When people talk about the miraculous icons of the Mother of God found in the Yaroslavl land, they usually mean the image brought to the city by the holy princes Vasily and Konstantin. However, the Yaroslavl Icon of the Mother of God is not the only miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin associated with the city. No less famous and revered are the Kazan and Pechersk icons.
Iconography of the image of the Yaroslavl Mother of God
The true image of the Yaroslavl Mother of God is lost. This icon is known from numerous lists made from it at different times. The most ancient copy is considered to be the one that is kept in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. This copy was made in the 15th century. The Yaroslavl icon of the Mother of God, or rather a copy of the original miraculous image, made in 1500, according to legend, was transferred to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra as a contribution, the widow of the last of the specific princes of the city. The collection of the Tretyakov Gallery contains andanother copy of the icon, made at the end of the 15th century. Art historians believe that it is more valuable as a work of art.
Which of the copies of the icon is closest to the original image, of course, it is impossible to establish. However, thanks to the study of early lists, one can imagine what the Yaroslavl Icon of the Mother of God was like.
From the history of the image of the Yaroslavl Mother of God
The history of finding the image of the Yaroslavl land has not been reliably established. In other words, how the miraculous Yaroslavl Icon of the Mother of God appeared is known only from traditions and legends. Only the time when the image was acquired is indisputable and reliable - the XIII century. That is, the moment the icon appeared coincided with the beginning of a difficult test for the Russian lands - the rule of the Mongol-Tatar tribes.
According to legend, the icon was brought to the city by princes Konstantin and Vasily Vsevolodovichi, later canonized. The brothers were brought up by the Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich of Vladimir, who was the first to be able to give a worthy rebuff to the hordes of foreign invaders. Their father was Prince Vsevolod Konstantinovich of Yaroslavl. And the mother of the future holy brothers was Princess Marina, daughter of Oleg Kursky.
Vasily Vsevolodovich took the reign of Yaroslavl in 1238, after a battle with enemies near the river Sit. This small river to this day flows through the Yaroslavl lands, carrying its waters to the Volga. In the battle, which served as the forerunner of Kulikovsky, the Grand Duke Georgy and the Yaroslavl ruler Vsevolod Konstantinovich were killed. Rostov Prince Vasilko was full and later brutally tortured.
Arriving at the reign of Yaroslavl, Vasily, together with his younger brother Konstantin, brought an icon with them. With the blessing of Bishop Kirill of Rostov, the image was placed in a stone church built in 1215.
How the icon ended up in the hands of the brothers, the legends are silent. Historians and art historians believe that it was brought from Kyiv or Vladimir. But be that as it may, people in need, suffering and mourning immediately reached out to the image. The icon almost immediately gained the fame of Miraculous, and the day it was installed in the temple became the date of veneration. Before the revolution, this date was called the day of the Appearance of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Yaroslavl. The image of June 21 is honored in the Gregorian style, on the same day the church commemorates the brothers Vasily and Konstantin - the holy princes of the land of Yaroslavl.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the relics of the Vsevolodovich princes were transferred to the Assumption Cathedral in Yaroslavl. At the same time, the image of the Virgin was moved to this temple. From the moment she was placed in the iconostasis of the cathedral, she began to be considered the patroness of the Yaroslavl land. Tsar John III came to bow to her. The first ruler of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, also prayed at this image on the way from Kostroma to Moscow. His Serene Highness Prince Dimitry Pozharsky near her accepted a blessing from Metropolitan Kirill before the militia moved to liberate Moscow. Nicholas II, the last autocrat of the Russian land, also prayed before the icon. He came to bow to the icon in 1913.
Assumption Cathedral was closed andplundered at the beginning of the last century. At that moment, the miraculous icon disappeared. From time to time, information appears in the media that the image is found in attics, basements, counters of antique shops, however, officially the icon is still considered lost. The images found are copies, lists, which are restored and returned to the temples of the city.
How does this image help? Does the icon have its own temple?
In 2011, the modern temple of the Yaroslavl Icon of the Mother of God was laid. It is part of a large temple complex, which, upon completion, will be named after the founder of the city, Yaroslav the Wise. The project and the construction itself were blessed by the metropolitan of the land of Yaroslavl Panteleimon. The first stone in the foundation of the Small Church was laid on August 22, and already in the last days of November, the metropolitan consecrated the church and served the liturgy in it. However, the iconostasis of this temple does not have any of the ancient lists with the Yaroslavl Mother of God. This church is located on Frunze Avenue and its doors are open to parishioners from early morning until late evening.
What does this icon help with? It was acquired in an extremely difficult historical period. People not only suffered from the yoke of the invaders, as a result of bloody battles, many families were crippled, sick, blind. Of course, all of them, each with their own grief, went to bow to the Mother of God.
The image of the Yaroslavl Mother of God is considered healing from the most serious illnesses and injuries. Prayer before the icon is able to returnsight to the blind, to cure the hopeless patient. Also, the Mother of God patronizes the hearth and integrity, well-being of the family.
Yaroslavl Caves Icon of the Mother of God
This miraculous image is also lost. Day of church veneration is May 14, Julian style.
The Yaroslavl Caves Icon of the Mother of God was acquired not so long ago, in comparison with its more “famous namesake”. It happened at the beginning of the 19th century. One of the inhabitants of Yaroslavl for many years suffered from a severe mental illness, which was very reminiscent of what is now called depression. This woman's name was Alexandra Dobychkina.
