One of our children recently asked dad why there were seven swords in the icon of “Our Lady of Sorrows” of which we have two that are commonly venerated in the East Slavic Churches: the “Softener of Evil Hearts” and the “Seven Swords/Arrows” (differing in their arrangement of the swords: three each side and one central for the former icon, rather than being divided into four and three).
As adults, we hopefully all know that they represent the seven sorrows of the Mother of God, but do we know what her seven sorrows were?
In Nazareth House, we are blessed to see the seven sorrows above us every time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy, in the beautiful stained glass of the east end of the convent church. The sorrows of the Mother of God are plain for all to see.
The Prophecy of Simeon (in Luke 2), in which he tells that the heart of the Mother of God will be pierced by sorrow, like a sword, in the course of her son’s earthly life.
The Flight into Egypt in Matthew 2, in which the Holy Family became refugees in a foreign land.
The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, also in Luke 2;
Mary meeting Jesus as He carried his cross to Golgotha;
The Crucifixion of Jesus on Golgotha in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19;
Jesus’s Descent from the Cross in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19;
The Burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea also in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19.
Not only are the icons of Our Lady of Sorrows extremely popular in our Church, but also the akathist hymn in honour of the icon of Mother of God, the Softener of Evil Hearts, especially in times of our own sorrows.
Акафист Пресвятой Богородице перед иконой «Умягчение злых сердец»:
Greetings as we celebrate the autumn feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, though we will celebrate the feast as a parish tomorrow, following our custom of keeping the feast on the first Sunday after 4th November, New Style.
This is a day for us to ensure that we honour the Mother of God, whether we can be in Cardiff, or not, and light a candle before her Kazan Icon and say a canon or akathist, find some prayers, or say the Rule of the Mother of God /Bogorodichnaya pravilo.
From 2024, we will keep our altar feast on the day (and Sunday after) of the apparition of the Kazan Icon: 8/21 July – allowing for a picnic or other outdoor celebration, now that we have no opportunity for trapeza.
Thine all-pure icon, O Virgin Theotokos, is spiritual healing for the whole world; and having recourse thereto, we bow down before thee, and venerate, kiss and honor it, drawing forth therefrom the grace of healing of bodily infirmities and the passions of the spirit; and thus are we freed by thy supplications.
May God and the Mother of God bless us and protect us!
Canon for the Apparition of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Tone 4.
Ode 1, Irmos: I shall open my mouth, * and be filled with the Spirit, * and utter discourse to the Queen and Mother; * and be seen radiantly keeping festival, * joyfully praising her wonders.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
The leaders of the angels reverence thee, O Theotokos; and the ranks of the saints serve thee with honour; the righteous adorn themselves and bless thee as the mediatress of heavenly things; heaven and earth together praise thee splendidly in gladness. And we sinners ask mercy: Illumine our hearts, O Lady, that we may chant a hymn to the revelation of thy holy icon.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Come ye, O Christian people, having mystically cleansed your minds, and assemble in the holy church of the Mother of Christ our God; for from her holy icon there poureth forth upon us inexhaustibly a spiritual well-spring which healeth the souls and bodies of those who cry out in song: Blessed is our God Who was born of thee!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The strange wonder of thy divine birthgiving striketh every ear with wonder and awe, O most immaculate one: how thou didst conceive the Creator of the cherubim; how thou didst bear in the flesh Him Who is life and for the whole world didst give birth to life: the God-man!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Beneath thy shelter do all we, the generations of mankind, flee, O Virgin Sovereign Lady. With the light of thy birthgiving enlighten us, thy sinful servants who earnestly pray, bowing down before thy most pure icon, asking to receive from thee great mercy.
Ode 3, Irmos: O Theotokos, thou living and plentiful fount, * establish in spiritual fellowship those who sing hymns to thee, * and in thy divine glory * grant them crowns of glory.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
What worthy praise can our utter infirmity offer thee? For through the manifestation of thy most pure, divine icon thou pourest forth bountiful streams of healing upon thy servants who faithfully have recourse to thee.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
The holy revelation of thy divine icon, O Virgin Theotokos, hath shone upon us like a radiant sun, emitting rays of most glorious miracles, and dispelling a myriad of evil circumstances by thy sacred intercessions, O Lady.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thou didst once fill thy first-painted icon with grace, O Virgin Sovereign Lady Theotokos; and now that same grace speaketh forth truly in the effulgence of the wonders of faith, as the first one did for the sake of thee who wast first depicted thereon, unto those who with faith have recourse to thee after God.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
We bow down before the most pure image of thee and thy Babe the sweetest Christ the pre-eternal and never-waning Light, O Theotokos, by Whom thou hast saved all human nature from cruel evils and mortal corruption.
Lord have mercy. (thrice)
Sessional Hymn, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “Of the Wisdom …”: The divine apostles of the Word, the trumpet voiced universal heralds of the Gospel of Christ, having founded a divine church in thy most holy name, O Theotokos, approached thee, entreating thee to come to its consecration. But thou didst say, O Mother of God: “Go in peace, and I shall be with you there!” And they, going forth, found there, on the wall of the church, the likeness of thine image drawn powerfully in coloured hues; and seeing it, they did thee homage and glorified God. And we also, with them, bow down before thy divine icon, asking of thee great mercy. Grant thou remission of sins to thy servants, O thou who alone art blessed.
Glory …, Now & ever …, the above Sessional Hymn is repeated.
Ode 4, Irmos: He who sitteth in glory upon the throne of the Godhead, * Jesus the true God, * is come in a swift cloud * and with His sinless hands he hath saved those who cry: * Glory to Thy power, O Christ.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O ye pure people, in purity let us honour the icon of the Virgin Theotokos and of the divine Infant Christ our God; and let us kiss it and glorify her with fear and trembling; for we right honourably venerate the icon and honour even more the pure Mother of God.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
David, the divine and wondrous prophet, foreseeing as from a great distance, said: The rich among the people shall entreat thy countenance. And let us, O ye faithful, bow down and venerate the precious icon, sanctified in body and soul.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Luke, the divinely eloquent recorder of the Gospel, at the behest of God set down Thine all-immaculate image, O Theotokos, depicting the pre-eternal Infant in thine arms; and from temptations and misfortunes thou deliverest those who have recourse thereto, protecting and saving them all by thine image.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou art the boast and crown of all the saints, O Queen; after God, thou art our hope and helper, and in thee have we all set our hope of salvation. Thee do we entreat as the Mother of God: Rain down thy rich and soul-saving mercies upon thy sinful servants.
Ode 5, Irmos: All creation stands in awe of thy divine glory; * for thou, O Virgin who hast not known wedlock, * didst contain within thy womb the God of all, * and gave birth to the timeless Son, * bestowing peace, upon all who hymn thee.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Every being is at a loss how to hymn thee, O most pure one, for thou art exalted far above the heavenly intelligences, having given birth unto the unapproachable and dread King and God of all, but as thou art merciful and the ready helper of mortals, attend unto the entreaty of thy servants, and grant us thy help.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Where thy grace over-shadoweth, O Theotokos, the demons vanish in fear and their wickedly devised fantasies are destroyed; the dark demons flee and the whole multitude of the faithful rejoice, crying out a hymn of praise to thee from their hearts: Rejoice, thou divine protection of our souls!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Sweet sight is given to the eyeless, hearing to the deaf, good speech to the mute, the ability to walk to the lame, cleansing to the leprous, chastity to the demonized, and healing to those who suffer from divers sicknesses, through the overshadowing of thy most pure icon, O Theotokos.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O joyous Theotokos, let us never fail to hymn thy mighty works with psalms and hymns; for thou hast truly given birth unto the incarnate God for our universal salvation and deliverance.
Ode 6, Irmos: Celebrating the divine and solemn feast * of the Mother of God * O ye divinely wise, * let us come, clapping our hands, * and glorify God who was born of her.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
O Virgin Sovereign Lady, by thine exclamation of old thou didst impart to thy most pure image the abundantly rich grace of thy divine birthgiving, such that it abundantly worketh great and most glorious miracles, unto the salvation of those who set their hope on thee.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Where the holy name of the joyous Theotokos is glorified, streams of every good thing pour forth. Come O ye people in purity, for lo, by the manifestation of the divine icon of the Virgin, the presence of the Queen is revealed, unto the salvation of all the faithful.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Approaching with faith, O all-immaculate Lady and Mother of God, from thy most pure icon we receive healing of maladies, the dispelling of the passions, salvation which nourisheth the soul, forgiveness of sins, and everlasting deliverance.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
To thee, O Sovereign Lady, do the generations of the earthborn flee, and ask great mercy; and they that are infirm receive healing in abundance, release from the passions, and consolation amid grief. O Lady, let fall upon me a drop of soul-saving rain, that with all I may also hymn thy magnitude.
Lord have mercy. (thrice)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, in Tone VIII: Spec. Mel.: “To thee, the champion leader …” O ye people, let us flee to the calm and goodly haven, * the speedy helper, fervent and ready salvation, * the protection of the most pure Virgin, * and let us make haste to prayer and speed to repentance. * For the Theotokos poureth forth upon us inexhaustible mercies; * going before us to help and deliver her goodhearted and God-fearing servants ** from great misfortunes and evils.
