Veneration of icons is one of the differences between the Orthodox faith and other Christian trends. There are many holy images that have special significance for the Russian people.

Opinion of the theologian

Professor of theology Alexei Ilyich Osipov in hislectures repeatedly touched upon the question of worship icons. He says that it is necessary to divide the concept of icon worship as a magical object, which in itself is endowed with a certain power, and as the image of a particular saint. In the latter case, prayer is addressed specifically to the saint, who was known for his righteous life and can become a praying heavenly patron. In the final analysis, only the Lord knows the destinies of people, therefore all requests and entreaties should be addressed to Him.

Osipov also mentions the existence of differenttypes of worship: the first - the worship of God - religious worship, in fact, meaning faith. And the second kind is worship in the meaning of worship, reverence. So you can worship, for example, a person whose qualities are highly valued. The same thing happens with the worship of icons and relics of saints.

About prayer before the icons

Still Alexei Ilyich says that prayerbefore any icon, brought without faith in God, without humility and reverence, has no power. It is worth remembering the prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane: "... Yes, it will be Your will, not mine." This example should be followed by Christians, addressing with prayer requests to the Almighty.

We should not forget that Christianityis primarily aimed at curing the spiritual ills of man, which are sins. "Give me your soul, my son," thus spoke Christ. Therefore, spiritual blessings and the healing of spiritual ailments should be prayed in the first place. And if a person appeals to Heavenly Father with some earthly material request, then he must ask with humility, because only the Lord knows that for this person is evil, and what is good.

If we talk about the wonderworking of icons, we needto understand that the icon itself is not miraculous. Miracles are performed by God, who always hears prayers addressed to Him with faith, repentance and humility. Icons can only contribute to the proper mood of a person for prayer.

The Appearance of the Virgin

One of the most revered icon-painting images inOrthodoxy is located in the Ukrainian city of Pochaev, above the Royal Gates of the monastery church. In addition to the original, there are also several copies of the Pochaev Icon. Prayer to the Lord before these icons can be brought in the churches of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tobolsk region.

On finding this image, there is the followingtradition. In the fourteenth century, near the mountain, on which the monastery now stands, were two monks. One day one of them after the prayer saw the Blessed Virgin, who appeared to be standing on a mountain in flames of flames. This monk called another to come and also saw a miracle. At the call came also a local shepherd. The stone on which the Virgin Mary stood, forever impressed the imprint of Her right foot. All three climbed the mountain and thanked God for the miracle that they had shown in joint prayer.

Pochaev icon of the Mother of God. Finding a Shrine

In the second half of the sixteenth centuryPatriarch of Constantinople Neophyte was on a visit to Russia. Passing through the Volyn lands, he visited the small town of Pochaev, which was part of the property of the noblewoman Anna Goiskaya. Vladyka for a while left in her estate.

In gratitude for the cordial reception of the MetropolitanConstantinople presented as a gift to the owner of the estate the icon of Pochayiv's Mother of God. Prayers for the healing of his blind brother were regularly brought by the noblewoman before the holy image.

Thanks to the true faith that Anna manifested in her prayers, filled with humility and repentance, the Lord heeded her request, and a miracle happened - the blind man received his sight.

The servants of Anna, fulfilling their duties under thean aura of illumination near the holy face. The very owner of the estate began to see dreams in which she was the Mother of God. All this Goysky perceived as a sign from above and gave the monks Pochaev's icon of the Mother of God. Prayers before her began to be lifted by them in the cave of the mountain where they lived, and where for several centuries before the Virgin appeared to their predecessors. There, the holy image was moved by a specially assembled solemn procession of the cross.

Monastery

Soon, on that mountain, a monastery was erected,This was done thanks to donations for construction, which Anna Goiskaya did. Almost a century later, the miraculous image was taken from the monastic community by the descendant of Goiskaya. This wicked nobleman, for two decades, kept the icon in his estate. But after his wife became demoniac, he turned for help to the rector of the Pochaev Monastery Job, who was known by the people for his foresight and righteous life and after death was glorified by the church in the face of saints. He gave advice to the nobleman to immediately return the shrine to his rightful place, which he, in turn, did.

