Among the many icons, one of the most necessary in every home is the icon "Softener of Evil Hearts". By praying before this image, you protect yourself from your own anger and irritability, which are not the best human qualities. In addition, in a prayer before the icon, they ask for a family truce or for there to be no enmity between neighbors, as well as for peace between entire states. In our culture, the image of the Mother of God, whose chest is pierced by arrows, is one of the most emotional and expressive in icon painting. It gives an opportunity to feel mercy and compassion.
Origin of the icon
The icon "Softener of Evil Hearts" is completely shrouded in mystery, so its exact origin is still unknown. According to one assumption, she came from the South-Western part of Russia, and according to another - from the West, since this imageis revered in Catholicism. In addition to this name, the image has another - "Simeon's prophecy." According to the story of the Evangelist Luke, the revered elder Simeon the God-Receiver was visited by the Holy Spirit, who predicted that he would not be able to leave this world until he saw the Messiah. When Jesus was brought to the temple on his fortieth birthday, Simeon hurried there. Taking the Baby in his arms, he uttered the words that are now known to us as a prayer that sounds at every evening service in churches. It is in these words that he indicates that the soul of the Most Pure One will be pierced by suffering and pain, the fullness of which is symbolized by the number seven.
Icon "Softener of Evil Hearts": the meaning of the image
This icon shows the Mother of God alone. She is pierced by seven swords, symbolizing the fullness of heart disease and sorrow experienced by the Blessed Virgin Mary on earth. These seven swords convey the prophecy of Simeon, since this number in Holy Scripture characterizes the fullness of something. There is also another icon that has a similar meaning - "Seven-shooter". Many do not recognize the differences between these images, but they are, albeit minor. So, on the icon described in the article, three swords pierce the Virgin Mary on the right, three on the left, and one on the bottom. As for the icon "Seven Arrows", it depicts the Mother of God, which is pierced by three swords on the left, and four on the right. In prayer practice, no distinction is made between these icons, since they have the same iconographic type.
The icon "Softening evil hearts" has another interpretation regarding the seven swords, according to which they convey the fullness of the sorrow of the Mother of God, but not because of the torment of the Son crucified on the cross, but because of our sins. The number seven symbolizes the number of the main sinful passions of a person, reflected by pain in her chest. But She is ready to ask her Son for everyone who asks for Her holy intercession.
Revered lists icons
The miraculous icon "Softener of Evil Hearts" is located in the temple of the same name, which rises in the small village of Bachurino in the Moscow region. Until recently, this image was the private property of the Moscow Vorobyov family. In 1998, the Vorobyovs took their icon to the Intercession Convent, as they wanted to attach it to the relics of the Blessed Eldress. Immediately after this, the icon began to stream myrrh. Pilgrims began to come to this family from all over. They could not receive such a number of people at home, so the icon "Softener of Evil Hearts" was given to the temple. A similar image is in the one-shift church in the village of Kamenka. There is also a myrrh-streaming copy of this icon in Venice.
