In Staraya Russa, in the Church of St. George, there is a copy of the Old Russian Icon of the Mother of God. Like the once lost original, it is revered miraculous, which has repeatedly been the most convincing evidence. Its history is still full of unexplained circumstances and excites the minds of researchers. But first of all, we need to talk about that ancient icon, a copy of which it is.
Assumptions about the appearance of the icon in Staraya Russa
No exact time or place of appearance in Russia of the Old Russian Icon of the Mother of God is known. One of the versions says that in 1470 the inhabitants of Byzantium, which was attacked by the Turks, in order to save the shrine, secretly transported it to Russa and placed it in the Transfiguration Monastery of the Savior. According to another version, in 1570 the icon miraculously appeared in the church of St. George, in one of the villages of the Tver province, from where it was later transferred to Staraya Russa.
Stay of the icon in Tikhvin
One way or another it really was hard to say. But it is known for certain that in 1570 the inhabitants of Tikhvin turned to the Rushans with a request to send them a miraculous image,hoping with his help to get rid of the terrible disaster that had befallen them - pestilence. The inhabitants of Staraya Russa acted like true Christians and came to the aid of the Tikhvinites. The icon was in her hands, in a procession, delivered to the epidemic-stricken city, after which the pestilence sharply subsided and soon stopped altogether.
Further events unfolded as follows. The inhabitants of Tikhvin, having received such obvious confirmation of the miraculous work of the Old Russian Icon of the Mother of God and filled with love and gratitude for her, refused to return the shrine to its owners. At first, under various pretexts, they stalled for time, and in the end they gave a categorical refusal.
Three-century litigation
Following this, an unprecedented litigation of its kind began, which lasted more than three hundred years. Only in 1888, after countless legal proceedings and bureaucratic delays, Staraya Russa regained its shrine. Again, as in 1570, it was carried in a solemn religious procession. By the way, the dimensions of the Old Russian Icon of the Mother of God are quite impressive: 278 cm x 202 cm. It is considered the largest remote icon in the world.
In order to somehow console the people of Tikhvin, who were finally forced to part with the icon so dear to their hearts, the inhabitants of Staraya Russa gave them a copy of the shrine, made in 1787. That year, having lost hope for the return of the Old Russian Icon of the Mother of God, the Rushans sent craftsmen to Tikhvin to make a copy of it. The craftsmen were very skillful and completed the order in strict accordance with the original.
The miracle of the icon
What was everyone's astonishment when, in 1888, when the original was exchanged for a copy, it suddenly became clear that the image of the Baby Jesus on the copy had inexplicably changed. In the original, Jesus with his face fell to the face of the Virgin, while in the list kept in Staraya Russa, his figure was unfolded in such a way as if He had turned away from the Blessed Virgin and was striving away from Her.
Falsification and substitution of the icon was out of the question, as the experts who studied it unanimously declared that this is the same image that was made in 1787. There were suggestions that, due to the fact that the painting layer of the original was badly damaged by time, the masters who made the copy could simply make a mistake, not being able to examine it in detail, but this did not look like the truth.
And so, not finding any convincing explanation for what happened, it was decided to consider it a miracle, which was revealed by the icon of the Old Russian Mother of God. Its meaning was interpreted as follows - the Baby, depicted on the list from an ancient icon, turned away from the Mother of God, filled with sorrow for human sins. This version is considered final and generally accepted up to the present day.
The fate of the holy image today
After the revolution, the new authorities treated the shrines without the slightest reverence. The precious vestments decorating them were removed from them, and they themselves became exhibits of the local history museum. During the war, when Staraya Russa was under occupation, the ancient imagedisappeared without a trace, his fate is unknown. The copy, the same one on which the position of the Infant Jesus miraculously changed, was handed over by the Germans to the church that opened in the city.
Today, this miraculous image is kept in Staraya Russa, in the church of St. George. The feast of the Old Russian Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated twice a year: on May 17, the day the icon first appeared in Staraya Russa, and on October 1, the day of its return after three hundred years in Tikhvin.
Before this icon, it is customary to pray for protection from theft and all kinds of theft. She herself was actually stolen from her rightful owners for many years and it is from this disaster that she protects today. The meaning of this image is concisely and clearly expressed in the eighth Commandment of God - "Thou sh alt not steal." She reminds us of this and encourages us to do so.