At the end of the seventeenth century, there was a war withTurkey, during which numerous Tatar troops, who fought on the Turkish side, passing through Pochaev, besieged the monastery. The walls of the monastery, not designed to withstand powerful siege weapons, could not contain the enemy's attacks. Enemies that surrounded this place from all sides, coming closer.

Heavenly Intercessor

The abbot of the monastery called upon the entire monasticbrethren kneel before the Pochaev icon of the Mother of God in prayer for pardon. After a while, when the Tatars staged a military council, on which the fate of the monastery was decided, the Mother of God itself appeared around the temples of the monastery, surrounded by troops of angels with naked swords. Near the Virgin stood Saint Job, praying for her to intercede for the fate of the besieged monks. At the sight of this grand spectacle in the camp of the Tatars arose panic. They opened archery on the heavenly intercessors of the monastic monastery.

But the arrows that they launched returned to their ownside, causing the army tangible losses. Soon confusion reached such an unprecedented level that the soldiers began swinging their swords, trying to protect themselves from the arrows. Often blows hit their companions. The army was demoralized and retreated in horror. The monks moved after them, overtook the enemy, and many Tatars were captivated. Some of these prisoners subsequently converted to Christianity, as they witnessed the power of the Lord.

Pochaev icon, the prayer before which was saving, is now in the walls of this monastery, in the Assumption Cathedral.

Blessed Prayer

Before the reflection of the siege of the Lavra walls by the Tatar armymiracles that occurred thanks to the Prayer before the icon of Pochayiv's Mother of God were not documented. But the glory that the icon contributes to the graceful prayer, spreading from mouth to mouth, flew all over Russia. The icon began to gather thousands of pilgrims, most of whom brought the prayer of the Mother of God for the healing of bodily diseases.

Many miracles are associated with the Pochaev Icon,many of which are inscribed in special monastic books. One of the first records tells of the cure of a sick boy. A young man appeared on one of his eyes. The sad parents came with the child to the temple, washed it with water from the Virgin's footprint and began to pray before the Pochaev icon. Their request was heard, and the son was healed within a day. Soon he suffered another terrible disease, from which the child died. The grandmother of the boy, who was a deeply religious woman, was not depressed, but came to church and appealed to God for help. And the Lord showed another miracle. Her grandson is risen.

Miracles of faith

Since those distant times in the Assumption Cathedral every daymany believers come, hoping to get healing from both bodily and spiritual ailments, as they pray to the Mother of God, from the Pochaev Icon looking at them.

A new case of healing is knownnun Barbara, who suffered from paralysis of the lower limbs and moved only on crutches. Thanks to the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, the prayer for the health of this nun was so sincere that the Lord healed the suffering. Crutches, which were unnecessary to her, now stand under the icon, reminding parishioners of the power of righteous prayer and of the infinity of Heavenly Father's love for their children.

One of the ancient traditions tells of a certainmonk, who during the war with the Turks fell into the enemy's captivity. This monk belonged to the brotherhood of the Pochaev Monastery. He was distinguished by the meekness and diligence of his service to the Lord. The monk regretted that he could not perform a prayer before the Pochaev Icon. By God's Grace, one day he was transferred to his native monastery.

Pochaev icon of the Mother of God. What are they praying for?

The cases described show that the miraculousthe image helps strengthen the faith and strength of the spirit. In written sources, there is mainly mention of the healing of prayers from visible problems, bodily diseases. But many people turn to God with requests to get rid of spiritual ills: envy, pride, despondency. Many holy fathers say that such prayers are the most pleasing to the Lord. But cases of such healings are described extremely rarely because of the complexity, and sometimes the impossibility of describing these highly personal vices. Therefore, in the traditions of the Church, it is customary to see other, symbolic meaning, about miraculous deliverances from material evils. For example, when the legend tells that the prayer of the Mother of God from the Pochaev Icon from prison and captivity preserved or facilitated liberation, it should be understood that such a prayer can save from spiritual bondage - to free a person from the captivity of his sinful passions.