Ikos: Having cleansed thought and mind, let us make haste to the Theotokos,calling her blessed in hymns; and let us glorify and honour her most pure icon, and falling down before it, let us do homage as to herself; for the veneration shown an icon ascendeth unto the Prototype, and he that honoureth and boweth down before it, honoureth the Prototype Himself, as the divine fathers have said. And if one doth not reverence the most holy Theotokos, and doth not venerate her icon, let him be anathema; for she putteth to shame and destroyeth those who honour her not, and delivereth from great misfortunes and evils her good-hearted and God-fearing servants.
Ode 7, Irmos: Refusing to worship created things * in place of the Creator, * the divinely wise youths bravely trampled down the threatening fire * and rejoicing they sang aloud: * O supremely hymned Lord and God of our Fathers, Blessed art Thou.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Come ye, let us draw forth forgiveness from the inexhaustible well-spring which poureth forth sanctity, the most pure Virgin and her most pure Infant, God the Word, Who assumed flesh for our sake. And let us cry out to Him: O Creator and Redeemer Who art God glorified with the Father and the Spirit, blessed art Thou!
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Possessed of ever-vigilant and God-pleasing prayer, O pure one, and an undefeatable dominion of might, crush thou the audacity of the enemy which is directed against us, that we, thy servants, may rejoice in thee, crying out to thy Son: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O ye faithful people, let us rejoice and be glad in the wondrous appearance of the icon of the most pure Lady, the Theotokos; for it hath been shown to be an inexhaustible river pouring forth the water of healing, giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the ability to walk to the lame, and free healing to all amid their infirmities.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The unapproachable image of thy conception is an unfathomable abyss, an incomprehensible mystery, O Virgin, for thy conception was seedless; having given birth without a husband, the Incorporeal One became incarnate, the Pre-eternal One became an infant, the Son of God became thy Son, O Virgin. To Him do we cry aloud: Blessed art Thou, O God!
Ode 8, Irmos: The Offspring of the Theotokos * saved the holy children in the furnace. * He who was then prefigured hath now been born on earth, * and He gathereth all creation to hymn thee: * all ye works praise ye the Lord * and supremely exalt Him throughout all ages.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
The minds of angels and mortals are filled with awe, O Theotokos, at how thou hast given flesh to the God of heaven, containing Him within thy womb, and how, having given birth unto Him as a babe, thou didst bear Him as a Son in thine arms, Him before whom creation doth stand in awe and the heavenly thrones tremble, crying out unceasingly: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O God Who art all-hymned and supremely exalted above all throughout the ages! Rejoice, thou who art the joy of all the world!
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
With the Archangel Gabriel we cry out to thee, O Theotokos: Rejoice, thou who didst contain the Infinite One! Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace, bearer of the whole Divinity! Rejoice, restoration of Adam, the Lord is with thee, saving us for thy sake! Him do we hymn and supremely exalt throughout the ages.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O sanctified root of Jesse, thou hast plucked forth the root of our sin, O rod of Aaron which blossomed, giving rise to a Blossom, Christ the Bestower of life! O jar which received the Manna, thou hast crushed all the power of death, and brought the human race to the regeneration of life. Wherefore, we hymn thee, the cause of that which is good.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou art the boast of Christians, O Lady; thou art a sword against our enemies and a rampart for those who have recourse unto thee. We now call upon thee for aid, O Sovereign Lady: permit not the foe to rise up against thy people, for they praise neither thee nor thy Son, O Theotokos, nor do they bow down before thine icon. Vanquish them, and save thou our souls.
Ode 9, Irmos: Let every mortal born on earth, * radiant with light, in spirit leap for joy; * and let the host of the angelic powers * celebrate and honour the holy feast of the Mother of God, * and let them cry aloud: * Rejoice! O Theotokos, thou pure Ever-Virgin.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
Thee, the steadfast helper of the human race, O Theotokos Mary, did the choir of the prophets foretell in many and divers ways, as the holy tabernacle more spacious than the heavens, the tablet divinely inscribed, the bush unconsumed by Fire, the portal through which God hath passed, the mountain and the ladder, the bridge and the rod which blossomed forth. And we truly magnify thee as the Theotokos.
Most Holy Mother of God, save us.
The mystery of the depth of thy birthgiving moveth the mind of the angels to awe, O Virgin, and thy most pure icon driveth away the demons, darkening the countenances of the ungodly, and putting them to shame. For they cannot bear to look upon its power, and they flee and vanish away. And we lovingly bow down and venerate it, and magnify thee as the Theotokos.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As a constant intercessor before the King Most High, in that thou art possessed of undaunted boldness, establish thou the life of the Orthodox in profound peace, exalt our right believing hierarchs, and ever grant unto thy servants all things that are profitable, that we may magnify thee as the Theotokos.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O most merciful helper of Christians, the mind of mortals or that of the angels cannot hymn thee as is meet, for thou art more honourable than all creation, more glorious than all things of heaven and earth; for thou hast given birth unto the Creator and God of all. O Lady, mercifully accept the hymn which we have composed for thee from the depths of our heart, and ever save us, for we have set our hope on thee.
Troparion, Tone 4: O earnest helper, Mother of the Lord Most High, thou dost entreat Christ, thy Son and our God, in behalf of all, and causest all to be saved who have recourse to thy mighty protection. O Lady, Queen and Mistress, help us all who, amid temptations, sorrows and sickness, are heavy laden with many sins, who stand before thee and with tears pray to thee with compunctionate soul and contrite heart before thine all-pure image, and who have unfailing hope in thee: grant deliverance from all evils, and things profitable unto all, O Virgin Theotokos, and save us all, for thou art the divine protection of thy servants.
Canon to the Most Holy Mother of God In Honour of the Meeting of Her Vladimir Icon and the Deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane in the Year 1395
Ode I, Irmos: I will open my mouth, and with the Spirit will it be filled; and I shall utter discourse unto the Queen and Mother, and shall appear, keeping splendid festival; and, rejoicing, I will hymn her wonders.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O Mistress, illumine our souls with divine radiance, with thy grace which passeth understanding, and grant me the bountiful gift to hymn thee as the helper of human nature, O all-hymned one, faithful ally against all heresies for our pious Orthodox hierarchs.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Come ye, let us gather together, O ye assemblies of Russia, in the all-honourable temple of the most immaculate Mistress, and let us chant with compunction, praying before the precious image, and crying aloud: O Theotokos who knewest not wedlock, save those who praise thee!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The most godly Luke, the divinely eloquent recorder of the glad tidings of Christ, in painting thy most precious image, O Mother of God, depicted the Creator of all in thine honoured arms. And those who have recourse thereto thou deliverest from perils and grief, and coverest all with thy mercy.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Creator of all, finding thee alone to be an all-comely temple, made His abode within thee and hath deified men. Pray thou to Him for us, O Theotokos, that He save us from capture by the heathen and from every other tribulation which assaileth us, that with all honour we may celebrate the meeting of thine image today.
Ode III, Irmos: O Theotokos, thou living and abundant fountain: in thy divine glory establish those who hymn thee and spiritually form themselves into a choir; and vouchsafe unto them crowns of glory.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Putting aside all earthly thought, O ye divinely wise, come ye to greet the all-comely beam who holdeth the all-luminous Ray Who enlighteneth and enricheth the whole world with mercy.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Having acquired thy most precious and wonder-working icon as a mighty ally and an impregnable rampart, O Mother of God, the princes of Russia pray to thee, that thou grant victory over all heresies to our pious Orthodox hierarchs.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thou hast been shown to be a radiant cloud washing clean the defilements of our bodies with the dew of grace and enlightening our souls, O thou who alone art most hymned.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou hast been revealed as a most fruitful tree delighting all with food which perisheth not, and gladdening men’s souls, O pure Bride of God. Pour forth goodly gifts upon all, and save us from violent tribulations.
Sessional Hymn, Tone IV:, Spec. Mel “Joseph marvelled…”: O ye God-loving people, come to greet the Virgin! For, lo! she who surpasseth all the prophets doth arrive, bearing in the arms of her precious image Him Who bestoweth life upon the world, that she might preserve her suffering city, cast down the boldness of the barbarians and show herself to be the steadfast guardian of all who entreat her might and protection with faith.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The foregoing is repeated.
Ode IV, Irmos: Perceiving the inscrutable counsel of God – the Incarnation of Thee, the Most High, from the Virgin – the Prophet Habbakuk cried aloud: Glory to Thy power, O Lord!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The true and radiant Sun hath shown forth the all-great mountain, from whence came the Stone that was cut not by the hand of man, which hath crushed all temptations to dust and illumined the faithful, shedding light in rays, O Ever-virgin Theotokos.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The children of Hagar arm themselves against thy people, O pure Theotokos, taking evil counsel, razing cities and destroying the faithful; yet do thou annihilate them all by thy mercy, O most hymned one, granting ascendancy to the Orthodox Faith over their false religion.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O only Mother of God, thou animate heaven who received the great Light, illumining all, dispel the darkness of the misfortunes which have beset us, and vouchsafe unto us communion with the Most High.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
David danced before the ark, and the Levites chanted hymns; and all the more doth Russia sing praises before thee as Queen, O pure Theotokos, earnestly giving utterance to thee with voices of entreaty: Rejoice, O ally of our city!
