona. Parental sorrows were less understandable to her - for children even a fire is quite funny - so much remains after - where the glass is beautiful, where the pebble is unprecedented. Only in the evening, when you go to bed, do you remember that after the fire everything is different, unusual.

One night Matryosha woke up from something unprecedented - the Mother of God Herself, the Most Holy Theotokos, appeared to her in a dream. And she didn’t just appear, but commanded to get Her icon out of the ground. It shone with a bright light - and the girl woke up. You still have dreams and visions, you imagine everything, all your miracles are endless - the skeptic reading these lines will say. And it will anticipate our story, because this is exactly how the family answered nine-year-old Matryosha. “Dreams are sometimes from God, but visions are only for saints, so sleep better“Don’t attach any importance,” the parents said. And they were right. But that dream was still a vision, because it was repeated a second time and on the third night. Then the parents decided to check the girl’s words.

Matryosha and her mother went to the place where, as the girl remembered from the dream, the icon should have been located. We started digging. Even deeper, even more - is it really her! And indeed - an icon Holy Mother of God. They cleared it of dust and earth... But how did it end up there? Apparently, long ago the secret confessors of Christianity in the camp of other faiths hid the icon of the Queen of Heaven in this way. The news of the miraculous discovery of the icon flew faster than the fastest bird, and now the priests of the surrounding churches are rushing to this wondrous place; Archbishop Jeremiah, reverently accepting the icon, solemnly transfers it to the church of St. Nicholas, from where, after a prayer service, he was transferred with a procession to the Annunciation Cathedral - the first Orthodox church in the city of Kazan, erected by Ivan the Terrible. It immediately became clear that the icon was miraculous - already during the religious procession, two Kazan blind men regained their sight. We even know their names: Joseph and Nikita.

And those who just a few days ago mocked the Orthodox faith, embarrassedly hurried to the icon - with requests - Queen of Heaven, help, enlighten, heal!

These miracles were the first in a long list of miracles and healings. The story of the discovery of the icon so impressed Tsar Ivan the Terrible that he ordered the construction of the Kazan Cathedral and the founding of a convent. There, after some time, Matrona and her mother took monastic vows.

The image of the Kazan Most Holy Theotokos is similar in type to the icons of Hodegetria - the Guide, and indeed, she more than once pointed out to many of our compatriots Right way. So, with the Kazan Icon, the militia moved to Moscow, liberating the city from the impostors of the Time of Troubles. In the besieged Kremlin at that time, Archbishop Arseny of Elasson (later Archbishop of Suzdal; † 1626; April 13), who had arrived from Greece and was seriously ill from shocks and experiences, was in captivity. At night, Saint Arseny’s cell suddenly illuminated with Divine light, he saw St. Sergius of Radonezh (July 5 and September 25), who said: “Arseny, our prayers have been heard; through the intercession of the Mother of God, God’s judgment on the Fatherland was transferred to mercy; Tomorrow Moscow will be in the hands of the besiegers and Russia will be saved.” The next day Kitay-Gorod was liberated, and 2 days later the Kremlin.

The Kazan Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow is one of the most famous Moscow churches, built in 1636. The liberator icon was moved there, and now the image is kept in the Epiphany Cathedral.

Before the Battle of Poltava, Peter the Great and his army prayed before the icon of the Kazan Mother of God (from the village of Kaplunovka). In 1812, the Kazan image of the Mother of God overshadowed Russian soldiers who repelled the French invasion. On the feast of the Kazan Icon on October 22, 1812, Russian troops led by Miloradovich and Platov defeated Davout’s rearguard. This was the first major defeat of the French after leaving Moscow; the enemy lost 7 thousand people. That day snow fell, severe frosts began, and the army of the conqueror of Europe began to melt.

The icon showed the way not only to statesmen and squads - according to good tradition, it is this icon that is used to bless young parents for marriage; a long list of miracles is accompanied by this image of the Mother of God - one of the most beloved in Rus'.

Troparion to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, tone 4

O zealous intercessor, / Mother of the Lord Most High, / pray for all Thy Son Christ our God, / and cause all to be saved, seeking refuge in Thy sovereign protection. / Intercede for all of us, O Lady Queen and Lady, / who are in adversity and in sorrow, and in illness, burdened with many sins, / standing and praying to You with a tender soul and a contrite heart, / before Your most pure image with tears, / and having irrevocable hope on Thee, / deliverance from all evils, / grant useful things to everyone / and save everything, Virgin Mary: // For You are the Divine Protection of Your servant.

Kontakion to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, tone 8

Let us come, people, to this quiet and good refuge, / the quick Helper, the ready and warm salvation, the protection of the Virgin. / Let us hasten to prayer and strive for repentance: / for the Most Pure Mother of God exudes boundless mercies to us, / advances to our aid, and delivers from great troubles and evils, // her well-behaved and God-fearing servants.

Prayer before the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

O Most Holy Lady Lady Theotokos! With fear, faith and love, falling before Thy honorable icon, we pray to Thee: do not turn Thy face away from those who come running to You, beg, O Merciful Mother, Thy Son and our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to keep our country peaceful, and to establish His holy church May he preserve the unshakable from unbelief, heresies and schism. There are no imams of any other help, no imams of other hope, except You, Most Pure Virgin: You are the All-Powerful Helper and Intercessor of Christians. Deliver all who pray to You with faith from the falls of sin, from slander. evil people, from all temptations, sorrows, troubles and from vain death; Grant us the spirit of contrition, humility of heart, purity of thoughts, correction of sinful lives and the remission of sins, so that we all praise Thy greatness with gratitude, let us be worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom and there with all the saints we will glorify the Most Honorable and Magnificent Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

21 July. Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

This icon appeared in 1579, shortly after the capture of the Kazan kingdom from the Tatars by Ivan the Terrible. The Most Holy Theotokos revealed her miraculous icon here in order to further confirm in it the newly converted from the local residents; those who did not believe will no longer be favored Christian faith. She Herself appeared in a dream to one pious maiden named Matrona, the daughter of an archer who was burned during a terrible fire in Kazan, and ordered that the archbishop and the mayor be informed to take Her icon from the ground, and at the same time indicated the very place. The girl told her mother about her dream, but she explained it as an ordinary childhood dream. The dream repeated itself twice more.

For the third time, by miraculous force, Matrona was thrown out of the window into the courtyard, where she saw an icon on which such menacing rays emanated from the face of the Mother of God that she was afraid of being burned by them, and a voice came from the icon: “If you do not fulfill my command, then I will appear in another place, and you will perish.” After this, mother and daughter went to Archbishop Jeremiah and the mayor, but they did not believe them. Then on July 8, in deep grief, both of them, in the presence of the people, went to the indicated place. The mother and the people began to dig the ground, but the icon was not found.

But as soon as Matrona herself began to dig, the icon was found. It was wrapped in a piece of cloth and shone with a wonderful light, as if it were completely new, just written. It is believed that the icon was buried even before the conquest of Kazan, by one of the Christians who hid their faith from the haters of the faith, the Mohammedans. The rumor about the appearance of the icon spread throughout the city, many people flocked, and the archbishop, in the presence of the mayors, carried the icon with a procession to the nearest church of St. Nicholas, and from there to the Annunciation Cathedral. When the icon followed to the temple, many sick people, especially the blind, received healing.

One might think that this primary purpose of blindness served as a sign that the holy icon appeared to enlighten with spiritual light those darkened by the blindness of Mohammedan false teaching. The copy of the icon was sent to Moscow, and Tsar John Vasilyevich ordered the construction of a church and a nunnery on the site of the appearance of the icon. The first nun and then abbess in the monastery was the maiden Matrona. In 1768, Empress Catherine II, listening to the liturgy in the monastery, decorated the crown of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God with a diamond crown.

November 4. Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

Source: http://www.icon-art.ru/373/Alfavit.html

In 1611, in winter, St. The miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was sent back to Kazan, but on the way there, in Yaroslavl, it was met by a militia from Nizhny Novgorod, assembled by Minin, over whom Prince Pozharsky took charge and who, having learned about the miracles performed by the icon in Moscow, took it with him and constantly prayed before her, asking the zealous Heavenly Intercessor of the Christian race to send them help. The Most Holy Theotokos showed Her mercy, took the faithful sons of the fatherland under Her Protection, and with Her help Russia was saved from her enemies. The militia that arrived in Moscow with Prince Pozharsky met many insurmountable obstacles. human strength obstacles, namely: it was necessary to take a well-fortified city and stubbornly defended by the Poles, to repel the fresh, numerous Polish army that had approached Moscow, to pacify the willfulness and riot of the Russian troops, who met the arriving militia almost with hatred and showed them only enmity and treason. In addition, the lack of food in the devastated area and the lack of weapons caused a strong decline in courage in the arriving army. And many of the faithful sons of the fatherland, losing their last spark of hope, exclaimed in deep sorrow: “Forgive me, freedom of the fatherland! Sorry, sacred Kremlin! We have done everything for your release; but it is clear that God is not pleased to bless our weapons with victory!”

