The miraculous image of the Savior is considered the most valuable and one-of-a-kind icon. This icon is worshiped by Christians all over the world, because the miraculous image is capable of completely changing the life of anyone who sincerely asks for it.
History of the icon
According to legend, the icon appeared with the help of a real miracle. King Abgar of Edessa fell ill with leprosy and wrote a letter to Jesus, asking him to heal him from a terrible disease. Jesus answered the message, but the letter did not heal the king.
The dying monarch sent his servant to Jesus. The man who arrived conveyed his request to the Savior. Jesus listened to the servant, went to a vessel of water, washed his face and wiped his face with a towel, on which His face was miraculously imprinted. The servant took the shrine, took it to Avgar, and he was completely healed just by touching the towel.
Avgar's icon painters copied the face that remained on the canvas, and closed the relic itself in a scroll. Traces of the shrine are lost in Constantinople, where the scroll was transported for safety during the raids.
Description of the icon
The icon “Savior Not Made by Hands” does not depict events; the Savior does not act as an unattainable God. Only His face, only his gaze directed at everyone who approaches the icon.
This image carries main idea and the idea of the Christian faith, reminding everyone that it is through the person of Jesus that a person can come to the truth and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Prayer before this image is like a private conversation with the Savior.
What do they pray to the icon for?
Every Orthodox Christian who prays in front of the icon of the “Savior Not Made by Hands” has the most honest conversation with the Savior about his life and eternal life. It is customary to pray to this image in the most difficult life situations, when despair, despondency or anger do not allow one to live as a Christian.
A prayer to the Savior before this image can help:
- in healing a serious illness;
- in getting rid of sorrows and sorrows;
- in a complete change in life path.
Prayers to the miraculous image of the Savior
“Lord my God, by your mercy my life has been given to me. Lord, will you leave me in my trouble? Cover me, Jesus, and guide me beyond the lines of my misfortune, protect me from new shocks and show me the way to peace and quiet. Forgive me my sins, Lord, and allow me to humbly enter Your Kingdom. Amen".
“Heavenly Savior, Creator and Protector, Shelter and Cover, do not leave me. Heal, Lord, my mental and physical wounds, protect me from pain and troubles, and forgive me my sins, voluntary and involuntary. Amen".
“Lord, by Your mercy I will be cleansed, and I will find Your grace. My God, do not leave me in sorrow and misfortune, bestow your radiance on me and allow me to receive Your blessing. Amen".
This short prayer can give strength and help you make the right decision.
What does the icon look like?
This image of Jesus is the only one where the Savior is depicted in a portrait manner. In this icon, the Lord does not lead, does not point, does not instruct and does not enlighten. He is simply present, remaining alone with everyone who comes to Him.
The Savior is depicted with a direct gaze directed into the eyes of everyone who appears before Him. His hair and beard are depicted wet, conveying the story of the appearance of the miraculous icon.
The day of remembrance and veneration of the icon “Savior Not Made by Hands” is August 29, according to the new style. At this time, prayers to the Savior can change fate and direct life in a different direction. We wish you peace in your soul and faith in God. Be happy and don't forget to press the buttons and
26.05.2017 06:01
Saint Melania is revered by women throughout the Orthodox world. The icon of this saint can protect girls from harm...
Osroena became the first state in whose territory Christianity was officially recognized as a religion. It occupied the northeast of present-day Syria. It existed in the period from 137 to 242 AD. It was a small state where the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands was first mentioned. This image is unique and has great significance for Orthodox Christians.
Legend of the icon
There are many legends that tell how the king of Osroene, Avgar, was sick with a terrible disease - black leprosy. This is where the story of the Savior Not Made by Hands begins; one day the king had an unusual dream, in which he was told that nothing could heal him except an icon on which the face of the Savior would be imprinted. After this, an artist from the court was sent to Christ, but he never managed to transfer his image to canvas and make an icon of Jesus Christ because of the divine radiance that emanated from Him.
