Some images of the Mother of God have very ancient history, which is often closely intertwined with the Russian one. This is the “Jerusalem” icon of the Mother of God. According to legend, its author was the Apostle Luke himself, therefore, the image has been known for almost two thousand years.
History of appearance
Many people want to know what the Mother of God really looked like; perhaps her contemporaries foresaw the desire of her descendants. Evangelist Luke painted several icons of the Virgin Mary. It was this image that was prepared for the Christian community in Jerusalem, from where it got its name. Tradition calls the year of creation of the icon 48 AD. e. - Almost 15 years have passed since the Ascension, the Gospel had not yet been written, but the history of the Church was being created.
It is believed that it was near this icon that the Venerable Mary of Egypt heard the call to repentance. Many other miracles accompanied the image over the centuries. The Jerusalem shrine has come a long way.
- Moved to Constantinople (during the reign of Leo the Great, 5th century). During the Scythian attack, all the people prayed before the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God, the enemies retreated.
- The image was transferred to the main Byzantine temple (Blachernae Church), where it remained for three hundred years.
- In 988, the image was presented to Grand Duke Vladimir, who moved it to Korsun, then to Kyiv. When the Novgorodians also accepted baptism, the image was given to them as a gift.
- In the second half of the 16th century. Ivan the Terrible placed the Jerusalem Icon in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. There she remained until the Napoleonic invasion, during which she disappeared.
In the Assumption Church, the icon was located in the southern part of the iconostasis, then in the western. At the beginning of the 18th century. it was updated, a new precious frame was made. On its fields were the apostles and martyrs. Perhaps the salary was the reason why they decided to steal the shrine.
For many years it was believed that the French took the image to Paris, but an official request made in the 70s of the last century received the answer that there was no such icon in French museums. Today the list is in the Kremlin, in a silver frame. It was probably made during an update of the original.
Distinctive Features
The iconographic type of the icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem is described by experts as a “Guide”. In execution it is very similar to Gruzinskaya, and many other images are written similarly to him -,. The Mother of God is depicted from the waist up, supporting the Son with her right hand (he may also be on the other side in other versions of the “Hodegetria”).
The Divine Infant's body and face are turned to the Mother, his head is raised. In his left hand He holds a sign of knowledge, knowledge (scroll), his right hand is raised in blessing. The fingers are folded two-fingered. The face of the Mother of God is directed towards the Son, her head is bowed, her hand is pressed to her chest. This silent dialogue on the Jerusalem icon has deep theological significance.
The icons depict gestures and poses that conceal not a literal, but a spiritual meaning. The Lord turns his face to the Mother as a sign of his love and attention to her. The unity of God and man is fully represented here in the form of Christ and Mary. Having completely assimilated human nature from her, He remained God, one of the persons of the Holy Trinity.
The Great God humbled Himself so much that He appeared as an ordinary weak baby, completely dependent on an earthly woman. And she herself became a guide to the world of people, while managing to show all the best human qualities. A pressed hand in the figurative language of icon painting means deep empathy - how can a mother not feel all the pain that falls to the Son?
Her soul was pierced with many swords the day He died on the cross. But patience and humility allowed the Virgin Mary to walk her path with dignity. She invites everyone to do this, because in the end there is a worthy reward - eternity with Christ. A trained viewer can understand all this with just one gesture.
There are several types of the Jerusalem icon:
- With images in the margins - these could be apostles, martyrs. They are not part of the composition, they seem to float left and right
- With the upcoming saints are the righteous parents of St. Mary, Joachim and Anna.
Miracles of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God
Over many centuries of existence, the image has become famous for various miraculous phenomena. How did she help believers? Through prayers at the Icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem, two terrible epidemics were stopped - the plague (1771) and cholera (1866). Then the icon was in Moscow. The residents themselves asked for the opportunity to perform prayer services near the shrine. Then she was carried along different villages(Kolomenskoye, Saburovo, etc.). At the end of the procession, the epidemic stopped.