Deciding on the last attempt to free our dear fatherland from enemies, but not hoping for own strength, the entire army and people turned in prayer to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother, establishing a special solemn prayer service for this and strictly observing a three-day fast. God heard the prayerful cry of those who cared for the fatherland and the inviolability of the Orthodox Church and showed them His mercy. Being in grave captivity among the Poles, in the Moscow Kremlin occupied by them, who came to Russia with the Greek Metropolitan Jeremiah, the sick Archbishop of Elasson Arseny appeared in a dream, the Monk Sergius appeared in a dream and announced that, through the prayers of the Mother of God and the great wonderworkers of Moscow Peter, Alexy, Jonah and Philip The Lord, the very next day, will overthrow the enemies and return saved Russia to her sons, and to ensure the fulfillment of his words, he granted healing to Arseny. Encouraged by the joyful news, the Russian soldiers called on the Queen of Heaven for help and courageously approached Moscow and - on October 22, 1612, they liberated Kitay-Gorod, and two days later they took the Kremlin itself. The Poles fled. The next day, Sunday, the Russian army and all the residents of Moscow, in gratitude for their deliverance from their enemies, made a solemn religious procession to the Place of Execution, carrying the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, sacred banners and other Moscow shrines. This spiritual procession was met from the Kremlin by Archbishop Arseny with the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which he had preserved in captivity. Seeing this icon, the soldiers and people bowed their knees and with tears of joy kissed the holy image of their Intercessor.

In memory of such a miraculous deliverance of Moscow from the Poles, with the permission of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich and the blessing of his father, Metropolitan, later Patriarch Philaret, the Church established annually on October 22nd in Moscow the celebration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God with a procession of the cross. First, the procession took place at the Church of the Presentation of the Mother of God, on Lubyanka, where the house of Prince Pozharsky was located, and after the construction of a new church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, built at the expense of Prince Pozharsky (which is now the Kazan Cathedral, on Resurrection Square), the procession took place is already taking place in the cathedral. The miraculous icon that was with him in the ranks of the army was also transferred there by Prince Pozharsky himself.

Tobolsk Icon of the Mother of God

This miraculous icon is located in Tobolsk in the cathedral. She appeared in 1661. This year, on July 8th in Tobolsk, in the Znamensky Monastery, on the day of the celebration of the Kazan Icon, at Matins, when Hierodeacon Ioannikiy read the legend about the appearance of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in Kazan and reached the place where it is said that the Archbishop of Kazan did not believe before appearance of the icon, then in front of all the people he prayed to the Most Pure Lady for forgiveness of his sin, he suddenly fell unconscious on the floor along with the lectern.

When he came to his senses, he immediately asked for a confessor and revealed the following to him: “On June 21st, after Matins, I came to my cell and fell asleep. Suddenly I see a saint coming to me in full vestments, like John Chrysostom; I considered him to be Metropolitan Philip. The saint said to me: “Get up and tell the archimandrite, the governor and all the people, so that not far from the Church of the Three Hierarchs in the city they build a church in the name of the Kazan Mother of God, they would build it in three days, and on the fourth they would consecrate and bring into it the image of the Mother of God of Kazan - that the one that now stands in the porch of this Church of the Three Hierarchs in a closet, facing the wall. Tell this image to be celebrated in the city. Because of your sins, I am angry with you, you use foul language and fill the air with your foul language, like a stench: it is a stench to both God and people; but our Lady, with all the saints, prayed to His Son Christ our God for your city and for all the people, so that He would turn away His righteous anger.” But I, getting up from sleep, was amazed, and didn’t say anything to anyone. A little later, when I was in my cell and began to write irmos: Adorned with divine glory, suddenly the same saint came to me and graciously said to me: “Why didn’t you tell what was said to you from the Most Holy Theotokos through me, Her minister? - and he disappeared. I fell to the ground out of fear, glorified God, but was afraid to talk about the vision so that there would not be confusion among the people, and for fear that they would not believe me. A few days later, during my sleep, the saint appeared to me again and said with anger: “Why didn’t you say what was commanded to you? Because of your neglect, the wrath of God will come upon your city for your sins. Your bread is rotting and your water is drowning - get up quickly and tell the archimandrite, the governor and all the people; If you don’t say it, you’ll soon lose your life. If the townspeople obey, then the mercy of God will be in your city and its surroundings; If they don’t listen, then it will be hard for your city: your cattle will die, the rain will destroy your houses, and you will all disappear like worms, and the image of the Mother of God will be glorified in another place.”

But I didn’t tell anyone about this third phenomenon either, and on July 6th, when after evening singing I came to my cell, went to bed, I fell into a light sleep and heard the wonderful ringing of two bells in the monastery and the singing of extraordinary voices: Let us exalt Thee, the Immaculate Mother of our God. One of the singers told me: “Because you did not say what was commanded to you, tomorrow you will be punished before all the people.” And so, when at Matins I began to read about the appearance of the miraculous image of the Mother of God in Kazan, I saw that the saint who had appeared to me before was coming from the porch and blessing the people on both sides; Having come to the meal, also blessing people, he came up to me and said: “You read this and why don’t you believe it yourself? That image was in the ground, and this one stands in the porch facing the wall; why didn’t you tell about him?” And he, shaking his hand at me, said: “From now on, be decrepit until the divine deed is accomplished.” Having said this, he became invisible, and I fell to the ground out of fear and now I’m telling you.” The people, having learned about the miraculous phenomena, glorified the mercy of the Most Holy Theotokos with tears, and everyone with zeal and a procession of the cross carried the icon to the place where it was indicated to build the Church, and the church was built in three days and consecrated on the fourth. Before the construction of the church, the Narrator notes, there were torrential rains and the water rose in the rivers, as if in spring, and when they began to build the church, there was a bucket; breads and vegetables have since recovered.

Kaplunovskaya-Kazan icon. This icon is located in the village of Kaplunovka, Kharkov diocese. Appeared in 1689 as follows. To the priest of this village, who was distinguished by his especially pious life, John Umanov, someone, an old man adorned with gray hair, appeared in a dream and told him that icon painters would soon come to him from Moscow with icons and that he should buy for himself the eighth from a bunch of icons from the oldest of them in years. account, the Kazan Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “From her you will receive grace and mercy,” added the elder. The priest did so, but before doing this he strictly fasted. Soon a new vision followed in a dream to priest Umanov: the Most Holy Theotokos herself appeared and ordered the icon to be placed in the church. The priest reported his vision to the people and triumphantly transferred the icon to the church, and from that time miracles began to be performed from the icon. The icon was called Kaplunovskaya. In 1709, when Emperor Peter the Great was at war with the Swedish king Charles XII, he summoned a priest with the Kaplunovskaya icon to his army in Kharkov and ordered it to be carried before the regiments, while he himself prayed with tears to the Queen of Heaven for help. Meanwhile, King Charles, stopping with his army near Kaplunovka, settled with the traitor Hetman Mazepa in the house of the priest John. Then some of his violent warriors wanted to burn the church. They covered it with straw and wood, but no matter how hard they tried to set it on fire, neither the wood nor the straw caught fire. Having learned about such a miracle and also that St. The icon is in the Russian camp, Karl told Mazepa: “If they could not light the church without the icon, then where it is located will be unreliable for us.” This is exactly what happened. The Battle of Poltava brought Great Peter victory over Charles. There is a miraculous Kaplunovskaya icon in the settlement of Kozeevka, 80 versts from Kharkov.

Nizhnelomovskaya-Kazan icon. This icon appeared in 1643 at a spring two miles from the city of Nizhny Loma, Penza province. At the site of her appearance, a chapel was first erected, and then a church and a monastery.

Karpov-Kazan icon. This icon is located in the Kursk Zibichensky Monastery. It was brought here in 1725 from the Karpov Desert.

Katashin-Kazan icon. This icon appeared in 1622 in a grove near the village of Bely Kolodezya, Chernigov province, to the local priest and was placed by him in the village church. In 1692 it was established here monastery, called Katashinsky.

Ascension-Kazan icon. It is located in the Ascension Convent in Moscow, in the Kremlin. She first became famous in 1689. Twice it was in danger of burning, but was miraculously preserved. This year, after a prayer service in front of this icon, they forgot to put out the candle, the candle fell, and it burned the lectern on which the icon lay, and the icon itself, despite the fact that it was painted on canvas, remained completely unharmed. Another time, when in 1701, on June 19, there was a fire in the Moscow Kremlin and the royal palace and Ascension Monastery burned down, the icon was miraculously preserved. When they took out the utensils and icons from the cathedral monastery church, they did not take it out, but meanwhile it ended up with other icons that were taken out; when, after the fire was over, they began to bring things into the cathedral, they saw that the icon was already in its place, although no one had brought it in. And there were many miraculous healings from this icon.

Pavlovsk-Kazan icon. This icon is located in the village of Pavlovskoye, Moscow province, Zvenigorod district. She appeared on a tree near the village where a chapel was built in memory of the apparition; Inside the chapel there is a well, popularly called holy. The first miracle from the icon was the following. One of the peasants of the village of Pavlovskoye fell into a severe illness from an intemperate life. At this time, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in a dream to another pious peasant and ordered him to tell the sick man to pray to Her for healing and go to the holy well to wash. Then he would give up his intemperate life, otherwise he might perish. The patient with great effort went to the well, washed himself and completely recovered.

