The myrrh-streaming (outflow of an oily, fragrant liquid) of icons has been known for a long time. Previously, such cases occurred extremely rarely. Over two thousand years, no more than 18 cases of myrrh-streaming of icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been recorded. The myrrh streaming of icons occurred no more than two or three times a century. At the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first, a flood of messages about myrrh-streaming icons literally poured out.

In our time, the number of messages about myrrh-streaming icons began to appear almost weekly. For example, in the Holy Vedensky Monastery located in Ivanovo, from December 1998 to March 1999, according to reports, 1047 icons streamed myrrh.(!)

A case became widely known when in the military town of Klin-2, almost all the icons in the house began to stream myrrh from an elderly woman. After publications in the media, numerous pilgrims flocked to the woman, bringing with them their icons. And the brought icons also began to stream myrrh. The woman stopped going to church, performing independent prayer services at home. Questionable-looking “elders” began to come to her, to whom she took everyone she knew for “treatment.” A reasonable question arises: was the miracle of myrrh-streaming from God?

Strange as it may seem, it is not only the icons of saints that stream myrrh. There are known cases of myrrh streaming in images of Grigory Rasputin and even Tsar Ivan the Terrible.

Church ministers consider the streaming of myrrh from icons to be a sign of mercy and support from above, but they treat reports of the next myrrh streaming with great caution - cases of falsification are too frequent. For each case of myrrh-streaming, the diocesan administration appoints a special commission whose functions include examining the icon and interviewing witnesses. If the commission makes a positive decision, a new commission is created to conduct a more thorough investigation.

One of the cases of falsification was exposed by Tsar Peter the Great. Having torn the frame from the board on which the “crying” icon was depicted, Peter discovered on the opposite on the side there were indentations made opposite the eyes, into which thick wooden oil was placed. When the icon was heated by the flames of the candles, the oil began to flow out through the small holes made in the eyes. After this, the tsar harshly ordered the clergy “so that the Mother of God should not cry from now on.”

Not so long ago, during the Pope’s visit to Greece, ministers of the Greek Orthodox Church announced that one of the icons began to shed bloody tears, as if testifying to the ungodly nature of the visit of the head of the Catholic Church. Analysis of the “tears” showed that they were wild cherry juice. It turns out that there are charlatans not only among ordinary people, and among the clergy themselves.

The head of the Rostov Research Center "Enio" Viktor Rogozhkin considers myrrh streaming to be a manifestation of poltergeists. And it appears after a praying person, standing in front of an icon, remembers dead people. At the same time, there is a crossing of the borders of our world and the world where the souls of the dead live after death. But this is just a hypothesis.

Sometimes people meet with the saints depicted on the icons.

In the sixties of the last century, two oceanographers taking water samples in the White Sea at night were carried out to the open sea. Drifting in the sea, they noticed a light and, working with oars, moored to an unfamiliar shore. On land they met an old man with a gray beard, dressed in a wide light cloak. Despite the cold weather, he was not wearing a hat.

When asked where they could find housing, the old man explained that a fisherman lived nearby and showed the oceanographers the direction in which to go. After walking about ten steps, one of the oceanographers looked back. The old man was not there. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air.

Having found the fisherman’s dwelling, the friends explained to the owners that the old man had shown them the way to their house. Both the fisherman and his wife were very surprised, saying that they were on an island. And besides them, there are no people on it.

One of the oceanographers peered at the faces depicted on the icons hanging in the house. And I got cold. One of the icons depicted an old man he met on the shore, dressed in a wide light cloak. The oceanologist asked the hostess who was depicted on the icon, and she explained that it was the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. His comrade also recognized Nicholas the Wonderworker as an old man.

Student Pavel D. lived in a small, old and dilapidated house, inherited from his late grandmother. One day, unexpectedly waking up in the middle of the night, he saw a bearded man in an unusual attire standing near the bed. He imperiously demanded that Paul go with him. And Pavel immediately realized that he must go with the stranger. As soon as they left the house, the roof collapsed. And then the dilapidated house fell apart in a matter of seconds. Only one wall survived. The stranger disappeared.

Later, while raking through the rubble in search of his belongings, Pavel found an old icon that belonged to his grandmother.

A few years later, one of Pavel’s acquaintances suggested that the icon be restored. When the restorer removed the top layer, an image of a bearded saint was revealed underneath. And Paul recognized in him the one who saved him from death, forcing him to leave the house doomed to destruction.

It is, of course, impossible to blanketly deny that miracles with icons really happen. It is quite possible that they happen. Only messages about these real miracles are sometimes drowned in the stream of messages from charlatans and hoaxers about imaginary miracles.

You can ask any icon in the temple for health and well-being. But there are icons that help in special cases.

"Inexhaustible Chalice"

In the Church of the Resurrection of Christ near the Warsaw Station.

The icon is approached with a request to help in the fight against drunkenness, drug addiction and even addiction to gambling.

In Russia, the veneration of the icon began at the end of the 19th century. One peasant of the Tula province, a retired soldier, was a bitter drunkard. It got to the point where his legs were paralyzed. And in a dream, an elder schema-monk appeared before him with the words: “Go to the city of Serpukhov to the monastery, there is an icon of the Inexhaustible Chalice.” Serve a prayer service before her and you will be healthy.” The drunkard did not listen, the dream was repeated, and for the third time the elder ordered the command to be carried out so threateningly that the unfortunate man crawled to Serpukhov on all fours. He stopped for the night in a village, where a compassionate mistress wiped his bloody feet, and the next morning the peasant was able to stand on them for a little while. The next night it became even better, and he, leaning on crutches, made his way to the monastery. However, no one there knew such an icon. Finally, they remembered that in the passage to the sacristy there was an icon depicting a bowl. On its reverse side they saw the inscription “Inexhaustible Chalice.” The image was transferred to the temple and a prayer service was served. The former drunkard returned from Serpukhov healthy and teetotal. The news spread throughout the surrounding area, and pilgrims began to flock to the icon. Not only the drunkards themselves, but also their relatives and friends. After the revolution, the monastery was closed and all the icons were burned.

Only in the nineties of the twentieth century did the Moscow icon painter Alexander Sokolov create new icon. And when the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was being restored in St. Petersburg, where the Temperance Society operated before the revolution, St. Petersburg resident Sergei Golubev wrote a list of it. Every Monday at 18:00 a prayer service is held in front of the icon.

"Bread Icon"

In the temple “Recovery of the Lost” on the street. Volunteers, 35.

This image of the Mother of God is asked to send down daily bread, deliverance from material difficulties, preservation or search for work.

...In the 16th century, in the Solovetsky Monastery, the icon appeared to a monk - the future Saint Philip of Moscow, who was baking bread for the brethren. The icon was installed in the bakery, hence the name - “Bread”. After the monastery was closed, the icon was lost, but copies were preserved.

In besieged Leningrad, in the fall of 1941, the icon was found by Natalya Vasilyevna Likhacheva, a mother of two children. The family was so hungry that they ate newspapers. During these terrible days, Natalya Vasilievna was caught in the street by shelling. She fell, and when she got up, she was surprised to see three icons. On one there was an inscription: “Bread Pres. Mother of God." The woman brought the icons home. The next day, a soldier passing by the house gave her a kilogram of oats. This was the first help from the icon.

The family survived and carefully preserved the image. And Natalya Vasilievna’s daughter, Nina Mikhailovna, bequeathed the image to the temple, built on the site of bloody battles, on the front line of the defense of Leningrad. Once in the temple, the icon began to miraculously renew itself: the face, darkened by time, brightened.

Nevskaya "Quick to Hear"

In the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

The very name of the icon suggests that the Mother of God is turned to in cases where emergency help is needed.

The history of the image and the miracles associated with it goes back more than a millennium. The icon is kept on Mount Athos, and in 1914 the monks presented a copy of it to St. Petersburg. The “Quick to Hear” was placed in a specially built chapel, but it burned down. What a surprise it was when a preserved image was discovered in the ashes! The fame of the miracle spread throughout the city. People came to the icon from all over St. Petersburg, and they took it home to the sick and infirm. There is evidence that a dying woman with cancer recovered after a prayer service served at her bedside. The icon helps cure epilepsy and demonic possession, as well as those caught in captivity or in natural disasters, for example, a shipwreck.

It is interesting that the St. Petersburg image differs from the canonical one, which is why our icon was called “Nevskaya”. She is considered the guardian of the city along with Our Lady of Kazan, Tsarskoye Selo and Sorrowful (with pennies).

Reference

A copy of a specific revered icon is called a list of icons. Since it is considered a manifestation of Divine truth, and the icon painter, when creating an image, plays the role of only an intermediary - a conductor of this truth, then “prototype” and “copy” are absolutely equivalent, the list has the same name as the original icon, and has all its properties. There is no question of authenticity for an icon; every canonical icon is genuine, as it points to the Divine prototype. This may explain, for example, the huge number of different types of icons attributed by legend to one source. Indeed, each list can be considered to some extent an original.

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God Seeking the Lost is a divine image of the intercessor who consoles people in all sorrows. This icon is also called “Deliverance from the troubles of the afflicted.” The celebration in honor of the face of the Virgin Mary is held annually on February 18 (old style - February 5).

Why is this image called that?