Then the Savior took water, washed his face with it, and then wiped it with a towel, on which his bright image remained imprinted - the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands.
Formally, Jesus himself made the icon, but the image is classified as one not made by hands, that is, one where the face of the Savior appears by Divine grace and in a miraculous way.
The classic version of the icon is an image of Jesus, which is made on canvas. Along its edges there is a canvas, the upper ends of which are woven into knots. Hence the name of the icon of the Savior on the urbus, that is, on a canvas or scarf.
After King Abgar was healed in a bright image, there were no more mentions of the icon until the year 545. It was that year that Edessa came under blockade by Persian troops. Just at that moment providence came to the aid of people. In one of the naves above the city gates, an icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands and its trace imprinted on ceramic wall in the Ceramidion vault. Then, thanks to the miraculous power of the icon, the blockade of the city was lifted.
Until now, the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands helps to get rid of invaders and any encroachments by enemies, and is used in military affairs.
The meaning of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands
This miraculous icon in all types of its execution (an image on canvas, a print on ceramics) is distinguished by its characteristics and has many customs that are associated with them. The image of the Savior Not Made by Hands is essential for iconography. It is with writing this image that they recommend starting your individual work icon painters who are just beginning to show themselves in this field.
Considering the description of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, you need to pay attention to the halo surrounding the head of the Savior, which is depicted in the form of a regular closed circle, inside of which there is a cross. Each feature: the hair of Jesus, its main background (on all old canvases the icon painters left the background blank), expresses its essence, gives it a special meaning. According to many, the image, which was created without the use of paints or brushes, is a real photograph of Christ and his face is depicted on it.
Since the arrival of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands from Constantinople, it began to occupy an important role in the world of Orthodoxy. This happened in 1355. Icons of this type existed in Rus' already in the 11th century, but only starting from the second half of the 14th century, everything connected with the “Savior Not Made by Hands” was equated to the level of state cult and spread widely everywhere.
However, there is an icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands from the 12th century, which is also called Novgorod, but was created in Moscow in the Assumption Cathedral. This image is two-way. Separately, it should be noted the icon of Simon Ushakov, which was created in the 17th century and the Savior Not Made by Hands is painted here more artistically and less canonically.
Since the 14th century, the construction of temples began, the image was applied to Russian military banners during the most important battles for Rus', such as the Kulikovo and the First World War.
“Savior Not Made by Hands” is an icon that has great value in the Orthodox world. It symbolizes Orthodoxy as a cross and crucifix, and carries the same meaning.
Prayer to the icon
It is believed that it was on this day that Christ put the cloth to his face.
Troparion, tone 2
We worship Your most pure image, O Good One, asking for forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God, by the will of Your flesh you deigned to ascend to the Cross, so that You may deliver Him from the work of the enemy. Thus we cry out to You in gratitude: You have filled all with joy, our Savior, who came to save the world.
Prayer
O Most Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, our God!
You, from the ancient times of human nature, washed your face with holy water and wiped it with a rubbish, and you deigned to depict it miraculously on the same fringe and sent it to the Edessa prince Abgar for the healing of his illness.
Behold, now we, Thy sinful servants, possessed by our mental and physical ailments, seek Thy face, O Lord, and with David in the humility of our souls we call: do not turn Thy face away from us, and turn away in anger from Thy servants,
Be our helper, do not reject us and do not abandon us.
O All-Merciful Lord, our Savior!
Imagine for yourself in our souls, so that you may live in holiness and truth,
We will be Your sons and heirs of Your Kingdom,
and so to You, our Most Merciful God,
It is customary to pray to this image in the most difficult life situations, when despair, despondency or anger do not allow one to live as a Christian.
The miraculous image of the Savior is considered the most valuable and one-of-a-kind icon. This icon is worshiped by Christians all over the world, because the miraculous image is capable of completely changing the life of anyone who sincerely asks for it.