Ode V, Irmos: All things are filled with awe at thy divine glory; for thou, O Virgin who hast not known wedlock, didst contain within thy womb Him Who is God over all, and gavest birth to the timeless Son, granting peace unto all who hymn thee.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thee, O Mother of God, did Isaiah, great among the prophets, behold in the Spirit as containing within thy womb the burning Ember Who illumineth the faithful and utterly consumeth all temptations, saving the human race.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thou didst put forth the Rod of Aaron and hast uprooted the root of evil, O Virgin Bride of God, having given birth for the world unto the Bestower of life. Him do thou beseech, that this city be saved from manifold perils.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
With gladness approach ye now the most honoured Mother of God, O divinely chosen flock, ye assemblies of Russia, and lovingly receive her precious image. For, lo! her grace is inexhaustible, pouring forth divine waters in abundance. Her do we honour, and we bow down before her precious image.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
From the root of Jesse the Tree of life hath grown forth for all, and thou didst produce its Fruit in thy womb, O pure Virgin, nurturing all men with thy mercy.
Ode VI, Irmos: Celebrating this divine and most honoured festival of the Mother of God, come, ye divinely wise, let us clap our hands and glorify God Who was born of her.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
From thee, O Mother of God, hath a Torrent of sweetness issued forth, giving drink to all men and washing their souls clean of defilement. O Mistress Theotokos, save all who with faith bow down before thy precious image.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Having assembled together, let us all hymn the pure Virgin, the divinely chosen Maiden of Jacob, the fleece of Gideon, the mediatress of joy, the might and boast of those who are saved, the pure Theotokos.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Behold, gladness now draweth nigh, and sorrow is destroyed! The faithful are saved, drawing forth joy as from a wellspring, and they chant continually in praise: Rejoice, O pure Mistress, thou inception of our salvation, bulwark and boast of all the faithful!
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
By thine entreaties grant us thine aid, O all-pure Theotokos, for sorrows descend upon us, griefs have multiplied, and the enemy array themselves against us. Yet, interceding, O all-pure one, deliver us: cast down the arrogance of our foes and grant us victory over our enemies, that all who do evil to thy servants may be put to shame.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone VIII, Spec. Mel. “To thee, the chosen leader…”: As ones delivered from evils by the arrival of thy precious image, O Mistress Theotokos, do we splendidly chant hymns of victory to thee, the chosen leader, on the feast of thy meeting, and we cry to thee as is our wont: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
Ikos:An angelic messenger was sent from heaven to say to the Theotokos: “Rejoice!”, with his incorporeal voice, O Lord; And perceiving Thee incarnate, he was filled with awe and stood, crying out to her such things as these: Rejoice, thou through whom Joy hath shone forth; rejoice, thou who didst annul the curse! Rejoice, restoration of fallen Adam; rejoice, deliverance of Eve from tears! Rejoice, height not easily scaled by the thoughts of men; rejoice, depth not easily plumbed even by the eyes of angels! Rejoice, for thou art the throne of the King; rejoice, for thou bearest Him Who bearest all things! Rejoice, thou star who revealest the Sun; rejoice, womb of the incarnation of God! Rejoice, thou through whom creation hath been restored; rejoice, thou by whom the Creator is worshipped! Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
Ode VII, Irmos: The divinely wise youths worshipped not a creation rather than the Creator, but, manfully trampling the threat of the fire underfoot, they rejoice, chanting: Blessed art Thou, the all-hymned God of our fathers!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Arrayed by thee as in purple and fine linen dyed scarlet, O Mistress Virgin Theotokos, thy city magnifieth Christ and glorifieth the arrival of thy precious image, which hath appeared outshining the rays of the sun and illumining with light undimmed those who sing aloud thy praises.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The tablets divinely inscribed by the finger of the Spirit did Moses break in anger; yet the all-glorious Creator Who made His abode within thee, O pure one, preserved thee unharmed. To Him do we chant: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Accept the entreaties of thy servants, O all-pure Virgin Theotokos. By thy supplications still thou the restless tempest, and drive away the councils of the adverse foe who fall upon thy flock, O most immaculate Mistress.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
By His nativity the Creator of all signified that thou alone art the helper of the human race, O Theotokos Mary, and the prophet prefigured thee: one as the gate, another as the bower of God. And we hymn thee as the Mother of God, our mediatress before God, our ally against all the evils which assail us.
Ode VIII, Irmos: The birthgiving of the Theotokos saved the pious children in the furnace – then in figure, but now in deed – and it moveth all the world to chant to Thee: Hymn ye the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
How can we hymn thee as is meet, O Virgin: our steadfast help, the preserver of our life, our sure mediatress before thy Son and our God? Him do we hymn and exalt supremely forever!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O Mary Theotokos, thou all-comely flower, rich fragrance: thou fillest all with sweet savour, savest and deliverest from infirmities, and dispellest the demons; wherefore, we cry out to thee: Rejoice, O helper of all the faithful who pray to thee!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thou hast shown thyself to be a tower repelling the assaults of the adversary, O Mother of God; for thou hast been revealed as a bulwark and rampart, a refuge of salvation for all who honour thee with ardent hearts.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Like David we chant a hymn to thee, calling thee the mountain of God, O all-pure Virgin; for thou hast poured forth upon us the ever-flowing Wellspring. Him do we hymn and exalt supremely forever.
Ode IX, Irmos: Let every mortal leap for joy, enlightened by the Spirit; and let the nature of the incorporeal intelligences keep festival, honouring the sacred feast of the Mother of God, and let them cry aloud: Rejoice, O most blessed Theotokos, pure Ever-virgin!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O pure Theotokos, mediatress of Joy, gladden thou our minds, that we may cry to thee: Rejoice, O our guardian, might and protection, our refuge of salvation!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Let heaven and earth praise thee together, in that thou gavest birth to the Bestower of life for the world: Rejoice, O tranquil haven, thou inexhaustible wellspring of the water of life, O Mistress!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O ye people, having assembled today to greet the all-pure Mother of God who bore the Fruit of the noetic vine Who ever exudeth the Wine which filleth all with gladness, let us glorify the Theotokos as is meet.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Mother of God, thou divine river of the waters of life who watereth all valleys: drown thou our temptations, and destroy them utterly.
Troparion, Tone IV: Today the most glorious city of Moscow is adorned, having received thy wonder-working icon like the radiance of the sun; and we, hastening to it and entreating thee, O Mistress, do thus cry out: O all-wondrous Mistress Theotokos, entreat Christ our God, Who became incarnate through thee, that He deliver this city, and all cities and lands where Christians dwell, unharmed by all the assaults of the enemy, and save thou our souls, in that thou art compassionate.
On this Sunday after the feast of the Dormition, we celebrate the icon of the Mother of God «Прибавление ума», known in English variously as the “Addition of Mind”, the “Giver (or Increase) of Reason”, or the “Giver of Understanding”, and even a cursory glance makes it obvious that this is a very unusual icon with an unusual history.
But, despite its mysterious and unusual iconography, and western Christian inspiration it is surrounded by great devotion and love.
The other name of this icon “Loretskaya” makes clear its roots in the little town, but great shrine of Loreto, on the Adriatic Coast of Italy, and it is inseparable from the Holy House of Loreto, which the Orthodox Church recognises as the relocated House of the Holy Family, from Nazareth, in which the Mother of God spent her earliest years, to which she returned when she left the Temple and was betrothed to St Joseph, and in which the Archangel Gabriel announced the news of the Incarnation of the Saviour.
Pious Roman Catholic legend claims that the Holy House was miraculously transported by angels away from Jerusalem, conquered by the Muslims, in 1297, firstly to Dalmatia, and from there, in 1294, the Holy House, along with the image of the Mother of God, traveled to the small port of Ancona, and then to Loreto. However, this story was only first recorded in 1400.
History tells us that the Angels who transported the Holy House were the Despot of Epirus in Greece, whose family name was indeed Angelos.
Having been stored in Thessaly, in central Greece, the stones of the Holy House arrived in Italy as part of a marriage dowry.
Once rebuilt, Loreto and its Holy House became a centre of pilgrimages – visited in 1844, by the Russian pilgrim and Archimandrite Porfiry, who described his impressions wrote down in his diary:
“A magnificent church was built on the very site of the wondrous event (presumed by him to be the translation by the heavenly powers). As soon as you enter it, you will immediately see that sacred cave in which the Archangel announced to the Humble One about the incarnation of the Son of God in Her. This cave was within the house and probably made up the lower level of it, where the Mother of God was engaged in handicrafts and divine contemplation. It is remarkable that even today the Nazarene women work in the lower parts of the house, and only rest in the upper room at night. It is also remarkable that even today in some houses there are caves or, better, houses attached to caves. I saw one such house in passing in the upper part of the city. It’s no wonder that Joseph’s house was attached to a natural cave, where there was a workroom and a kitchen.”