Believers are interested in why this image of the Most Holy Theotokos is called “Seeking the Lost”? It's not really about dead people. It is customary to call the dead those who have stopped seeing anything good in their lives, have lost hope, have lost support; it is these people who pray to this icon for these people.

The Mother of God gives strength to the one who asks and to the one for whom they ask. Holy Virgin I am ready to grant forgiveness, that is, to exact, for everyone who is on the verge of death, literally or figuratively. The main meaning of the icon is the return to faith of those people who have drowned in vices or poverty, or suffer from illnesses. The image of “Recovery of the Lost” is the last hope for those who have fallen into despair and cannot help themselves. This face is also a support for parents praying for their children. Holy Mother of God considered the patroness and protector of minors.

Iconographic features of the image

In this icon, the Mother of God is depicted sitting. Little Jesus stands on her knees and puts his arms around his mother’s neck, pressing his left cheek to her cheek. The hands of the Holy Virgin form a ring around the figure of the infant Christ, her fingers are clasped. Although the image does not violate the canons of iconography, this type of shrine is one of the rarest.

There are several variants of this image: with the covered and uncovered head of the Virgin Mary, with clasped or unclasped hands. Sometimes the composition includes additional elements, for example, an image of saints or a window with a landscape. Thus, on the Moscow icon, the Virgin Mary is depicted surrounded by saints and with her head uncovered.

On the Bor icon, in the upper part, the baptism of Christ is depicted. This is due to the fact that the peasant Obukhov, according to popular belief, was miraculously saved from death on the feast of Epiphany. The dimensions of this image are also unusual: its height exceeds 200 cm and its width is 125 cm.

Now the shrine can be seen in many temples. She is present in such monasteries as:

1. Cathedral of the Resurrection of the Word (Moscow)
2. Temple of the Placing of the Robe of the Lord (Moscow).
3. Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Tarus).
4. Vysotsky Monastery (Serpukhov).
5. St. Nicholas Cathedral (Serpukhov).
6. Intercession Cathedral (Samara).
7. Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God (Marienburg).

It should be remembered that not only the original image, but also many copies from it have miraculous power.

How does the Holy Face help?

The main question that Orthodox Christians ask when they learn about the existence of this image is: what do they pray for to the icon of the Search for the Lost? The image of the Mother of God is addressed if those praying or their loved ones:

• turned away from the Lord, lost Faith in everything good and hope for a happy future;
• want to receive protection for themselves or their loved ones during hostilities;
• want to get rid of various ailments: headaches, fever, eye diseases, various serious diseases;
• hope to free themselves from harmful addictions (alcohol, drugs);
• they hope to successfully start a family, find happiness in relationships, learn wisdom and patience (most often young girls make such requests);
• they want their marriage to be strong and happy;
• want to repent and receive forgiveness for their sins;
• want their children to grow up healthy and happy;
• hope to alleviate the condition of hopeless patients.

Our Lady will help everyone who turns to her. The main thing is that the prayer comes from a pure heart and is performed with absolute faith in God. How stronger faith person, the faster he will receive help and intercession from the Virgin Mary.

How to address the image of the Blessed Virgin?

You can pray to the Mother of God using the canon or in your own words. It happens that a person begins to address the image using the text of the canon, but as the prayer progresses, his own words begin to escape, coming from the heart. In this case, you need to say everything your soul wants, and then continue reading the canon. It is best to address the Most Holy Theotokos in front of the icon in the temple.

We Orthodox Christians most often pray to the Virgin Mary using two prayer texts. There is also an akathist (church singing of praise) to the image of the Virgin Mary. The akathist contains 13 kontakia and ikos. It highlights some of the events associated with the appearance of this icon and its praise. The canon also contains requests to the Mother of God for help and protection; at the end of the appeal, a final prayer is read for the deliverance of all people from troubles.

History of the image and legends associated with it

The first mention of the icon of the Mother of God “Seeking the Lost” refers toVI century, it was then that people first saw miracles created by the Holy Image. According to legends, the monk Theophilus, who served as church steward in Adana, was slandered and then expelled from the bishop’s house. He harbored a strong resentment in his soul against those who did this to him, and turned away from God and the Virgin Mary. Then he made an alliance with the devil.

But finding himself on the threshold of spiritual death, Theophilus was very frightened by everything that he had managed to accomplish. He sincerely and fervently asked the Virgin Mary to save him. He prayed to the image of the Mother of God, which he called “Seeking the Lost.” The Mother of God, having heard the sincere prayer, accepted Theophilus’ repentance. She gave him forgiveness and freed him from his obligations to the devil. After this, the monk dedicated his life to serving God.

The first miracles performed by the Holy Face in Rus'

The first mention of the icon “Seeking the Lost” on the territory of Rus' is in church records in 1548. This image was located in the Moscow Church of the Resurrection of the Word, and supposedly belonged to the brush of an Italian artist.

According to legends, in 1666, the governor of the city of Saratov, Kadyshev, was wounded, but was healed after he saw the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary in the Volga. 200 years later, his descendant Kadysheva founded a convent in the village of Rakovka and became its first abbess. The main value of this monastery was the icon “Seeking the Lost,” which healed many believers. Count Sheremetyev ordered a gilded icon case decorated with jewelry for this image. He did this out of gratitude for the healing of his son.

Acts of the Bor (Tarus) image

The most famous miracle created by the Bor Icon of the Mother of God is the salvation of the peasant Fedot Obukhov. He left the house in severe frost and got lost along the way; by evening the peasant was exhausted and very cold, after which, with a feeling of hopelessness, he lay down in the sleigh and began to pray to the Virgin Mary.

He promised the Holy Intercessor that if he remained alive, he would order a copy of the icon of the Mother of God “Seeking the Lost” and give it to the parish church. Miraculously, Obukhov’s sleigh ended up at one of the peasant huts. The owner of this hut heard female voice, who said: “Take it!” He went outside and saw Fedot freezing in his sleigh.

After his recovery, Obukhov did not forget about his vow and turned to the icon painter Gurov with a request to draw an icon. But the icon painter demanded from the peasant a sum of money that he did not have. As soon as Obukhov walked out the door, the icon painter went blind. Then he realized that he had received punishment for his greed. After this, Gurov promised Fedot to write an account at any price, and his sight returned.

The icon, commissioned by Fedot Obukhov, was donated to the church in the village of Bor. Many people came to worship this image and ask for its intercession. A new church was then built using donations from parishioners. And again a miracle happened. The church elder saw in a dream where this icon would be located, and then a decree came from the Synod to build a temple in this very place.

In 1871, the holy image saved the city of Serpukhov from a cholera epidemic. The icon also helped heal a mute and paralyzed boy. In gratitude for the miracles performed, the city residents presented the Bor church with a Gospel, on which an icon was depicted and a record was made of the miracles that had happened.

This image was lost in Soviet period, but in 1985 the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the Tarusa region was given a copy of this icon. The fact that this is a copy of the revered Face is evidenced by the inscription on the image.

Miracles of the image from the Church of the Resurrection of the Word

According to legend, the Face of the Mother of God, now located in the Church of the Resurrection of the Word, was transferred from the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Palashevsky Lane.

The last owner of the icon became a widower and found himself on the verge of poverty. He fervently prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos, asking her to save him from despair and arrange the fate of his three daughters. The Virgin Mary responded to the man’s prayers and helped his daughters get married successfully. The owner considered himself unworthy to keep this miraculous image at home and gave it to the temple.

In 1812, the French plundered the Palashevsky Temple. Believers then found the icon among the rubbish; it was split into three parts. But even in this form, the miraculous face performed many healings. Brides approached him on the eve of the wedding asking for happy marriage, as well as people dying from poverty, drunkenness, and disease. Mothers came to the icon asking for intercession for their children.

The restored temple worked until 1934, and then it was closed. Icons and utensils from the temple were transferred to various monasteries and churches. The image “Recovery of the Lost” chose a new home for itself. When they tried to transport the icon to the Pimenovskaya Church, the cart did not budge.

Then people decided that the Mother of God herself did not want to be there, and chose a new place for the shrine - the Resurrection Church, which was located on Malaya Bronnaya. The carriage was literally flying to its destination. After the church was demolished, the image was moved to the Church of the Resurrection of the Word.

The history of the holy face from the Vysotsky Monastery

Every year, starting from 1892, the miraculous icon was delivered to the city of Serpukhov for the solemn procession of the Cross. Every Orthodox Christian had the opportunity to venerate this shrine and ask the Mother of God for help. The opportunity to take this image for prayer at home was considered especially lucky.

The custom stopped after October revolution, and the temple where the icon was kept was destroyed. But believers continued to worship the shrine and carefully preserved its copies. One of these copies was in the Trinity Church, but it was closed in 1961, and the icon was no longer available to believers; for 35 years it was in the storage of the Serpukhov Historical and Art Museum.

The holy image reappeared in the city in 1996; it was placed in the Elias Church for prayers. This day became a real holiday for the city residents. The final return of the “Recovery of the Dead” occurred on May 18, 1997, when the icon was transferred by the Historical and Art Museum to the Vysotsky Monastery. Now the Holy Face is available to believers and continues to perform miracles.

The Legend of the Miracles of the Image from the Pskov Monastery

The appearance of the Divine Image in the Pskov Monastery is covered in legends. According to legend, Blessed Matrona of Moscow told her mother that she kept dreaming that the Queen of Heaven was asking to come to their church. After this, Matrona blessed the women to collect money from all villages to make the shrine.