“The Savior Not Made by Hands” is an icon that has a unique meaning among other icons of world significance. We literally find ourselves face to face with the Savior. He is the driver of our life, our sun, our path. This is an icon for prayer of request and thanksgiving, and both protect us from unfriendly phenomena and events. It is known that if we voluntarily follow the Lord along His path, then we fall under His protection in the most natural way - He is our Leader, Teacher, Savior.
History of the icon
According to legend, the icon appeared with the help of a real miracle. King Abgar of Edessa fell ill with leprosy and wrote a letter to Jesus, asking him to heal him from a terrible disease. Jesus answered the message, but the letter did not heal the king.
The dying monarch sent his servant to Jesus. The man who arrived conveyed his request to the Savior. Jesus listened to the servant, went to a vessel of water, washed his face and wiped his face with a towel, on which His face was miraculously imprinted. The servant took the shrine, took it to Avgar, and he was completely healed just by touching the towel.
Avgar's icon painters copied the face that remained on the canvas, and closed the relic itself in a scroll. Traces of the shrine are lost in Constantinople, where the scroll was transported for safety during the raids.
Description of the icon
The icon “Savior Not Made by Hands” does not depict events; the Savior does not act as an unattainable God. Only His face, only his gaze directed at everyone who approaches the icon.
This image carries the main thought and idea of the Christian faith, reminding everyone that it is through the person of Jesus that a person can come to the truth and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Prayer before this image is like a private conversation with the Savior.
What do they pray to the icon for?
Every Orthodox Christian who prays in front of the icon of the “Savior Not Made by Hands” has the most honest conversation with the Savior about his life and eternal life. It is customary to pray to this image in the most difficult life situations, when despair, despondency or anger do not allow one to live as a Christian.
A prayer to the Savior before this image can help:
- in healing a serious illness;
- in getting rid of sorrows and sorrows;
- in a complete change in life path. You can always find more useful articles, interesting videos and tests on our website.
Prayers to the miraculous image of the Savior
“Lord my God, by your mercy my life has been given to me. Lord, will you leave me in my trouble? Cover me, Jesus, and guide me beyond the lines of my misfortune, protect me from new shocks and show me the way to peace and quiet. Forgive me my sins, Lord, and allow me to humbly enter Your Kingdom. Amen".
“Heavenly Savior, Creator and Protector, Shelter and Cover, do not leave me. Heal, Lord, my mental and physical wounds, protect me from pain and troubles, and forgive me my sins, voluntary and involuntary. Amen".
The first Christian icon is the “Savior Not Made by Hands”; it is the basis of all Orthodox icon veneration.
Story
According to the Tradition set forth in the Chetya Menaion, Abgar V Uchama, sick with leprosy, sent his archivist Hannan (Ananias) to Christ with a letter in which he asked Christ to come to Edessa and heal him. Hannan was an artist, and Abgar instructed him, if the Savior could not come, to paint His image and bring it to him.
Hannan found Christ surrounded by a dense crowd; he stood on a stone from which he could see better and tried to portray the Savior. Seeing that Hannan wanted to make His portrait, Christ asked for water, washed himself, wiped His face with a cloth, and His image was imprinted on this cloth. The Savior handed this board to Hannan with the command to take it with a reply letter to the one who sent it. In this letter, Christ refused to go to Edessa himself, saying that he must fulfill what he was sent to do. Upon completion of His work, He promised to send one of His disciples to Abgar.
Having received the portrait, Avgar was healed of his main illness, but his face remained damaged.
After Pentecost, the holy Apostle Thaddeus went to Edessa. Preaching the Good News, he baptized the king and most of the population. Coming out of the baptismal font, Abgar discovered that he was completely healed and gave thanks to the Lord. By order of Avgar, the holy obrus (plate) was glued onto a board of rotting wood, decorated and placed above the city gates instead of the idol that had previously been there. And everyone had to worship the “miraculous” image of Christ, as the new heavenly patron of the city.