It was such a visit, but three centuries earlier that saw the arrival of the prototype of the Pribavlenie Uma icon in Russia, the Russian Great Prince Ivan III, having looked to western Europe for alliances and trade, as well as considering the implications of the Council of Florence.
In 1524, at the invitation of Pope Clement VII, a Russian embassy visited Italy, and the Pope organised an excursion to the Holy House of Loreto hoping to win over the solidly Orthodox delegation. The ambassadors Yeremey Trusov and Dmitri Gerasimov were touched and impressed by by the translated shrine from Nazareth; and related the story and news of the Holy House to Great Prince Vasily on their return. By this time, any icon which had belonged to the the Holy House in its original location were lost, but a carved rendering of the image of the Mother of God we see in the icon was enshrined above the altar of the Holy House.
In Russia, the carved image of the Mother of God was translated into Orthodox iconography, preserving specific features of the Holy House, including the niche above the altar and the hanging lamps, with a town – representing Loreto – beneath the feet of the Mother of God and Christ-Child, both wrapped in an ornate phelonion and crowned with diadems. This image proved popular and became wide-spread.
In 1547, at the time of the Great Fire of Moscow, which destroyed much of the old wooden city, we know an icon of the Mother of God of Loreto was painted “in the Moscow manner”.
A legend from the next century tells of a pious icon painter who suddenly became interested in the book corrections and reforms of Patriarch Nikon, and in spiritual confusion he could not understand whether Patriarch Nikon’s faith was true, or that of the Old Believers.
Such was his confusion that the man went mad, but between fits of madness he was able to pray the Holy Mother of God for forgiveness and the return of a sound mind. The Holy Mother of God appeared to the icon painter several times, and he painted her icon and received healing of his mental state, calling the icon the “Addition of Mind”. Interestingly the story does not tell us whether his conclusion was that the corrected books and reforms were his choice, or the Old Ritual – though presumably the reformed books, given the late and foreign roots of the icon!
In the centuries since then, principally the 18th and 19th, when the vast majority of the copies of this icon were painted, this holy image of the Mother of God has been associated with the healing of mental afflictions as well as more general illnesses, and with help in learning and mental disability, demonstrating how Orthodox Christianity has been able to be open and inclusive, discovering a truly Orthodox understanding, sacred iconography and spiritual meaning of a devotion that originated outside the traditional Orthodox heartlands, though rooted in the very place of the Annunciation.
The ambassadors to Pope Clement remained unshaken and uncompromised in their Orthodox Faith, and precisely because of their immovability and fearlessness, they were able to appreciate the humble greatness and sacred significance of the house of Galilean limestone, which they entered in Loreto and venerated, far from its original home in Nazareth. Their awe and devotion, and the depth of their impressions, related to the court in Moscow, lie behind the great and precious icon which we honour today.
Despite the Holy House being the place of the Annunciation, we celebrate this icon during the afterfeast of the Dormition, the time of the glorification of the Mother of God in heaven.
When we look at the icon, we see that despite holding the Infant-Saviour, the Mother of God is very much portrayed as the glorious and glorified Queen of Heaven, robed and crowned in royal splendour: the crown of creation and the token of humanity, risen, glorified and welcomed into heaven.
Most Holy Mother of God, our Heavenly Queen, pray to God for us!
Тропарь, глас 4: О, Пресла́вная Ма́ти Христа́ Бо́га на́шего, благи́х Пода́теля, * ми́лостию Свое́ю всю вселе́нную сохрани́, * да́руй нам, рабо́м Твои́м, прему́дрость и ра́зум, * све́том Сы́на Твоего́ ду́ши на́ша просвети́, * еди́на Всепе́тая, от Херуви́м и Серафи́м сла́вимая.
Troparion, tone 4: O most glorious Mother of Christ, our God, who art the Giver of all good, * preserve the universe by thy mercy; * give us, thy servants, wisdom and reason; * enlighten our souls with the light of thy Son, * |O thou only all-praised one, who art glorified by the cherubim and the seraphim.
Canon of the All-Holy Theotokos, the composition of the Monk Ignatius, in Tone IV
Ode I, Irmos: I will open my mouth, and with the Spirit will it be filled; and I shall utter discourse unto the Queen and Mother, and shall appear, keeping splendid festival; and, rejoicing, I will hymn her wonders.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Joyfully do I now offer up this present laudation with a serene voice, O Hodegetria, and rejoicing I cry unto thee: Rejoice! Fill me with understanding, that I may begin my hymnody.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O most hymned one who gavest birth to Christ, our everlasting Joy, O hope of the Orthodox, most hymned Virgin Hodegetria! Fill me with the joy which the world desireth.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
All men join chorus with the angels, ever crying out together in heaven and on earth, O Hodegetria: Rejoice, O Virgin, for by thy birthgiving thou hast filled all things with joy!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Hodegetria our joy, as thou art the Mother of Joy, vouchsafe joy unto those who cry out to thee with fear, delivering them from all tribulations; and have mercy on all who have recourse to thee.
Ode III, Irmos: O Theotokos, thou living and abundant fountain: in thy divine glory establish those who hymn thee and spiritually form themselves into a choir; and vouchsafe unto them crowns of glory.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O pure Hodegetria, thou unshakable and animate palace of Christ, the King most high! Rejoice, rejoice, thou through whom our city is preserved undestroyed.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Him Whom creation is unable to contain didst thou bodily contain in thy womb which knew not wedlock, O Virgin Hodegetria; wherefore, we chant unto thee: Rejoice!, magnifying thee as is meet.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O greatly hymned joy of the world, ever joyously hymning thee, we are vouchsafed everlasting joy through thy maternal supplications unto Him Who was born of thee, O pure Hodegetria.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
We call upon thee, the golden jar, the lampstand, the staff, the table, O pure one, and we ever offer thee the cry, Rejoice! while calling thee such things.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Kontakion, Tone VI: We have no other help, we have no other hope than thee, O Mistress. Help us, for we place our trust in thee, and in thee do we boast. For we are thy servants. Let us not be put to shame.
Sessional Hymn, Tone II: O refuge of the world, wellspring of mercy, fervent entreaty and an insuperable rampart, we earnestly cry out to thee: O Mistress Theotokos: Go thou before us, and deliver us from misfortunes, O thou who alone makest swift intercession.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The foregoing is repeated.
Ode IV, Irmos: Seated in glory upon the throne of the Godhead, Jesus most divine hath come on a light cloud, and with His incorrupt arm hath saved those who cry: Glory to Thy power, O Christ!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O Mistress Hodegetria, wonder of wonders! Rejoice, joy of all, invincible Christian refuge for cities and towns amid tribulations, bulwark and victory against the foe.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, thou boast of Orthodox kings! Thou art the protection of all the Christ-loving armies, O Queen! Rejoice, O Hodegetria, refuge and confirmation for us all!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, speedy deliverance for all amid misfortunes! Rejoice, ready consolation for all who sorrow! Rejoice, O most hymned one! Rejoice, O most blessed Hodegetria, healer of all infirmities!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Rejoice, thou whose greatness all creation doth hasten to glorify as is meet, yet is unable so to do, O Hodegetria! It therefore crieth out to thee: Rejoice, O Mistress, dwelling-place inhabited by God!
Ode V, Irmos: All things are filled with awe at thy divine glory; for thou, O Virgin who hast not known wedlock, didst contain within thy womb Him Who is God over all, and gavest birth to the timeless Son, granting peace unto all who hymn thee.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thou art an abyss of goodness and compassions, O Virgin Hodegetria. Rejoice, thou who art the cause of joy for all the faithful! O rejoice, all-speedy helper for those who sorrow amid misfortunes!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Though we are as blind men, all of us, the faithful, are filled with joy, seeing and hearing the mighty things which come from the fulfilment of thy miracles; wherefore, we all ever and everywhere chant unto thee, Rejoice!, O Hodegetria.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, O Virgin Hodegetria, dwelling-place of Christ our God and abode of His ineffable and all-divine glory! O rejoice, palace all-adorned! Rejoice, animate city ever reigning!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Looking upon thee as joy as inexhaustible as the sea, O Virgin Maiden Hodegetria, rejoicing, we all cry out to thee, Rejoice! And chanting, we ever expect that thou wilt invisibly bestow upon us divine gifts.
Ode VI, Irmos: Celebrating this divine and most honoured festival of the Mother of God, come, ye divinely wise, let us clap our hands and glorify God Who was born of her.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Receiving Christ, O pure Virgin Hodegetria, thou didst hear the cry, Rejoice! And having ineffably given birth unto Him, thou dost ever hear from all, Rejoice!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thou hast filled all with joy, and hast united those above to those below, O Hodegetria. Wherefore, heaven and all the earth now cry out to thee together.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, O most hymned Hodegetria, consolation of widows and all orphans! Rejoice, thou who pourest forth inexhaustible riches upon all the poor!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Rejoice, O Hodegetria, thou habitation of Christ, who art more lustrous than any gold and more radiant than the dawning of the sun! Rejoice, O Virgin! Rejoice, O unwedded Bride!