Honored Lists
The original icon could not be preserved, but several revered copies remained in Russia, also quite ancient, although much “younger” than the image that was painted by the evangelist. One of the shrines is the Church of the Nativity in Izmailovo. At first, the icon was in the royal estate - as if foreseeing the loss, the sovereigns promptly ordered copies of the miraculous Jerusalem image to be made.
The list is large and therefore heavy - 8 people can hardly lift it. On the sides of the composition are the apostles and martyrs. The Izmailovo icon is different in that the Savior’s fingers are folded differently. In the temple, an akathist is sung weekly in memory of the miracles that were prayed for by the residents of Moscow from the Queen of Heaven.
Revered lists are also found in other temples:
- Bronnitsy, New Jerusalem (Moscow region);
- Church of the Life-Giving Trinity (Moscow);
- Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Moscow);
- in the Athos Pateleimon Monastery.
Russian churches in the name of the icon
The veneration of the Mother of God on Russian soil is such that many churches have been built in the name of her holy icons. One of the most beautiful architectural sights of Moscow is the Temple of the Jerusalem Icon, the work of the architect S. Voskresensky. The parish was allocated a plot of land, but the church was built in parts, using donations from townspeople. The work was completely completed in 1915.
The spacious temple was distinguished not only by a beautiful upward-pointing dome, but also by an original high iconostasis. The new government, however, did not need the church; it was decided to reconstruct it as a factory. In the 50s there was a factory here. Only in 1996 historical building returned to the Church, the temple behind the Intercession Gate became the Patriarchal Metochion. Also here is the representative office of the Jerusalem convent, charitable activities are carried out.
On the holy land, near the Garden of Gethsemane, where the last free hours of the Savior’s earthly life passed, is the Church of Gethsemane Jerusalem icon Mother of God. It was here that the body of the Queen of Heaven resided after her dormition. The coffin of the Mother of God is located in a small cave, where there is now an Orthodox chapel. There is a very narrow passage leading there. The miraculous image is located under a gilded robe, in a massive stone icon case. Near it, tireless monks regularly offer prayers.
They pray at the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God about what hurts their souls the most. The Blessed Virgin can perform many miracles:
- Protects the home (not only in the narrow sense, but also the native state) from attacks by enemies and bandits.
- Protects from the elements.
- Maintains prosperity and peace in the family.
- Heals various diseases, including those that cannot be treated with modern medicines. There are known cases of insight and recovery from paralysis.
Just having an icon is not enough for a miracle. It is necessary to have a strong faith; anyone can cultivate it in themselves if they wish. Then any icon can become a “window into another world” and will bring the joy of communication with the Lord.
Prayers to the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God
Troparion
the assurance of Your intercession / and the appearance of Your mercy / the icon of Jerusalem has appeared to us, Lady, / before her we pour out our souls in prayer / and with faith we cry out to You: / look, O Merciful One, on Your people, / quench all our sorrows and sorrows, / consolation Send down good things into our hearts / and ask for eternal salvation for our souls, O Most Pure One.
Kontakion, tone 5
Do not reject, O Merciful Mother, our tears and sighs, but having graciously accepted our petitions, strengthen the faith of those praying before Your Jerusalem icon, fill their hearts with tenderness, and help them bear the cross of earthly life, as much as you can.
Greatness
We magnify You, Most Holy Virgin, God-chosen Youth, and honor Your holy image, through which you bring healing to all who come with faith.
First prayer
O Most Holy and Most Blessed Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Most Pure Ever-Virgin Mother of God Mary, our Patroness and Intercessor! We fall down and worship You before the holy and miraculous Jerusalem icon and humbly pray to You, hear the voice of our prayers offered to You from the soul, seeing our sorrows and temptations, and like a truly loving Mother, trying to help us who are helpless, sad, falling into many sins and constantly angering the Lord and our Creator. Beseech Him, O Lady, that He may not destroy us with our iniquities, but for the sake of Your intercession He will show us Your humane mercy; ask us, O All-merciful One, mental and physical health, complete repentance of sins, advancement in Christian virtues, a grace-filled, peaceful and pious life, fruitfulness of the earth, goodness of the air, well-timed rains and blessings from above on all our good deeds and undertakings. Preserve and keep us in peace and prosperity, and hasten to all to bear the good and easy yoke of Christ in patience and humility, for the salvation of our souls, protecting us with Your Mother's protection from the temptations of the devil and all evil.