However, the grandson of Abgar, having ascended the throne, planned to return the people to the worship of idols and, for this purpose, destroy the Image Not Made by Hands. The Bishop of Edessa, warned in a vision about this plan, ordered to wall up the niche where the Image was located, placing a lit lamp in front of it.
Over time, this place was forgotten.In 544, during the siege of Edessa by the troops of the Persian king Chozroes, the Bishop of Edessa Eulalia was given a revelation about the location of the Icon Not Made by Hands. Having disassembled in the indicated place brickwork, the residents saw not only a perfectly preserved image and a lamp that had not gone out for so many years, but also an imprint of the Most Holy Face on the ceramics - a clay board that covered the holy fresco.
After a religious procession with the Image Not Made by Hands along the city walls, the Persian army retreated.
Linen cloth with the image of Christ for a long time was kept in Edessa as the most important treasure of the city. During the period of iconoclasm, John of Damascus referred to the Image Not Made by Hands, and in 787 the Seventh Ecumenical Council, citing it as the most important evidence in favor of icon veneration. In 944, the Byzantine emperors Constantine Porphyrogenitus and Roman I bought the Image Not Made by Hands from Edessa. Crowds of people surrounded and brought up the rear of the procession as the Image Miraculous was transferred from the city to the bank of the Euphrates, where galleys awaited the procession to cross the river. Christians began to grumble, refusing to give up the holy Image unless there was a sign from God. And a sign was given to them. Suddenly the galley, onto which the Image Not Made by Hands had already been brought, swam without any action and landed on the opposite shore.
The silent Edessians returned to the city, and the procession with the Icon moved further along the dry route. Throughout the journey to Constantinople, miracles of healing were performed continuously. The monks and saints accompanying the Image Not Made by Hands traveled around the entire capital by sea with a magnificent ceremony and installed the holy Image in the Pharos Church. In honor of this event, August 16 was established church holiday Transfer from Edessa to Constantinople of the Image Not Made by Hands (Ubrus) of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For exactly 260 years the Image Not Made by Hands was preserved in Constantinople (Constantinople). In 1204, the Crusaders turned their weapons against the Greeks and captured Constantinople. Along with a lot of gold, jewelry and sacred objects, they captured and transported the Image Not Made by Hands to the ship. But, according to the inscrutable fate of the Lord, the Miraculous Image did not remain in their hands. As they sailed across the Sea of Marmara, a terrible storm suddenly arose and the ship quickly sank. Greatest Christian shrine disappeared. This ends the story of the true Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands.
There is a legend that the Image Not Made by Hands was transferred around 1362 to Genoa, where it is kept in a monastery in honor of the Apostle Bartholomew.
Plat of Saint Veronica
In the West, the legend of the Savior Not Made by Hands became widespread as tales of the Plath of Saint Veronica. According to him, the pious Jewish Veronica, who accompanied Christ on His way of the cross to Golgotha, she gave Him a linen handkerchief so that Christ could wipe the blood and sweat from his face. The face of Jesus was imprinted on the handkerchief.
The relic called "Veronica's board" kept in the Cathedral of St. Peter's in Rome. Presumably, the name Veronica, when mentioning the Image Not Made by Hands, arose as a distortion of Lat. vera icon (true image). In Western iconography, a distinctive feature of the images of the “Plate of Veronica” is the crown of thorns on the head of the Savior.
Iconography
In the Orthodox icon painting tradition there are two main types of images of the Holy Face: "Spas on the ubrus", or "Ubrus" And "Spas on the Chrepii", or "Skull".
On icons of the “Spas on the Ubrus” type, the image of the Savior’s face is placed against the background of a cloth, the fabric of which is gathered into folds, and its upper ends are tied with knots. Around the head is a halo, a symbol of holiness. The color of the halo is usually golden. Unlike the haloes of saints, the halo of the Savior has an inscribed cross. This element is found only in the iconography of Jesus Christ. In Byzantine images it was decorated precious stones. Later, the cross in halos began to be depicted as consisting of nine lines according to the number of nine angelic ranks and three Greek letters were inscribed (I am Jehovah), and on the sides of the halo in the background were placed the abbreviated name of the Savior - IC and HS. Such icons in Byzantium were called “Holy Mandylion” (Άγιον Μανδύλιον from the Greek μανδύας - “ubrus, cloak”).