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone VI: O protection of Christians who cannot be put to shame, mediation before the Creator unchanging! Disdain not the suppliant voices of sinners, but as thou art good go before us to help us who cry unto thee: Haste thou to supplication, and speed thou to entreaty, O Theotokos who ever intercedest for those who honour thee.
Ikos: Extend thy hands, wherein thou didst receive the Master of all as a babe, through the magnitude of His goodness; forsake us not who ever set our hope on thee, and in thy vigilant supplication and incalculable forgiveness take pity on us, and grant thy loving-kindness unto our souls, pouring it forth forever. For thee do we sinners have as a helper against the misfortunes and evils which assail us. And as thou dost possess compassions of loving-kindness, haste thou to supplication, and speed thou to entreaty, O Theotokos who ever intercedest for those who honour thee.
Ode VII, Irmos: The divinely wise youths worshipped not a creation rather than the Creator, but, manfully trampling the threat of the fire underfoot, they rejoiced, chanting: Blessed art Thou, the all-hymned God of our fathers!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Theotokos Hodegetria, who ever directest all the faithful ever to tread the path that leadeth to salvation! Rejoice, O Mistress, for through thee are we ever delivered from present misfortunes at the hands of the barbarians!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Hodegetria, who keepest vigil and prayest for us to God, and deliverest all men from every evil and all tribulations by thy mediation, O Theotokos!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, rejoice, O all-holy Hodegetria, who fulfillest for us our petitions which are profitable, and ever desirest good and loving unity for all, and who dost hasten to deliver us!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Hodegetria, who deliverest the faithful who sail aboard ships tempest-tossed, who art the deliverance of all from every tribulation, and quickly curest divers lingering illnesses!
Ode VIII, Irmos: The birthgiving of the Theotokos saved the pious children in the furnace — then in figure, but now in deed — and it moveth all the world to chant to Thee: Hymn ye the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, most blessed Mary, for from thee was the most blessed God arrayed wholly in me, a man; and having thus arrayed Himself, He united me to His divinity in an ineffable union, O Virgin Hodegetria! Rejoice, O joyous one, thou joy of all the world!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, expeller of evil spirits! Rejoice, O Theotokos Hodegetria! Rejoice, for the invisible armies of heaven ever glorify and magnify thee as the Mother of God! Rejoice, thou who hast joined those below to those on high!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, thou who hast surely surpassed all the hosts of heaven! Rejoice, O Hodegetria! Rejoice, thou who gavest birth to the God of all creation, O most hymned Mistress who reignest! Rejoice, for thou hast remained a virgin even after giving birth, O pure one!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Rejoice, glory of all women, all-sanctified temple of our God! Rejoice, O Hodegetria! Rejoice, thou who savest souls throughout the world! Rejoice, overshadowing cloud, broader than the heavens! Rejoice, O phial full of divine myrrh!
Ode IX, Irmos: Let every mortal leap for joy, enlightened by the Spirit; and let the nature of the incorporeal intelligences keep festival, honouring the sacred feast of the Mother of God, and let them cry aloud: Rejoice, O most blessed Theotokos, pure Ever-virgin!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O lamp bearing the never-waning Light, who in thy birth-giving dispellest the darkness of polytheism and deliverest men from the abyss of hell! Rejoice, O Theotokos Hodegetria, mediatress of all good things!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O noetic and animate ground from whence came the heavenly Grain, which sprang forth for the faithful and delivered the whole world from soul-destroying famine! Rejoice, O vineyard who gavest birth to the Grapes of life, O pure Theotokos Hodegetria!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Rejoice, thou who art an all-comely garden of mystic flowers! Rejoice, O Virgin Mother Theotokos, thou understanding of the invisible ones, who by purity didst strangely triumph! Rejoice, O Hodegetria, universal wonder and report!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
By thy help preserve the remaining time of our life unharmed, O Virgin Maiden, and vouchsafe that we who hasten to thee may receive a goodly end, and may cry: Rejoice, O most blessed Theotokos, pure Hodegetria!
Canon to the Directress, the all-holy Theotokos, the composition of the Hieromonk Ignatius, in Tone IV
Ode I, Irmos: I will open my mouth, and with the Spirit will it be filled; and I shall utter discourse unto the Queen and Mother, and shall appear, keeping splendid festival; and, rejoicing, I will hymn her wonders.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O pure one, joyously do I now offer my foremost praise: Rejoice! And with gladsome voice I cry out to thee, O Directress: Rejoice, and fill me with understanding as I begin to hymn thee!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O all-hymned one who gavest birth unto Christ our everlasting Joy! O Directress, thou hope of the Orthodox, all-hymned Virgin, fill me with the joy which the world hath desired.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
All men and angels join chorus, ever crying out together in heaven and on earth, O Directress: Rejoice, O Virgin, for by thy birthgiving thou hast filled all things with joy!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O Directress, vouchsafe joy unto those who with fear cry out to thee Rejoice!, in that thou art the Mother of joy who deliverest from all tribulations; and have mercy on all that have recourse unto thee.
Another canon of the feast, in the same tone:
Irmos: Same as that of the preceding canon.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The captains of the angels reverence thee, O Theotokos; and the ranks of the saints minister to thee with honor; the righteous adorn themselves and bless thee as the Mediatress of heavenly things; heaven and earth together praise thee splendidly in gladness. And we sinners ask mercy: Illumine our hearts, O Mistress, that we may chant a hymn to the revelation of thy holy icon.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Come ye, O Christian people, having mystically cleansed your minds, and assemble in the holy church of the Mother of Christ our God; for from her holy icon there poureth forth upon us inexhaustibly a spiritual wellspring which healeth the souls and bodies of those who cry out in song: Blessed is our God Who was born of thee!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
The strange wonder of thy divine birthgiving striketh every ear with wonder and awe, O all-immaculate one: how thou didst conceive the Creator of the cherubim; how thou didst bear in the flesh Him Who is life, and for the whole world didst give birth to life: the God and Man!
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Beneath thy shelter do all of us, the generations of man, flee, O Virgin Lady. With the light of thy birthgiving enlighten us, thy sinful servants who earnestly pray, bowing down before thine all-pure icon, asking to receive from thee great mercy.
Ode III, Irmos: O Theotokos, thou living and abundant fountain: in thy divine glory establish those who hymn thee and spiritually form themselves into a choir; and vouchsafe unto them crowns of glory.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O unshakable, pure and animate palace of Christ the King Most High! Rejoice, O Directress, Rejoice! For by thee is our city preserved intact!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
In thy womb which tasted not of wedlock thou didst bodily contain Him Whom creation cannot contain, O Virgin Directress. Wherefore, magnifying thee as is meet, we chant, Rejoice!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O all-hymned joy of the world, ever hymning thee with joy, O pure one, we are vouchsafed everlasting joy by thy maternal supplications unto Him Who was born of thee, O Directress.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O Directress, we invoke thee as the golden jar, the candlestick, the rod and the table, O pure one, and we ever raise the cry, Rejoice! to thee when we use these terms.
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
What worthy praise can our utter infirmity offer thee? For through the manifestation of thine all-pure, divine icon thou pourest forth bountiful streams of healing upon thy servants who faithfully have recourse to thee.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The holy revelation of thy divine icon, O Virgin Theotokos, hath shone upon us like the radiant sun, emitting rays of all-glorious miracles, and dispelling a myriad of evil circumstances by thy sacred intercessions, O Mistress.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Thou didst once fill thy first-painted icon with grace, O Virgin Lady Theotokos; and now that same grace speaketh forth truly in the effulgence of the wonders of faith, as the first one did for the sake of thee who wast first depicted thereon, unto those who with faith have recourse to thee after God.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
We bow down before the all-pure image of thee and thy Babe all-sweet, Christ the preëternal and never-waning Light, O Theotokos, by Whom thou hast saved all human nature from cruel evils and mortal corruption.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Sessional Hymn, Tone VIII, Spec. Mel. “Of the Wisdom…”: The divine apostles of the Word, the clarion-voiced universal heralds of the Gospel of Christ, having founded a divine temple in thine all-holy name, O Theotokos, approached thee, entreating thee to come to its consecration. But thou didst say, O Mother of God: “Go in peace, and I shall be with you there!” And they, going forth, there found, on the wall of the church, the likeness of thine image limned powerfully in colored hues; and seeing it, they did thee homage and glorified God. And we also, with them, bow down before thy divine icon, asking of thee great mercy. Grant remission of sins to thy servants, O thou who alone art blessed.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The above Sessional hymn is repeated.
Ode IV, Irmos: Seated in glory upon the throne of the Godhead, Jesus most divine hath come on a light cloud, and with His incorrupt arm hath saved those who cry: Glory to Thy power, O Christ!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O Mistress Directress, thou wonder of wonders! Rejoice, joy of all cities and towns, impregnable fortress and bulwark for Christians amid misfortunes, thou victory over the enemy!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O boast of Orthodox kings, for thou, O Queen of all, dost accompany Christ-loving armies! Rejoice, O Directress, thou refuge and confirmation of us all!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, deliverance for all amid misfortunes! Rejoice, ready consolation for all the sorrowful! Rejoice, O all-hymned one! Rejoice, most blessed Directress, healer of all the infirm!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, thou whose mighty works all creation doth make haste to glorify as is meet; yet it is unable, O Directress, and therefore it crieth out to thee: Rejoice, O Mistress, thou dwelling-place which contained God!