Irkutsk-Kazan icon. It is located in Irkutsk in the Epiphany Cathedral and became famous for many miracles. Every year in April or May, after sowing spring grain, it is carried with a religious procession through neighboring rural peasant fields to consecrate the crops. This religious procession has long been established on the occasion of frequent grain harvest failures in the surrounding villages of the city of Irkutsk.

Kargopol-Kazan icon. This miraculous icon is located in the city of Kargopol, Olonets diocese, in the Church of the Ascension. She became famous in 1714. The icon was in the house of the pious widow Martha Ponomareva, who once, while praying before the icon, saw a tear flowing from the right eye of the Most Holy Theotokos, and in fear reported this to the priest. The icon was transferred to the church, and here twice in a short time, in the sight of everyone, streams of tears appeared from the eyes of the Mother of God, which was reported to the then Metropolitan Job of Novgorod.

Yaroslavl-Kazan icon. This icon is located in Yaroslavl in the Kazan convent. The story of her glorification is as follows. In 1588, on July 2, a certain pious man named Gerasim, while he was in Kazan, had a miraculous vision of the Mother of God Herself, and after that, when he wished to purchase Her icon for himself, in a dream he heard a voice indicating where and what icon to buy, and then go to the city of Romanov and tell the residents there to build a temple in the name of the icon. Gerasim found the icon and just took it in his hands when right hand he, who had been ill for a long time, was healed. The temple was built in Romanov, and the icon stood there until 1604, when Romanov was taken by the Lithuanians. At this time, one of them took a miraculous icon from the church and took it with him to Yaroslavl. Here the Mother of God Herself appeared to a certain deacon Eleazar and commanded to build a temple in Her honor. A temple was erected, and then a monastery was attached to it. The inhabitants of Romanov wanted to return the miraculous icon to themselves, but the citizens of Yaroslavl asked Tsar Vasily Ioannovich to leave it in their city, and the tsar, on the advice of Patriarch Hermogenes, approved the desire of the latter with a letter on his behalf, but so that they would make an accurate list of the miraculous icons for Romanov. And the miraculous icon itself is carried every year from Yaroslavl to Romanov.

Kazan, located in the Moscow Simonov Monastery. This icon was donated to the monastery by those who received it for a blessing from Bishop Tikhon of Voronezh. On its sides are depicted St. Tikhon, the angel of the saint, and Martha, the angel of the saint’s sister, Martha. She first became famous for the healing of a maiden, the wanderer Natalia, to whom an icon appeared three times in a dream, but she did not know where to find it. Finally, the Hieroschemamonk of the Simonov Monastery, Alexy, appeared to her in a dream with the image itself and said that the icon stood in the monastery in the cathedral church on the right side. The icon was found and the sick woman, after praying before it, received healing. Subsequently, a special chapel was built in her honor and for her at the cathedral monastery church. There were many miracles from the icon.

Kazanskaya, located in the Vyshenskaya Hermitage. This icon was brought from Moscow to the Tambov Ascension Convent in 1812 by the nun Miropiya, who, on the occasion of the ruin of the capital, moved there. The pious old woman heard a voice from the icon three times in reality, commanding it to be transferred to the Vyshenskaya hermitage, and after her death, according to her will, the icon was transferred. In addition to many healings from the icon, the Vyshensky monks sometimes at night saw a bright light spilling from it throughout the church.

Kazan, located in the Vysochinsky Kazan Monastery. The monastery was named after the icon, and the icon after the village of Vysochino, where it became famous for its miracles. The icon appeared in early XVII I century, during the reign of Emperor Peter I. The village of Vysochino did not yet exist, but there was a state-owned pine forest here. On the banks of the swampy Mzhi River, which flowed through a forest and surrounded by swamps, a watchman and his family lived in a hut. The icon appeared to this watchman standing on a marshy hummock. Light rays emanated from the icon. The watchman, with reverence and prayer, took it and placed it in his hut with icons on a shelf. Here the icon soon marked itself with a sun-like radiance emanating from it and at the same time with the healing of a blind and lame old man, the watchman’s father. Then they took the icon to the nearest church in the village of Artyukhovka, but the icon returned three times to the watchman’s hut. The people, having learned about the revealed icon, began to come in large numbers to worship it, and many received healing and consolation. Then the centurion Vysochin, to whom the emperor, for his services during the Battle of Poltava, gave the land with a forest - a forest, where a miraculous icon stood in the watchman's hut, built a village here, which was named after his surname, Vysochino, and from the village of Artyukhovka he moved a church here, where and the miraculous icon was delivered. Subsequently, a monastery was built here. And in the monastery there were many miracles from the icon.

Kazan, located in the Tambov Cathedral. This icon is richly decorated. Her first miracle was in 1695, on December 6, during an all-night vigil, tears that wetted the shroud and lectern.

Kazan, located in the Temnikovsky Transfiguration Cathedral. It was in the pantry among unusable utensils. The icon appeared three times to a lady who suffered from pain in her legs, and promised healing if she found her. The patient demanded that she be taken to the Temnikov Cathedral. As soon as she saw the icon in the storeroom, she immediately felt relief and, after prayer, was completely healed.

Kazanskaya, located in the city of Vyazniki. The young woman stands in the cathedral church. This icon marked itself with miracles at the beginning of the 17th century.

Kazan, located in Suzdal. It stands in the parish Church of the Resurrection. This icon, as a result of the appearance of the Mother of God herself, was painted by one pious monk of the Shartom Nikolaev monastery, Joachim, who lived in XVII century. A monk lived near the Kazan Church in a hut, where he was buried.

“Miracle-working icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Their history and images,” compiled by Archpriest I. Bukharev. Moscow, “Caravel”, 1994. Published according to the publication: Miraculous Icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Their History and Images). Compiled by Archpriest I. Bukharev. Moscow, Typo-Lithography G.I. Prostakova, Balchug, village of Simonov Monastery. 1901

At the Kazan Mother of God
The eternal gaze is wonderfully bright,
Wives, daughters and mothers
They stand in front of her with a prayer.
S. M. Gorodetsky

The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God enjoys unprecedented veneration in Russia. Usually, it is this icon that is used to bless young people for their crown; it is this icon that is hung near children’s cribs, so that the gentle face of the Mother of God looks with love at young Christians.

Nowadays, in Moscow on Red Square, the Kazan Cathedral, dedicated to this icon, stands again, destroyed in the mid-1930s and revived today according to drawings preserved by the remarkable restorer Pyotr Dmitrievich Baranovsky. Again, a few steps from the Resurrection Gate and not far from the monument to citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky who saved Rus', prayers are offered before the face of the Kazan Icon.

The Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg, in which the ashes of Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov, who defended Russia two centuries later, was also returned to the Church.

The Kazan Icon is an unshakable reminder of the mercy of the Mother of God to the Russian land, of Her intercession for our country in the most difficult years for Russia.

In 1552, the day after the capture of Kazan by the army of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, by royal command a cathedral was founded in the name of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a year later the Kazan diocese was established and the first Kazan ruler, St. Gury, was sent. But more than a quarter of a century later, in 1579, a terrible fire devastated half of the Kazan Kremlin and the adjacent part of the city. And the Mohammedans began to say that it was the Russian God who was unmerciful to people and showed His anger against them by fire. “The Faith of Christ,” the chronicler noted, “has become a byword and a reproach.” It was then that the Lord showed His mercy. The Mother of God appeared in a dream to a nine-year-old girl, the Streltsy daughter Matryona, and ordered her to look for Her icon in the ashes of a burnt house. They didn’t believe the girl for a long time, but on July 8 (old style), tired of fruitless visits to the city authorities, Matryona’s mother herself took a spade and found it at the place indicated by the Tsarina Heavenly place an icon wrapped in an old sleeve of men's clothing made of cherry cloth. The face of the Most Pure One was bright and clear, as if the icon had just been painted.

The image was solemnly transferred to the parish church of St. Nicholas of Tula, the rector of which was then a pious priest, the future Patriarch Hermogenes, who died at the hands of the Poles for his loyalty to Orthodoxy and was canonized. The future saint compiled a detailed account of the miracles of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered to build a convent for forty nuns at the site where the icon was found; the young woman Matryona and her mother were the first to take monastic vows in the new monastery. In 1594, the extensive Kazan Cathedral was founded here. Abundant contributions of utensils, images, and vestments were made to the monastery; The miraculous was surrounded by royal gifts - gold, precious stones, pearls. Two centuries later, Empress Catherine II presented Kazan with a new chasuble, the main decoration of which was a diamond crown, taken off by the earthly ruler for the sake of the Queen of Heaven. In 1798, a new vast cathedral was founded for Kazan, and in 1808 it was consecrated, which was destroyed along with the entire Bogoroditsky Monastery already in the 1930s. But by that time the icon was no longer here.

By Divine Providence, the appearance of the Kazan Icon under Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich marked the beginning of Russia’s centuries-long advance to the east. Through the window to Asia opened by the capture of Kazan, Orthodoxy enlightened all of Siberia and reached, together with the Russian state, to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. It was as if this entire movement had a special blessing from the Most Pure One through Her Kazan Icon.