Some believers brought generous donations, while others were stingy. So, one man reluctantly gave one ruble, but his brother laughed and gave only one kopeck. When the donations were brought to Matrona, she sorted through them, found the same ruble and kopeck, and asked to return them back, because they spoiled all the other money.

When the required amount was collected, Matrona turned to the artist and asked if he could make the image. He replied that this was a common thing for him. Matrona ordered him to confess and receive communion at the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and only after that begin work. The artist did so, but after a while he returned to Matrona and said that he could not paint the image.

The blessed one felt that the icon painter had one unconfessed sin left. She informed him about this. The artist was shocked and again went to repentance and communion. He also asked for forgiveness from Saint Matrona. After this, the preacher told him that now he could paint an icon. He was actually able to make it. Matrona did not part with this Holy Face until her death. Now the image is kept next to the relics of the blessed one.

Other famous images

Miraculous events are associated not only with the above icons, but also with other images of the “Recovery of the Lost.” Thus, the Face, which is kept in the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God in the city of Marienburg, was painted in 1888 by nuns from the Rakovskaya convent.

After the October Revolution, the Holy Image was lost, but was miraculously found in the 50s of the last century. For a long time it was used as a plank on a pedestrian bridge. Then he was placed in the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, after which miracles began to happen. The face began to stream myrrh on the eve of the celebration of the Remembrance Day of this icon in February 1994.

According to the surviving ancient manuscripts, the icon from the Rakovsky Monastery changed its appearance several times: usually it was dark, with barely visible images, but sometimes the image brightened and began to glow from within. Believers considered this to be God's message about upcoming joyful events. The case of the appearance of drops of myrrh on the hands of the Virgin Mary and Jesus is also described. This happened from May to October 1895, that is, in the first months after the consecration of the new Holy Trinity Monastery.

And the miraculous image “Recovery of the Dead” from the village of Malizhina, Kharkov province, which appeared in 1770, saved local residents from cholera three times.

Often, when trouble comes or hopeless situations arise, we begin to look for one or another miraculous icon. True miracles happen even in our time much more often than we think. And everyone who witnessed the miracle was convinced that people receive what they ask for, truly “according to their faith,” as it is said in the Gospel. This is precisely what explains, for example, the impact on us miraculous icons: fifty people will pray for healing at the same time, and only those of them whose soul is pure enough to accept God’s Grace and be healed will receive it. That is, those whose faith in God is not empty words and not just observance of external rituals, but a genuine, internal desire to change oneself in better side, learn to live by the commandments.

Each person is able to experience this for himself, while simultaneously objectively assessing his personal spiritual state, his degree of closeness or distance from God. “Active” miraculous icons, the miracles from which - without any exaggeration - occur every day, are found in almost every city in Russia. And there are especially many such icons in its capital - Moscow. There is no person today in whose life there are no difficult, sometimes seemingly insoluble problems. And increasingly, only a miracle can help us... Take, for example, the difficulties associated with raising children. The generation of today's 16-18 year old teenagers sometimes resembles to such an extent the description of “people of the last times”, which was given by the Apostle Paul many centuries ago (“... deceitful, disobedient to their parents, incapable of love...”, etc. .d.), that at the thought of this, a completely justified despair is ready to seize the soul.

Of course, there is a very real explanation for this state of affairs. Many parents of today's seventeen-year-olds themselves missed out on their children when they were very young. The era has turned, and for the first time in our lives we are faced with the task of not so much raising our child, but simply feeding him, which seemed much more important than the first. After all, today’s “teenage parents” have never before own life have not faced the prospect of hunger and cold, except that they have heard about it from their mothers, fathers and grandmothers! Well, while they were chasing at least relative material well-being, they forgot, did not have time to explain to their children that in life, besides it, there is something more important - something that is called “high”, “spiritual”. Teenagers, watching the fuss of adults around the ruble, and more often the dollar, could not acquire any ideals other than the same “green” ones, and in general they could not know that these ideals exist... Well, where there is no spirituality , exactly what is its opposite arises: cynicism, craving for primitive pleasures, spiritual emptiness filled with alcohol and drugs... A holy place really cannot be empty.

But no matter who is to blame for this, we cannot give up, looking at our sons and daughters, adopted and raised in our stead during the difficult time of change. Since ancient times, in Rus', in such cases, they relied on God not only in words, but also in deeds: what is impossible for man is possible for God. “Unsuccessful” children were begged by their mothers and fathers, mothers - as it happened - much more often.

Where to go, which icon to turn to with your troubles? How to find a miraculous icon? Maybe all the roads in the world really are, in accordance with famous saying, lead to Rome. But here in Russia they often lead to Moscow. That is why, undoubtedly, for many it will be useful to know where and what miraculous icon of Moscow is located, how to get to it in a huge city. Just call the desired temple and order a service.

Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God “Quench My Sorrows”. Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Kuznetsy. Address: 113184, Moscow, Vishnyakovsky lane, 15, tel. 951-61-41. Directions: metro stations "Paveletskaya", "Novokuznetskaya", then trams 3, 39, A. Help with children, in everyday troubles.

Myrrh-streaming icon of the Holy Passion-Bearer Tsar Nicholas II. Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Pyzhi. Address: 109017, Moscow, st. B. Ordynka, 27a/8, tel. 951-37-42. Directions: Tretyakovskaya metro station, then on foot.

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Helper of Sinners”. Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Khamovniki. Address: 119021, Moscow, st. Lev Tolstoy, 2, tel. 246-72-08, 246-69-52. Directions: metro station "Park Kultury", then walk 300 meters along Komsomolsky Prospekt.

The miraculous Bogolyubskaya-Moscow Icon of the Mother of God, the miraculous icon “Quench My Sorrows” and the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which itself appeared on the glass of the icon case about three years ago (the face of the Savior). Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul at the Yauz Gate. Address: 109028, Petropavlovsky lane, 4-6, tel. 917-29-75. Directions: metro station "Kitay-Gorod", then trolleybuses 45, 63 to the stop "Yauzskie Vorota". Or Chistye Prudy metro station, trams 3, 39. Help in any trouble.

Relics of the Holy Righteous Matrona of Moscow, famous for a variety of miracles. Pokrovsky Monastery (female, stauropegial). Address: 109147, Moscow, Taganskaya street, 58, tel. 911-49-20, 911-81-66. Directions: metro station “Marksistskaya”, trolleybuses 16, 26, 63, second stop “Abelmanovskaya Zastava”. Help in everyday troubles, healing.

Miraculous Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God, written, according to legend, by the holy Apostle Evangelist Luke. Church of the Nativity of Christ in Izmailovo. Address: 105122, Moscow, Izmailovsky pr., 28, tel. 164-28-77. Directions: metro station “Izmailovskaya”, then bus. 34 to the stop “3rd Spinning Street”. Or Preobrazhenskaya Ploshchad metro station, then bus. 230 to the “School” stop. Help with children in desperate and hopeless situations.

Relics of the Hieromartyr Hilarion (Trinity), an exact copy of the Shroud of Turin(negative and positive). Sretensky Monastery(male, stauropegial). Address: 103031, Moscow, st. B. Lubyanka, 19, building 1, tel. 923-80-46, 923-34-44. Directions: metro station “Kuznetsky Most”, “Lubyanka”, “Chistye Prudy”, “Turgenevskaya”, then trolley. 9, 48. Spiritual help.

The miraculous Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, an exact copy of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in Alekseevsky. Address: 129366, Moscow, st. Church Hill, 26-a, tel. 283-43-44. Directions: VDNH metro station, southern exit. Help with children, in desperate situations, healing.

Miraculous Georgian Icon of the Mother of God. Church of the Holy Trinity in Nikitniki ( Georgian Icons on Varvarka). Address: 103012, Moscow, Nikitnikov lane, 3. Tel. 298-34-51. Directions: metro station "Kitay-Gorod". Spiritual help, begging for unbelieving loved ones.

The miraculous Kosin (Modena) Icon of the Mother of God in Kosin. Churches of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' in Kosin - a complex of churches, the miraculous icon is located in the Assumption Church. Address: 111622, Moscow, B. Kosinskaya street, 29, tel. 700-22-09. Directions: metro station "Vykhino" or platform "Vykhino", then bus. 602, 772 to the “Fabrika” stop. Praying for children, healing, helping in everyday troubles.

The miraculous Kiysky Cross. This is a Cross with particles of the relics of about 400 saints. Temple St. Sergius Radonezhsky in Krapivniki. Address: 103051, Moscow, Krapivinsky lane, 4. Directions: metro station “Chekhovskaya”, “Pushkinskaya”, then trolleybus 15, 31 to the stop “Trubnaya Ploshchad”. Help in any spiritual, mental and everyday sorrows.

Which of the above-mentioned miraculous icons should we turn to and what other troubles should we turn to? This question often arises among those who have just come to faith in God and simply do not know that miraculous icons and relics essentially have no “specialization.” There is rather a certain tradition that has developed over the years, decades, centuries... Some of these miraculous icons have been known since the 13th-14th centuries, others - since the 17th-18th centuries. There are also those that were revealed quite recently. For example, the myrrh-streaming icon of Emperor Nicholas || written in 1996 in the USA by the Russian artist Pavel Tikhomirov to mark the centenary of the beginning of the reign of the last Russian Tsar. On the 63rd day of the fragrance, November 7, it began to flow myrrh, and its myrrh flow periodically resumes to this day. This image is for a short time became famous for miracles of all kinds - from healing diseases that were not amenable to conventional treatment, to getting rid of smoking...

