The Kazan icon of the Mother of God is the most revered holy image among Russian Orthodox believers. This icon is considered a symbol of the blessing of the Russian people, after all its miraculous appearances in the history of the country, prosperous times came, the troubles ended. It is with this icon among Orthodox Christians that it is customary to bless the newlyweds. It is believed that this image indicates the right path, helps to gain faith in order to get out of difficult life situations.
The godparents also give the icon of Our Lady of Kazan to godchildren so that this face protects the child and guides them through life.
The Kazan image of the Mother of God is a reminder of the highest blessing, almsgiving and intercession of the Higher powers for our land and our country. The construction of many cathedrals is dedicated to this icon, the largest and most revered are the Kazan Cathedral on Moscow's Red Square, the Cathedral in St. Petersburg and the Annunciation Cathedral in Kazan.
Unparalleled reverence for the holy image of the Mother of God led to the fact thatbelievers in Orthodoxy celebrate the church holiday of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God not once a year, but twice: on July 21 and November 4.
The story of the miraculous appearance of the icon of the Mother of God
There are still different hypotheses about the origin of the Kazan icon. The most common version in the history of religion is the version of finding the icon in 1579, July 8 (old style of calculus) in Kazan. Shortly before this miracle, a large-scale fire raged in the city, destroying half of its buildings and many people. The little girl Matryona had a dream in which the Mother of God appeals to her with a call to find a surviving icon in a burned-out house. This dream appeared to the girl three times, only on the third morning the parents believed the girl, and the mother took her to the place where in a dream the Mother of God told Matryona to find the icon. The icon, whole and unharmed, was dug up and set off to show the shrine to the nearest church. The news of the miraculous appearance of the shrine quickly spread, and soon Archbishop Jeremiah placed the icon in the church of St. Nicholas. After that, a moleben was served near the icon and transferred to the Cathedral of the Annunciation, which was erected by Ivan the Terrible. In the column of the Procession, when the icon was being transferred, there were two blind men (Joseph and Nikita) in the procession, who then began to see. It became absolutely clear that this is a miraculous icon. It was decided to build the Kazan convent in the place where she was found. The girl Matrena, who saw the miraculous icon in a dream, and her mother were among the first to take monastic vows in the new cathedral.
It's the dayof the miraculous appearance of the icon from earth and ashes, July 21, today is the first summer Orthodox holiday of the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God.
To bow to the miraculous icon, to ask her for healing or direction in business, many people began to come to Kazan. News of her spread very quickly. Gradually, a large number of lists from the image appeared, which spread throughout the country. Lists and copies of the icon also had miraculous powers.
The history of the loss of the Kazan icon
If the appearance of the icon was a sudden miraculous insight that rallied the people who suffered after the fire, gave them hope and confidence in God's intercession, then the disappearance of the icon occurred for a very everyday and low reason - theft. It happened on the night of July 29 (old style) 1904. The thief locked the watchman in the basement, stole the icon and money from the donation chest, and fled while the monks were sleeping after a long evening service. The fact is that the Kazan image of the Mother of God was very revered. In the built stone church where the icon was placed, hundreds of believers prayed to it every day. The priests decided to ennoble the icon. Back in 1676, they undertook to decorate the icon with gold and place it in a new casket. The icon was generously decorated: large diamonds, gold, pearls, more than 2 thousand precious stones. It was they who attracted the criminal.
An investigation into the theft of the icon was carried out, but neither the thief nor the shrine could be found. This has not been proven, but some reports have suggested thatthe robbers did not believe in the wonderworking of the icon. They removed all the gilding and jewels from the image, and burned the icon itself to prove that the robbery was not sacrilege, and the icon was not at all burning. This is partly contradicted by the fact that information has been preserved about several cases of the sale of a precious icon, very similar to the Kazan one, in Europe to private collections. But it was not possible to establish the originality of the images sold.