One of the nights in 1823, Alexandra Dmitrievna forgot herself in a short painful dream, in which she saw a temple with an unusual icon, as if laid out on the wall. Considering the dream of things, the patient set off on her way through the streets of the city. It should be noted that it was extremely difficult to find a temple that was vaguely dreamed of in a dream at that time in Yaroslavl, since several churches stood on each street.
How many days, weeks or months Alexandra Dmitrievna searched for the temple is not entirely clear. However, it is known for certain when she discovered it. It happened on May 1st. Having entered the territory of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, for some reason the woman went to the Bishop's house and stood up, not believing her eyes. Before her rose the church from the dream. It was the temple of the Origin of the honest trees. Entering the prayer hall, Alexandra Dmitrievna immediately saw the image that appeared in a dream, went up to him and fell, huddled in convulsions. Waking up, the woman foundconfidence in the imminent healing and began to come daily and pray in front of the fresco with the image of the Virgin.
After the complete healing of Alexandra Dmitrievna, who suffered for more than 17 years, the fresco gained fame, and then the status of miraculous. It became known as the Yaroslavl Caves Icon of the Mother of God. During the closing and looting of the monastery at the beginning of the last century, the fresco was barbarously destroyed, chipped off the wall.
The type of iconography of this image is Panahranta. The Mother of God is depicted as the Queen of Heaven, she occupies the Throne, holding Jesus. This type of icon painting was typical for the masters of Constantinople, or Constantinople. Historians and art historians believe that the Yaroslavl fresco was a copy of an ancient icon from the Kiev Caves Monastery, lost long before the revolution. And she, in turn, was a list from the image of the Mother of God from the church of Sophia of Constantinople. The closest to the destroyed miraculous fresco in Yaroslavl in terms of artistic performance is the famous icon of the Mother of God “Reigning”.
Yaroslavskaya Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
The glory of the Kazan image of the Mother of God lives among the people for centuries. She easily endured decades of godlessness, which cannot be said about the icon itself, which is one of the most revered in Russia.
The phenomenon of the image occurred at the end of the 16th century in Kazan. Fires raged in the city, and only ashes remained from many buildings. One little girl had a dream in which she saw an image under the burnt rubble. The next day, with a bigcrowd of people, the icon was taken out from under the ashes exactly where the child had indicated. The very first miraculous healings occurred during the transfer of the icon from the ashes to the nearest temple. The girl who saw a prophetic dream was called Matrona. Years later, she became the first novice of the Bogoroditsky nunnery, built on the site where the icon was found. Matrona took the tonsure under the name of Mavra.
But in the history of the icon, only the moment of its acquisition is clear. Everything else is shrouded in mystery and is the subject of controversy among scientists. Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, known as Grozny, became interested in the image. He was sent a list of miraculous icons. And this is the first ambiguity in the fate of the image. Could the Autocrat, known not only for his violent temper and, as they would say now, for his lack of adequacy, but also for his extreme piety, send a copy of the icon?
It is quite possible that the original went to Moscow, and a list from it remained in Kazan. However, it is not possible to find out this point in our days. When collecting the first militia, the archpriest of the Annunciation Cathedral of Kazan brought a list from the image under the walls of Moscow. However, the blessing and a copy of the icon were not enough, the militia was defeated by the Poles.
But curiously, the militia broke up after the murder of Lyapunov, who led it. It happened in 1611. And even before 1609, in a small settlement near Yaroslavl, which was called Romanov, an image of the Mother of God appeared, indistinguishable in description from Kazan. Accuratethe date of the appearance of the icon, near which miraculous healings took place, is not known. According to legend, it was bought in Kazan and brought to Romanov by a certain Gerasim, who suffered from numbness of his hand around 1588.
In 1609, the threat of looting hung over Romanov, and the image was urgently taken to Yaroslavl. The siege of the city lasted for a long 24 days, and all this time they prayed tirelessly before the image. The Poles retreated. The image was considered patronizing the city and protecting it from foreign invaders. This is how the Yaroslavl Kazan Icon of the Mother of God appeared.
In 1610, a temple was laid for the Yaroslavl Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, cells were built near it for the surviving servants of the Nativity Monastery, destroyed by the Polish invaders. Thus was the beginning of a new monastery.
The archpriest of the Kazan Annunciation Cathedral, after the defeat of the militia, together with the list of the icon, was in Yaroslavl. When the second militia gathered, Dmitry Pozharsky prayed and received a blessing in the same city. The prince wished to have the miraculous Kazan icon on the battlefield. Further, the paths of the image are again shrouded in mystery. Which of the icons accompanied Pozharsky's army and returned to Yaroslavl, and which went to Kazan, no one knows. There is no clarity in historical and church documents.
Only one thing is known for certain - miraculous, absolutely inexplicable healings constantly took place near the Yaroslavl Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
The image suffered the same fate as many other shrines of Yaroslavlearth. The Kazan Monastery was closed and plundered at the beginning of the last century. The icon was transported to the Ex altation of the Cross Church, where the southern part of the altar was consecrated in honor of the icon back in 1690. The chapel of the icon of the Mother of God was also placed there. However, in 1925 the church was looted. Among the stolen items was a miraculous image. The temple was closed in 1930.
The iconographic type of this image is Hodegetria. According to the legends, the Evangelist Luke himself is its founder. The baby on such icons is in front of the Virgin and his figure is turned to the people.
The fate of the real icon remains unknown. To date, two copies are considered closest to the original. One of them is in the Museum of Yaroslavl, in the Metropolitan Chambers. The other is the main shrine of the newly opened Kazan Monastery, and with it a religious procession is made annually to the city of Tutaev, which was previously called Romanov.