If we talk about tradition, then with problems related to children, Russian mothers from time immemorial have turned to the Mother of God and Her miraculous icons for help, receiving help from them. There are countless examples of such help: from healing sick children to correcting them and bringing them to faith in God. However, tradition does not at all exclude turning to the icons of the Mother of God with other problems, when for a person they are insoluble! It is not in vain that the Most Holy Theotokos is considered the patroness of our country; Russia is Her “destiny”, over which the Protection of the Mother of God has been held since time immemorial. Throughout our history, Russian tsars have resorted to the help of Her miraculous icons, and the Most Holy Virgin Mary has saved our state more than once or twice in difficult times - be it war, famine or epidemic.

With the most different problems Today people also go to the holy relics. Several books have been published about the gracious help of the Matronushka of Moscow with children, with work, in family matters, and even in financial matters. Their content consists mainly of letters from our contemporaries with gratitude for Matronushka’s wonderful help. They come from all over Russia and by mail, and are often dropped by people into a special urn directly in the church, when a person comes to order a thanksgiving prayer service for this perhaps the last of the Russian saints, in fact our contemporary... Matronushka of Moscow died in the early 50s. s of the twentieth century...

Not far from Moscow, in Sergiev Posad, there is the world-famous Lavra of St. Sergius of Radonezh, in one of the churches of which are his holy relics. Traditionally, the Reverend Father Sergius of Radonezh provides assistance in studying to children for whom it is difficult or not at all. But here's an incident that happened just a little over eight years ago. The case is incredible even among other miracles: St. Sergius of Radonezh HIMSELF called a woman with her almost nine-year-old son, warning that otherwise the child would die... on the water! He called in the literal sense of the word: he woke up this woman, who then actually did not believe in God at all, for three nights in a row male voice, uttering the same warning phrase, and on the fourth morning she received a call from a friend who had managed to visit the temple. An acquaintance stood near the icon of the Saint and also heard a voice telling her to call the boy’s mother and offer her an urgent trip to Sergiev Posad - to the relics... It is clear that after such an incredible coincidence the woman, as they say, “took off from the spot”: on that That same day, she and her child went and venerated the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh. A month later, during a trip along the Volga, the boy actually found himself in a situation in which he survived only by a miracle...

And the last thing is about choosing a miraculous icon. When asking for miraculous help from Above, listen first of all to yourself, to your own heart: the human soul, if given the opportunity to freely choose, will never make a mistake, it itself will lead us where we need to go... In life, we more often call this intuition. But what is intuition if not the ability given to every person, albeit not always, but in moments of special spiritual silence, to hear the voice of God calling us to himself?..

The icon is in an important way For Orthodox man. After all, it is to the icon that he goes to pray for the well-being, happiness, and health of his loved ones. People ask the icon for help in solving difficult situations. There are many different images that people turn to, different saints, different patrons, but they all inspire faith and help those praying

1. AKHTYRA ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

miraculous icon, revered in Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Revealed in 1739 in the village of Akhtyrka, Kharkov diocese; in 1751 the Synod decided to venerate the Akhtyrka icon as miraculous. The Akhtyrka icon was especially revered by the Russian imperial house. The glorification of the icon was facilitated by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, with whose money, according to the design of the architect V.V. Rastrelli, the majestic Intercession Cathedral was built in Akhtyrka in 1768 for the miraculous icon. The iconography of the Akhtyrka icon goes back to Italo-Greek models. On Russian icons of the 18th-19th centuries, the Mother of God is depicted with her hands folded on her chest in prayer (in accordance with Catholic tradition), to Her left - Calvary Cross with the crucified Jesus Christ. The people revered the icon as a healer for many diseases; The water with which the icons of the Akhtyrskaya Mother of God were washed was used to treat fever. In 1905, the miraculous Akhtyrka Icon was robbed; in 1917 she disappeared from the Intercession Cathedral. Several copies were made of the miraculous Akhtyrka icon, which were venerated mainly in the south of Russia, especially in the Kharkov diocese.
Celebration - July 2(15)

2. BOGOLYUBSKAYA ICON of the Mother of God

one of the oldest miraculous icons of the Mother of God; created in 1157 (?) by order of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. The iconography of the Bogolyubskaya icon goes back to the Byzantine type of the Mother of God Intercessor (Agiosoritissa), praying for the human race. On the Bogolyubskaya icon, the Mother of God is depicted full-length, in her hand is an unfolded scroll with the text of a prayer addressed to Christ, and in the upper field is the Deesis. The original painting on the ancient Bogolyubskaya icon is very worn. The veneration of the icon as miraculous dates back to the Moscow period of Russian history. At the beginning of the 15th century, the icon was probably brought to Moscow for restoration, and from that time its glorification began. In the 16th and 17th centuries, images of the Bogolyubskaya icon with kneeling people (saints), called “Prayer for the People,” were especially revered. In the 18th-19th centuries, locally revered icons of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God were in many churches; they were especially resorted to with prayer for deliverance from the plague in 1771. Currently, the Bogolyubskaya icon is in the newly opened Princess Monastery in Vladimir.
Celebration - June 18 (July 1).

3. VLADIMIR ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD,

the main miraculous icon of Russia, the greatest national Russian shrine. The icon of the Mother of God with the Child Christ in her arms, in the iconographic type of Tenderness, was executed by a talented Greek artist in Constantinople at the beginning of the 12th century. and in the first third of the century she was sent to Kyiv. According to the chronicle, in 1155 Andrei Bogolyubsky took it with him to the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, where it was kept in the Assumption Cathedral that he built and where it began to be revered as the miraculous Vladimir. In the 1160s the first legend was compiled about the miracles of the icon (healing people from illnesses, helping Andrei Bogolyubsky and his associates). In 1395, during the invasion of Rus' by the Tatars led by Timur, the Vladimir Icon was brought to Moscow to pray for the protection and salvation of the city. The Sretensky Monastery was founded at the meeting place of the icon in Moscow. A few years after the miraculous deliverance of Moscow from destruction, a story about this event was compiled, in which the Vladimir Icon was correlated with the famous Byzantine Hodegetria, thanks to which the legend about the Evangelist Luke, who painted the lifetime image of the Virgin Mary with the Child Christ, was associated with it. Throughout the 15th century. the icon was repeatedly returned to Vladimir; its final transfer to Moscow, to the new Assumption Cathedral (1475-79), occurred on June 23, 1480. In the 16th century. during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, veneration Vladimir icon reached its apogee. Under the leadership of Metropolitan Macarius, a series of tales about the miracles of the Mother of God of Vladimir was compiled, most of which were included in the main literary and historical work of the 16th century, the so-called. Degree book of the royal genealogy. Numerous revered copies-lists were made from the icon. The most famous of them: two lists of the early 15th century, one of which was made for the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, the other for the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, and a list of the early 16th century. with the marks of holidays and saints in the margins, stored, like the first list, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
For centuries, the icon was decorated with massive frames of gold and silver with precious stones and pearls and numerous pendants (women's jewelry, crosses, icons, coins). The first rich gold frame (according to the chronicle - about five kg of gold, not counting silver) was made by order of Andrei Bogolyubsky (not preserved); the second gold frame was commissioned by Metropolitan Photius at the beginning of the 15th century; in 1656-58, by decree of Patriarch Nikon, a golden chasuble was made (the frame and chasuble are kept in the Armory Chamber). Over the centuries, the Vladimir Icon was restored several times; fields were added; at the beginning of the 15th century. on the back side of the icon they painted (or updated the ancient image) a throne with the instruments of Christ’s suffering. The scientific restoration of the Vladimir Icon was carried out in 1918: from under the records it opened ancient painting, from which only faces and small fragments on clothes remained. Currently the icon is kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
The church celebration of the Vladimir Icon takes place three times a year: August 26 (in memory of miraculous salvation Moscow in 1395), June 23 (in memory of the final transfer of the icon to Moscow and the bloodless victory over the Tatars on the Ugra River in 1480) and May 21 (in memory of the deliverance of Moscow from the raid of the Crimean Khan Makhmet-Girey in 1521). In ancient times, celebrations were accompanied by religious processions with a miraculous image or one of its copies.

4. BLAHERNA ICON of the Mother of God (Hodegetria)

one of the Greek icons especially revered in Moscow in the 17th century. Brought in 1653 from Constantinople as a gift to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Along with the icon, a letter was sent in which its origin was associated with the Blachernae Monastery of Constantinople, and the history of its veneration with early history Hodegetria of Constantinople. The icon was kept in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin; the king took her with him on military campaigns. The celebration of the icon took place in the fifth week of Great Lent (Saturday of the Akathist). The Blachernae icon is in relief, filled with wax and tempera; according to the iconographic type - the list of Hodegetria, close to the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God; created in the second half of the 15th - early 16th (?) centuries, perhaps as a repetition of an ancient icon on an old board. The icon has the Greek inscription “God-protected.” Currently, the icon is kept in the Church of the Deposition of the Robe of the Moscow Kremlin. Revered relief lists of the second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries: in the family estate of the Stroganov-Golitsyns in the village. Vlakhernsky (Kuzminki) near Moscow (now in the Tretyakov Gallery), in the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery in Moscow (now in the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in the Simonov Monastery), in the Spaso-Vlakhernsky Monastery near the city of Dmitrov (now in the Central Museum of Ancient Russian Art named after Andrei Rublev in Moscow ).
Celebration - July 7 (20).

