Very often people turn to God in moments of difficult life trials. Then they come to church and try to order some kind of prayer service in the hope of alleviating their situation and finding peace in their souls. However, not all believers know exactly what problem to address to certain saints. After all, not every prayer at the icon can be effective, as Orthodox clergy often say. Today we will tell you about the icon of the Mother of God of Three Hands. Prayer in front of this image can help solve many problems, because many consider this image not only unusual, but unique.
How to pray before the images?
Before you go directly to the prayer of the Mother of God of Three Hands, you should learn how to properly seek help from the saints. Often Orthodoxthey do it mindlessly, influenced by fashion, advice from friends or relatives, and in situations where going to church is considered the only straw a person clings to. But this is a fundamentally wrong approach, because any appeal to God should be not just sincere, but first of all conscious.
If you turn to a clergyman for advice on how to pray correctly in a given situation, then most likely he will answer you that any appeal to the Creator is already correct. After all, more than once in the history of mankind, faith saved people from illness, death and other misfortunes. Many Orthodox can testify to miracles that happened in their lives after sincere prayer. Moreover, in this case it does not matter to which of the saints it was addressed. Therefore, if trouble has come to your house and you ask God for help, then just do it with faith and an open heart. As the priests say, the Lord will surely hear such a prayer and extend a helping hand.
However, you should not forget that there is such a thing as "miraculous icons". Prayers (to the Mother of God of Three Hands, for example) before such images have special power. Indeed, often the very appearance of these icons is associated with miracles, and then they were prayed for by thousands and thousands of people. Therefore, they possess extraordinary grace and the ability to help suffering souls in the most hopeless situations.
Often, Orthodox Christians say prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos in front of her icon, without even knowing what exactly to ask for. In the following sections of the article, we will tell the story thatowes its origin to this unique image. And also here are some of the most common prayers to the Mother of God of Three Hands.
Image Description
Today, there are several icons of the Mother of God with Three Hands, but all of them are made in accordance with the first image, which, unfortunately, is not stored in Russia. However, at one time several copies were made from it, which have been preserved to this day.
The central place on the icon is occupied by Jesus sitting in the arms of the Mother of God. With one hand she blesses everyone who approaches the image, and the other is directed towards the Baby. By this, the Mother of God wants to show that for every believer there is a way to salvation, and this way is faith. It can only be obtained through turning to Jesus.
It is noteworthy that the third hand is also depicted on the icon. Sometimes it is made of gold and silver, and sometimes it is prescribed in accordance with anatomical details. Sometimes icon painters paint her in such a way that she looks like the third hand of the Virgin. To understand what this image means, it is necessary to study the life story of St. John of Damascus (we will give it in the next section).
The image itself is considered miraculous, and a prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos in front of the Three-Handed Icon can heal many diseases. However, we will talk about this a little later.
John of Damascus in the fight against heresy
In Orthodoxy there were many moments when believers were persecuted. These dark periods were filled with tragic events, but it was often in difficult times that the Lord performed miracles thatcontributed to the strengthening of the faith. This is how the story of John of Damascus is interpreted.
The Monk John lived in Damascus and was known as a very believing person who condemned heresy and persecution of Christianity all his life. During this period of time, a new emperor, Leo III, entered the throne of Byzantium. The ruler decided that the veneration of icons can be equated with the worship of pagan idols and led the fight against holy images. He destroyed icons and imprisoned thousands of believers who did not obey him. This angered John and began to write numerous letters to his friends and acquaintances in Byzantium.
His wise words penetrated straight into the hearts of the faithful and the emperor's henchmen. Many of them began to doubt the correctness of their actions, and with each new letter there were more and more such people. This infuriated the ruler of Byzantium.
Martyrdom of John of Damascus
Leo III understood that the monk would not stop and continue to write his letters, so he decided to destroy John. In order to get rid of the saint, the emperor wrote a fake letter. Its text allegedly contained an offer of assistance in the conquest of Damascus from John to the ruler of Byzantium himself. The slander reached the lips of the Caliph of Syria, and a letter was presented to him as evidence. For treason, the monk was instantly dismissed from his post as minister and imprisoned.
He tried to justify himself, but the caliph became more and more furious and ordered John's right hand to be cut off so that he could never write again. The sentence was carried out, and the brushposted on the square as a warning to the townspeople.
The monk himself suffered greatly and prayed to the caliph for the return of his severed brush in order to avoid shame on himself and his family. The ruler of Syria took pity on his former minister and ordered that his limb be thrown into prison to the prisoner.
Miraculous healing
Having regained his brush, John fell on his knees in front of the image of the Mother of God and began to pray to her for an increase in the hand. He read many prayers and in all of them he deeply regretted that now he could not do anything useful for the Creator. Exhausted from pain, the monk fell asleep and in a dream the Mother of God herself appeared to him. She promised to heal John, but only if he would do his work in the name of the Lord even more diligently.