On icons such as “The Savior on the Chripe”, or “Chrepiya”, according to legend, the image of the Savior’s face after miraculous acquisition ubrus, was also imprinted on the ceramide tiles with which the Miraculous Image was covered. Such icons in Byzantium were called “Saint Keramidion”. There is no image of the board on them, the background is smooth, and in some cases imitates the texture of tiles or masonry.
The most ancient images were made on a clean background, without any hint of material or tiles.
Ubrus with folds begins to spread on Russian icons from the 14th century.
Images of the Savior with a wedge-shaped beard (converging to one or two narrow ends) is also known in Byzantine sources, however, only on Russian soil they took shape into a separate iconographic type and received the name "Savior of Wet Brad".
Savior Not Made by Hands “Savior of Wet Brad”
In the Cathedral of the Assumption Mother of God in the Kremlin there is one of the revered and rare icons - "Spas the Ardent Eye". It was written in 1344 for the old Assumption Cathedral. It depicts the stern face of Christ looking piercingly and sternly at the enemies of Orthodoxy - Rus' during this period was under the yoke of the Tatar-Mongols.
Miraculous lists of the “Savior Not Made by Hands”
“The Savior Not Made by Hands” is an icon especially revered by Orthodox Christians in Rus'. It has always been present on Russian military flags since the time Mamaev's massacre.
A.G. Namerovsky. Sergius of Radonezh blesses Dmitry Donskoy for a feat of arms
The earliest surviving icon of the “Savior Not Made by Hands” - a Novgorod double-sided image of the 12th century - is located in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Savior Not Made by Hands. Third quarter of the 12th century. Novgorod
Glorification of the Cross (reverse side of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands) XII century. Novgorod
Through many of His icons the Lord manifested Himself, revealing wondrous miracles. So, for example, in the village of Spassky, near the city of Tomsk, in 1666, one Tomsk painter, to whom the village residents ordered an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for their chapel, set to work according to all rules. He called on the residents to fast and pray, and on the prepared board he painted the face of the saint of God so that he could work with paints the next day. But the next day, instead of Saint Nicholas, I saw on the board the outlines of the Miraculous Image of Christ the Savior! Twice he restored the features of St. Nicholas the Pleasant, and twice the face of the Savior was miraculously restored on the board. The same thing happened a third time. This is how the icon of the Miraculous Image was written on the board. The rumor about the sign that had taken place spread far beyond Spassky, and pilgrims began to flock here from everywhere. Quite a lot of time had passed; due to dampness and dust, the constantly open icon had become dilapidated and required restoration. Then, on March 13, 1788, the icon painter Daniil Petrov, with the blessing of Abbot Palladius, the abbot of the monastery in Tomsk, began to remove the former face of the Savior from the icon with a knife in order to paint a new one. I already took a full handful of paints from the board, but the holy face of the Savior remained unchanged. Fear fell on everyone who saw this miracle, and since then no one has dared to update the image. In 1930, like most churches, this temple was closed and the icon disappeared.
The miraculous image of Christ the Savior, erected by an unknown person and unknown when, in the city of Vyatka on the porch (porch in front of the church) of the Ascension Cathedral, became famous for the countless healings that took place before it, mainly from eye diseases. Distinctive feature Vyatka Savior Not Made by Hands is an image of angels standing on the sides, whose figures are not fully described. The list of the miraculous Vyatka icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands hung from inside over the Spassky Gate of the Moscow Kremlin. The icon itself was delivered from Khlynov (Vyatka) and left in the Moscow Novospassky Monastery in 1647. The exact list was sent to Khlynov, and the second one was installed above the gate of the Frolovskaya tower. In honor of the image of the Savior and the fresco of the Savior of Smolensk with outside, the gate through which the icon was delivered and the tower itself were called Spassky.