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O ye pure people, in purity let us cherish the icon of the Virgin Theotokos and of the divine Infant Christ our God; and let us kiss it and glorify her with fear and trembling; for we right honorably venerate the icon and honor even more the pure Mother of God.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
David, the divine and wondrous prophet, foreseeing as from a great distance, said: The rich among the people shall entreat thy countenance. And let us, O ye faithful, bow down and venerate the precious icon, sanctified body and soul.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Luke, the divinely eloquent recorder of the Gospel, at the behest of God set down thine all-immaculate image, O Theotokos, depicting the preëternal Infant in thine arms; and from temptations and misfortunes thou deliverest those who have recourse thereto, and thou protectest and savest them all by thine image.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou art the boast and crown of all the saints, O Queen; after God, thou art our hope and helper, and on thee have we all set our hope of salvation. Thee do we entreat as the Mother of God: Rain down thy rich and soul-saving mercies upon thy sinful servants.
Ode V, Irmos: All things are filled with awe at thy divine glory; for thou, O Virgin who hast not known wedlock, didst contain within thy womb Him Who is God over all, and gavest birth to the timeless Son, granting peace unto all who hymn thee.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thou art an abyss of goodness and compassions. Rejoice, O Virgin Directress! Rejoice, thou who makest all faithful! O rejoice, most speedy helper of those who are in misfortune and sorrow!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Beholding the mighty works of the fullness of thy wonders, we, the faithful, are filled with joy, even those among us who hear of them yet see them not. Wherefore, in every place we all ever chant unto thee, Rejoice, O Directress!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O rejoice, O Virgin Directress, thou dwelling-place of Christ our God and habitation of His ineffable and all-divine glory! O rejoice, palace all adorned! Rejoice, animate city ever reigning!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Looking upon thee as a sea of joy inexhaustible, O Virgin Maiden Directress, rejoicing we all cry out to thee, Rejoice! And chanting, we ever expect of thee divine gifts invisibly bestowed.
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Every being is at a loss how to hymn thee, O all-pure one; for thou art exalted far above the heavenly intelligences, having given birth unto the unapproachable and dread King and God of all. But as thou art merciful and the ready helper of men, attend unto the entreaty of thy servants, and grant us thy help.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Where thy grace overshadoweth, O Theotokos, the demons vanish in fear and their wickedly devised phantasy is destroyed; the dark demons flee and the whole multitude of the faithful rejoice, crying out a hymn of praise to thee from their hearts: Rejoice, thou divine protection of our souls!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Sweet sight is given to the eyeless, hearing to the deaf, goodly speech to the mute, the ability to walk to the lame, cleansing to the leprous, chastity to the demonized, and healing to those who suffer from divers sicknesses, through the overshadowing of thine all-pure icon, O Theotokos.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O joyous Theotokos, let us never fail to hymn thy mighty works with psalms and hymns; for thou truly gavest birth unto the incarnate God unto our universal salvation and deliverance.
Ode VI, Irmos: Celebrating this divine and most honored festival of the Mother of God, come, ye divinely wise, let us clap our hands and glorify God Who was born of her.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Receiving Christ within thyself, O pure Virgin Directress, thou didst hear the cry, Rejoice! And having given birth unto Him ineffably, thou dost ever hear the salutation Rejoice! from all.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thou hast filled all with joy, and hast united those who are on high with them below, O Directress. Wherefore, with joy heaven and all the earth now cry out to thee together.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O all-hymned Directress, consolation of widows and all orphans! Rejoice, thou who pourest forth inexhaustible riches upon all the destitute!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O Directress, dwelling-place of Christ, more lustrous than any gold and more splendid than the dawning of the sun! Rejoice, O Virgin! Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
O Virgin Lady, by thine exclamation of old thou didst impart to thine all-pure image the all-rich grace of thy divine birthgiving, that it work great and all-glorious miracles in abundance, unto the salvation of those who set their hope on thee.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Where the holy name of the joyous Theotokos is glorified, streams of every good thing pour forth. Come ye in purity, O people, for, lo! by the manifestation of the divine icon of the Virgin is the presence of the Queen revealed, unto the salvation of all the faithful.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Approaching with faith, O all-immaculate Mistress and Mother of God, from thine all-pure icon we receive healing of maladies, the dispelling of the passions, salvation which nourisheth the soul, forgiveness of sins, and everlasting deliverance.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
To thee, O Lady, do the generations of the earthborn flee, and ask great mercy; and they that are infirm receive healing in abundance, release from the passions, and consolation amid grief. O Mistress, let fall upon me a drop of soul-saving rain, that with all I also may hymn thy magnitude.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Kontakion, Tone VIII, Spec. Mel.” To thee, the champion leader…” : O ye people, let us flee to that calm and good haven, the speedy helper and ready and fervent salvation, the protection of the Virgin, and let us make haste to prayer and speed to repentance. For the all-pure Theotokos poureth forth upon us inexhaustible mercies; she cometh in advance to help us and delivereth her good-hearted and God-fearing servants from great misfortunes and evils.
Ikos: Having cleansed thought and mind, let us make haste to the Theotokos, calling her blessed in splendid hymns; and let us glorify and honor her all-pure icon; and falling down before it, let us do homage as to herself; for the veneration shown an icon ascendeth unto the Prototype, and he that honoreth and boweth down before it, honoreth the Prototype Himself, as the divine fathers have said. And if one doth not reverence the all-holy Theotokos, and doth not venerate her icon, let him be anathema. For she putteth to shame and destroyeth those who honor her not, and delivereth from great misfortunes and evils her good-hearted and God-fearing servants.
Ode VII, Irmos: The divinely wise youths worshipped not a creation rather than the Creator, but, manfully trampling the threat of the fire underfoot, they rejoice, chanting: Blessed art Thou, the all-hymned God of our fathers!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Directress, who dost ever direct all the faithful to tread the path to all salvation! Rejoice, O Mistress, for by thee are we ever delivered from the present tribulations brought about by the barbarians!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Theotokos Directress, who keepest watch and prayest to God for us, delivering all the people from every sorrow and from all evil by thy mediation!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O all-holy Directress, who fulfillest those of our petitions which are for our profit, and ever desirest for all good and brotherly unity, especially among the leaders.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Directress of ships which must needs sail, who deliverest the faithful, and quickly loosest them from divers and long-standing ailments, O deliverance of all from every sorrow!
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Come ye, let us draw forth remission from the inexhaustible wellspring which poureth forth sanctity, the all-pure Virgin and her all-pure Infant, God the Word, Who became incarnate for our sake. And let us cry out to Him: O Creator and Deliverer Who art God glorified with the Father and the Spirit, blessed art Thou!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Possessed of ever-vigilant and God-pleasing prayer, O pure one, and an insuperable dominion of might, crush thou the audacity of the enemy which is directed against us, that we, thy servants, may rejoice in thee, crying out to thy Son: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O ye faithful people, let us rejoice and be glad in the wondrous appearance of the icon of the all-pure Mistress, the Theotokos; for it hath been shown to be an inexhaustible river pouring forth the water of healing. For it giveth sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the ability to walk to the lame, and free healing to all amid their infirmities.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
An unfathomable abyss, an incomprehensible mystery is the unapproachable image of thy conception, O Virgin; for thy conception was seedless; thou gavest birth without a husband; the Incorporeal One became incarnate, the Preëternal One became an infant, the Son of God became thy Son, O Virgin. To Him do we cry aloud: Blessed art Thou, O God!
Ode VIII, Irmos: The birthgiving of the Theotokos saved the pious children in the furnace — then in figure, but now in deed — and it moveth all the world to chant to Thee: Hymn ye the Lord and exalt Him supremely for all ages!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O most blessed Mary, for through thee the most blessed God hath arrayed Himself wholly in me; and having arrayed Himself in man, He hath united man to His divinity in an ineffable union, O Virgin Directress! Rejoice, O joyous one, thou joy of all the world!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, dispeller of evil spirits! Rejoice, O Theotokos Directress! Rejoice, thou whom the invisible armies of heaven ever glorify and magnify as the Mother of God! Rejoice, thou who hast joined those who are below with those above!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Directress who without exception surpassest all the heavenly hosts! Rejoice, O all-hymned Mistress, who gavest birth to the God of all creation, and hast dominion over it! Rejoice, O pure one, who even after giving birth remainest a virgin!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, glory of all women, all-hallowed temple of our God! Rejoice, O Directress! Rejoice, thou who savest the souls of all the world! Rejoice, protecting cloud broader than the heavens! Rejoice, phial full of divine oil of myrrh!
