The image of the Virgin is the most revered among Christians. But they especially love her in Russia. In the XII century, a new church holiday was established - the Intercession of the Virgin. The icon with her image has become the main shrine of many churches. The Blessed Virgin began to be considered the patroness and protector of Russia. The Novgorod icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness" is a copy of the Byzantine image, painted at the end of this century.
In the 14th century, Moscow finally becomes the center of Orthodoxy in Russia, and the Assumption Cathedral at that time receives the name "House of the Virgin".
Origins of iconography
The first images of the Mother of God are attributed by historians to the beginning of our era. In the catacombs of Priscila, scenes with images of the Virgin were found, which date back to the 2nd century. Images of the Blessed Virgin at the dawn of Christianity were applied to incense vessels. Such ampoules, decorated with biblical scenes, were presented around 600 to the Lombard queen Theodelinda.
First renderings of the Blessed Virgin
In 431, the Council of Ephesus approved for Mary the eternal right to be called the Mother of God. After this significant event, Icons appearedMother of God in our usual form. Several images from that period have survived. On them, the Virgin Mary most often appears sitting on a throne with a baby in her arms.
Images of the Mother of God are also found in early mosaics that adorn old churches. These include:
- Roman church of Santa Maggiore (dating from the 5th century);
- 7th century church of Panagia Angeloktista, located in Cyprus.
But the painters from Constantinople were able to give this image a special harmony. The Church of Hagia Sophia is famous for its mosaics of the 9th-12th centuries, in which there are different types of iconography of the Virgin. Byzantium is the birthplace of wonderful images of the Blessed Virgin. One of these icons was brought to Russia. Later it was named Vladimirskaya and became the standard of Russian Orthodox icon painting. The Novgorod icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness" is, as already mentioned, a copy of the Byzantine icon.
Types of Virgin Icons
In iconography, 4 main groups of images of the Blessed Virgin are distinguished according to the main idea:
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"Omen" (the truncated version was called "Oranta"). This iconographic type is considered the most rich in theological content. The main theme here is Incarnation.
- "Hodegetria", which means "Guide" in Greek.
- "Tenderness" - the name from the Greek "eleus" ("merciful").
- The fourth type is conditionally called Akathist. The main idea of such icons is the glorification of the Mother of God. These imagesare very diverse.
Iconographic type "Omen"
On the ends of this group, the Holy Mother of God is represented as praying. Depicted in full growth or waist. On the chest of the Mother of Christ is a medallion with the image of the unborn Savior. The icon of the praying Mother of God symbolizes the immaculate conception of Christ, the unity of the mother and the Holy Child. This type includes Yaroslavl Oranta, Kursk Root, Novgorod "Sign". Oranta is a simpler version of the icons, in which the Mother of God is presented without a baby and is a symbol of the church.
The Hodegetria icon painting
Very common type of Virgin images. Such icons of the Virgin and Child embody the idea that the Mother of God directs us to faith, to Christ. The Mother of God is depicted frontally shoulder-length or waist-deep, sometimes in full growth. She holds a baby in one hand and points to Jesus with the other. This gesture has a deep meaning. The Mother of God seems to show the true path - to God, to faith.
Christ blesses the Mother with one hand, and with her all the faithful. In the other, he holds a book, an unfolded or rolled scroll. Less often - orb and scepter. The most famous icons of the Mother of God of this type are: Smolensk, Iverskaya, Tikhvinskaya, Petrovskaya, Kazanskaya.
Iconography of the Mother of God "Tenderness"
Such images are the most lyrical of those depicting the Mother of God and the baby hugging her neck. images of mother and childsymbols of Christ and the Church of Christ.
A variant of this type is "Jump". Here the baby is painted in a freer pose, with one hand he touches the face of the Virgin.
In such images, the Blessed Mary is a symbol not only of motherhood, but of a soul close to God. The mutual touch of two faces is Christ and the Church of Christ, the unity of earthly and heavenly.
There is another variety of this type - the Mammal Feeder. On these icons, the Mother of God is breastfeeding the baby. This is how the spiritual nourishment of believers is symbolically depicted.