Another miraculous image of the Savior Not Made by Hands located in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
Icon “Savior Not Made by Hands” in the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Was the favorite image of Emperor Peter I.
The icon was painted, presumably, in 1676 for Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by the famous Moscow icon painter Simon Ushakov. It was handed over by the queen to her son, Peter I. He always took the icon with him on military campaigns. It was in front of this icon that the emperor prayed at the founding of St. Petersburg, as well as on the eve of the fateful event for Russia. Battle of Poltava. This icon saved the life of the king more than once. Emperor Alexander III carried a list of this miraculous icon with him. During the crash of the royal train on the Kursk-Kharkov-Azov railway On October 17, 1888, he emerged from the destroyed carriage along with his entire family unharmed. The icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands was also preserved intact, even the glass in the icon case remained intact.
In the collection of the State Museum of Art of Georgia there is an encaustic icon from the 7th century called "Anchiskhatsky Savior", representing Christ from the chest. Georgian folk tradition identifies this icon with the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands from Edessa.
“Anchiskhatsky Savior” is one of the most revered Georgian shrines. In ancient times, the icon was located in the Anchi Monastery in Southwestern Georgia; in 1664 it was moved to the Tbilisi church in honor of the Nativity Holy Mother of God, VI century, which after the transfer of the icon received the name Anchiskhati (currently kept in State Museum arts of Georgia).
The miraculous icon of the “All-Merciful Savior” in Tutaev
The miraculous icon of the “All-Merciful Savior” is located in the Tutaevsky Resurrection Cathedral. The ancient image was painted in the middle of the 15th century by the famous icon painter Dionysius Glushitsky. The icon is huge - about 3 meters.
Initially, the icon was located in the dome (it was the “sky”) of a wooden church in honor of the holy princes Boris and Gleb, which explains its large sizes(three meters high). When the stone church was built, the icon of the Savior was moved to the summer Church of the Resurrection.
In 1749, by decree of Saint Arseny (Matseevich), the image was taken to Rostov the Great. The icon remained in the Bishop's House for 44 years; only in 1793 were the residents of Borisoglebsk allowed to return it to the cathedral. With great joy they carried the shrine from Rostov in their arms and stopped in front of the settlement on the Kovat River to wash away the road dust. Where they placed the icon, a spring of pure spring water flowed, which exists to this day and is revered as holy and healing.
From that time on, miracles of healing from physical and spiritual illnesses began to occur at the holy image. In 1850, at the expense of grateful parishioners and pilgrims, the icon was decorated with a silver-gilded crown and chasuble, confiscated by the Bolsheviks in 1923. The crown that is currently on the icon is its copy.
There is a long tradition of crawling under the miraculous icon The Savior is on his knees. For this purpose, there is a special window in the icon case under the icon.
Every year, on July 2, on the cathedral holiday, the miraculous image is taken out of the church on a special stretcher and a procession with the icon of the Savior is made through the streets of the city with singing and prayers.
And then, if desired, believers climb into the hole under the icon - a healing hole, and crawl on their knees or on their haunches under the “All-Merciful Savior” with a prayer for healing.
The Miraculous Image of the Savior Jesus Christ by Christian tradition is one of the proofs of the truth of the incarnation in human form of the second person of the Trinity. The ability to capture the image of God, according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, is associated with the Incarnation, that is, the birth of Jesus Christ, God the Son, or, as believers usually call Him, the Savior, the Savior. Before His birth, the appearance of icons was unreal - God the Father is invisible and incomprehensible, therefore, incomprehensible. Thus, the first icon painter was God himself, His Son - “the image of His hypostasis” (Heb. 1.3). God acquired a human face, the Word became flesh for the salvation of man.