The next morning, the saint saw that his hand had grown, and only a barely noticeable scar remained at the site of the wound. This miracle amazed everyone around, and John of Damascus was released from prison.
The further fate of the saint
After everything that happened, John of Damascus went to the monastery and took tonsure there. After some time, he made a silver brush and attached it to the miraculous icon, near which he prayed. From that time on, they began to call her "Three Hands". It is also believed that in honor of the Mother of God, he wrote a song of praise, which is still used in various worship services.
The icon itself was donated to the monastery, where it remained after John's death.
The fate of the unique image of the Virgin
Until the thirteenth century, the icon did not leavetheir place, requests and prayers to the Mother of God Three-handed always found a response. Everyone who came to the icon with trouble found consolation and salvation here. Therefore, the fame of this amazing icon gradually grew throughout the Christian world.
Approximately in the middle of the thirteenth century, the monastery presented her as a gift to Savva Serbian, who gratefully took her to his country. There she was until the invasion of the Turks. Fearing that the miraculous image would be destroyed, the Orthodox put it on a donkey and sent it home.
Surprisingly, the animal miraculously managed to get through the difficult path to Athos and stopped right in front of the Hilendar Monastery. The brothers, who went outside the gates of the monastery, were surprised by what they saw and offered a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord before accepting the image of the Mother of God in the monastery.
Miracles at the Hilendar Monastery
Very soon after its appearance in the monastery, the icon began to work miracles. After the death of the abbot of the monastery, the monks could not make a decision about who would take his place. Without coming to a consensus, they saw with amazement that on the rector's chair was an icon of the Mother of God. The monks put her in her place, but within a few days she was back in her chair. This continued even when the monks locked up the monastery.
One of the nights the Mother of God appeared to the monk. She said that she would manage the monastery herself and there was no need to look for a new hegumen. Since then, there is no post of abbot in the Hilendar Monastery, there is only his assistant.
Icon in Russia
A copy of the famous image came to our country only in the second half of the seventeenth century. With great reverence, the icon was placed in the New Jerusalem Monastery. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, several copies were made from it, which were sold to Russian churches.
Unfortunately, the original image brought from Athos was lost over time. Therefore, now the Orthodox can only see lists from the first copy of the image of the Three-Handed.
What do they pray to the Mother of God?
Prayers to the Mother of God Three-handed people consider the most powerful. She is addressed with various requests, but first of all they ask the Most Pure for intercession from enemies. She always helps those who need it. The Orthodox believe that the Mother of God can hide the one who asks from the anger and gaze of his enemies.
You can also pray to the Mother of God of Three Hands to ask for support in the following situations:
- for healing;
- for wishes of he alth to loved ones;
- for welfare;
- with a serious threat to family well-being.
Prayer to the Mother of God Three-handed especially helps from hand diseases. At the same time, it is believed that in case of problems with the limbs, you should immediately contact this icon. Hot prayer will contribute to the rapid healing of the afflicted. In the following sections of the article, we will tell you exactly how to pray to the image in different situations.
Prayer to the Three-handed Mother of God for healing
It is impossible to imagine human life without disease. However, some of them are deadly and even modernmedicine sometimes cannot save the sufferer from the disease. Therefore, people see the only way out in prayer. The Mother of God Three-handed from illnesses helps well, and it is to her image that the Orthodox carry their requests for he alth. In this case, it is worth reading the following prayer.
You must read this text before the icon itself, it is best to do this in the church. However, in cases where this is not possible, get a small image of the Mother of God home and do prayer work in front of it. The above prayer must be read every day from the very morning. In order to enhance its effect, you can say the following text several times during the day.
Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos Three-handed to increase prosperity
It is known that in our world it is difficult to do without money. Sometimes people are in such need that only a miracle can help them. So they follow him to church. In this case, you should turn to Three-Handed for help. But keep in mind that your request must be sincere and not carry self-interest. The Mother of God will not help people if they ask for welfare when they are doing so well. It is necessary to read the troparion before the icon, it is best to do this twice a day.
Prayer for the he alth of loved ones
Sometimes the disease does not kill us, but our loved ones. It is very difficult to cope with such a situation, because you want togive everything to help a close and dear person.
If you have someone sick, or you just want to ask the Mother of God for the he alth of loved ones, then in front of the icon you can read the prayers that we have already given in the article. As a supplement, some Orthodox are advised to recite the akathist to the Blessed Virgin. We present its text below.
Appeal to the Mother of God in case of a threat to the family
The Pure One has always patronized families and women. After all, they are the keepers of the hearth and raise children. Therefore, almost any woman feels great when trouble knocks on her house and the world disappears in it. If you feel that someone wishes you harm or envies your happiness, then ask for intercession from the Most Pure. The most effective in such a situation would be the prayer of the Mother of God of Three Hands, which we give below.
We hope that our article will help you in a difficult situation, and you will be able to properly turn to higher powers for help.