5. “JOY TO ALL WHO SORRY”

one of the most popular and widely revered in Imperial Russia miraculous icons of the Mother of God, which has a number of significantly different iconographic options.
According to legend, the first miracle from the icon with the title “Joy of All Who Sorrow” occurred in 1688: thanks to a prayer service at the image of the Mother of God in the Church of the Transfiguration on Bolshaya Ordynka in Moscow, she was cured of a serious illness Native sister Patriarch Joachim. In memory of this, the celebration of the icon was established, and the temple received the name of the miraculous image. The icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow” from this temple is revered as an ancient miraculous one. In this image, in the center of the icon, the Mother of God is depicted with the Child Christ in her arms. She is surrounded by people thirsty for healing and intercession, and at the top are angels and saints comforting people; on the ribbons there are texts with prayer names of grace-filled help from the Mother of God (“helper of the offended”, “hungry nurse”, “healing of the sick”, etc.). On abbreviated copies-lists and replicas of the miraculous image, the Mother of God is depicted without the Child.
The Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” received special veneration in St. Petersburg, where the list of the Moscow shrine was transferred by Princess Natalya Alekseevna in 1711. The icon became one of the most important shrines of St. Petersburg and was revered as miraculous; Numerous copies and simplified replicas were made from it, one of which became famous in 1888 in a poor chapel at the Glass Factory (during severe thunderstorm 12 copper pennies from a broken begging mug were attached to the icon, healings and other miracles began to occur from the icon).
In the 18th and 19th centuries, icons of the Mother of God with the title “Joy of All Who Sorrow” were revered as miraculous in many urban and rural churches throughout Russia. The icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow” from the church of the same name at the House of Mercy in Harbin in the Far East was taken to the USA and became a shrine of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.
Celebration - October 24 (November 6).

6. “SOVEREIGN” ICON of the Mother of God

the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, revealed, according to legend, on the day of abdication March 2 (15), 1917, of Emperor Nicholas II, which in the eyes of the Russian Orthodox people marked the transfer of supreme royal power and guardianship of Our Lady of Russia. The icon was found in the basement of the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye and immediately received veneration as miraculous. The icon was taken to Moscow churches, factories and factories; copies were made from it. The name of the icon “Sovereign” corresponds to its iconography: the Mother of God is depicted as the Queen of Heaven, seated on a throne, dressed in red royal clothes, with a crown on her head, right hand- a scepter, in the left - an orb (the ball is a symbol of the Universe), on Her knees - the Youth Christ, blessing with his right hand, and pointing to the orb with his left; above in the clouds is God the Father blessing. The icon is completed oil paints on a board with a semi-circular top, dates from the late 18th century. Initially it belonged to the Kremlin Ascension Convent; in 1812, during Napoleon's attack, it was hidden in Kolomenskoye, where it remained forgotten. In 1928, the “Sovereign” icon was transferred to the State Historical Museum, in 1990 returned to Kolomenskoye (to the Church of Our Lady of Kazan).
Celebration - March 2 (15).

7. DON ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD,

one of the most revered miraculous icons in Russia. Refers to the “Tenderness” iconographic type. Performed for the Assumption Cathedral in Kolomna at the end of the 14th century. On the back of the icon is the Assumption of the Mother of God. The glorification of the icon is associated with the military campaigns of Ivan the Terrible against the khanates formed on the ruins of the Golden Horde, and with the memory of the victory on the banks of the Don in the Battle of Kulikovo 1380. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the winner in the Battle of Kulikovo, Moscow Prince Dmitry Ivanovich (1350-89), was given the nickname Donskoy. The Assumption Cathedral in Kolomna, founded by Dmitry Ivanovich on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo, began to be called Donskoy, and the icon of the Mother of God kept there became Donskoy. In 1552, Ivan the Terrible took the icon on a military campaign against Kazan, and after the conquest of the Kazan Khanate he placed the Don Icon in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The Don Icon also took part in Ivan the Terrible’s campaign against Polotsk in 1563. The intercession of the icon (after Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich’s prayer before it) was associated with the salvation of Moscow from a raid Crimean Tatars Khan Kazy-Girey in 1591. In memory of this event, the Donskoy Monastery was founded in Moscow, for which an exact copy of the original was made. During the 17th-19th centuries. the icon was revered as an effective intercessor against heterodox and foreign enemies. They turned to her with prayers, composed words of praise, stories and legends, which reflected how real facts its stories, recorded in the chronicles of the 16th century, and those composed in the 17th century. legends about the participation of the icon in the Battle of Kulikovo, during which the icon was allegedly given to Prince Dmitry " Don Cossacks" The icon was probably venerated at the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century, as evidenced by its early reduced copies. In the 17th century The icon had a very rich gold frame with numerous precious stones (not preserved). Currently, the icon is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
The annual celebration of the Don Icon on August 19 (September 1) with a religious procession to the Donskoy Monastery was established in the mid-17th century.

8. “LIFE-GIVING SOURCE”

the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, located in the Constantinople monastery of Our Lady of Pigi (Source), executed on the wall using the mosaic technique in the 14th century. In the iconographic type " Life-Giving Spring"(Zodochos Pigi), which became widespread in the post-Byzantine period in Italo-Cretan painting, the Mother of God with the Child Christ is depicted from the waist up, sitting in a pool in the form of a large stone bowl, from which water pours through drain holes into the lower pool; below are figures of people thirsting for healing. In Rus', icons of the “Life-Giving Source” appeared in the 17th century. In the 18-19 centuries, especially revered icons of the “Life-Giving Source” were located in the Sarov Hermitage, in Tula, in the Novodevichy Monastery in Moscow and in many other cities throughout Russia, including in the Solovetsky Monastery (written by order of the Solovetsky Archimandrite in Constantinople).
Celebration of the Life-Giving Source icon on Easter Friday.

9. “SIGN” KURSK-ROOT ICON of the Mother of God

miraculous icon, the most famous copy-list of the Novgorod icon “The Sign”. The history of her veneration probably began in the 16th century. According to legend, in 1597 Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered the “Sign” icon, revered in Kursk, to be brought to Moscow. In Moscow, the icon was updated: it was inserted into a frame with images of the prophets, Tsarina Irina Feodorovna decorated it with a precious frame. Soon the icon was returned to Kursk, where the Root Monastery was founded (named in memory of the appearance of the icon, which, according to legend, occurred in the 13th century “at the root of a tree”). The icon was again brought to Moscow by False Dmitry I, and returned to Kursk in 1615 by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. In 1898, the Socialist Revolutionaries tried to blow up the shrine, but it remained unharmed. In 1918, the miraculous Kursk-Root Icon and its copy in precious frames were stolen, but were soon found abandoned (without frames). In 1920, the icon was taken abroad: after a temporary return to the Crimea, to the army of General Wrangel, it was sent to Yugoslavia, where it remained for 25 years; during the Second World War in 1944 transported to Germany. Since 1951 it has been a shrine of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad in the USA.
The surviving Kursk-Root icon “The Sign” is small in size, executed at the end of the 16th century; the images of the prophets on the frame are later. In the 17th-19th centuries, the icon was especially revered as the patroness of the Orthodox army; copies of it were taken on military campaigns. Every year the icon was carried in procession from the Kursk Sign Cathedral, where it had been kept since the 17th century, to the Root Hermitage. Numerous copies of the icon (mainly in the southern regions of Russia) were also considered miraculous.
Its celebration, like other “Sign” lists, is on November 27 (December 10).

10. “THE SIGN” NOVGOROD ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

the oldest Russian miraculous icon of the Mother of God, the main shrine of Veliky Novgorod and the Russian North. She was revered as the patroness of Novgorod already in the 12th century. The legend, compiled in the 14th century on the basis of ancient sources, says that on February 25, 1169, during the siege of Novgorod by the troops of the Suzdal prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, the icon was taken to the city wall; one of the arrows of the besiegers hit the image of the Mother of God, the icon turned its face to the city, tears flowed from the eyes of the Mother of God; Amazed by this miracle, the Suzdal residents began to attack each other in panic and were defeated by the Novgorodians. In the 15th-16th centuries, icons depicting this miracle were painted in Novgorod. At the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, the miraculous icon received the name “Sign” (meaning a sign of God’s mercy). The icon was widely revered in subsequent centuries, becoming an all-Russian shrine.
The Novgorod Icon “The Sign” was created in the first half of the 12th century. According to the iconography, it is a half-length image of Oranta, on the chest of the Mother of God there is a medallion with the image of the blessing of the Christ Child. On the other side are the saints (either Peter and Anastasia, or Joachim and Anna - inscriptions with their names have not been preserved), represented by the praying people to the image of Christ. Over the centuries, the icon was restored many times; in 1565 it was renewed by Metropolitan Macarius. From the 12th century painting, only fragments of the blue robe of the Mother of God on the front side and images of saints on the back have survived. At the beginning of the 20th century, the icon had a massive gold frame with precious stones.
Initially, the icon was located in the Church of the Transfiguration on Ilyin Street; in the mid-15th century it was moved to the church of the same name built for it. During the years of Soviet power, the icon was kept in the Novgorod Museum; currently - in the newly opened Novgorod for worship St. Sophia Cathedral. Throughout the 12th-19th centuries, numerous copy copies of the icon were made, which were widely revered throughout Russia; the most famous of them: Abalatskaya (1637, the main shrine of Siberia), Tsarskoye Selo (in the Znamenskaya Church of Tsarskoe Selo; considered the Romanov family shrine), Seraphim-Ponetaevskaya (1879, the main shrine of the Seraphim-Ponetaevsky women's monastery).
Celebration - November 27 (December 10).