Documentary film “SPAS NOT MADE BY HANDS” (2007)An image left to us by the Savior himself. The very first detailed intravital description appearance Jesus Christ, was left to us by the proconsul of Palestine, Publius Lentulus. In Rome, in one of the libraries, an undeniably truthful manuscript was found, which has great historical value. This is a letter that Publius Lentulus, who ruled Judea before Pontius Pilate, wrote to the ruler of Rome.
Troparion, tone 2
We worship Your most pure image, O Good One, asking for forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God: for by the will of Thou didst deign to ascend in the flesh to the cross, that Thou mightest deliver what Thou hast created from the work of the enemy. We also cry out to You with gratitude: You have filled all with joy, our Savior, who came to save the world.Kontakion, tone 2
Thy ineffable and Divine sight of man, the Indescribable Word of the Father, and the unwritten and God-written image is victorious leading to Thy false incarnation, we honor him with kisses.Prayer to the Lord
Lord, Generous and Merciful, Long-suffering and Many-merciful, inspire our prayer and listen to the voice of our prayer, create a sign for good with us, guide us on Your path, to walk in Your truth, make our hearts glad, in fear of Your Holy Name. You are great and work miracles, You are the only God, and there is no one like You in God, Lord, strong in mercy and good in strength, to help and comfort and save all who trust in Your holy Name. Amen.Another prayer to the Lord
(3 votes: 5 out of 5)
Oh, Most Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, our God, You are more ancient than Your human nature, having washed off Your face with holy water and wiped it with a rubbish, so You miraculously depicted it on the same curb and You deigned to send it to the Prince of Edessa Abgar to heal him from an illness. Behold, now we, Thy sinful servants, possessed by our mental and physical ailments, seek Thy face, O Lord, and with David in the humility of our souls we call: do not turn away Thy face, O Lord, from us, and do not turn aside in anger from Thy servants, O helper to us. wake up, do not reject us and do not leave us. Oh, All-Merciful Lord, our Savior, depict Yourself in our souls, so that living in holiness and truth, we will be Your sons and heirs of Your Kingdom, and so we will not cease to glorify You, our Most Merciful God, together with Your Beginning Father and the Most Holy Spirit. forever and ever. Amen.- St.
Ubrus- 1) boards, linen, towel; 2) Holy (Holy) Ubrus - Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands; boards with miraculous image face
Has Saint Ubrus survived to this day?
The legend about the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands brings to us the story of the origin of this.
When the Edessa ruler, Abgar Uhama, who was suffering from a serious illness (leprosy), incurable by ordinary medical means, learned about what Christ was doing in Palestine, he sent his servant Ananias (Hannan) to Him, having previously handed him a message in which he asked for healing . In addition, knowing about the persecution of Christ by the Jews, Abgar offered Him shelter and shelter.
Due to the need to fulfill main task Coming into the world, the Savior refused the invitation, but promised to subsequently send one of His disciples, who would not only cure Abgar of his physical illness, but also heal the citizens of his country from ignorance.
Ananias was a painter and had an order from Abgar to capture the image in case He refused to come to Edessa in person. When Ananias wanted to start painting the image, he was unable to get closer to the Savior, since He was crowded by huge crowds of people. No matter how much he tried to reproduce on matter a face shining with Divine glory, he could not achieve the desired result.
Then the Lord, realizing what was happening, commanded that the cloth be brought to him, after which he washed His face and wiped it off. Mysteriously and inexplicably, His Divinity was imprinted on the board. After Ubrus was handed over to the painter Hannan, he took it to Edessa.
Abgar accepted the Image Not Made by Hands with reverence and has since been healed, although the illness still left some traces on his flesh. He was finally healed by the Apostle Thaddeus, who was sent to Edessa by the Apostle Thomas after the Lord, having redeemed the human race and resurrected, ascended into Heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father.
Thomas enlightened the townspeople with the light of the Gospel preaching and Edessa became Christian.
The ubrus was laid on a board and installed in a niche located in the fortress wall above the city gate. All those entering the city through the gates had to worship the Image Not Made by Hands.