Oh, all-singing Queen, all-merciful Mother of God! Extend Your God-bearing hand in supplication to Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and receive prayers to Him, together with You on Your icon, Your righteous parents, Joachim and Anna, with them beg Him to have mercy on us and deliver us from eternal destruction, and just as sometimes in great sorrow before this icon of Yours you gave consolation and good promises to the praying Nile, so even now we humble and sinners praying, hear and show us Your great generosity: heal the sick, comfort the sorrowing, deliver the needy from troubles, those who travel and preserve those who sail unharmed, and grant all of us a pious end to our earthly life, to receive a good Christian death, to be partakers of the Holy Mysteries, and to inherit the kingdom of heaven: that in the light and joy of the saints we sing and magnify Thy mercy and our Lord Jesus Christ, born of Thee. . To him, together with his beginningless Father and the Most Holy Spirit, is due all glory, honor and worship, forever and ever. Amen.
Second prayer
The Jerusalem icon of the Mother of God is the progenitor of all currently known icons. All were written in her image and likeness Christian shrines, depicting the Mother of God in all Her beauty and grandeur.
The Jerusalem Icon is one of the most famous and revered images of the Mother of God, before which Christians from all over the world pray for help. This is the first of the shrines of the Mother of God, written during Her life by the Apostle Luke. This image is associated with many miracles and phenomena that occurred on earth. The Jerusalem icon is praised by the whole world, and every believer should know the history of the Mother of God.
History of the Jerusalem Icon
The Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God was painted by Saint Luke in ancient times. For two thousand years, she has accompanied Christianity, protecting and supporting all believers.
As you know, the Mother of God is the main helper and intercessor of the Orthodox people. The Jerusalem icon plays a very important role in the life of Christians, because it contains not only the image of the Mother of God, but is also the first shrine created during the life of the Most Pure Virgin.
Throughout the history of Christianity, the Jerusalem icon has performed many miracles. She protected and protected people, healed entire cities, and delivered them from various epidemics. At first, the holy image of the Mother of God was considered the patron saint of the city of Jerusalem and its people. But the strength and power of this icon is so great that it gives its protection and support to every true believer. The shrine began to be considered a miraculous icon after it healed the holy martyr Mary of Egypt from the devil’s snares and the strongest evil eye.
Where is the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary kept?
Since the 19th century, the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God was kept in the Moscow Kremlin, but in 1812 it disappeared. No one knows where the shrine is currently located.
Lists of this image can be found in several churches in our country:
- In Moscow, in the Altar of the Assumption Cathedral;
- In the Moscow region, in New Jerusalem;
- In Veshnyaki, in the church Life-Giving Trinity;
- In the Church of the Resurrection of the Word on Uspensky Vrazhek.
Description of the Jerusalem Icon
The image of the Mother of God on the Jerusalem icon is similar to many of Her icons. The Virgin Mary is depicted from the waist up, in her usual crimson robe, with her head covered. She holds the Savior in her arms.
The baby holds a folded list in his left hand, and the fingers of his right hand are folded in a two-fingered gesture, symbolizing a blessing. The face of Christ is turned to the Mother of God, which expresses high spiritual meaning: love for the Mother, respect and reverence.
How does the miraculous image of the Mother of God help?
For centuries, the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God has healed people from various diseases and misfortunes. Mainly the shrine helps to cure diseases associated with paralysis of various limbs, eyes, and even blindness. Her miraculous deeds also include deliverance from epidemics and plague of entire cities and countries.
Christians pray in front of the holy image of Our Lady of Jerusalem with requests for deliverance from sadness, sadness and sorrow. The icon is able to prevent attacks from enemies; it becomes the intercessor and patroness of people who truly believe in the Lord.
Days of celebration
Orthodox believers pay homage to the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God October 25 (12 old style). This day is an officially approved holiday in Russian Orthodox Church.