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The minds of angels and men are filled with awe, O Theotokos, in contemplating how thou gavest flesh unto the God of heaven, containing Him in thy womb, and how, having given birth unto Him as a babe, thou bearest Him as a Son in thine arms. Before Him doth creation stand in awe and the heavenly thrones tremble, crying out unceasingly: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O God Who art all-hymned and supremely exalted above all forever!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, thou who art the joy of all the world! With the Archangel Gabriel we cry out to thee, O Theotokos: Rejoice, thou who didst contain the Infinite One! Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace, bearer of the whole Divinity! Rejoice, restoration of Adam, the Lord is with thee, saving us for thy sake! Him do we hymn and exalt supremely forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
O sanctified root of Jesse, thou hast plucked forth the root of our sin, O rod of Aaron which blossomed, giving rise to a Blossom, Christ the Bestower of life! O jar which received the Manna, thou hast crushed all the power of death, and hast brought the human race to the generation of life. Wherefore, we hymn thee, the cause of that which is good.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou art the boast of Christians, O Mistress; thou art a sword against our enemies and a rampart for those who have recourse unto thee. We now call upon thee for aid, O Lady: permit not the foe to rise up against thy people, for they praise neither thee nor thy Son, O Theotokos, nor do they bow down before thine icon. Vanquish them, and save thou our souls.
Ode IX, Irmos: Let every mortal leap for joy, enlightened by the Spirit; and let the nature of the incorporeal intelligences keep festival, honoring the sacred feast of the Mother of God, and let them cry aloud: Rejoice, O most blessed Theotokos, pure Ever-virgin!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O lamp who bore the never-waning Light and who in thy birth-giving hast destroyed the darkness of polytheism and delivered thy people from the abyss of hades! Rejoice, O Theotokos Directress, mediatress of all good things!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, O earth from whence the Ear of heavenly grain hath budded forth for the faithful; and deliver the whole world from soul-destroying famine, O noetic and animate one! Rejoice, O vine who gavest birth to the Cluster of life, O pure Theotokos Directress!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Rejoice, most comely paradise of mystic flowers! Rejoice, Virgin Mother, O Theotokos who by purity hast most strangely vanquished the understanding of the invisible foe! Rejoice, O Maiden, rejoice, O Directress, thou universal wonder and report!
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
By thine aid, keep thou the remaining time of our life untouched by harm, O Virgin Maiden, and count us worthy to receive a good end, for we hymn thee and cry aloud: Rejoice, O most blessed and pure Theotokos and Directress!
Same Irmos
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
Thee, the steadfast helper of the human race, O Theotokos Mary, did the choir of the prophets foretell in many and divers ways, as the holy tabernacle more spacious than the heavens, the tablet divinely inscribed, the bush unconsumed by the Fire, the portal through which God passeth, the mountain and the ladder, the bridge and the rod which blossomed forth. And we truly magnify thee as the Theotokos.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
The mystery of the depth of thy birthgiving moveth the mind of the angels to awe, O Virgin, and thine all-pure icon driveth the demons away, darkeneth the countenances of the ungodly, and putteth them to shame. For they cannot bear to look upon its power, and they flee and vanish away. And we lovingly bow down and venerate it, and magnify thee as the Theotokos.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As a constant intercessor before the King Most High, in that thou art possessed of undaunted boldness, establish thou the life of the Orthodox in peace profound, exalt our right-believing hierarchs, and ever grant unto thy servants all things profitable, that we may magnify thee as the Theotokos.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O most merciful helper of Christians, the mind of men or angels cannot hymn thee as is meet, for thou art more honorable than all creation, more glorious than all things of heaven and earth; for thou gavest birth unto the Creator and God of all. O Mistress, mercifully accept the hymn which we have composed for thee from the depths of our heart, and ever save us, for on thee have we set our hope.
Troparion, Tone IV: O earnest helper, Mother of the Lord Most High, thou dost entreat Christ, thy Son and our God, on behalf of all, and dost cause all to be saved who have recourse to thy mighty protection. O Lady, Queen and Mistress, help us all who, amid temptations, sorrows and sickness, are heavy laden with many sins, who stand before thee and with tears pray to thee with compunctionate soul and contrite heart before thine all-pure image, and who have unfailing hope in thee: Grant deliverance from all evils, and things profitable unto all, O Virgin Theotokos, and save us all, for thou art the divine protection of thy servants.
Влахернская икона Божией Матери обретена в Иерусалиме императрицей Евдокией во времена святителя Ювеналия, Патриарха Иерусалимского (память 2 июля), и преподобного Евфимия Великого (память 20 января). Святая икона была послана в Константинополь, где императрица Пульхерия поставила ее в церкви Влахернской, там же хранилась честная риза Богородицы (празднование 2 июля).
Эту святую икону называют еще Одигитрией, то есть Путеводительницей. Именно с этой иконой Патриарх Сергий (610–631) обходил в 626 году стены Константинополя с молебнами при осаде столицы аварами. В память этой и других побед, одержанных благодаря заступничеству Пресвятой Девы, было установлено ежегодно в субботу пятой седмицы Великого поста совершать праздник Похвалы Пресвятой Богородице («Суббота Акафиста»). Первоначально празднование совершалось только во Влахернском храме в Константинополе. В IХ веке праздник был внесен в устав монастыря преподобного Саввы Освященного и в Студийский устав, а затем включен в Постную Триодь и сделался общим для всей Православной Церкви.
После падения Константинополя в 1453 году, Влахернская икона была перенесена на Афон, а в 1654 году прислана афонскими иноками в дар царю Алексею Михайловичу в Москву, где была помещена в Успенский собор.
Чудотворная икона сделана из восковой мастики и широко почитается среди православных верующих.
В настоящее время Влахернская икона находится в Успенском соборе Московского Кремля.
The Chernigov-Gethsemane Icon of the Mother of God is a copy of the famed Ilyin-Chernigov Icon of the Mother of God (April 16), which was to be found at the Trinity-Ilyin monastery near Chernigov on Mount Boldina, and where in the eleventh century Saint Anthony of the Kiev Caves struggled in asceticism.
Saint Demetrius of Rostov described the miracles of this icon in his book THE BEDEWED FLEECE. He wrote in conclusion: “The end of the booklet, but not of the miracles of the Most Holy Theotokos, for who can count them?” The grace-bearing power of this icon is manifest also in its copies.
The Chernigov-Gethsemane Icon of the Mother of God was painted in the mid-eighteenth century and was passed on to the Trinity Sergiev Lavra in 1852 by Alexandra Grigorievna Philippova, who piously kept it for a quarter century. (This icon was given to her by the priest John Alekseev, who received it in turn from one of the monks of the Trinity Sergiev Lavra.)
On the advice of the head of the Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony (+ May 1, 1877), the icon was placed in the newly-consecrated cave church named for Saint Michael, Leader of the Heavenly Hosts, which was consecrated on October 27, 1851 by Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (November 19), who assumed an active role in the building of the Gethsemane skete.
In this manner, the icon took in the currents of grace of all the history of the Russian Church, it acquired the blessing of Saint Anthony of the Caves, of Saint Sergius of Radonezh and of his parents Saints Cyril and Maria (September 28), and finally, of the ascetics of the nineteenth century. These spiritual connections providentially come forth through the Chernigov-Gethsemane Icon of the Mother of God.
It is remarkable that the first miracle of this icon was witnessed on the day of the Church New Year, September 1, 1869, when the twenty-eight-year-old peasant of Tula governance, Thekla Adrianova, was healed, after being completely crippled for nine years.
Living at the hostel by the caves, and then at the Lavra during the celebration of the Repose of Saint Sergius (September 25), Thekla recovered completely. Saint Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow (October 6 and March 31), learned of the miracle from his daughter the nun Polyxeni, treasurer of the Borisov wilderness monastery. On the feast of Saint Sergius, he himself met with Thekla and asked her about the details of the healing. On September 26, 1869 Saint Innocent arrived at the Gethsemane skete and gave the blessing for a Molieben to be served before the glorified icon, while he himself prayed with tears.
By September 26 three healings had occurred already, and a whole series of miracles in November of that same year. The fame of the icon of the Mother of God spread with unusual swiftness. Exhausted by suffering and sickness, thirsting for bodily and spiritual healing, people from every class of society came with firm faith to the wonderworking icon, and the mercy of God did not forsake them.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, more than 100 miracles had been recorded. By its great esteem the icon benefited the ascetics of the Gethsemane skete: the schemamonk Philip (+ May 18, 1868), the founder of the cave monastery, and his three sons, the hieroschemamonks Ignatius (+ 1900), Porphyrius (+ 1905 ?) and Basil (+ April 1, 1915). They preserved accounts of the deep love, which the hieromonk Elder Isidore (+ February 3, 1908) displayed for the Chernigov-Gethsemane Icon.
The initial celebration of the icon was established on April 16, on the day when Ilyin-Cherigov icon was celebrated. Later, it was transferred to September 1, the day of its glorification. At the present time there are copies of the Chernigov-Gethsemane icon at Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. They are found in the temple of Saint Sergius, in the monastery trapeza, and in the portico of the Trinity cathedral, painted by Elders of the Gethsemane skete and the Zosimov wilderness monastery.
