Among the Orthodox shrines there are many icons associated with specific people, personalities who left one or another trace in the history or spiritual life of people. These are Alexander Nevsky, Matrona of Moscow, Boris and Gleb and many, many others.
Why is the icon of the Mother of God - Igorevskaya?
The Igor Icon of the Mother of God goes back to another holy image - the “Our Lady of Tenderness”, the date of creation of which dates back approximately to the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century. She is a variant of Vladimirskaya, her "shouldered" image. Many copies have been written off from the image during its existence. This suggests that the Igor Icon of the Mother of God still enjoys great respect and is a true symbol of the Faith. Currently, the location of one of the main copies is the Kyiv Lavra of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. And she was named Igorevskaya because a victim of a bloody internecine war prayed before her in the most difficult moments of his life,tearing apart the ancient Russian land, young Igor, Prince of Kyiv and Chernigov, great-grandson of the great Yaroslav the Wise.
He had a tragic, bitter, but glorious fate, like many Christian great martyrs. The chronicles say about the prince, in whose honor the Igor Icon of the Mother of God is named, that he was a brave warrior, a good hunter. The main thing is that he excelled in faith and learning, was a great lover of books, read a lot of spiritual literature that existed at that time, from his youth he spent most of his time in prayers, reflections on God, conversations with monks and holy elders. When he had to testament to take the throne in Kyiv after the death of his brother, Igor was already close to leaving worldly life.
When, during his arrest and being under the “lock” in a cold hut, the prince fell mortally ill, and then, already in the monastery and becoming a monk, he recovered, he decided that this was a sign, and his future life should be connected with the Lord. But Providence decreed otherwise. The Igor Icon of the Mother of God is the very image before which the prince offered up his prayers to Heaven.
Monochism did not save the prince from a terrible, tragic death - he was beaten to death by an angry mob. Moreover, even his corpse, innocently killed, was subjected to desecration and ridicule. He became a victim of that very revolt of the crowd, senseless and merciless, which Pushkin later warned about. In memory of this suffering death, the Igor Icon is named. She iswritten in the Greek style, covered with silver plating. And the inscription on the image directly indicates to whom it once belonged. The Prince's Memorial Day is celebrated annually on June 5 (18) with solemn prayers and services.
Most of all, deeply unhappy people revere the Igor Icon of the Mother of God. Prayer, or rather, prayers to it, are especially strong if a person is in a difficult situation, in danger or sorrow. Serious he alth problems are successfully solved, healing comes to people. Family members are reconciled, separated for a long time by cruel quarrels or worldly circumstances.
What does this story teach? The fact that we should always keep faith in goodness, truth and justice, and according to our faith we will be rewarded!