Prayer to the Mother of God before the icon
“Oh, Most Pure Virgin, Queen of Heaven, hear our prayers and come to our aid. Do not leave us without the attention of the saint. Heal our souls from insidious thoughts, from anger and despondency. Give us strength, give us happiness and peace on this sinful earth. You alone are our Intercessor, only you are our hope. Pray for us before the Lord, ask for the remission of our sins and His blessing. For you are in the Kingdom of God next to the Lord and His Son Jesus Christ. Become our support and support. May we praise Your name and we glorify You, Most Pure Mother of God! And for all Your miraculous deeds we thank You! In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Forever and ever. Amen".
Before the Jerusalem icon, people were deprived of the main miracle - the invisible and omnipresent help and intercession of the Mother of God. After all, it doesn’t matter at all where you are if you have the face of the Most Pure Virgin with you, which, like the most powerful amulet, protects you, turning away misfortunes and troubles from your life. We wish you peace in your soul. Take care of yourselfand don't forget to press the buttons and
25.10.2017 05:14
Among the many miraculous icons, one can highlight the face of the Mother of God “Before Christmas and after Christmas the Virgin.” TO...
The Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God, according to legend, was painted by the holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke fifteen years after the Ascension of the Savior.
Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God: how did it appear?
The Jerusalem image of the Mother of God came to Russia in the year of the Baptism of Rus' as a gift from Constantinople to the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, who was baptized in the city of Korsun (present-day Chersonesus) and married there to Anna, the sister of the Constantinople emperors Basil and Constantine. The further history of the miraculous image is connected with the cities of Kyiv, Novgorod, Moscow and Paris, where, according to some information, the shrine was taken by the French, who captured Moscow in 1812 and plundered, desecrated the cathedrals and churches of the Kremlin. (According to other information, it is kept in the Vatican, but there is no significant evidence for either the first or second version).
In the Holy Cross Jerusalem Stavropegic Convent, in the village of Lukino, Domodedovo district, Moscow region, and in the representative office of this monastery in the capital - the Patriarchal Compound of the Church of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God behind the Intercession Gate - October 25 is celebrated as a patronal feast. However, not all parishioners know in detail the history of the shrine of their temple. And both of these stories (one in a rural monastery, one in a Moscow church) are full of dramatic moments that clearly demonstrate how the Lord expresses His will through people: “God works in you both to will and to act according to His good pleasure” (Phil. 2). , 13).
In the summer of 2001, nun Ekaterina (Chainikova) was appointed abbess of the Holy Cross Jerusalem Stavropegic Convent. Delving into the affairs of the monastery, she learned that the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem was returned to the monastery by the rector and parishioners of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the village of Bolshoye Myachkovo back in 1993. They also said that it was miraculously preserved during the years of Soviet power. Mother Catherine found out who took part in this miracle a little later. And then she, the new abbess, saw the destroyed Jerusalem Temple. His main shrine - a miraculous image - stood in the corridor of the abbot's building... The first thing that Mother Catherine and her sisters began to do with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' was the restoration of the Jerusalem Temple. I so wanted the shrine to quickly take its place - where it was before!
Here is what Abbess Catherine herself said:
– Enormous funds were required for restoration. But His Holiness Patriarch Alexy managed to attract various restoration funds, and on October 25, 2001, the great consecration of the temple took place. I even joked about this topic when they gave me the welcoming speech. She said: “Your Holiness, here are governors or heads of administration reporting on their first 100 days in a new post. We can also report and report that the Temple of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God was restored in 95 days.” His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, kind and merciful, understood everything, and he accepted this joke of mine favorably. Of course, many had to work day and night. Sometimes a meeting with the architects was scheduled, for example, at two o’clock in the morning, so that slowly, in silence, we could discuss in detail what kind of iconostasis we would have time to complete in twenty days. And at night they drew sketches, remembering the words of His Holiness that he would not consecrate the temporary iconostasis - only the permanent one. It seemed that the task was very difficult, but everything was ready for the holiday in honor of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God.