Volokolamsk, Vladimir, Yaroslavl icons of the Mother of God belong to this type of images of the holy image.
"Akathist" icons of the Mother of God
Images of this type most often carry the features of one of the main ones, but have additional details and details. In iconography, they include such icons as the "Burning Bush", the Mother of God - the "Life-Giving Spring", the Mother of God - the "Mount Unhandled".
Ostrabramskaya-Vilna, "Softener of evil hearts" - rare icons of the Mother of God, in which she is depicted without a baby. Usually they are also referred to as "Akathist". One of them, the Seraphim-Diveevo icon "Tenderness" of the Most Holy Theotokos, was a favorite image of Seraphim of Sarov, canonized after death. The priest himself called it "Joy of all Joys" and used it to heal those who came to him for help. And later, before this face, he departed to another world.
Canons of icon painting of the Mother of God,symbol meaning
According to the Orthodox tradition, the following elements are used to depict the clothes of the Virgin: a blue tunic, a blue cap and a cherry kerchief on her head, otherwise called "maforium". Every detail has its own meaning. Three golden stars on the maphoria are a triple symbol of the immaculate conception, birth and death, the border on it is a sign of glorification. The board itself personifies motherhood, belonging to God, the blue color of clothes - virginity.
There are known cases of violation of traditions. This is used by icon painters to emphasize certain features. For example, to emphasize the purity, the Virginity of the Mother of God, they depict her in a blue robe. Our Lady of Akhtyrskaya is just such an option.
Writing the Blessed Virgin without maforia is also considered a violation of church canons.
According to Orthodox rules, even a crown, a sign of the kingdom, is usually depicted on top of a board. This is how the Novodvorskaya and Kholmovskaya icons are painted. The crown on the head of the Virgin came to the Eastern Christian icon painting from Western Europe, in the early images the head of the Mother of God was covered only by maforium.
Russian traditions in the iconography of the Mother of God
The image of the Blessed Virgin on the throne is more common among the Italo-Greek images. The writing of the Queen of Heaven, sitting on a throne or in full growth, in Russia was mainly used in large-scale compositions: in frescoes or on iconostases.
Icon painters, on the other hand, were more fond of the half-length or shoulder-length image of the Queen of Heaven. In this way, renditions were created that were more understandable and close to the heart. InIn many ways, this can be explained by the special role of the icon in Russia: it was both a life partner, a shrine, a prayer image, and a family value that was passed down from generation to generation. No wonder the people perceived the Mother of God as an intercessor who is able to soften the wrath of the Terrible Judge. Moreover, the older the image and the more “prayerful”, the more power it has.
A large number of icons in the houses of believers and churches is a distinctive feature of the Russian land. Many of the Mother of God images are considered miraculous here, which is confirmed by numerous testimonies.
The Mother of God is a witness and participant in Russian history
For many centuries the history of Russia has been accompanied by icons of the Mother of God, the significance of which cannot be overestimated. One small example is the Feodorovskaya icon:
- In 1239, in this way, Prince Yaroslav blessed his son Alexander to marry Princess Paraskevna. This icon accompanied Alexander in all his military campaigns. Later, it was in front of this face of the Mother of God that St. Alexander took monastic vows.
- In 1613, before this image, Mikhail Romanov, called to the kingdom by the Zemsky Sobor, accepted the Russian throne. Theodorovskaya Mother of God became a witness to the vows of allegiance to Russia, its people and the Orthodox Church.
- In the 18th century, all members of the royal family always came to Kostroma to pay homage to the miraculous rendition, from which the history of the royal Romanov dynasty began.
Special mention should be made of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, donated to Russia by the Patriarchfrom Constantinople by Luke Chrysoverg in the 12th century. According to legend, prayers before this icon saved Moscow from conquerors more than once.
The miraculous power of the Mother of God icons
Many images of the Blessed Virgin Mary are considered miraculous. They are inseparable from the life of Christians. They live with the people and help in sorrows.
Some Moscow miraculous icons of the Mother of God:
- Vladimirskaya, stored in the church of St. Nicholas. It is believed that she defended Russia from enemies three times. Therefore, the Orthodox honor this icon 3 times a year: in June, July and September.
