It is known from historical sources that in the 10th century the miraculous Iberian Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the Iberian Monastery on Mount Athos, the significance of which in the life of the monastic monastery is enormous. For many centuries, she became a treasure and a talisman, a protector from enemies and an assistant in all endeavors. The sacred image has other names - the Gatekeeper, Goalkeeper, Portaitissa.
There is a distinctive feature by which the icon of the Iberian Mother of God is easily recognized. The photo of the shrine allows you to see the wound on the right cheek of the Virgin and a trickle of blood.
Icons are designed for people to pray and ask for intercession and help. The saints who are depicted on them are direct mediators between man and God. The images of Christ and the Mother of God are especially revered. There are many faces of the Virgin Mary, and they all have their own names and purposes.
And yet, among them, the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God stands out, the meaning of which is keeping the house, protection from enemies, patronage of women, healing bodily and mental ailments. The history of this shrine begins with the time of Christ. It is believed that it was painted by the Apostle Luke, the first icon painter who depicted the mournful face of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child in her arms.
The wonderful story of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God
According to Christian legends, in Asia Minor, not far from the city of Nicaea, there lived a widow. The woman was pious and believing, she instilled the Christian faith in her only son. This icon was kept in her house. In those days, the country was ruled by Emperor Theophilus, who persecuted Christians in every possible way.
One day the imperial overseers came to the house. One of them noticed the image and pierced it with a spear. When the iconoclast saw that blood was flowing from the right cheek of the Virgin, he was horrified, fell to his knees and asked for forgiveness. Having believed, he decided to save the miraculous icon and advised the woman how to do it.
After praying, the widow came to the seashore at night and set the shrine on the waves. She swam and after some time nailed to the Iberian Monastery, on the Holy Mountain. At night, the monks noticed an unusual glow in the sea, from which a pillar of fire ascended to the sky. This miracle continued for several days. Finally, the monks decided to find out what it was, and sailed closer by boat.
The appearance of the icon in the Iberian Monastery
Seeing the miraculous icon, the monks tried to get it out of the water, but they failed. She did not give in to her hands, but floated away as soon as they approached. Returning with nothing to the monastery, the monks gathered in the temple and began to pray to the Mother of God for help in finding her image.
At night, the Mother of God appeared in a dream to Elder Gabriel and told him that she wanted to bestow her image on the Iberian monastery. In the morning, the monks went to the seashore in a procession. Gabriel entered the water, and accepted the face with reverence. A miraculous image with honors and prayers was placed in the monastery church.
Further, other miracles happened to the icon. In the morning she found herself on the wall above the gates of the Iberian monastery. The monks placed it in the temple several times, but the next day they again found it above the gate. The Mother of God again dreamed of the monk Gabriel and revealed her will to him: she does not want to be guarded, but will herself be the guardian and protector of the monastery, and as long as her image is in the monastery, the grace and mercy of Christ will not be impoverished.
The monks built a gate church in honor of the Mother of God and placed a miraculous image there. Many years later, the widow's son came to the monastery and recognized his family heirloom. For more than ten centuries, the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God has been here, the significance of which is very great, because she is the guardian of the monastery. The image got its name from the name of the monastery, where it is located to this day. A silver setting was made for the icon. Only the faces of the Mother of God and the Child remained open. Many cases are known when the Mother of God came to the aid of the monks, delivering them from hunger, disease, and from numerous barbarians who tried to seize the holy monastery.
Iversky Monastery
Iberian Monastery is one of the 20 holy monasteries located on Mount Athos, located on the peninsula of the same name in Greece. It was foundedGeorgians, and St. Gabriel was also Georgian by nationality.
The name has Georgian roots, according to the ancient name of their country (Iberia). Now it is a Greek monastery. The Greeks call it Ibiron, and the holy image of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God is called Portaitissa. The meaning of this word sounds in Russian as "The gatekeeper".
Currently about 30 novices and monks live here. Twice a year, on solemn dates (the day of the Assumption of the Virgin and on the second day after Easter), processions are organized with the removal of the main shrine of Iviron from the monastery (litany). A procession is made around the monastery, and then the procession goes to the place on the seashore, where the miraculous icon appeared to the monastic brethren.
It is striking that any of the male spectators present can carry the holy image (women are not allowed in the monastery). Portaitissa is taken out in any weather, and nothing happens to her. It is not a priceless rarity that can only be viewed from a distance. The Greeks treat the miraculous image as a shrine, and not as a museum piece.
Iberian Icon of the Mother of God. Significance in Russian history
Lists (copies) of the miraculous icon, the first of which were delivered to Russia under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, were especially revered in Russia. The shrines from Athos were met in Moscow by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich himself, surrounded by a large crowd of Orthodox.
One ofThe lists were sent to Valdai, where the Iversky Monastery was founded. The second was placed above the Moscow front Resurrection Gate, through which all the guests and the tsars themselves entered the city. There was a ritual: going on a campaign or returning from it, the royal persons would definitely go to bow to the Mother of God, asking her for protection and patronage.
Ordinary people had free access to the Resurrection Gates, and the Goalkeeper became one of the most revered icons, the intercessor of Muscovites. Another list was taken to the homes of the sick, who themselves could not come to pray. After the October revolutionary upheavals, the chapel was destroyed.
In 1994, a new chapel was laid at the Resurrection Gate, and the new copy of the Iberian Icon that arrived from Athos is now kept in it.
Those who deeply believe find protection and consolation in the miraculous Mother of God of Iveron.