11. IVERIAN ICON of the Mother of God (Hodegetria)

one of the most famous and revered icons of the Orthodox world, the shrine of the Iveron (Georgian) monastery on Mount Athos. According to the legend in Greek, Georgian and Russian, known in several versions, the icon of the Mother of God, saved from the iconoclasts, miraculously ended up in the Iveron Monastery on Athos; here she was placed in the gate church and received the name Portaitissa (Goalkeeper). The ancient miraculous icon of the Iveron monastery is a version of the Hodegetria, in which the face of the Mother of God is inclined and turned towards the Infant Christ, also represented in a slight turn towards the Mother. On the chin of the Mother of God there is a bleeding wound, according to legend, inflicted by opponents of the icons. The icon dates back to the 11th-12th centuries; silver Georgian setting - early 16th century. In the 17th century In Russia, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the Iveron Icon was especially revered. By his order, in 1648, in the Iveron Monastery, the icon painter Hieromonk Iamblichus made an exact copy of the icon, which was located in the 17th century. in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, and then transferred to the Novodevichy Convent. The second exact copy of the Athos shrine was made in 1655 by order of Patriarch Nikon and was located in the Iveron Monastery in Valdai, which he founded (not preserved). Two small Athonite copies of the Iveron Icon, which belonged to princesses Sophia and Evdokia, daughters of Alexei Mikhailovich, after their death were placed in the tombstone iconostases of the Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent. The most famous, famous for its numerous miracles, was a Russian copy-copy of a Greek icon of 1648, located in the Iveron Chapel at the Resurrection Gate of the Kitai-Gorod Wall, from which new copies were made, revered as miraculous (Iveron Icon in the Church of the Resurrection in Sokolniki in Moscow; not preserved Iveron Icon 1672 letters by Simon Ushakov in Nizhny Novgorod). In 1929 the Iveron Chapel was closed, and in 1934 it was demolished along with the Resurrection Gate. The location of the image of the Iveron Chapel is not known exactly; according to the latest data, the Iverskaya icon from the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery can be identified with it. In 1995, the Resurrection Gate and the Iverskaya Chapel were restored, for which a new list(performed by the hieromonk of the Xenophon Monastery, icon painter Luke). In the chapel, in front of the image, a daily, continuous service is performed with the reading of the Akathist.
Celebration of the Iveron Icon of Portaitis on Athos - on the third day of Easter, Iveron copies in Russia - October 13 (26)

12. JERUSALEM ICON of the Mother of God (Korsun, Gethsemane) (Hodegetria

a miraculous icon, a revered ancient version of the Hodegetria, reminiscent of the Iveron Icon; It is distinguished by a left-sided image of the Infant Christ (sitting on the right hand of the Mother of God). According to a later legend, which reflected information about the veneration of Constantinople shrines and events in Russian history, the icon was painted in the 15th year after the repose of the Mother of God in Gethsemane in Jerusalem by the Apostle Luke, from where it was transferred to Constantinople, then to Chersonesos, then to Kyiv and, finally, to the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral; in the second half of the 16th century, Tsar Ivan the Terrible took the icon to Moscow. There are two known venerated icons, called Jerusalem icons in later sources, and Korsun icons in earlier sources (before the 18th century): in the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral (late icon in a silver frame of the 11th century) and in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin ( ancient icon or a list from Novgorod; disappeared in 1812 and was replaced by a 17th century list). Icons from the 16th and 17th centuries, which have a similar iconography and are called Jerusalem icons, repeat the revered Novgorod icon.
Celebration - October 12 (25).

13. “MERCIFUL” KYKKI ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

miraculous icon, the main shrine of the island of Cyprus, one of the three icons of the Mother of God, painted, according to Greek tradition, by the Evangelist Luke. In iconography, it is the most expressive version of Eleusa (Tenderness), with the frolicking Infant Christ in the arms of the Mother of God. The name “Kykkos” is associated with the name of Mount Kokkos (or Kykkos). Copies of the miraculous Kykkos icon were venerated in Russia in the 17th century; one of them was located in the Florishcheva Hermitage of the Vladimir diocese.
Celebration - November 15 (28) and December 26 (January 8).

14. KAZAN ICON of the Mother of God (Hodegetria)

the universally revered and most popular miraculous icon of the Mother of God in Russia. Appeared in Kazan in 1579 after its annexation to the Moscow state. The circumstances of the acquisition of the Kazan Icon are described in detail by the future Patriarch Hermogenes, a participant in this event. A brief legend, together with the first copy-list of the Kazan icon, was sent to Tsar Ivan the Terrible; By his decree, the Assumption Monastery for women was founded at the site of the apparition. In 1594, Hermogenes compiled a detailed story about the appearance of the Kazan Icon; the list of stories from the late 16th - early 17th centuries is decorated with miniatures (Facial Legend).
The Kazan icon is a bust-length image of Hodegetria, in which the head of the Mother of God is inclined towards the Infant Christ, presented in front. The icon that appeared was small in size; Ivan the Terrible decorated it with a precious frame. Initially it was located in the Kazan Assumption Monastery; its further history is unclear. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, three Kazan icons were especially revered, each of which was considered truly miraculous: in the Assumption Monastery in Kazan (probably revealed in 1579; stolen and destroyed (?) in 1904); in the Kazan Church on Red Square in Moscow, founded after the liberation of Moscow from the Poles by the militia of D. Pozharsky (this icon - one of the first copies of the miraculous Kazan, brought with the militia - has not survived); in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg (now in the Vladimir Cathedral). Locally revered lists of the Kazan Icon are numerous; most of them have their own tales and history of veneration.
The celebration of the Kazan Icon takes place on July 8 (21) - in memory of the appearance of the icon in 1579 and on October 22 (November 4) - in memory of the deliverance of Moscow and Russia from the Poles in 1612.

15. “BURNING BURCH”,

one of the most popular miraculous icons of the Mother of God in Russia in the 16th-19th centuries, revered as a protector from natural Disasters, especially from fire. Its image is based on the biblical story about the appearance of a burning but not burning bush (bush) to the prophet Moses on Mount Horeb (Sinai), interpreted by theologians as a prototype of the Mother of God. In Orthodox art, the “Burning Bush” was depicted as a burning bush with an image of the Mother of God enclosed in it (usually in the type of the Sign) and the prophet Moses kneeling in front of it. In the 16th century, a symbolic-allegorical composition arose with a half-length image of the Mother of God with the Baby Jesus in her arms, which is surrounded by celestial spheres and two intersecting rectangles with elongated pointed corners (forming an eight-pointed star), filled with those praising the Mother of God and worshiping Her heavenly powers and angels of the elements - dew, thunderstorm, darkness, frost, ice, fire, etc., with Old Testament prototypes of the Mother of God (“ladder”, mountain, gate, etc.) on her image and in the corners of the icon, which are accompanied by inscriptions . In the 18th-19th centuries, the icon executed on stone (according to legend - from “Mount Sinai”) in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin and the local image of the Church of the Burning Bush in Khamovniki in Moscow, according to legend, transferred there from the “Holy Entrance” of the Faceted Chamber of Moscow, were especially revered Kremlin.
Celebration - on the day of remembrance of the Prophet Moses, September 4 (17), established in 1680.

16. “UNEXPECTED JOY”,

miraculous icon of the Mother of God. The iconography of the icon arose on the basis of the story of St. Demetrius of Rostov about a thief who received the unexpected joy of forgiveness of sins, included in his work “The Irrigated Fleece,” dedicated to the glorification of the icon of the Mother of God from the Chernigov Ilyinsky Monastery (published in Chernigov in 1680). According to the story, the icon depicts a sinner kneeling before the image of the Mother of God with the Child Christ in her arms. Under the image of the Mother of God on the pedestal is written a text from the story, beginning with the words: “A certain lawless man...”. Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God " Unexpected Joy"was located in the royal rooms of the Kremlin palace. After 1817, it was moved to the Church of the Annunciation on the Zhitny Dvor near the Kremlin wall; The icon became one of the most famous Moscow shrines. After the church was closed in 1918, the icon was saved by believers. The now revered icon “Unexpected Joy” from the Church of Elijah the Prophet in Obydenny Lane in Moscow probably comes from the Church of the Annunciation on Zhitny Dvor (according to another version, from the Church of Constantine and Helena near the Kremlin wall).
Celebration - December 9 (22) and May 1 (14).