When, years later, one of Abgar’s descendants began to instill faith in Edessa, the local bishop, having received it, came to the gate at night, lit a lamp in front of the Icon and walled up the niche that contained it, and did it so skillfully that the place where the icon was kept no longer stood out in any way. the general background of the wall. Over time, the location of the Image was forgotten.
Centuries passed before the Image Not Made by Hands was again revealed to the people.
In 545, when the Persian king Khosroes I (Khozroes I) besieged the city of Edessa and was preparing to take possession of it, Bishop Eulavius had a vision: The Wife, who appeared to him in Heavenly Majesty, pointed to the place where the Image Not Made by Hands was kept and ordered him to take this Holy Image.
Submitting to the Divine will, Evlavius opened the walled niche and discovered the lost Holy Ubrus. The image turned out to be intact. Moreover, on the stone (ceramic) slab covering it, he discovered another image of the Savior, miraculously reflecting the one that was captured on Ubrus.
After a prayer was performed in front of the Icon Not Made by Hands, and then, with a procession of the cross, it was carried along the city walls, the enemy retreated.
When the Arabs captured Edessa in the 7th century, Christians were allowed to worship the Image as a shrine. The fame of this miraculous icon spread throughout the East.
In 944, Emperors Constantine VII the Porphyrogenitus and Romanos I Lecapinus, driven by zeal for the Lord, agreed with the authorities of Edessa to buy back the icon. As a gift for the icon, they were sent 12,000 pieces of silver and 200 captured Saracens. At the same time, they were given a promise that from now on the city would not be attacked by imperial troops.
The townspeople, of course, did not want to part with their shrine. However, the ruler managed to persuade them to agree: some with exhortations, some with force and coercion, some with threats of death.
On August 15, 944, the Image Not Made by Hands was delivered to the Blachernae Temple, and from there to the Pharos Temple. On August 16, he was brought into the Constantinople Temple of the Wisdom of God. After honoring and worshiping the Image Not Made by Hands, it was returned to Pharos. In memory of these events, the Church established a special holiday. It is celebrated annually on August 16 (29).
Over time, Saint Ubrus was lost.
According to the most common opinion, he was kidnapped from Pharos after the sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204 and sent to Venice by ship. The ship never reached Venice: it sank in the Sea of Marmara. Along with the ship, Ubrus also sank to the bottom.
According to one private legend, the Miraculous Image did not drown in the Sea of Marmara. In the 14th century, John Palaiologos handed it over to the Genoese as a token of gratitude for their help in liberating some lands from the rule of the Saracens. This is how the icon came to Europe. True, it later turned out that the image passed off as the original Saint Ubrus belongs to a later letter.
According to another legend, also private, the Miraculous Image of the Savior came to the territory of Georgia through complex vicissitudes. Previously, this image was exhibited for worship. However, it turned out to be man-made.
What is Veronica's Plat?
Revered in Orthodox Church Saint Ubrus should not be confused with the Plato of Veronica, known in the West. The fundamental difference This icon is that Christ is represented on it wearing a crown of thorns.
According to the tradition of the Western Church, the origin of this icon is connected with the following legend. Veronica was the bleeding wife whom the Lord healed (). She accompanied Him during the procession to Golgotha, to the place of His last suffering and sacrificial death. Sympathizing and wanting to somehow help Her healer, she gave Him a cloth so that He could wipe drops of sweat and blood from his face. As a token of gratitude, the Savior returned this board with the imprint of His face miraculously appearing on it.
In another version of the story about the origin of the board, it is reported that Veronica, wanting to have the image of Christ with her, asked the Evangelist Luke to write it. But all his attempts were unsuccessful. Then the Lord, knowing about her desire, Himself came to her for supper, washed himself and put the cloth to his face, after which His holy face was displayed on it.Three relics also claim the status of Plata Veronica, located: in the Cathedral of the Apostle Peter in Rome, in cathedral a small village in the Italian province of Abruzzo, in the monastery of the Spanish city of Alicante.