On the night of June 29, 1904, several sacrilege-robbers, led by a certain V.A. Stoyan-Chaikin, climbed into the cathedral, attracted by the precious decorations of the chasuble. When the blasphemers were caught, neither the robe nor the miraculous image itself was with them anymore. The main robber assured more than once that they sawed the robe and sold it to jewelers, and threw the icon into the stove to check whether it was really miraculous. It happened in the house of the merchant Shevlyagin in the Academicheskaya Slobodka of Kazan. A long-term investigation and comparison of the contradictory testimonies of the sacrileges did not lead to anything.

They said that the icon was actually bought by Shevlyagin, who after the revolution went to England and sold it there into private hands. In the 1960s, the Kazan icon in a precious robe actually appeared in the West. This image turned out to be a masterfully executed copy already in the 20th century; but the robe on him, judging by all the evidence, is genuine - the same one that was on the miraculous woman who disappeared in 1904. Orthodox Americans tried to buy this image; it was even exhibited for a prayer service in Boston Orthodox church, where thousands of people saw him, but failed to raise funds. As a result, this Kazan, together with the chasuble decorating it, was purchased in 1970 by Catholics, was kept for a long time in the Portuguese city of Fatima, and since 1982 has been in the Vatican.

But if so, if the original robe was not sawn, then the first miraculous image of Kazan could have been preserved, which thousands of Orthodox people believed and continue to believe. Who knows what Chaikin was thinking about as he slowly faded away in solitary confinement in Shlisselburg for many years, what he lied about and what he told the truth about? It is difficult to imagine a crime more terrible than the burning in the oven of an image to which myriads of pilgrims had fallen for centuries, to which the most fervent prayers of all Russia were addressed...

Something else is known for certain. All the time while the image of Kazan was adorned in the cathedral of the Bogoroditsky Monastery, nothing threatened Russia from the east. And as soon as the Intercessor disappeared, the country suffered defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, which became one of the first blows that over the next twelve years shook and destroyed great empire. But any troubled times end by the grace of God. That turmoil is over, the current one will end, and, perhaps, the miraculous one will return to us. When the pious Rurik dynasty came to an end, an interregnum began, accompanied by violence, theft of the treasury, the collapse of statehood and many other troubles. And when, trusting in the Lord and the prayers of His Mother, the Russian people undertook to save Russia, the zemstvo army carried with them a copy of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. On October 22, 1612, the Orthodox army entered the Moscow Kremlin, and this day is also dedicated to the Kazan Icon.

Frightened by the militia of Minin and Pozharsky, the Poles fled from Moscow. On the very first Sunday, the zemstvo army and all the inhabitants of the capital made a solemn religious procession to the Place of Execution with the Kazan Icon, whose miraculous power they saw with their own eyes.

It was for her that the Kazan Cathedral was built on Red Square. In size, the Moscow Kazan is noticeably smaller than the image that was in Kazan. When in 1930 the cathedral on Red Square, which had just been restored by P. D. Baranovsky at the expense of parishioners, was closed (it would be destroyed in 1936), this Kazanskaya was moved to what became cathedral city ​​of Moscow, the Church of the Epiphany in Dorogomilov, near the Kievsky railway station (after the desecration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior by heretics-renovationists). But by the end of the 1930s it was closed and demolished, after which traces of this Kazan were lost in museum storerooms. And when after the Great Patriotic War patriarchal cathedral When the Epiphany Church in Elokhov was also built, pious Christians brought there another list from Kazan, which remains there to this day. Tradition says that he, too, accompanied the militia of 1612, but it was not the miraculous image from the cathedral on Red Square. Therefore, when this cathedral was recreated, the image of Kazanskaya was re-painted for it by master restorers of the Grabar Center. And the words of the people’s prayer do not fall silent before him...

Undoubtedly, the fate of the third most recent discovery of the miraculous image of Kazan - the St. Petersburg one - was providential. It appeared in the northern capital in the 1710s and was most likely brought to the banks of the Neva by the pious Tsarina Paraskeva Fedorovna, the widow of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich. Already in the 1730s, the St. Petersburg Kazan Church repeatedly performed various miracles and became the most cherished and beloved shrine of the city of St. Peter. Since 1737, she stayed in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Nevsky Prospekt; by 1811, a new Kazan Cathedral was built in its place. A year later, the Patriotic War broke out. When Alexander I appointed M.I. Kutuzov as commander-in-chief, the field marshal, before leaving for the active army, specially went to pray at the Kazan Cathedral before the miraculous. The people cried out to the commander: “Drive out the French!” The Mother of God did not reject the hope placed in Her by the old soldier, and the field marshal returned to Her image for eternal rest in the same Kazan Cathedral.

A Don Cossacks, having recaptured the silver they had looted from Moscow churches from the French, they presented it as a gift to Kazan - in the cathedral there was an iconostasis cast from this silver with the inscription: “The zealous offering of the Don Army.” Right there, near the majestic colonnade of the cathedral, monuments to M.V. Kutuzov and M.B. Barclay de Tolly were erected. On March 17, 1922, this iconostasis was dismantled, the Bolsheviks took one hundred and twenty-nine pounds of silver and more than thirty-seven pounds of gold; at the end of 1922, decorations from the Kazan icon itself were selected and sold abroad.

A year later, in 1923, the renovationists, who knew how to beg the most extensive and majestic churches from the godless authorities, captured the Kazan Cathedral. But the miraculous one was saved from them, ending up first in the church at the Smolensk cemetery on Vasilievsky Island, and from 1940 - at the right choir of the Prince Vladimir Cathedral on the Petrograd Side, where she remains to this day.

This icon of the Moscow letter late XVI century, close in time to the first image from Kazan, revealed another miracle during the Great Patriotic War. The elderly Metropolitan of the Lebanese Mountains, Elijah Salib, had a vision in which the Mother of God commanded him to convey Her will to the Kremlin rulers: to go around the cities surrounded by fascists with the miraculous image of the Kazan Icon. According to legend, the god-fighting rulers, frightened by military failures, did not dare to contradict. It is known for certain that when in 1947 Elijah Salib visited the city on the Neva, he was greeted with truly royal honors on the instructions of the authorities (many of the townspeople decided from the abundance of cars and guards that Stalin had come to them), and the Kazan icon itself was greeted by this pious eastern bishop gave me a new golden whisk.

The Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky has long been returned to the Church, but whether the miraculous will return there depends only on the will of the Queen of Heaven Herself.

Church-wide veneration Several more Kazan lists are used: Bogorodsko-Ufa, Vysochinskaya, Vyshenskaya, Vyaznikovskaya, Kaplunovskaya, Nizhnelomovskaya, Tambovskaya, Tobolskaya, Yaroslavlskaya; There are so many locally revered Kazan people in Russian towns and villages, in parishes and families of Orthodox Christians that it is impossible to list them.

Troparion, tone 4

Zealous Intercessor, Mother of the Lord Most High! Pray for all of Thy Son, Christ our God, and cause all to be saved, seeking refuge in Thy sovereign protection. Intercede for all of us, O Lady, Queen and Lady, who are in adversity, and in sorrow, and in illness, burdened with many sins, coming and praying to You with a tender soul and a contrite heart before Your most pure image with tears, and those who have irrevocable hope in You, deliverance of all evils, grant usefulness to all, and save everything, Virgin Mary: For You art the Divine Protection of Your servant.

Prayer

O Most Holy Lady Lady Theotokos! With fear, faith and love, falling before Thy honorable icon, we pray to Thee: do not turn Thy face away from those who come running to You, beg, O merciful Mother, Thy Son and our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to keep our country peaceful, and His Holy Church unshakable will protect from unbelief, heresies and schism. There are no imams of any other help, no imams of other hope, except You, Most Pure Virgin: You are the all-powerful Helper and Intercessor of Christians. Deliver all who pray to You with faith from the falls of sin, from the slander of evil people, from all temptations, sorrows, troubles and from vain death: grant us the spirit of contrition, humility of heart, purity of thoughts, correction of sinful lives and the remission of sins, may all be grateful praising Your greatness, let us be worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom and there, with all the saints, let us glorify the most honorable and magnificent name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is one of the most revered images in Rus'. And although today the original is lost, there are miraculous lists, and there are copies in literally every home. Many miracles are attributed to the icon; Orthodox Christians often call it the intercessor of Russia. Indeed, after the image appeared in Kazan, he repeatedly defended Russian army and brought victories.

Image of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God

According to the iconographic type, the Kazan image belongs to the “Hodegetria” (Guide) images. Along with “Oranta”, this is the most common version of the image of the Virgin Mary. The Mother of God is written from the chest, her face is slightly inclined towards the face of the Child Christ sitting in the arms.

The Kazan version is distinguished by its restrained color scheme: The Mother of God is depicted in dark purple outfits, and Jesus has a white or blue shirt and a golden cape on top. On the icon only the right hand of the Lord is visible, with which he blesses all believers. There are no additional elements, decorations, images of angels or anything else. The Kazan Mother of God is a simple and therefore almost the most recognizable image of Orthodox Russian iconography. The face is so memorable and special that art critics often call it one of the independent iconographic types of Mother of God icons in Russia.

The lists were created, always strictly following the canon of the original - the icon painters did not allow serious discrepancies with the miraculous icon. Moreover, on later samples the face of the Virgin Mary is depicted almost full-face; on the original and copies of the 16th-17th centuries, she is more bent over the Son.

There are cases when lists of icons were made immediately for the salary. Therefore, only the faces and hands of the Mother and the Child of God are clearly depicted on them, and the clothes are depicted conventionally.

