Orthodoxy has shown the world many inexplicable miracles, thus confirming the power of the true faith. Almost every icon has its own history and a lot of inexplicable events and healings made from it. Not so long ago, an unusual icon of the Mother of God of Akhtyrka appeared to the world. From the moment of its acquisition to the present day, this Orthodox shrine does not get tired of showing the world the miracles of the true faith.
The story of finding the shrine
The unique icon has been leading its history since the first half of the 18th century, from the moment of its unexpected appearance in the Kharkiv diocese. A wonderful image suddenly appeared to the priest at the time of his field work in the garden. Despite the unsuitable place for such a find, this icon shone so that the rays from its glow diverged for many meters around. The icon "Okhtyrskaya Mother of God" got its name from the name of the city in which it was foundand where she received the first prayers from Priest Daniel.
Brought initially to the priest's house, the icon emitted a bright light and received prayer appeals from the owners of the house. After three years, the Mother of God twice appeared to Priest Daniel in a dream and commanded him to wash the icon with clean water and heal the fever with this water. Since then, water from the washing of the image has been widely used to heal people from even the most severe forms of feverish conditions.
Unique miraculous image
Traditionally, the holy image of the Mother of God is depicted together with the Eternal Child. Believers note two main options for the image: “tenderness” and “hodegetria”, or a guide. There are only a few unique images of the Mother of God without a baby: “Ostrobrama Icon”, “Softener of Evil Hearts”, “Bogolyubskaya Mother of God” and some other holy images. Among them, the icon of the Mother of God of Akhtyrka stands out. On it, the Mother of God is depicted with her hands folded in a prayer request, to the left of her is a cross with the Savior crucified on Golgotha. In addition, the icon depicts the Mother of God with her head uncovered and on a much closer plan than Jesus. Such an image is not characteristic of Orthodox icon painting, which is why the icon is considered unique and unusual. Some lists from this image are already marked by the fact that the Mother of God has a head cover, which somewhat brings the icon closer to the true Orthodox traditions of the image.
Glorification of the image inOrthodox world
With the advent of the icon of the Mother of God of Akhtyrka, miracles from her did not cease to confirm the truth of Orthodoxy. The icon became especially revered in the imperial house during the reign of Catherine II. It was then that the Mother of God appeared in a dream to a dying woman who prayed to the icon for healing, having specially arrived in Akhtyrka for this. At the behest of the Blessed Virgin, the woman donated all her property to the church and the poor, and died safely five days later. In a dream, the Mother of God promised to patronize the daughters of the dying. Upon learning of this, Catherine the Second took them under her protection. Since then, the Akhtyrka Icon of the Mother of God has become the main source of faith in healing for the sick and infirm, for which the parishioners pray incessantly.
The miracle of the manifestation of the icon
At the beginning of the 20th century, the trace of the miraculous icon was lost. In Akhtyrka, the place where this image of the Mother of God was found, the most ancient copies of it are worshiped, revered in the same way as miraculous ones. In the Holy Intercession Cathedral of Akhtyrka, two such lists with a miraculous face are kept. The cathedral itself was built in the second half of the 18th century with money donated by Elizaveta Petrovna. The architect of the building was Rastrelli, the construction of the cathedral began shortly after the decision of the Synod on the veneration of the miraculous image of the Akhtyrka Icon of the Mother of God.
How does this shrine help the Orthodox, explain the priests of the Cathedral. Some believers who come to the shrine for help note an unusual feature of the icon: those who simply stand near the image and contemplate it, see behind the massive shiny frame onlyordinary tree. It is worth starting to sincerely pray to the Mother of God, the facial features and gentle smile of the Virgin Mary immediately appear. The clergy note that the icon is shown only to those who pray, while there is nothing surprising in the fact that the head of the Blessed Virgin is uncovered: the face depicts the Holy Virgin before the birth of the Savior, during adolescence.