Черниговская-Гефсиманская икона Божией Матери является списком с прославленной Черниговской-Ильинской иконы Божией Матери, которая находилась в Троицком Ильинском монастыре близ Чернигова, на Болдиной горе, где в XI в. некоторое время подвизался преподобный Антоний Печерский. Описанию чудес от этой иконы, начавшихся 16 – 24 апреля 1662 года, святитель Димитрий Ростовский посвятил книгу “Руно Орошенное”, заканчивая которую он писал: “Конец книжки, но не чудес Пресвятой Богородицы, ибо кто может их исчислить”. Благодатная сила этой иконы проявилась и в ее списках.
Икона Божией Матери Черниговская-Гефсиманская была написана на полотне в XVIII в. и передана в 1852 году в Троице-Сергиеву Лавру Александрой Григорьевной Филипповой, благоговейно хранившей ее у себя четверть века. (К ней эта икона перешла как благословение хотьковского священника Иоанна Алексеева, которому, в свою очередь, она досталась от одного из монахов Троице-Сергиевой Лавры.) По совету наместника Лавры архимандрита Антония (+ 1мая 1877) икона была помещена в новоустроенном пещерном храме в честь святого Архистратига Михаила, который был освящен 27 октября 1851 года митрополитом Московским Филаретом (+ 19 ноября 1867), принимавшим деятельное участие в строительстве Гефсиманского скита. Таким образом, икона впитала благодатные токи всей истории Русской Церкви, она стяжала благословения преподобного Антония Печерского, Преподобного Сергия Радонежского, его родителей, схимонахов Кирилла и Марии (+ 1337; заупокойная литургия по ним с чтением специальной молитвы совершается 28 сентября и в четверток седмицы мытаря и фарисея), и, наконец, подвижников XIX в. Эти духовные связи промыслительно обнаружились через Черниговскую-Гефсиманскую икону Божией Матери.
Знаменательно, что первое чудо от этой иконы было засвидетельствовано в день церковного Новолетия – 1 сентября 1869 года, когда от полного расслабления, продолжавшегося в течение 9 лет, исцелилась 28-летняя крестьянка Тульской губернии Фекла Адрианова. Прожив в гостинице при пещерах, а потом в Лавре до празднования преставления Преподобного Сергия (25 сентября), Фекла совершенно выздоровела. Святитель Иннокентий, митрополит Московский (1797 – 1879; память 23 сентября и 31 марта), узнал о чуде от своей дочери, казначеи Борисовской пустыни, монахини Поликсении. На празднике Преподобного Сергия он сам встретился с Феклой и расспрашивал ее обо всех обстоятельствах исцеления. 26 сентября 1869 года святитель Иннокентий прибыл в Гефсиманский скит и благословил совершить молебное пение пред прославившейся иконой и сам молился со слезами.
До 26 сентября произошло еще три благодатных исцеления и целый ряд чудес в ноябре того же года. Слава иконы Божией Матери распространялась с необычайной быстротой. Измученные страданиями и болезнями, жаждущие телесного и духовного исцеления, люди самых разных сословий с твердой верой шли к чудотворной иконе, и милость Божия не оставляла их. К началу XX в. было засвидетельствовано более 100 чудес. Большим почитанием пользовалась икона у подвижников Гефсиманского скита: у схимонаха Филиппа (+ 18 мая 1868), основавшего пещеры, у его трех сыновей – иеросхимонахов Игнатия (+ 1900), Порфирия (+ 1905?) и Василия (+ 1 апреля 1915). Сохранились сведения о той глубокой любви, которую проявлял к Черниговской-Гефсиманской иконе старец иеромонах Исидор (+ 3 февраля 1908). Первоначально празднование иконе было установлено 16 апреля, в тот же день, что и празднование Черниговской-Ильинской иконе, а затем перенесено на день прославления – 1 сентября. Ныне в Троице-Сергиевой Лавре известны чтимые списки с Черниговской-Гефсиманской иконы в храме в честь Преподобного Сергия, в монастырской трапезной и в притворе Троицкого собора, писанные старцами Гефсиманского скита и Зосимовой пустыни.
Greetings, as we celebrate the Appearance of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in 1579, when, after the devastating fire which destroyed much of the city, the Most Holy Mother of God revealed the location of her wondrous icon in the ashes of a ruined house.
We should rejoice in the fact that the All-Merciful Lord chose a child to be the herald of the good-tidings of the Wonder-Working Icon; that the Mother of God revealed the treasure of her icon not to a cleric, a monastic, a state officer, or an educated or respected dignitary, but rather to a nine-year-old, whose mind was not filled with worldly ‘learning’, facts, knowledge and theories; but, a girl blessed with a child’s simplicity and trust, and a heart and soul overflowing with faith and the fear of God.
This reminds us that spiritual encounter and true gnosis is not simply dependent on learning and education – important though they may be – but that knowledge and faith begin with God in Divine Revelation, and that faith is the gift of God, not the achievement of man.
For the young Matrona, Faith was learned from Church services; from the readings and hymns of the seasons of the year, with its feasts and fasts; from the sacred icons, and the stories narrated and saints memorialised in them; from hearing the lives of the saints which even the illiterate knew by heart; by experiencing, listening and seeing; in short by PARTICIPATION and EXPERIENCE.
But, in addition to this, this feast reminds us of the importance of REVELATION and Matrona’s part in the events of this feast is solely because God and the Mother of God freely chose her, to be the recipient.
“God is the Lord, and has revealed Himself to us.” We believe this, but we so often take such an anthropocentric approach to faith that we forget that God is the source of both faith and knowledge. We begin to see the process starting with us, with our bookshelves, reading, study and catechism classes, and the revelatory aspect of faith fades. Put simply, we begin to understand faith back-to-front. Faith begins with revelation, so faith and knowledge necessarily begin with God.
In our daily services we pray: “Blessed are Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statutes. Blessed are Thou, O Master, grant me understanding of Thy statutes. Blessed are Thou, O Holy One, grant me understanding of Thy statutes.”
This is nothing less than a prayer for Divine Revelation, and for God to grant us the gift of understanding what He has revealed to us.
This revelation is part of our personal relationship with the Living God, and though we may read and study dogmatics and theological treatises, spiritual-understanding is ultimately a gift from God – Who, if He so wishes can totally bypass all of the usual channels and mechanics of learning.
We read and hear the stories of God-Bearing ascetics whom others presumed to be highly educated, as they ably expounded the teachings of the dogmatic and ascetical Fathers, and great swathes of the Philokalia. Those who knew the ascetics explained the truth – that these men had not been schooled, were sometimes illiterate, and had never possessed, let alone read a book. Rather, through asceticism and pure prayer, they acquired the Mind of Christ, and in that Mind and through the Divine Encounter, Truth was opened and revealed to them.
What do we sing in the Beatitudes, the third antiphon of the Liturgy? “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God”… the pure in heart, not the learned, educated and knowledgeable.
God does not need university degrees and accolades of higher education, but purity and openness to faith. This is how the fishermen were made most-wise, and became theologians who knew (rather than knew about) the Incarnate-God, who revealed Himself to them in the purity of their hearts and minds.
The Lord reveals Himself to the pure in heart, and no matter how educated we are, without striving for that purity we can have no experiential knowledge of God: no personal encounter, but can only know about Him, rather than knowing Him. For those of great sanctity, their purity is enough, and within it, God may reveal all things.
As we celebrate Divine Revelation in this feast, how ironic it was that the authorities scoffed at the child chosen by the Mother of God, so that Matrona and her mother had to dig themselves to find the sacred treasure; how those in authority looked down on a mere child, refusing to believe her and dismissing her claim; and how they insulted God in not considering the possibility that He might chose a mere child as the herald of revelation.
But through all of this, God and the Theotokos teach us a salutary lesson by choosing a child.
What does Christ tell us? “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
This is the upside-down-ness of the Gospel at work, yet so many people are still far from grasping this.
The example of the child, Matrona should encourage us to struggle to preserve child-like innocence and trust in God in our Christian lives; recognising that God is the source of knowledge and Faith, no matter how much or how hard we read and study, and that although it is important for us to deepen our knowledge of Faith, true knowledge and understanding are ultimately a gift of God, and not the fruit of learning.
Revelation does not depend upon our intellectual abilities, depth of learning or theological knowledge. We remain powerless and reliant on God, the Source of all wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
For our catechumens, still learning and perhaps with gaps in knowledge; for our newly baptised, at the beginning of the journey of Faith; for those who feel that others are for more knowledgeable or educated than them – this feast is a challenge and an encouragement.
Trust in God as the source of knowledge and Truth, and work with Him to acquire true knowledge. Be active in seeking to learn His statutes, but by trusting in Him and not in your own ability.
And as we strive for the understanding of the Law of God, let us heed the Paschal Canon’s words, “Let us purify our senses and we shall behold Christ, radiant with inaccessible light of the Resurrection, and shall hear Him saying clearly, “Rejoice!” As we sing the triumphant hymns!”
Let us – with our busy, complicated, worrisome and temptation-clouded lives – strive for child-like purity, simplicity and trust, so that we may not only seek Him, but have Him reveal His truth unto us, and by becoming like little children, enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