Finding a holy image

Until the 16th century, Kazan was predominantly Muslim. And only in 1553, a year after the conquest of the city by Ivan the Terrible, the first diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church began operating here. Residents were quite reserved about the new religion and did not perceive it as their own. However, the situation was significantly changed by the fire of 1579, during which most of the buildings of the Kazan Kremlin burned down.

The townspeople initially regarded the disaster as “the wrath of the Russian God,” and Orthodoxy in Kazan was under threat. And then a miracle happened - the Mother of God appeared to the girl Matrona, the nine-year-old daughter of the archer Onuchin, whose house was also damaged in the fire. The Virgin Mary ordered the child to inform the archbishop and mayors so that they would take the holy image out of the ashes and indicated the exact place where they needed to dig. Matrona conveyed the words of the Mother of God to the parents and ministers of the Church, but for the first time no one paid attention to them. They didn’t listen to the child a second time either. On the third day, Mary appeared to the girl with the words: “If you do not follow my instructions, I will appear in another place, and you will die.” Matrona turned to her mother in despair and she responded to the request. Together with their assistants, they dug up the ashes exactly in the place indicated by the Mother of God. But the face appeared only when Matrona herself began to tear up the earth.

The icon was found wrapped in worn cloth. But when it was unveiled, people were amazed at how pure and bright the colors of the painting were. It seemed that the icon was not only not touched by the fire, but was not even lying on the ashes.

The events of the miraculous appearance of the image were described by the priest of the St. Nicholas Church Ermolai, later known as Patriarch Ermogen of Moscow, in “The Tale and Miracles of the Most Pure Mother of God, Her Honorable and Glorious Appearance of the Image, Like in Kazan.” On the site of the ashes where the girl found the icon, Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of a convent. The first novices were Matrona and her mother.

The role of the icon in the Time of Troubles

Con. XVI - beginning The 17th century is usually called Time of Troubles(The Troubles) - a period when Russian statehood was experiencing a severe crisis. Civil War, the increasing role of Polish aristocrats in power led to the fact that throughout Russia, influential boyar clans fought with each other.

Patriarch Hermogenes played a significant role in raising the spirit of the common people, who called not only for peace, but also for the preservation Orthodox faith. He was later imprisoned for these speeches.

However, the patriarch’s instructions still had an effect - a militia was formed in Nizhny Novgorod under the leadership of Prince Dimitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin. The troops are heading to Moscow; on the way, Kazan residents join them and hand over a list of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. Orthodox people They believe that it was the holy image that helped the army defeat the Poles. Before the storming of the Moscow Kremlin, in 1612, the militia held a three-day fast and prayed to the image of the Virgin Mary.

During the siege of Moscow, Archbishop Arseny of Elasson was there. According to contemporaries, St. Sergius of Radonezh appeared to him and said that thanks to the intercession of the Mother of God, the invaders would leave the capital, and Russia would be saved. In the fall of 1612, Moscow was indeed liberated from the Poles by militias. On October 25 of the same year, a religious procession was held in the Kremlin, the main icon of which was the Kazan Mother of God. Pozharsky believed that it was prayers in front of the holy image that helped him in a difficult battle. Since then, the icon has received the glory of the intercessor of the Russian land; on this day, every year Russian Orthodoxy venerates the face of the Kazan Virgin Mary.

Our Lady of Kazan - protector in war

The victory of the Russian army in 1612 is not the only case when the intercessory power of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan was manifested. Chronicles mention her help during the battle of Poltava (1709); the image also played an important role in the war with Napoleon in 1812. Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov prayed for victory before the face of the Mother of God. Particularly noteworthy is the successful battle near Vyazma, which coincided with the day of veneration of the icon. Then Russian troops managed to defeat Napoleon's army - this was the first major victory over the invaders after the French left Moscow. Then 7,000 soldiers from Napoleon’s army died, and the battle itself became a turning point in the war and determined the further distribution of forces in favor of the Russians.

The icon of the Kazan Mother of God, as history says, played a role in the battles of World War II. Despite the rejection of religion by the Soviet authorities, the image was delivered to besieged Leningrad. The priests carried the icon along the outskirts of the city, and Northern capital managed to survive under complete blockade for 872 days. Despite all attempts, fascist army I was never able to take the city. The intercession of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan during the Great Patriotic War also helped in the Battle of Stalingrad. The day before the battle, a prayer service was held in front of the holy image in the city.

Loss of the original icon

It is noteworthy that in the beginning. In the 20th century, the original icon was lost. All miracles after this time are associated with the lists of the Kazan Mother of God. There are several versions of the loss of the miraculous face. According to the first and most common one, in 1904 the Kazan Monastery was robbed. The sacrileges, led by Bartholomew Chaikin, stole images of the Mother of God and the Savior from the monastery. The thieves were quickly found, but after searches the icons themselves could not be found. The description of this case in court documents states that only parts of rich, precious vestments were found at the criminals' homes. It was the frames that interested the thieves; according to their testimony, they chopped up and burned the icons themselves.

However, many researchers do not believe in this version. After all, by the beginning In the 20th century, the fame of the Kazan Mother of God had already thundered throughout Russia. It is difficult to imagine that the thieves did not know what icon they were taking out of the temple. Historians suggest that the image was sold because it could be worth much more than the precious salary.

According to one of the alternative versions, the thieves took out not the original, but a copy of the image. Fearing robbery, the abbess of the monastery took the holy face to her chambers at night. According to another, the icon was sold and hidden somewhere in Russia. However, today her whereabouts are unknown.

Another assumption is made by Kazan historian Dmitry Khafizov. According to him, the original icon was taken from Russia in the 1920s and later sold at auction to a London collector. The version is connected with the history of the “Vatican” list, which for some time was considered to be the found original of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God.

"Vatican" list of icons

With the advent of Soviet power, from 1917 to 1920, many religious shrines were removed from Russia. Among them were many valuable lists of the Kazan Mother of God. One of the most famous today is called “Vatican”. Short description Its history dates back to 1950, when the image was acquired by collector and archaeologist Frederick Mitchell-Hedges. Later, the icon was bought by the American organization Blue Army, and since 1993 the image was kept in the personal chambers of Pope John Paul II.

Since the 90s of the twentieth century Catholic Church several times expressed her intention to return the face to her homeland. In this case, the condition for the transfer of the icon was the arrival of Pope John Paul II to Russia. Russian Orthodox Church led by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II did not agree with this demand. Therefore, the transfer of the revered shrine was delayed.

It was mistakenly assumed that the image stored in the Vatican was the lost original of the icon. However, an art historical examination in 2003, carried out by international experts, showed that the creation of this list dates back to the 18th century. It is not the original or one of the first copies of the Kazan Mother of God. According to some sources, the “Vatican” image is an icon that belonged to Schema nun Alexandra, the founder of the Diveyevo community.

A year after the examination, in 2004, the Vatican handed over the copy of the Kazan Mother of God to Russia without any conditions. Today the “Vatican” list is located in the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Kazan Mother of God Monastery, where the original icon used to be.

Our Lady of Kazan and modernity

The icon of the Kazan Mother of God was revered at all times, but in the twentieth century it was forgotten by the bulk of people. The temples dedicated to her were destroyed, and the history of the intercession of the shrine during battles with the enemy was not advertised. Even the use of lists of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God during the Great Patriotic War was hushed up for a long time.

The situation has changed since the 90s of the twentieth century, when people began to turn to the face again. The miraculous icon helped believers in various situations - there are known cases of cures from blindness and deafness, and deliverance from other diseases. Many believers say that the Mother of God helped them solve difficult problems. After praying in front of the image, she appeared in dreams and suggested the right path. The Kazan Mother of God has become a special icon for children - it is believed that she protects them from misfortunes and troubles. The Mother of God helps and married couples. There is even a legend that if the wedding falls on the day of veneration of the holy image, then the spouses will live happily and in harmony for many years.

Also today, the tradition of religious processions in honor of the image of the Mother of God has been resumed. For example, since the 2000s, walks with the “Vatican” icon take place in Kazan twice a year. Pilgrims and parishioners walk from the Annunciation Cathedral to the place where the shrine was found.

In 2011, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was delivered to the International Space Station. The image was given to the cosmonauts by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' himself. Now it is stored in the Russian segment of the ISS.