Seeing such zealous efforts of the abbess and sisters to revive the monastery, a rather elderly parishioner, Zinaida Ilyinichna, turned to Mother Catherine. I came to the reception. The elderly woman was very worried that she would leave this life and with her would go the story of how they managed to save the miraculous icon when, during the Great Patriotic War, Patriotic War An order came to prepare the monastery buildings for a hospital - to clear them of what was in them, and the commissar’s command came: “Throw everything into the fire!” The locally revered icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem was located in the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, which was turned into a warehouse where supplies of firewood, coal, and peat were stored. And the icon, large in size, written on a cypress board, served as a pallet for storing firewood, coal and peat. They laid it face down, and placed material for the firebox on the back side. In her youth, Zinaida Ilyinichna worked in the sanatorium of the All-Russian Central Society of Trade Unions, into which the monastery was converted. She was a stoker. The senior stoker (as everyone called her, Baba Nastya) once said: “Zinka, look at the board you’re walking on!” She answered lightheartedly: “Board and board. What's so special about it? “This is not a board,” Baba Nastya said sternly. “This is an icon of the Mother of God.”
Zinaida Ilyinichna told her mother that now she comes to church every day to bow to the Queen of Heaven and ask Her forgiveness for the fact that in her youth, willingly or unwillingly, she trampled the face of the Mother of God with tarpaulin boots.
“Indeed, she lived a long life, 93 years,” continued Abbess Catherine, “and almost until her death she came to services every day.” Entering the temple, she bowed to the ground before the image of the Queen of Heaven.
...When, during the clearing of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God was lifted from the floor and, on the orders of the commissar, carried into the fire, the senior stoker, Baba Nastya, stood in the way of the military with outstretched arms: “Throw me there with her!” According to the laws of war, she could have been shot on the spot without trial, but she was not afraid to defend the shrine. And the courage of one woman, perhaps uneducated, perhaps not so physically strong, helped save the shrine. The commissioner said: “Do what you want, but don’t let me see the icon again.” Baba Nastya immediately called her daughter-in-law, granddaughter. And, according to Zinaida Ilyinichna’s story, the three of them dragged the icon to the village of Lukino, hid it in a haystack, and at night they began to wash off the dirt from it, bringing water in buckets from the village well. At the same time, the boy was strictly forbidden to tell any of his comrades or adult fellow villagers about the location of the icon. They could not immediately find a priest who was ready to accept the shrine into his church, but then they found it, about fifty kilometers from the village of Lukina, beyond the Moscow River. Secretly, at night, they took the icon on a cart to Verkhneye Myachkovo. And she stayed there for fifty years... Parishioner Zinaida Ilyinichna told all this to Mother Catherine.
And if we delve deeper into the early history of the locally revered image, we must say that it was blessed by St. Philaret (Drozdov), Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, for the sisters of the Floro-Lavra community. At that time, the community, which had the status of a women's almshouse, was located in the village of Stary Yam, where the sisters were very crowded. They turned to Bishop Philaret with a request to help them resolve the issue with the premises. The Metropolitan came, got acquainted with their life and said that this is not an almshouse, this is a monastery! Because even then the women who lived in this almshouse read the rules, performed the liturgical circle like a monastery, but did not have the right to take tonsure. In 1870, the community moved to the village of Lukino, but it received the status of a monastery and the blessing of the Holy Synod to rename it into the second-class Holy Cross Monastery of Jerusalem in 1887, after the death of the saint. Jerusalem - after the name of the icon, and Holy Cross - after the name of the first temple, which was on the estate of the landowner Golovina. Alexandra Petrovna Golovina buried her husband, buried her three children and, approaching eternity, wanted a daily service to commemorate the loved ones of the deceased in her church-chapel of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The result of conversations with Metropolitan Philaret was that the landowner transferred her estate to the sisters of the women's community. After Alexandra Petrovna signed all the documents, the sisters came to thank her for such a great gift and saw the last minutes of the benefactor’s life... Today miraculous icon Our Lady of Jerusalem is located in the northern aisle of the restored temple. This chapel, according to historians, was built specifically for the image of the Mother of God, with which Metropolitan Philaret blessed the sisters to create the monastery.