But another sad fact is known for certain. Soon after the disappearance of the icon, Kazan, which flourished for almost two centuries and was not involved in any military conflicts, was defeated in the 1905 war with Japan. This event marked the beginning of a new troubled period in the history of Kazan and the entire empire.
Even after the disappearance of the Holy Icon, the history of the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God did not stop. Believers worshiped the lists of the original icon and asked the Mother of God to show mercy, direct them to the right path, heal the soul and body, bestow harvest, save families from disintegration, and cities from destruction.
Miracles of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan
The miracle at the icon of Our Lady of Kazan can be described as an "epiphany", physical or spiritual. Even after the first appearance of the icon to the people in the procession, two believers were healed of blindness. After that, blind people who wanted to heal their illness were brought to the icon to worship. But the icon also healed people from spiritual blindness. The miraculous image of the Mother of God sowed the first crumbs of insight evenhis sudden appearance.
Today, those who do not know which way is better to go, what to do, those who are tormented by problems of a difficult choice, come to the icon to pray. It is best to read a prayer before a miraculous image on the feast of the Kazan icon, so that the Mother of God would prompt, direct on the right path, protect from the wrong choice, give hope.
Large-scale historical events are also associated with the Kazan icon, which could not do without miraculous intervention. These include the so-called "Times of Troubles", the apotheosis of which was the end of 1620 - the beginning of 1622, when the military-political situation in Russia escalated to the maximum. At that difficult time, Polish nobles claimed power in the country, the country was shaken by the civil war.
There was no strong lord and commander on the throne then, so the monks led by Patriarch Hermogenes began to call the people to the militia. The spiritual symbol of the militia was the image of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan, because the country was being liberated not only from the invaders themselves, but also from the faith they propagated (the Poles promoted Catholicism).
When the militia was almost assembled, the Poles had almost captured the Kremlin. On the eve of the assault, fasting and prayer before the icon were announced in the Russian army. After that, on the morning of October 22, 1612, the successful liberation of Kitai-Gorod and the Kremlin began.
From that time, November 4 (according to the new style) is considered one of the holidays in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
Original andlists of the Kazan icon
This icon is one of the most widespread and revered in Orthodox Russia. No other is written in as many lists as the Kazan Mother of God.
Here you need to clarify. When it comes to an icon, there is no concept of "copy" or "original". All the icons of the Mother of God have miraculous power, from the first list made from the original icon, to a postcard with the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God or a small icon with a prayer. All images of the icon according to the Kazan image are shrines in front of which you can pray. The Mother of God will hear prayers, regardless of which icon they sound before.
In the case of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, the very icon that the girl Matryona found in a vision from a prophetic dream is considered original. It is known to have been lost or destroyed. All other icons are lists, some of them also have miraculous powers.
The icon, in front of which the Poles prayed on the eve of the assault, who almost captured the Kremlin, is also lost, it was a list from the original icon. It was brought by members of the militia from the east.
Another list - St. Petersburg - is also associated with many miracles that happened in the 1730s. Field Marshal Kutuzov prayed to her before going to the front line in the war with the French.
The following lists of icons are considered miraculous: Kaplunovskaya, Yaroslavl, Vysochinskaya and Tobolsk.
The new acquisition of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan
Another newest stage in historyicon of Our Lady of Kazan happened in 2004. Patriarch Alexei was contacted by Pope John Paul II to discuss a certain icon that was discovered at the papal court in 1993. It is known that such an act of the Pope was another step in resolving Christian conflicts between denominations. But, whatever his motives, he returned to our land a long-lost shrine. Later it was determined that this was not the original icon that appeared in Kazan, but it was a very ancient copy of it, most likely from the original.
The icon delivered in 2004 is today stored in Kazan in the Ex altation of the Cross Church of the former monastery of the Mother of God, where the first icon was lost.
Summer holiday of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan on July 21
The first summer holiday of the icon of the Virgin is celebrated on July 21 in a new style. This is the day when the icon was found, when little Matryona and her mother found a shrine that had survived the fire. At first, this day was celebrated only in Kazan, later it became a holiday throughout the country.
This feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in 2017 was celebrated with a procession, a divine service with an akathist to the Mother of God.
The Kazan icon is also called the "Guide". The baby on the icon will donate a pen to baptize, and the Mother points with her hand in the direction of the Son of God. The miraculous power of the icon was manifested in the fact that she knew how to suggest to those praying the right path in life, helped to make difficult choices, blessed for good, but difficult deeds.
On a bright day on July 21, priests advise not to send cards to each other with the Kazan holidayicons of the Mother of God, but go to the temple, pray or bring your children or other relatives and dear people to the temple, who will have an important choice: where to go to study, is it time to enter into a marriage union?
Also, the priests are advised to listen on this day to the signs given by the Higher powers, perhaps in this way the Mother of God "advises" us on this holiday.
Day of Our Lady of Kazan - Women's Day
In whatever temple you go, you can notice one pattern: most of the worshipers are women. And on the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in 2017, many more women came to churches than usual. This holiday has long been considered Women's Day, women came to the temple with requests that they could only voice before the Mother of God. On this day, mothers and wives ask the Mother of the Lord for spiritual and physical healing, for wisdom and intercession, pray for their children and husbands, who often find “more important” things to do than prayer in the temple.
What date is the feast of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan celebrated in autumn?
The second time our country celebrates the Day of Our Lady of Kazan in autumn, namely on November 4, according to the new style. This is the day when a prayer before the image of the Kazan Mother of God helped our compatriots liberate the capital from the siege of the Poles.
On this day, before the icon, they pray for peace and prosperity, for the prosperity of the state, which has been guarding the image of the Kazan icon for many years.
And every parishioner can askMother of God about peace and harmony in your family, bless for marriage or other good union.
A good sign is marriage or a wedding on the eve or on the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Congratulations and warm wishes for a long happy life on this day are reinforced by the blessing of the Virgin, who will protect the couple from envious people and ill-wishers.
As the Orthodox tradition celebrates the Day of the Kazan Icon: worship, sermons, congratulations
The Day of the Icon of Kazan is considered a big day. The evening before, evening services are served in churches, and on the morning of November 4, people gather in cathedrals to listen to the festive service and pray at the Holy Icon.
On this day you can not do dirty and hard things. This holiday is not a national holiday, but it is quite possible to avoid washing, working with a needle, etc. on this holy day.
Also, priests do not advise on the feast of the Kazan icon to quarrel, sort things out, and issue ultimatums. This is a holiday of peace and hope, a holiday in which it was proved that people are protected by higher powers.
For a long time, women have prepared a festive dinner for the evening, because after a week and a half, Great Lent follows.
The sermon on the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is of particular importance. Sometimes the purpose of a sermon is to instruct, warn believers, but on the day of the Kazan Icon it is important to let people know that the Lord, the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel will always help, give hope, harmony,understanding, bless for a good deed. Our land at some stages was saved by the holy patronage of the Kazan Icon, and each of its inhabitants can hope for the help of the Holy Intercessor in difficult moments.
Folk signs on the day of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan
On the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, omens have a special meaning.
Throughout history, people have composed many signs and legends on the day of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan. This is a day of special power and miracles, it is believed that on this holiday the Mother of God guides people on the right true path, so people have long taken to notice the little things and interpret them in a holy, mystical way.
People, for example, said that if it rains that day, then this is a good sign, this is the Mother of God weeping for all people, begging forgiveness from the Lord for people. More rain on this day is associated with a good harvest next year. And dry weather, on the contrary, prophesies a lean year.
“What Kazanskaya will show, winter will say” means that the weather, especially the snow on this day, “sets the tone” for the weather for the entire coming winter.
It is considered a good sign on the feast of the Kazan icon to marry, marry or baptize children. Such unions promise to be strong and happy.