Interesting facts from the history of the image

• The first miracles of the Kazan Mother of God were recorded by the future Patriarch Ermogen, literally immediately after the acquisition of the image. Thus, the two blind men who helped carry the icon to the church regained their sight.
• The first list of the icon revealed in Kazan was made by order of Ivan the Terrible already at the end. XVI century.
• The day of veneration of the Kazan Icon is celebrated by Orthodox believers twice a year. July 21 (July 8, old style) celebrates the attainment of holy age - the date of the appearance of the icon on the ashes of the Kazan Kremlin. November 4 (October 22, old style) is revered in honor of the first great miracle - the liberation of Moscow from the Poles.
• The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was revered as the Patroness of the Romanov dynasty. In 1649, during the all-night vigil on October 22, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich gave birth to his heir, Dmitry Alekseevich. This event was interpreted as the mercy of the Mother of God to the royal family. By the way, it was from this year that by decree of Alexei Mikhailovich, October 22 became the official all-Russian day of veneration of the Kazan Mother of God.
• The veneration of the icon as the protector of Rus' is connected not with the original image, but with its copy. It was with a copy of the holy face that Minin and Pozharsky entered Moscow and defeated the Poles in 1612. Under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the Kazan Church was built in the city, in which the miraculous icon was kept. It is noteworthy that the Moscow copy, like the original, was lost in the beginning. XX century. In 1918, it was stolen from the temple; the perpetrators were never found; the further history of the image is unknown today. In the 30s, despite the recent reconstruction of the Kazan Cathedral, the authorities considered the maintenance of the temple too expensive and simply demolished it. The monastery was rebuilt in 1990-1993.
• The second copy, revered on a par with the original, is the St. Petersburg one. In 1801-1811, the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the largest church in St. Petersburg, was built specifically to store the revered list. A year later, it became a symbol of the victory over Napoleon. Field Marshal Kutuzov was also buried here. Like the Moscow temple, the cathedral was abolished in the 30s and revived 60 years later.

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The Kazan Miracle-Working Icon, which was nicknamed after the place where it was found, became one of the most revered icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Rus'.

Description of the Kazan Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

The discovery of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God took place on July 8, 1579 in Kazan, a quarter of a century after the conquest of the Kazan Khanate by Tsar Ivan the Terrible. In June 1579, Kazan suffered from a terrible fire, which reduced part of the city and half of the Kazan Kremlin to ashes. The Muslims gloated, thinking that the Creator was angry with the Christians. But the fire in Kazan was an omen of the final establishment of Orthodoxy throughout the Golden Horde land - the future East of the Russian state.

During the fire, the house of archer Daniil Onuchin also burned down. A few days after the fire, the archer decided to begin building a new house in the same place. Then the Mother of God appeared in a dream to his ten-year-old daughter Matrona with the command to inform the archbishop and the city leaders so that they would find Her Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in the ground, at the site of a recent fire. The girl’s words were not given any significance, but after the third apparition, Matrona tearfully begged her mother to fulfill the command of the Mother of God. And so, having begun to rake away the ashes in the indicated place, they saw the icon of the Kazan Mother of God shining with a wonderful light.

The news of the miraculous find instantly spread throughout Kazan. Many people began to flock to the place where the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was found. After the prayer service, the icon was solemnly transferred to the Kazan Annunciation Cathedral. Numerous miracles from the newly appeared Kazan Icon began with the epiphany of two blind men, Joseph and Nikita.

The Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan inspired Russian warriors during the Time of Troubles during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. Before the Kazan Icon in 1709, on the eve of the Poltava victory, Emperor Peter I prayed for victory to be granted to the Russian army (this list is currently in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg). In 1812, on the eve of leaving for the active army, Prince Mikhail Kutuzov prayed before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God.

Unfortunately, in 1904, the Kazan miraculous icon of the Mother of God was stolen by robbers and, after removing the precious vestments from it, they destroyed it. After the Russian revolutionary turmoil of 1917, numerous ancient copies of the Kazan miraculous icon of the Mother of God were distributed throughout the world. The Russian Orthodox Church is making every effort to return shrines to their homeland. In Russia the earliest of famous lists The miraculous Kazan Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1606) is located in the Tretyakov Gallery.

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Before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Kazan they pray for the sight of blind eyes and the healing of eye diseases, for deliverance from the invasion of foreigners, for intercession in difficult times, for the healing of all bodily infirmities, for the preservation of the Russian state, they bless those entering into marriage with it.

PRAYERS TO THE HOLY MOTOR AND EVERVIRGIN MARY BEFORE HER ICON "KAZAN"

PRAYER 1 before the icon of the Mother of God of Kazan
Oh, Most Holy Lady Theotokos, Queen of Heaven and earth, the highest angel and archangel and the most honest, pure Virgin Mary of all creation, good Helper to the world, and affirmation for all people, and deliverance for all needs!

Look now, O All-Merciful Lady, upon Thy servants, praying to Thee with a tender soul and a contrite heart, falling with tears to Thee and worshiping Thy most pure and wholesome image, and asking for Thy help and intercession.

Oh, All-Merciful and Most Merciful Pure Virgin Mary! Look, O Lady, at Your people: for we are sinners and imams of no other help, except for You and from You, Christ our God born. You are our intercessor and representative. You are protection for the offended, joy for the sorrowing, refuge for the orphans, keeper for widows, glory for virgins, joy for those who cry, visitation for the sick, healing for the weak, salvation for sinners.

For this reason, O Mother of God, we resort to You, and looking at Your Most Pure Image with the Eternal Child held in Your hand, our Lord Jesus Christ, we bring tender singing to You and cry out: have mercy on us, Mother of God, and fulfill our request, for all that is Your intercession is possible, for glory is due to You now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

PRAYER 2 before the icon of the Mother of God of Kazan

Oh, Most Holy Lady and Lady Theotokos! With fear, faith and love, falling before Your honorable icon, we pray to You: do not turn Your face away from those who come running to You. Pray, merciful Mother, to Thy Son and our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to preserve our country peacefully and to keep His holy Church unshakable from unbelief, heresies and schism. There are no imams of any other help, no imams of other hope, unless You, Most Pure Virgin, are You the all-powerful Helper and Intercessor of Christians. Deliver all who pray to You with faith from the falls of sin, from the slander of evil people, from all temptations, sorrows, troubles and from vain death. Grant us the spirit of contrition, humility of heart, purity of thoughts, correction of sinful lives and the remission of sins, so that we all sing gratefully of Your greatness, we will be worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom, and there with all the saints we will glorify the Most Honorable and Magnificent Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

TROPARION TO THE HOLY MOTOR AND EVERVIRGIN MARY BEFORE HER ICON "KAZAN"

TROPARION, TONE 4
Zealous Intercessor, Mother of the Lord Most High! Pray for all of Thy Son, Christ our God, and cause all to be saved, seeking refuge in Thy sovereign protection. Intercede for all of us, oh. Lady, Queen and Lady, who in adversity and sorrow and illness, burdened with many sins, stand and pray to You with a tender soul and a contrite heart before Your Most Pure Image with tears, and those who have irrevocable hope in You for deliverance from all evils. Grant usefulness to all and save everything, O Virgin Mother of God: for Thou art the Divine protection of Thy servant.

KONDAC, VOICE 8
Let us come, people, to this quiet and good refuge, the quick Helper, the ready and warm salvation, the protection of the Virgin; let us hasten to prayer and strive for repentance: for the Most Pure Mother of God exudes boundless mercies to us, advances to our aid and delivers Her well-behaved and God-fearing servants from great troubles and evils.

GREATNESS
We magnify You, Most Holy Virgin, God-chosen Youth, and honor Your holy image, through which you bring healing to all who come with faith.

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Akathist to the Holy Mother of God in front of her Icon, called "Kazan"

Kontakion 1
To the Intercessor of the Christian race, chosen from all generations, who covers our Orthodox country with the cover of Her goodness, we offer songs of thanksgiving to Thee, Theotokos, for the appearance of Thy wondrous icon. You, as the All-Merciful One, intercede for all those who come to You, Helper, in all sorrows and needs, troubles and misfortunes, so we call You: Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Ikos 1
A representative angel was sent to quickly say to the Mother of God, “Rejoice,” when God the Word incarnated in Her womb: and we, sinners, glorifying the appearance of Her wonderful icon and the Divine Infant Savior Christ, with tenderness crying out with grace: Rejoice, God-chosen Youth; Rejoice, Mother of God. Rejoice, Queen of Heaven and earth; Rejoice, bright decoration of the Church, heavenly and earthly. Rejoice, honored Angels; Rejoice, sung by Seraphim. Rejoice, bright prophetic event; Rejoice, praise of the apostles. Rejoice, martyr's confession; Rejoice, crown of the venerables. Rejoice, joy of the righteous; Rejoice, hope of sinners. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 2
Seeing, O All-Immaculate One, from the height of Your Heavenly dwelling, where You abide in glory with Your Son, the sorrow of Your servants in the newly enlightened city, as if the faith of Christ was mocked by the wrathful visitation of God by Hagaran malice, You deigned to show Your icon, glorifying miracles and confirming them with banners Your grace, Christ-loving people faithfully cry out to God: Alleluia.

Ikos 2
The wise maiden seeks the understanding of the threefold appearance of the Mother of God, flowing to the authorities, telling them a wondrous appearance and a terrible rebuke: we, marveling from above at the admonition given to the maiden, reverently cry out to the Most Blessed One: Rejoice, who with pure lips praises the Gods; Rejoice, thou who revealest the mysteries of God's grace to the faithful. Rejoice, well-known praise for the faithful; Rejoice, lightning, terrifying of the infidels. Rejoice, thou who illumine the minds of Thy faithful with the glory of the miracles; Rejoice, denunciation of Hagaryan evil. Rejoice, their pride has been overthrown; Rejoice, affirmation of the Christian faith. Rejoice, consecration of the veneration of holy icons; Rejoice, you who transform our sorrow into joy. Rejoice, you who cheer us with undoubted hope. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 3
The power of the Most High, by the grace of the Mother of God, make wise and strengthen the young woman to seek the valuable gift of God, and she, daring in the Lord with faith, begin to work and, having found the treasure of the holy icon of the Mother of God hidden in the earth, joyfully cry out to God: Alleluia.