The miracle of the renewal of the holy image
The Orthodox world has many miracles from icons with the face of the Blessed Virgin Mary. One of the most famous is the Miracle of Icon Renewal. The first copy of the image of the Mother of God of Akhtyrka, which never leaves the borders of its native city, faded from time to time, the holy image was practically not visible. The first update took place during the Advent Lent in 1998, since then the icon has been updated regularly. The clergy believe that the renewal of the image predicted the revival of Orthodoxy: from that moment on, people were drawn to faith and spirituality. Processions began in Akhtyrka, an increasing number of parishioners began to visit the Cathedral, bringing their troubles and constantly fixing the miracles that the prayer of the Akhtyrka Icon of the Mother of God creates. Many parishioners sincerely believe that the icon is renewed because people constantly turn to it, and such a miracle is direct evidence that the Holy Virgin hears prayers and heeds them.
Read prayers for healing…
The modern list of miracles emanating from this icon is quite diverse: someone is grateful for the foundwork, someone for good luck in business, someone the Virgin brought replenishment of the family. There are also reviews that testify that, through their prayers, believers were healed of cancer, survived severe car accidents. The ministers of the church claim that both the prayers offered by the parishioner himself and his relatives for him will be effective. During periods of epidemics and mass diseases, this icon is addressed with a prayer request for protection from illness. At the same time, they read the akathist to the Akhtyrka Icon of the Mother of God and a special prayer “Prayer singing during a destructive plague and a deadly infection.” Thanks to such diligent prayers to this icon, the epidemic threshold is rarely exceeded, the number of deaths from viral diseases is significantly reduced.
Akhtyrka in the estate near Moscow
The icon of the Mother of God of Akhtyrka is revered not only in Sumy Akhtyrka, the place of acquisition, but also in many other places of Orthodox Russia. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Akhtyrskaya Church was built in the estate of the princes Trubetskoy near Moscow. The Trubetskoy family sincerely revered the image of the Akhtyrskaya Mother of God, which was kept in their family and passed down from generation to generation. That is why Prince Nikolai Ivanovich filed a petition for the construction of a house church in the name of the appearance of the Akhtyrka Icon of the Mother of God. Ironically, or the sanctity of the place, only this church survived from the entire estate, having survived the times of theomachism and atheism, and even in these difficult times, serving the people.
The revival of the temple began in the 90s of the twentieth century, since then the church has been returned to believers, regularDivine services are held on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, along with ongoing restoration work. A chapel in honor of the New Martyrs and Russian Confessors was built on the territory of the temple. The Temple of the Akhtyrskaya Icon of the Mother of God in the Akhtyrka estate is an object of cultural heritage of federal significance.
Akhtyrskaya Church in the Kursk diocese
The famous Orthodox shrine gave birth to another church on Russian soil. In the 18th century, the Church of the Akhtyrskaya Icon of the Mother of God began its history in Kursk. This temple survived many difficult times, but survived and at the end of the 20th century was returned to the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church. Initially, the church was called the Assumption-Akhtyrskaya, according to some versions, it was on the territory of this temple that the parents of St. Seraphim of Sarov, especially revered in Russia, were buried. Today, this church is considered one of the most visited in Kursk, since the main icon is the famous “Akhtyrka Icon of the Mother of God”. What they pray for this shrine has been known since ancient times, when, upon its acquisition, miraculous healings from infirmities and illnesses began, and the first from this icon was the miracle of healing a child from a fever.
Holy Day
The day of veneration of this icon is set on July 2, the day of its appearance. The miraculous icon was not restored, after finding it, the priest tried to give it to the icon painter for restoration, but a mysterious voice ordered the master to return the icon to the priest's house. Subsequently, the icon itself and its listsfamous for self-renewal. For several centuries, it has been revered in Russia as the healing "Akhtyrka Icon of the Mother of God." What this image helps, in addition to healing from ailments, became known to believers from the testimonies of eyewitnesses and those who received the help of the heavenly patroness.
Prayer appeal to the famous Orthodox shrine
Many miracles from the icon have been recorded in recent years. Many successfully pray for happiness and success to children, since this icon has become considered the patroness of the smallest. The image will also help those who ask for a safe marriage of their daughters, for a prayer cover for orphans. The following prayers are offered to this icon: “Troparion of the Mother of God in front of her Akhtyrskaya icon”, “Kontakion of the Mother of God before her Akhtyrskaya icon”, canon of the Mother of God in honor of her “Akhtyrskaya” icon, akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos in honor of her “Akhtyrskaya” icon.