17. ODIGETRIA (Greek: Guide),

famous miraculous Byzantine icon, known throughout the Christian world. The name, according to Byzantine sources of the 11th-12th centuries, comes from the Greek. Odegoi - indicating the way; this word was used to describe the guides who accompanied the blind to the miraculous spring, on the way to which was located the Odigon Temple with the miraculous Hodegetria icon kept there. Over time, the Greek legend of the 6th century about the painting of the first image of the Mother of God during Her life by the Evangelist Luke began to be associated with this icon.
In the 11th-14th centuries - the patroness of Constantinople and the personal shrine of the emperors. Every Tuesday it was carried in a religious procession around the city, pilgrims from many countries of the Christian world came to worship it, eyewitnesses left descriptions of the icon and the miracles it performed (Stephen of Novgorod, 1st half of the 14th century and other Russian pilgrims, Spaniard Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, beginning of the 15th century). She died in 1453 during the siege of Constantinople by the Turks.
The Mother of God and the Child on the icon were depicted, apparently, from the front, waist-length; half-figures of archangels were placed in the upper corners of the icon; on the back of the icon was the Crucifixion; The image was decorated with a massive, rich frame with precious stones and inserted into a special case.
Over the centuries, numerous copy copies and free replica versions were made from the icon, which became revered images in various Orthodox countries and monasteries and received special names (usually based on their location).
The word “Hodegetria” also refers to an iconographic type in which the faces of the Mother of God and the Child do not touch.

18. OSTROBRAMSKAYA ICON of the Mother of God (Vilna Icon)

a miraculous icon, widely revered by Orthodox and Catholics in Belarus, Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland; is located in the chapel called Ostra Brama (Sharp Gate) in Vilnius. On the icon (size 2 m x 1.63 m) the Mother of God is depicted from the waist up, her head is bowed, her eyes are downcast, her arms are crossed on her chest; on the head there is a two-tiered crown, the halo is surrounded by sharp rays of radiance with stars; the gilded chasuble completely covers the figure, leaving only the face and hands exposed. The Orthodox also call the Ostrobramskaya icon the “Korsun Annunciation”, associating with it the legend of ancient origin from Korsun and considering the image of the Mother of God to be part of the Annunciation scene. Catholics see in her an image Immaculate Virgin Mary, which arose in Western European art in the second half of the 16th century. The Ostrobramskaya icon was executed in the 1620-1630s and probably reproduces the prototype created by the Dutch artist Maarten de Vos. In the southwestern Slavic lands and in Poland there are a number of revered copies of the Ostrobramskaya icon. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Catholic and Orthodox services were regularly held in the chapel of the Ostrobramskaya Icon.
Celebration - December 26 (January 8) and April 14 (27) on the day of remembrance of three Lithuanian martyrs.

19. POCHAEV ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

miraculous icon of the Mother of God, widely revered in the Orthodox and Catholic Church, especially in Galicia, Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria. According to legend, it was brought in 1559 by the Patriarch of Constantinople Neophytos; in 1597 it was transferred to the newly founded Dormition Pochaev Monastery, where it became famous for the miracles of numerous healings, and in 1675 for saving Pochaev from ruin by the Turks. In the first quarter of the 18th century, Pochaev switched to the Uniates, but the icon continued to be revered as miraculous. In 1831 Pochaev returned to the Orthodox, the monastery received the name Lavra; the glory of the Pochaev Icon spread throughout Russia, copies were made from it, which were also revered as miraculous. IN Pochaev Lavra the large miraculous image of the Mother of God of Pochaev was especially revered (the contribution of the people of Kiev to the memory of the deliverance of Kiev from cholera in 1848) with the image of the “foot of the Mother of God” in the lower part of the icon (according to legend, the Mother of God visited Mount Pochaev and left the imprint of Her foot on the stone). Ancient Pochaev miraculous icon of small size; The Mother of God is depicted bowing her head to the Son, sitting on Her right hand (on the left), in the left hand of the Mother of God is a cloth with which She covers the Child; on the margins of the icon there are figures of saints. The icon is inserted into a frame.
Celebration - July 23 (August 5) in memory of the deliverance from the Turks in 1675 and September 8 (21) in memory of the bringing of the icon to Russia from Greece in 1559.

20. “QUICK TO HEAR”

miraculous icon of the Mother of God, shrine of the Dokhiar monastery on Mount Athos. According to Athonite legend, in 1664 the Mother of God punished a monk who showed neglect of Her image written on the wall, and then, after his repentance and prayer, miraculously healed him and ordered him to call this image “Quick to Hear.” The revered list of the Athos shrine was located in Moscow in the chapel of St. Panteleimon on Nikitskaya Street (brought on November 14, 1887). In the 19th century, copies of copies of “Quick to Hear” were revered throughout Russia.
Celebration - November 9 (22).

21. SMOLENSK ICON of the Mother of God (Hodegetria)

one of the most revered miraculous icons in Russia, the main shrine of Smolensk. The history and image of the icon, which was revered in Smolensk until the 15th century, are unknown. According to later legend, the icon was brought to Rus' from Constantinople in 1046 by the Byzantine princess Anna, the mother of Vladimir Monomakh. It is known that in the 15-16 centuries. In Moscow, an icon like the miraculous Byzantine Hodegetria brought from Smolensk was especially revered. The Smolensk icon, like the Hodegetria, was associated with the legend of the Evangelist Luke, who painted the image of the Mother of God during his lifetime. In 1456 the icon was returned from Moscow to Smolensk. A story was compiled about this event, included in the Moscow Chronicle of the late 15th century. Since 1514, when Smolensk was annexed to the Moscow state, the Smolensk icon acquired the significance of an all-Russian shrine. In 1525, the Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent, then founded in Moscow, was founded in her honor. In the 16th-19th centuries. The Smolensk Icon was revered throughout Russia; Dozens of churches are dedicated to her, copies of copies of her, as well as the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, the most numerous Russian icons of the Mother of God. Many of her copies were also revered as miraculous, and legends were created about them. The ancient miraculous icon, which was in Smolensk in the 15-20 centuries, probably died during the Great Patriotic War.
The day of celebration of the Smolensk Icon - July 28 (August 10) - was established in 1658 on the occasion of the transfer of the miraculous image to the new Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk.

22. “THE BREAD WRITER”

miraculous icon of the Mother of God, revered in the Optina Hermitage. Created in 1890 according to the plan of Ambrose of Optina by Hieromonk Daniil (academic painter D. M. Bolotov, 1837-1907, brother of the abbess of the Shamarda monastery, Mother Sophia). Reverend Ambrose ordered this icon in a year of famine for Central Russia, gave it a name indicating the special purpose of the image for praying for daily bread, and set the day for its celebration (October 15) after the harvest. On the icon, the Mother of God is depicted seated on the clouds and with both hands blessing a grain field stretching into the distance with sheaves of rye in the foreground (based on the landscape near the Shamarda monastery). Paintings and lithographs were made from the icon; her glorification acquired an all-Russian character. Due to the unusual name, unconventional iconography, as well as the unfavorable attitude of the diocesan authorities towards Elder Ambrose after his death, the veneration of the icon as miraculous was prohibited by the Synod. In 1892, the icon was taken to the sacristy of the cathedral of the Kaluga diocese, but its veneration continued. According to some information, the icon is now located in the village of Mikhnevo near Vilnius. One of the picturesque lists, with the inscription on the back “Blessing of Father Fr. Anatolia. 1912", is located in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. In the newly opened Optina (1987) and Shamardinskaya (1990) monasteries, new copies of icons are venerated, differing from the original 1890 in a more traditional image of the Mother of God.
Celebration - October 15 (28).

23. " HELP OF SINNERS»,

miraculous icon of the Mother of God. The Mother of God is depicted with the Child Christ in her arms, sitting on the right; in the corners of the icon there are ribbons with the inscription: “I am the helper of sinners to My Son...”. The icon was painted in the Odrin-Nikolaevsky monastery of the Oryol diocese; in 1844, a hopelessly ill child received healing from her. The icon began to be revered as miraculous, and people especially resorted to it during the cholera epidemic. The revered lists of “Supporters of Sinners” are in Moscow in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Khamovniki (became famous in 1848, revered as a miracle worker from the Odrina Monastery) and in other cities.
Celebration - March 7 (20) and May 29 (June 11).

24. “PASSIONATE” ICON of the Mother of God (Hodegetria)

a miraculous icon, which is one of the iconographic variants of Hodegetria. In the corners of the icon there are depicted flying angels with the instruments of Christ’s passion in their hands (a spear, a cane, a Calvary cross), the face of the Mother of God is inclined towards the Child, who has turned his head towards the flying angel and is holding with both hands the right hand of the Mother of God. In post-Byzantine times, this iconographic type was popular among the masters of the Italo-Cretan school and became widespread in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Icons of the Passionate Hodegetria also appeared in Rus'. In the 17th century, under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, she became famous for her miracles. Passionate icon from the village of Palitsy in Nizhny Novgorod province. In 1641 it was moved to Moscow, the Passion Monastery was founded at the meeting place, and numerous lists were made from it.
Celebration - August 13 (26).