Ikos 3
Having a benevolent providence for the newly enlightened people of the city of Kazan, from Your most honorable icon You have flowed currents of miracles, O Lady, giving sight to the blind of the body, illuminating those darkened spiritually with the light of knowledge of God and piety, giving a calm refuge to those who live under the shadow of Your icon. For this reason we call You: Rejoice, by the appearance of Your icon you drive away the darkness of cruel circumstances; Rejoice, you who enlighten everyone with the rays of miracles. Rejoice, recovery of sight for the blind; Rejoice, enlightenment of those darkened by the meaning. Rejoice, glory to Orthodoxy; Rejoice, quiet haven for those seeking salvation. Rejoice, Mother of chastity; Rejoice, protection and protection of virginity. Rejoice, the whole multitude of the faithful rejoices in Her; Rejoice, even for Her sake the demonic horde is crying. Rejoice, longed-for Helper of all Christians; Rejoice, Joy to all who mourn. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 4
The storm of turmoil and sedition by the enemies raised in our country was quenched by the efforts of blessed Hermogenes, the recorder of Thy miracles, the Mother of God, the icon, tearfully praying before her and, seeing how Thy icon was given to the Orthodox army as a shield and a sign of victory, strengthened by faith to the end of his life, crying out To God: Alleluia.

Ikos 4
Having heard Orthodoxy and frank war Venerable Sergius Saint Arseny the secret, as through the intercession of the Mother of God the judgment of our Fatherland was transferred to mercy, the icon of the Mother of God, like a victorious banner, having been snatched away by the Mother of Russian cities from the hands of the adversary and
crying out to the Intercessor of Christians: Rejoice, Mother of the Most High God; Rejoice, for you prayed for everyone, Your Son, Christ our God. Rejoice, for you have made it possible for all those who come running to escape into Your sovereign protection; Rejoice, Intercessor of all those in sorrow and illness. Rejoice, Thou who bestowest usefulness upon all those who pray with contrite hearts before Thy most pure image; Rejoice, deliverance of evils to all who have irrevocable hope in Thee. Rejoice, quiet and kind refuge; Rejoice, ambulance to the Helper. Rejoice, ready and warm cover of salvation; Rejoice, you who exude abundant mercies to us. Rejoice, you who come to help; Rejoice, thou who deliverest from all troubles. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 5
Thy God-bearing star has appeared, O Mother of God, icon, flowing around the entire Russian country, illuminating with the rays of Thy miracles all those wandering on the sea of ​​passionate life, driving away the darkness of sorrows and darkness of all ailments and sorrows and guiding those who flow to You with faith and cry out to God on the path of salvation: Alleluia .

Ikos 5
Tsar Peter, seeing that many miracles were wrought from the holy icon of the Mother of God by the grace of God, accepted it as a guide to his army and on the day of battle on the Svei in a shield and cover, and having defeated the enemy to the end with the help of the Mother of God, he laid a perfect stone at the foundation of the new reigning city , place your wonderful icon, like sanctification, like a shield and fence, in the heart of the city. For this reason we cry to the Most Pure One: Rejoice, dwelling place and house of Christ our God; Rejoice, receptacle of His ineffable glory. Rejoice, animated city, ever reigning; Rejoice, adorned chamber. Rejoice, Joy of cities and villages; Rejoice, invincible repository and barrier of Christians in troubles. Rejoice, praise to the Orthodox Church; Rejoice, confirmation of the Russian land. Rejoice, Helper of the Christ-loving army; Rejoice, defeat of enemies. Rejoice, deliverance from troubles; Rejoice, visiting everyone with Your Motherly bounties. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 6
Standing before Your most pure image, the class of bishops and all people, monastics and laymen, preach, Lady Theotokos, Your great mercy, as you protect cities, cover abodes, protect weights, and, leading You to Your true Helper, strong and invincible, bring You with tears prayers, may you stretch out your God-bearing hands to your Son for your people, to deliver us from all troubles and misfortunes, and let us cry out to God with gratitude: Alleluia.

Ikos 6
Having dawned true enlightenment and having driven away the ancient flattery of the Hagarians in the newly enlightened country of Kazan, now in all Russian cities the light of miracles and mercies shines with the light of miracles and mercies: for those who flow with faith to Your icon, deliverance from healing sorrows, healing from illnesses and joys of all kinds of fulfillment, cry out to You earnestly: Rejoice, inexhaustible source of the shrine; Rejoice, multi-flowing river of Divine grace. Rejoice, reconciliation of sinners with God; Rejoice, our sins have been cleansed. Rejoice, O pious Teacher; Rejoice, in good deeds there is affirmation and help. Rejoice, acceptor of good vows; Rejoice, good intentions conducive. Rejoice, destroyer of evil undertakings; Rejoice, thou who destroyest the machinations of the enemy. Rejoice, ambulance by man Assistant; Rejoice, you who bestow mercy upon us. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 7
I want to confess to the Orthodox people the mercy of the Most Blessed Queen of Heaven and Earth and, with all my strength, offer thanks for their deliverance from the invasion of foreigners, to the wondrous temple created in honor of the wonderful icon, bringing the victorious one as a gift, and remembering all the mercy of the Mother of God, who saved this city and country, I will now sing with grateful lips to God: Alleluia.

Ikos 7
To the capital city of Russia, Your holy icon, the Mother of God, truly appeared the good Hodegetria, as did Constantinople of old: for people are running to You, asking for Your help at the beginning of their path and deeds, and offering thanksgiving prayers before Your most pure icon for deliverance from sorrows and misfortunes, Your Helper and they know a strong Intercessor. We also cry out in gratitude to Ti: Rejoice, protection of the Russian country; Rejoice, Orthodoxy is protected and established in her. Rejoice, indestructible shield of our warriors; Rejoice, their armor is invulnerable. Rejoice, you who expose the machinations of your enemies; Rejoice, like a spider tearing them apart. Rejoice, reproof of wickedness; Rejoice, destruction of sedition. Rejoice, correction of the young from errors; Rejoice, consolation of the elders. Rejoice, overthrow of harmful teachings; Rejoice, gift of useful knowledge. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 8
It is strange and doubtful for non-believers to hear how currents of grace flow from Your icon, the stench of animals is fragrant: but we, believing the word spoken by You, Lady, to the first-written icon: “My grace and strength are with you,” we trust that grace is with this icon I will take out yours: we kiss it with reverence and worship it, as if you exist, for the honor of the icon ascends to the prototype, and your grace brings signs and wonders to all those who flow with faith to you and cry out to God: Alleluia.

Ikos 8
All that was grief was taken to the Heavenly, and you did not abandon the earthly, O Mother of God, through Your sacred intercession: for you have the most maternal boldness towards Christ our God. Establish the same in the world deeply Orthodox lives and always grant all that is useful to Thy servant, so that we majestically sing to Thee: Rejoice, Incontainable container; Rejoice, overshadowed by the power of the Most High. Rejoice, frozen Heavenly Class; Rejoice, thou who has delivered the whole world from the soul-destroying famine. Rejoice, you who intercede for our race; Rejoice, for Your prayer can accomplish much before Your Son and God. Rejoice, you who adopted us all at the Cross of Your Son; Rejoice, you who always show motherly love for us. Rejoice, Intercessor of eternal blessings; Rejoice, you who are also useful to us in our temporal life. Rejoice, our well-known refuge in all sorrowful situations; Rejoice, undoubted consolation in sorrows. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 9
Above all angelic natures, you appeared, O Most Holy Virgin: for you conceived God in your flesh, for you contained the inconceivable of all in your womb, in your arms you bore the hand that bears the whole world: also, as the Most Honest Cherub and the Most Glorious without comparison, the Seraphim magnified Thee, crying out for To you God: Alleluia.

Ikos 9
We see the oracles of many things, like mute fish, about You, Mother of God: for every tongue is perplexed to praise You according to your inheritance, the mind is amazed to sing to You, Mother of God; Otherwise, good being, receive from us the archangel’s voice, crying to you: Rejoice, full of grace; Rejoice, for the Lord is with you. Rejoice, Blessed One among women; Rejoice, having found grace from God. Rejoice, thou who gave birth to the Savior of the world; Rejoice, Mother of the Son of God. Rejoice, Mother of the Eternal King; Rejoice, thou who hast brought forth the fruit of life for us. Rejoice, sanctified by the Holy Spirit; Rejoice, overshadowed by the power of the Most High. Rejoice, faithful Servant of the Lord; Rejoice, for you are blessed by all. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 10
Those who want to save many from the evils, sorrows and diseases that occur, you have given your wonderful icon, Mother of God, even for the sake of blindness they despise it, chromiums walk, weakened people rise up, the demoniac are healed, the land is given fruit, people are delivered from deadly plagues, cities and houses are saved from fire : In the same way, glorifying God, who gives us such mercies, we cry out to Him earnestly: Alleluia.