“I consider the greatest miracle to be the fact that the Mother of God was desecrated and humiliated for so many years - her holy image was trampled under foot, but after its salvation, the Merciful Intercessor continues to help people,” noted Abbess Catherine. – This God’s mercy defies any human comprehension. One can only thank the Savior for His mercy and blessings sent by Him to each of us.
And many parishioners of the monastery and parents who come with their children to the Russian rehabilitation center “Childhood”, which is located nearby, thank Jesus Christ, who, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother, helps strengthen strength, spiritual and physical. One day, Mother Superior received a letter from parents from another region, who wrote that they were with their child in this center and during the course of treatment they visited the monastery church, where they prayed before the miraculous image of the Mother of God of Jerusalem. And upon returning home, a miracle happened: their baby, who had not walked at all, began to quickly stand on his heels! Mother Catherine doesn’t know for sure whether this was the case or not, but she remembered how once during a church service a child from a rehabilitation center suddenly crawled on his knees towards the icon. Mom tried to hold her son, but mother came up to her and quietly said that there was no need to do this. Let mommy just make sure that the baby doesn’t turn over the candlestick or hit himself, and let him get to the shrine on his own. And he crawled up and tried to reach the image with his hands. It was a joy to read the letter from the overjoyed parents, inspired by hope. Like the other - from the grandmother of one girl. She informed the abbess that through prayers before the miraculous image of the Mother of God of Jerusalem in the monastery, her granddaughter Mashenka soon had a large red spot on her face of unknown origin disappear from her cheek, which doctors did not undertake to treat and then could not understand in any way, when it suddenly appeared and gone!
And one friend of Mother Superior named Lyudmila told her what she felt immediately after she knelt before the miraculous image in the Holy Cross Monastery. Lyudmila's legs hurt very badly. And she warned her husband that she would now kneel in front of the icon, pray, and let him help her get up. The woman, according to her story, did not ask for help, did not ask for healing, she just quietly said: “Mother of God, forgive me, because I am so sinful, so sinful!” And unnoticed by herself, she got up from her knees without the help of her husband. I also didn’t notice how I got into the car. Before, she would get into the car, then use her hands to put one foot there, then the other - such were her health problems. But this time she sat down calmly! Arriving home, she freely got out of the car, which had previously been difficult for her. Seeing her husband’s surprised look, Lyudmila realized: a miracle had happened. At first, she told this story to her confessor and asked if she could tell the mother abbess of the monastery about everything. Having received the blessing, she came to the monastery two weeks later and told. What happened next? For a year or a little more, Lyudmila walked, forgetting about the pain in her legs, then they reminded of themselves again.
– You see, the Lord shows us that there is a miracle, but let us also remember His words that we read in the Gospel of John: “Go and sin no more.” However, we are sinful people, we fall into some kind of temptation, temptation. It’s good if we come to our senses, repent and take the path of correction. And if sin conquers our nature, then it is not surprising that a person is overcome not only by spiritual weakness, but also by physical weakness, physical infirmities,” Mother Catherine continued.
She also spoke about amazing story, associated with the icon in the Church of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God behind the Intercession Gate of the Patriarchal Metochion - a representative office of the Holy Cross Stauropegial Convent in the village of Lukin. When prayers began to be served and akathists were read in this church, handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church, the acute question arose of where to get the image of the Mother of God of Jerusalem. Mother Catherine wrote a letter to her sister, who was asceticizing at the Gornensky convent in Jerusalem. But since the letter took a long time to get to the point, she went to the Holy Cross Convent in Jerusalem in the village of Lukino to see the abbess, nun Thomaida. She arrived, talked about the church being restored in the capital and asked for an icon and an akathist. Mother Famaida replied that she did not have a copy of the locally revered image, but only a small postcard with the image of the Mother of God of Jerusalem. Nun Thomaida gave this postcard and one akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos (the ways of the Lord are inscrutable!), as it turned out, to the future abbess of this rural monastery.
