Orthodox iconostasis: the icon "The Mother of God of Kazan", its meaning and power

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Among Russian Orthodox icons, the image of the Kazan Mother of God is one of the most significant and revered. Among the people, he enjoys great respect and love. The power of faith in the icon is so great that every day thousands of believing pilgrims and suffering laity come to bow to it.

History of the icon

The Icon of Our Lady of Kazan celebrates its feast twice a year: in the summer, on July 21 (the old style is the 8th), and in November, 4 (or October 22, again in the old style). The image has an interesting story, in which the origins of its special popularity lie in many respects. In the middle of the 16th century, the Khanate of Kazan was annexed by Ivan the Terrible to the Russian state. A huge number of people then turned to the true faith. And 27 years after this event, a fire broke out in the house of a well-known merchant in the city of Kazan, nicknamed Onuch, from which all the wooden buildings indistrict. The fire literally turned the city to ashes. But a little later, the little daughter of the merchant in a dream saw the Virgin Mary three times and said that under the charred firebrands of the house a long time ago, back in the days of the Tatar Khanate, her image was hidden. At first, no one could believe that such a symbol of faith, which people dubbed the “icon of the Kazan Mother of God,” was exactly where the girl was pointing. However, it was the ten-year-old Matryona who was destined to open it to people. It happened on July 8, therefore, in Orthodoxy, this day is considered a holiday. The icon looked so alive, bright, as if it had just been painted, and the paints had not yet had time to dry. A priest beloved by all of Kazan, Fr. Yermolai, carried the image through the whole city in a procession and wrote a sacred hymn-prayer in honor of him. The image remained in the local church, a decade later a convent was opened in its place, and Matryona became its abbess.

Since then, many glorious deeds and miracles have taken place under the banner of the icon. She helped the militia, led by Minin and Pozharsky, defend Moscow from the troops of the false Dmitry. This glorious event happened on October 22 (the second birthday of the image). Since then, the icon of the Mother of God of Kazan has become even more revered. Its significance and omnipotence was recognized by Peter 1, who fervently and tearfully prayed to the Intercessor on the eve of the Battle of Poltava. When Petersburg was rebuilt, the tsar moved one of the lists of the image to the new capital. Kutuzov repeatedly turned to the Kazan Mother of God for assistance and support in prayers. Russian soldiers duringBorodino battle, as if they felt Her presence nearby. By the way, the first serious victory over the French army was won just on October 22, as if the Holy Virgin sent them a sign. In all subsequent - whether glorious or tragic epochs of life, first of the Russian, and then of the Soviet state, ordinary people and people dressed in power, openly and secretly worshiped the image, brought their hopes and tears to it. It is believed that the icon "The Mother of God of Kazan" spread its meaning and influence throughout the eastern part of Russia. Together with the sacred images of the Mother of God of Vladimir, Pochaev and Smolensk, it forms, as it were, an invisible sacred cross that overshadows the entire boundless Russian land and its people.

The Wonderful Works of the Lord

There are a lot of lists of the Kazan icon - more than other images of the Virgin. This testifies to the special trust that people have in Her. First of all, the icon "The Mother of God of Kazan" has the meaning of an intercessor and comforter. Seriously ill people pray before her - for their own he alth, and their relatives - for the healing of their loved ones. They talk with the image in case of personal grief, problems in the family, misunderstandings with children. They ask for Her intercession before the face of the Lord. One of the lines in the prayer sounds like this: “You are the cover of your servants…” During the Leningrad blockade, in order to support the physically and spiritually exhausted residents of the city, the Wonderful Face was carried along its streets, as much as the local priests had the strength to do.

Thisthe event was of great importance: people gained faith in tomorrow, hope for victory and that they would survive. To this day, the icon of the Mother of God of Kazan bears the meaning of the phenomenon, it is recognized as the main shrine of present-day St. Petersburg. And in general, this image is obligatory in every church, small and large, urban and rural. And in many homes, lighting a candle in front of the home icon, people meekly and graciously, with cleansing tears in their eyes, say: “Blessed, rejoice!”

Meekness and humility, spiritual purity are brought up in us by Orthodox shrines.