25. TIKHVIN ICON of the Mother of God (Hodegetria),

one of the most revered miraculous icons of the Mother of God in Russia. According to a legend compiled on the basis of local tradition at the end of the 15th century, the icon miraculously appeared in the northern Russian lands, stopping “in the air” above the Tikhvinka River in the Novgorod region, where the Church of the Assumption was built for it. The year of the appearance of the icon, according to legend - 1383 (the reign of Dmitry Donskoy, under Metropolitan Pimen), was chosen probably because several icons of Hodegetria were brought to Rus' in the 1380s. The background of the Tikhvin icon is common with the Hodegetria of Constantinople. The story of the Presentation of the miraculous Vladimir Icon (mid-second half of the 16th century) includes a story about the apparitions of the Mother of God on Russian soil, in which Hodegetria of Lidda (Roman) is identified with the icon that appeared on the Tikhvinka River. Over the course of the 16th and 17th centuries, the legend of the Tikhvin icon was enriched with new historical information and miracles (the construction of the Assumption Church on Tikhvinka that burned down three times, the visit to Tikhvin by the great Moscow princes Vasily III in 1526 and Ivan Vasilyevich in 1547, the founding of the monastery by Ivan the Terrible in 1560, the siege of the monastery by the Swedes in 1613, etc.), which were depicted in the hallmarks of icons Our Lady of Tikhvin with miracles (an icon from the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin of the mid-16th century with the image of Ivan the Terrible and Novgorod Archbishop Macarius in the stamp, similar icons of the 16th-17th centuries from the Tikhvin Monastery, etc.).
In iconography, the Tikhvin Hodegetria resembles the Iverskaya, from which it differs in the image of the crossed legs of the Infant Christ with the sole turned towards the viewer. In the 19th century, the Tikhvin Icon was revered throughout Russia, especially when children were ill. In the Tikhvin Monastery, 24 religious processions with the miraculous icon were held annually. At the beginning of the 20th century, the icon had a massive precious frame, and a golden lamp hung in front of it. Lists of icons are numerous; There are locally revered miraculous images. The miraculous Tikhvin Icon from the Tikhvin Monastery is currently kept in Chicago in the USA.
Celebration - June 26 (July 9).

26. TOLGA ICON of the Mother of God,

miraculous icon, ancient revered shrine of Tolgsky convent near Yaroslavl. Three icons have survived, originating from the Tolgsky monastery and called “Tolgskaya”: a large image of the 13th century depicting the Mother of God seated on a throne with the Child Christ clinging to Her cheek, standing on Her knees on the right side (kept in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow), and two abbreviated waist lists of this image from the beginning - the first half of the 14th century (the first waist belt is kept in Yaroslavl art museum, the second - in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg). According to a legend compiled in the second half of the 16th century based on local tradition, the appearance of the icon occurred in 1314 on the banks of the Tolga River (a tributary of the Volga). The writing of the first belt dates back to this time. Tolga icon. The first miracle of the icon is the flowing out of the world (according to legend - in 1392, according to historical records - in 1428). Several lists of the belt icon are known. In the newly opened Tolga Monastery there are new copies of the Tolga Icon of 1314.
Celebration - August 8 (21).

27. “THREE-HANDED”

one of the most famous and widely revered miraculous icons of the Mother of God of the Hodegetria type in the Orthodox world, a shrine of the Serbian monastery of Hilandar on Mount Athos. It is distinguished by a left-sided image of the Infant Christ (sitting on the right hand of the Mother of God). According to legend, thanks to prayer at this image, the defender of icon veneration and hymnographer John of Damascus (8th century) healed his hand, cut off due to the slander of enemies; in gratitude, he donated a silver statue of a healed hand to the miraculous icon, which was hung on the icon (in connection with this it received the name “Three-Handed”). Tradition connects the prehistory of the “Three Hands” with Palestine, and its appearance in Serbia with the holy Archbishop Sava (late 12th century); During the invasion of the Turks, the icon was placed on a donkey, which brought it to Athos. In Hilandar, the “Three-Handed” is revered as the abbess of the monastery; The miraculous icon preserved here dates back to the mid-14th century. “The Three-Handed One” received wide veneration in Russia since the 17th century, when copies of it were brought from Athos (one of them to Patriarch Nikon for the New Jerusalem Resurrection Monastery); There are a number of locally revered Russian lists of “Three Hands,” on which the votive silver hand is depicted in paint as the third hand of the Mother of God.
Celebration - June 28 (July 11).

28. "Tenderness"

Seraphim-Diveyevo Icon of the Mother of God (“Joy of All Joys”), the revered icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov, which was in his cell; before this image, he died on January 2, 1833. After the death of Seraphim of Sarov, the icon was transferred to the Diveyevo Monastery; during the years of Soviet power it was stored in the city of Murom; now in the residence of Patriarch Alexy II. Currently, it is one of the especially revered shrines of the Russian Orthodox Church; in the fifth week of Great Lent (Saturday of the Akathist), the icon is brought to the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Epiphany for the Akathist to be read before it. The icon was painted on canvas in oil in the second half of the 18th century; according to its iconography, it goes back to the one revered in Lithuania and western Russia Ostrobramskaya Icon of the Mother of God, from which it differs in the absence of Western attributes - the lunar crescent below and the stars around the halo. The Mother of God is depicted without the Child, her hands are folded on her chest, her head is bowed, her eyes are half-closed. The icon has a precious frame, commissioned by Emperor Nicholas II. Numerous copies were made of the icon, especially after the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov in 1903. One of the earliest (1840-50s) was executed on glass; on the back (on cardboard) there was an inscription about Metropolitan Philaret blessing the nun of the Conception Monastery with this image ( the icon died in 1984).
Celebration - July 28 (August 10), in Diveyevo Monastery There was also a celebration on December 9 (22) (the day the monastery was founded).

29. “KEEP MY SORRY”

miraculous icon of the Mother of God. According to legend, it was brought to Moscow by the Cossacks in 1640 during the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich; was in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Pupyshi, where there was a chronicle of numerous miracles that occurred from the image. Several copies of this icon were venerated in Moscow. The Mother of God is depicted applying left hand to His head, bowed to one side; With her right hand She holds the feet of the Infant Christ, in Whose hands is an open scroll raised upward with the words: “Judge righteous judgment, do mercy and generosity...”. Currently, in Moscow, the icon “Quiet My Sorrows” is especially revered in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Kuznetskaya Sloboda (brought here from the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Sadovniki when it was closed). On September 25, 1765, the copy of the “Quiet My Sorrows” icon was brought to St. Petersburg and became famous there for its miracles. Icons of the Mother of God “Quiet My Sorrows” were venerated in a number of cities and monasteries. One of the lists, called “Quenching of Sorrow,” belonged to Senator Count N.B. Samoilov, who in 1784 built a chapel church in the Odrin-Nikolaevsky Monastery of the Oryol diocese and transferred the venerated image there.
Celebration - January 25 (February 7).

30. FEODOROVSKAYA-KOSTROMA ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

one of the most ancient Russian miraculous icons of the Mother of God, preserved to this day. It was probably created in 1239 by order of the great Prince of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (baptized Theodore) for the wedding of his son Alexander Nevsky. It is a replica of the miraculous Vladimir icon. Distinctive feature Theodore Icon - the naked left leg of the Infant Christ sitting on the right hand of the Mother of God; on the reverse there is a half-length image of Paraskeva-Friday. In the second half of the 13th century, the Feodorovskaya icon was especially revered by the Kostroma prince Vasily Yaroslavich. The legend about the Feodorovskaya icon arose under the influence of the legend about the Vladimir Mother of God; it combines folk legends and memories of events in Russian history. In 1613, thanks to the Feodorovskaya icon, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was “begged” to become king; The icon became a widely revered all-Russian shrine. There are a number of revered lists from the 17th to 19th centuries. The ancient Feodorovskaya icon was renewed and restored many times; The original painting on the faces of the Mother of God and Christ is very worn. The icon was kept in Kostroma: first in the Assumption Cathedral, during the years of Soviet power - in the Church of the Resurrection on Debra, currently in Epiphany-Anastasia cathedral. With the Feodorovskaya icon they performed annually religious processions: on the day of the Holy Trinity - to the Ipatiev Monastery, on August 16 - to the Spaso-Zaprudnenskaya Church at the place of the “discovery” of the icon.
Celebration - March 14 (27) in memory of the end of the Troubles in 1612 and August 16 (29) in memory of the appearance of the icon.

31. CZZZTOCHOWI ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD (Hodegetria)

one of the oldest miraculous icons of the Hodegetria type. Brought to Galician Rus' from Byzantium in the 12th century; at the end of the 14th century, after the annexation of Russian lands to Poland, it became a shrine of the Catholic Jasnogorsk monastery in Częstochowa. The history of the veneration of the icon in Galician Rus' is unknown. In the first half of the 14th century, a legend about the Czestochowa Icon was compiled in the Czestochowa Monastery, according to which the prehistory identified it with the Hodegetria of Constantinople. In 1430 the icon was damaged by Taborite iconoclasts; in 1434 the image was re-painted on an old board in the style Western painting. On the right cheek of the Mother of God there is depicted a bleeding wound, conveying the mark left on ancient image from a saber strike. The Częstochowa Icon is revered in Western Russian Orthodox lands and in the Catholic world; There are many revered copies of the Czestochowa icon kept in Orthodox and Catholic churches.
The celebration in Russia is March 6 (19), in the Catholic world - August 27 (September 9).