And then... Then another miracle happened, which Mother Catherine witnessed. In one of the houses close to the temple there lived a woman who had previously been the regent at the Taganka Church, and the priest blessed her to take the icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem for her cell use. It was a gift to a godly woman. She took the icon, prayed in front of it, not knowing that a church had opened nearby, because there were still five-pointed stars on the gate, and the local residents knew: there was a closed factory here, then - commercial organization. And then one day, praying in front of the icon, the woman, according to her story, heard as if an inner suggestion: “Take the icon to the temple!” She mentally thought: “My icon, I received a blessing for it, and why now should I carry it somewhere?” She heard the second suggestion and also ignored it. And the third time, hearing a menacing voice: “Take the icon to the temple!” - and obstinately thinking: “I won’t take her anywhere,” - I saw that the walls panel house They shook as if in an earthquake: all the icons in the cell shook. And the woman screamed in fear: “Lord, I’ll take it, I’ll take it.” I don’t know where to take it, but I’ll take it!” Having found out where the newly opened church was located, the woman agreed with her friends that they would all carry the icon together. They gathered, lit candles and chanted “Rejoice to the Virgin Mary...” and walked down the street. And in the temple the icon became myrrh.
“And they brought the icon on the eve of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord,” said Abbess Catherine, “and the temple was closed just for the Presentation - in 1935.” That is, the Mother of God showed us great mercy through the flow of myrrh from Her image. And such a fragrance emanated from the myrrh that words could not describe it. Myrrh flow was abundant. When did they start dismantling here? office rooms who remained in the temple after the bank, they put the icon away in some room so that they could study for a week construction work. Just imagine: already on the way to the door of that room you could feel a fragrance in which many wonderful aromas combined into one. What awe we felt at this! Everything inside was trembling.
The abbess of the Holy Cross Jerusalem Stavropegic Convent and the abbess of the Patriarchal Metochion of the Church of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God behind the Intercession Gate, Abbess Catherine, according to her, while she has the strength, tries to attend the patronal feast both at the metochion and at the monastery. Somewhere she is at the All-Night Vigil, somewhere she is at Divine Liturgy. She is especially pleased to see on this day many believers who came or came from different corners Moscow region on the patronal holiday. Once upon a time in pre-revolutionary Russia it was a big holiday marked on the calendar. Now it’s an ordinary, everyday day. (Fortunately, today it fell on Saturday). But for people who venerate the Jerusalem image of the Most Holy Theotokos, this is still a great holiday, and on this day they try to offer their fervent prayers before the image that came to Holy Rus' along with the adoption of Christianity. Many come with children...
The history of the Mother of God of Jerusalem is very ancient, and this image is one of the most important for believers. It shows the lifetime face of the Mother of God, and she, as you know, is the main helper of all people on earth. The icon was painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist in the 15th year after the Ascension of the Lord. In the Christian faith, this particular image is the first of the other 70 images of the Virgin Mary. Initially, the main purpose of the shrine was to protect the Jerusalem community. Believers and clergy consider the Church of Jerusalem to be miraculous, since it has already helped many people.
Meaning and prayer before the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God
There is a day when it is customary to celebrate the day of remembrance of this image of the Virgin Mary - October 25. The Jerusalem icon shows a lumbar image of the Mother of God with the Child on right hand. The Mother of God looks at Jesus, and the mafia falls from her head. There are several different types writing this image, but two options are the most popular. In the first, the apostles and martyrs are represented in the margins of the image, and in the second, the Mother of God is depicted with her forthcoming parents: Saints Joachim and Anna. By the way, if the mirror image of the Jerusalem icon is Georgian.
The Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God visited different countries, performing numerous miracles. In 1812, the shrine disappeared and it is still not known where the original is. According to some sources, it was captured by the French.
How does the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God help?
- Prayers are read in front of this image at moments when a person loses faith, worries about something or grieves.
- The image is considered healing; there are many cases in history when sincere and prolonged prayers helped to cope with various diseases. It helps best with eye diseases.
- Great value The Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God serves as a protective amulet, helping to save oneself from natural disasters and especially from fires and thieves. It is necessary to read prayers in front of the image to protect your home and family from attacks.
- It is worth praying in front of the icon before going on a long trip or business trip, in order to protect yourself from problems along the way.
- You can turn to the Mother of God to cope with family problems and improve your life. Women pray in front of the icon for help in conceiving a child.