- The Tikhvin icon "Tenderness" of the Blessed Virgin, decorating the church of the same name in Moscow. In 1941, a plane with this image circled the capital three times, after which the Nazi offensive on the city was stopped. It is curious that this church did not close even in Soviet times.
- The Gracious Icon of the Mother of God, a shrine of the Zachatievsky Convent, which gave many women the happiness of motherhood.
"Search for the Lost", Mother of God of Iver, "Satisfy My Sorrows" - only a part of miraculous Moscow images of the Queen of Heaven. It is impossible to even count how many of them there are in the vast territory of Russia.
Miracles of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
This image deserves special attention. The Kazan icon of the Mother of God showed a miracle already with its appearance in 1579 after a big fire in the city, when it was found among the ashesabsolutely unaffected by the fire.
Numerous healings of the sick, help in business gave this retribution to the believers. But the most significant miracles of this icon are associated by Russian Christians with the defense of the fatherland from foreign invaders.
Already in the middle of the 17th century, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to establish a national holiday in her honor. This happened after the successful birth of the heir to the Russian throne during the all-night service in honor of the Kazan Mother of God. This icon was considered the patroness of the royal dynasty.
Commander Kutuzov, going to the battlefields of the Patriotic War of 1812, knelt before this shrine and asked for her intercession. After the victory over Napoleon, he presented all the silver taken from the French as a gift to the Kazan Cathedral.
Myrrh-streaming prayer images of the Mother of God
This is one of the biggest miracles associated with icons. Until now, no explanation has been found as to why icons stream myrrh. But this always happens on the eve of tragic events as a reminder of human sinfulness and the need for repentance. What is this phenomenon? A fragrant liquid resembling myrrh appears on the images. Its consistency and color can be different - from transparent dew to viscous dark resin. It is curious that not only the images written on the tree stream myrrh. This happens with frescoes, photographs, metal icons, and even photocopies.
And such miracles are currently happening. Several dozen Tiraspol icons began to stream myrrh in the period from 2004 to 2008. It was a warningLord about the bloody events of Beslan, Georgia, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.
One of these images, the icon of the Mother of God "Seven Arrows" (another name is "Softener of Evil Hearts"), began to stream myrrh in May 1998. This miracle continues to this day.
On the protection of the house - the Holy Mother of God
The icon of the Mother of God must be in the house of a believer who cares about the safety of his home.
It is believed that prayers in front of her face protect everyone living in the house physically and spiritually. Since ancient times, it has been customary to place an icon of the Mother of God above the entrance doors to the hut and ask her for protection and support. The most beloved of the Mother of God versions: Iverskaya, Seven-strelnaya, "Indestructible Wall", "Burning Bush" and some others. In total, there are more than 860 names of icons of the Mother of God. It is impossible to remember them all, and it is not necessary. When choosing a prayer image, it is important to listen to your soul and follow its advice.
Not only ordinary believers, but also royal people revered the icons of the Virgin. A photo taken in the bedroom of Tsar Alexander confirms this.
Icons of the Virgin and Child bestow comfort in sorrow, deliverance from illnesses, spiritual insight only to those whose prayers are sincere and faith is unshakable. The main thing is that the appeal to the Blessed Virgin comes from a pure heart, and the intentions are good.
Glorification of Our Lady
The universal love of the Orthodox for this holy image is reflected in a large number of church holidays in her honor. Practically inEvery month of the year there is such a day, and sometimes several. About 260 miraculous images of the Theotokos are mentioned in the Russian Orthodox calendar.
A significant Orthodox holiday - the Protection of the Virgin - became the theme of the icons of the same name. On these renditions, the Blessed Virgin is depicted in full growth. In her hands in front of her, she holds a veil with or without the image of Christ. Found at the end of the 20th century, the Port Arthur icon "The Triumph of the Most Holy Theotokos" has become a symbol of the revival of Russian spirituality and a reminder of the significance of this image in the history of the country. She is increasingly ranked among the most revered Russian icons.