The case with the healing of the blind brother Anna Goiskoycan be considered as a symbol of spiritual insight, comprehending its sinfulness and the need for improvement, which can occur only when a person turns to faith. And any faith, any religion, first of all, calls a person to prayer. Religion without prayer has no meaning and is reduced only to the meaningless execution of rituals.

Following the same logic, pages of the annalsmonastery, telling about the reflection of the Tatar army with the assistance of the Mother of God, can be interpreted as evidence that the Lord is ready to save people from any enemies, including invisible, that is, sins.

What helps the prayer of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God?

Answering this question, it should be recalled thatwe should not pray the icon itself, but the Mother of God, which is depicted on this icon and can act as an intercessor before God for praying people. The icon itself does not have any divine power, but it can contribute to the correct mood for prayer. This was repeatedly said by Alexei Osipov, a professor of theology, who, in turn, refers to the many sayings of the holy fathers concerning this topic. Therefore, this opinion is not his subjective vision of this issue, it is based on the consonant doctrine of the holy fathers.

Artistic characteristic of the icon

This sample of icon paintingis an icon of the so-called Tenderness. This is a figurative image of the Mother of God, holding the Savior's baby with one hand, and the other with a veil covering the legs and back of Jesus. With one hand, Christ clings to the shoulder of his Mother, and the other produces a gesture of blessing.

On the icon you can see the inscriptions made onGreek language. On the sides are small icons of several saints. The face of the Virgin is painted in oil in a manner typical of the Byzantine icon-painting school. At first, the image was covered with a silver salary, but it was lost. Now the icon is framed by a star of pearls of small caliber, which was donated to the monastery by the Russian Emperor Alexander II as a token of his gratitude for the hospitality of the monks, which they displayed during his pilgrimage to the Lavra in the mid-nineteenth century.

The origin of the icon

The authorship of this icon is not established. Most experts agree that this image is a family icon. It is possible that originally it belonged to the genus of the Greek patriarch Neophyte.

As is known, some peoples hadthe custom of electing for the family of the heavenly patron. The day of veneration of this saint became a family holiday, and the icon with its image enjoyed special respect. There were also "dimensional" icons, which were donated to the newborn. They received such a name because of the correspondence of the size of the image to the growth of a newborn baby. Some researchers are inclined to believe that the icon of Pochayiv's Mother of God was written by Russian icon painters.

Feast and daily reverence

On August 5, the Orthodox Church notesthe feast of the Pochaev Icon. What are they praying for this day? This holiday is approved in memory of the miraculous reflection of the Tatar army by the forces of the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Job, the first abbot of the monastery. In addition, every day after the morning service, which begins exactly at five o'clock in the morning and is conducted with the light of some lamps, the icon located in the third row of the iconostasis descends to the level of human growth on special fastenings. At this time the church choir sings the chanting "The impenetrable Gate".

Near the icon, according to tradition, there should be hieromonks,which is called a monk monk. He comes first to the icon, in order to apply to it. After him, all the monks of the monastery are attached to the image, and after them the turn of laymen present at the service comes. To the shrine you can kiss on Saturdays, these days, before the icon is lowered, the monks read the cathedral akathist. The image is released on tapes for universal worship and on Sundays and holidays, after the Late Divine Liturgy is served.

Finally

Bowing to the holy image every day flockinga large number of residents of the city of Pochaev. The Assumption Cathedral also hosts a huge number of pilgrims. All of them come to the icon to pray and ask the Virgin for help before the Pochaev Icon. What do they usually ask of the Heavenly Intercessor?

Most often, pleas concern physical health, since, as already mentioned, according to the church tradition, this image favors a special mood for this kind of prayer.

It is also believed that before the icon it is good to prayfor people in prison, or to ask for protection from unfair punishment. But even if a person has committed a crime and is sure of the inevitability of punishment for his deed, then in this case it is never too late for him to kneel in penitential prayer and thereby follow the example of the right robber from the Gospel.

You just need to remember that prayer is importanta certain mood, and also she must, apart from the request, contain in herself and words of gratitude to the heavenly patrons. As for the texts of prayer before the Pochaev manner, there are about five prayers, each of which contains various requests. You can also read the Akathist Pochaev Icon. Its contents are based on the events of the military conflict with Turkey, when the monastery sustained the siege of the enemy army.