Ikos 10
You are the wall, Mother of God, the land of Russia, with hail protection and glory, fortification of the Orthodox army against the enemies. Moreover, giving thanks to Thee, we cry: Rejoice, thou who glorify those who glorify Thee; Rejoice, you who do not revere Thee, put to shame. Rejoice, intimidation of enemies; Rejoice, deliverance from the invasion of foreigners. Rejoice, warriors of the fortress; Rejoice, in the days of battle the fence also took away. Rejoice, in days of peace, life-giving garden, gladdening the hearts of the faithful; Rejoice, weapon, which the demons tremble. Rejoice, saving oil, anointing the sinful wounds of the repentant; Rejoice, our warm hope. Rejoice, our undoubted Hope; Rejoice, quiet and kind refuge. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 11
Singings of praise and gratitude are brought to You, Lady, falling to Your icon and kindly kissing the virgins’ faces, under Your sovereign protection those who see off the quiet and peaceful monastic life, and having placed all their trust in You, joyfully cry out to God: Alleluia.

Ikos 11
Like a light-receiving light, we behold Your venerable icon, O Most Holy Lady: for it has received the immaterial fire of Your grace, and in its likenesses it lights new lamps that share in the power of grace, and illuminates miracles, guiding on the path of salvation all those crying Tisce: Rejoice, Unbrided Bride ; Rejoice, God-chosen Youth, Mother of the Virgin. Rejoice, good Teacher of immaculate virginity; Rejoice, Guardian of those who are zealous for purity. Rejoice, women are praised; Rejoice, virgin majesty. Rejoice, intercession of widows; Rejoice, charity for orphans. Rejoice, Nourisher of the poor; Rejoice, robe of the naked. Rejoice, consolation for the sad; Rejoice, joy for those who mourn. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 12
The grace of giving to those who reverence Thee with love, O Theotokos, Thou didst leave the power of grace inherent in Thy in Thy holy icons, for the Divine grace abiding in those (icons) performs signs and wonders and grants healing to all spiritual and physical ailments to all who come with faith through Thy unceasing Mother of God to God with prayers for those who cry out to Him: Alleluia.

Ikos 12
Singing Your miracles, which were in ancient times and present tense, we praise Thee, as Life-Giving Spring grace, like an inexhaustible river of miracles, like an abyss of mercy and generosity, and placing all hope according to God in Thee both in this and in the future life, glorifying Thee, we cry: Rejoice, shameless hope of Christians; Rejoice, saving refuge for the faithful. Rejoice, unreliable hope; Rejoice, salvation for the desperate. Rejoice, bath that washes the conscience; Rejoice, dew, quickening of souls. Rejoice, quick and free cure for illnesses; Rejoice, quick deliverance from all troubles. Rejoice, Comforter in all sorrow; Rejoice, you who save us from the depths of destruction. Rejoice, joy on the day of death; Rejoice, the only Hope even after death. Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race.

Kontakion 13
O All-Singing Mother, Who gave birth to all the saints Holy Word, accept now this small prayer and, for the sake of Your greatness and the abyss of Your generosity, do not remember the multitude of our sins, but fulfill our good petitions, giving health to the body, salvation to the soul, delivering from all need and sorrow and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven making everyone faithful crying to God: Alleluia.

(This kontakion is read three times, then ikos 1 and kontakion 1)

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The Icon of the Mother of God, famous for its miracles in the areas of the Mother of God - on Athos, in Iveria (Georgia) and in Russia - is named after the Iveron Monastery on Holy Mount Athos.

The first news about it dates back to the 9th century - the times of iconoclasm, when, by order of the heretical authorities, holy icons in houses and churches were destroyed and desecrated. A certain pious widow who lived near Nicaea kept the treasured image of the Mother of God. It soon opened. The armed soldiers who came wanted to take away the icon, one of them hit the shrine with a spear, and blood flowed from the face of the Most Pure One. Having prayed to the Lady with tears, the woman went to the sea and lowered the icon into the water; the standing image moved along the waves.

They learned about the icon with a pierced face, floating on the sea, on Athos: the only son of this woman took monasticism on the Holy Mountain and labored near the place where the ship carrying the Mother of God Herself to Cyprus once landed and where later, in the 10th century , the Georgian nobleman John and the Byzantine commander Torniky founded the Iveron monastery.

One day, the inhabitants of the Iversky Monastery saw a sky-high pillar of fire on the sea - it rose above the image of the Mother of God standing on the water. The monks wanted to take the icon, but the closer the boat sailed, the further the image went into the sea. The brothers began to pray and earnestly asked the Lord to grant the icon of the monastery.

The next night, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in a dream to Elder Gabriel, who was distinguished by a strict ascetic life and a childishly simple disposition, and said: “Tell the abbot and the brethren that I want to give them My icon as protection and help, then enter the sea and walk with faith waves - then everyone will know My love and favor towards your monastery.”

The next morning, the monks went to the shore with prayer singing, the elder fearlessly walked on the water and was honored to receive the miraculous icon. They placed it in a chapel on the shore and prayed before it for three days, and then transferred it to the cathedral church (in the place where the icon stood, a source of clean, sweet water opened).

The next day the icon was discovered above the monastery gates. She was taken to her previous place, but she again found herself above the gate. This happened several times. Finally, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to Elder Gabriel and said: “Tell the brethren: I do not want to be guarded, but I myself will be your Guardian in this life and in the future. I asked God for My mercy, and as long as you see My icon in the monastery, the grace and mercy of My Son towards you will not become scarce.”

The monks built a gate church in honor of the Mother of God, the Guardian of the monastery, in which the miraculous icon remains to this day. The icon is called Portaitissa - Goalkeeper, Gatekeeper, and after the place of its appearance on Athos - Iverskaya.

According to legend, the appearance of the icon took place on March 31, Tuesday of Easter week (according to other sources, April 27). In the Iversky Monastery, a celebration in her honor takes place on Tuesday Holy Week; the brethren with a religious procession go to the seashore, where Elder Gabriel received the icon.

In the history of the monastery, there are many cases of the gracious help of the Mother of God: the miraculous replenishment of supplies of wheat, wine and oil, the healing of the sick, the deliverance of the monastery from barbarians. So, one day the Persians besieged the monastery from the sea. The monks appealed to the Mother of God for help. Suddenly a terrible storm arose and the enemy ships sank, leaving only Amir’s commander alive. Struck by the miracle of God's wrath, he repented, asked to pray for the forgiveness of his sins, and donated a lot of gold and silver for the construction of the monastery walls.

In the 17th century, they learned about the Iveron Icon in Rus'. Archimandrite Nikon of the Novospassky Monastery, the future Patriarch, turned to Archimandrite Iversky Athos Monastery Pachomius with a request to send an exact list of the miraculous image. “...Having gathered all their brethren...they performed a great prayer service from evening until daylight, and blessed the water with the holy relics, and poured holy water over the old Portaitissa miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, and collected that holy water into a great basin, and having collected it, they again poured a new one board that they made all of the cypress tree, and again collected that holy water in a basin, and then they served the Divine and Holy Liturgy with great boldness, and after the Holy Liturgy they gave that holy water and holy relics to the icon painter, the monk, the priest and spiritual father Mr. Iamblichus Romanov, so that he could paint a holy icon by mixing holy water and holy relics with paints.”

The icon painter ate food only on Saturday and Sunday, and the brethren performed all-night vigil and liturgy. “And that (newly painted) icon differs in nothing from the first icon: neither in length, nor in breadth, nor in face...” On October 13, 1648, the icon was greeted in Moscow by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Patriarch Joseph and crowds of Orthodox people. (This icon was owned by Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna and her daughter Tsarevna Sofya Alekseevna; after the death of the princess, the image remained in the Novodevichy Convent. Currently it is in the State Historical Museum.)

According to legend, the monks who were carrying the shrine from Mount Athos did not have enough money to cross the Danube. They had already decided to return to the monastery, but the Mother of God Herself helped them - She appeared to the rich Greek Manuel and ordered him to pay the Muslim carriers for the monks.

Another list, by order of Patriarch Nikon, was delivered from Athos to Moscow, decorated with a precious robe, and in 1656 transferred to Valdai, to the newly built Iversky Mother of God Svyatoozersky Monastery (after the revolution, the icon disappeared without a trace).

Another copy was made from the icon that was in the royal family; in 1669 it was installed in the chapel at the gate overlooking the main Tverskaya street in Moscow. The goalkeeper became one of the most revered shrines, the Intercessor Mother of Muscovites.

The winners entered Red Square through the Resurrection Gate; Kings and queens, having arrived in the old capital, first of all went to bow to Iverskaya - like everyone who came to the city. Muscovites went to the chapel to pray for all their urgent needs; they took the icon from house to house, served prayers in front of it, and received it by faith: the Iveron Goalkeeper became famous for her healings of the sick and many miracles.

In 1929 the chapel was destroyed, and in 1931 the Resurrection Gate was demolished. The icon was transferred to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Sokolniki, where it remains to this day.

In November 1994 His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II consecrated the foundation of the Iverskaya Chapel and the Resurrection Gate in the same place, and less than a year later they were restored. On October 25, 1995, he arrived from Mount Athos to Moscow new list miraculous Iveron icon, painted by a monk-icon painter with the blessing of the Iveron abbot. The Good Goalkeeper returned to the main gates of Her city.

Troparion, tone 4: From Your holy icon, O Lady Theotokos, healing and healing are given abundantly with faith and love to those who come to her; So visit my weakness and have mercy on my soul, O Most Pure One, and heal my body with Your grace.