Prayer to the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God
“O Most Holy and Most Blessed Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Most Pure Ever-Virgin Mother of God Mary, our Patroness and Intercessor! We fall down and worship You before the holy and miraculous Jerusalem icon and humbly pray to You, hear the voice of our prayers offered to You from the soul, seeing our sorrows and temptations, and like a truly loving Mother, trying to help us who are helpless, sad, falling into many sins and constantly angering the Lord and our Creator. Beseech Him, O Lady, that He may not destroy us with our iniquities, but for the sake of Your intercession He will show us Your humane mercy; ask us, O All-merciful One, mental and physical health, complete repentance of sins, advancement in Christian virtues, a grace-filled, peaceful and pious life, fruitfulness of the earth, goodness of the air, well-timed rains and blessings from above on all our good deeds and undertakings. Preserve and keep us in peace and prosperity, and hasten to all to bear the good and easy yoke of Christ in patience and humility, for the salvation of our souls, protecting us with Your Mother's protection from the temptations of the devil and all evil. Oh, all-singing Queen, all-merciful Mother of God! Extend Your God-bearing hand in supplication to Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and receive prayers to Him, together with You on Your icon, Your righteous parents, Joachim and Anna, with them beg Him to have mercy on us and deliver us from eternal destruction, and just as sometimes in great sorrow before this icon of Yours you gave consolation and good promises to the praying Nile, so even now we humble and sinners praying, hear and show us Your great generosity: heal the sick, comfort the sorrowing, deliver the needy from troubles, those who travel and preserve those who sail unharmed, and grant all of us a pious end to our earthly life, to receive a good Christian death, to be partakers of the Holy Mysteries, and to inherit the kingdom of heaven: that in the light and joy of the saints we sing and magnify Thy mercy and our Lord Jesus Christ, born of Thee. . To him, together with his beginningless Father and the Most Holy Spirit, is due all glory, honor and worship, forever and ever. Amen".
The Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God, according to legend, was painted in the 15th year after the Ascension of the Lord (48 AD), in Gethsemane, and was the first of 70 icons of the Mother of God created by St. Luke the Evangelist. The icon was intended for the Jerusalem community. According to some testimonies, it was this image, which was once in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem, that appeared as the miraculous icon of the Mother of God from which a voice came to the Venerable Mary of Egypt, turning her from her sinful path.
In 463, under the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Great (457-474), the Jerusalem icon was transferred to Constantinople and placed in the Church of the Mother of God, called “Pyges” (Greek: “Source”). Under Emperor Heraclius (575-641), when the Scythians attacked Constantinople, through popular prayer before the Jerusalem icon, a miracle of deliverance of the city occurred and it was not taken. In memory of this, the image was transferred to one of the main temples of Byzantium - the Blachernae Church, where it remained for almost three centuries, until the reign of Leo VI the Philosopher.
In 988, the Jerusalem icon was transferred to the Crimean city of Kherson, or Korsun, and given as a gift to the great Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, who conquered this city and was baptized in it. Prince Vladimir took the icon to Kyiv. But the miraculous image was not kept for long in the Principality of Kiev. When holy baptism and conversion to Christianity was accepted in Novgorod, Prince Vladimir gave this image to the Novgorodians.
For more than 400 years, the image of the Virgin Mary remained in the St. Sophia Cathedral of Veliky Novgorod. His veneration here determines the special love for the Jerusalem icon in many cities and villages of the Russian North.
In 1571, Tsar Ivan the Terrible moved the icon to the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. The icon was placed among other shrines that patronized the former appanage principalities. Surrounded by universal veneration, the icon remained in the Kremlin until 1812.
During Napoleon's invasion in 1812, the Jerusalem icon disappeared. According to some sources, the miraculous icon was captured by the French and taken to France. In Paris, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the icon is kept to this day. However, in 1977, the chief inspector of historical monuments of France, when asked about the fate of the Jerusalem image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, replied that such an icon was not listed in the cathedral’s inventory.
Now in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, behind the patriarchal place, there is an old copy of the Jerusalem icon, brought here from the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is on Senya. In the margins of this list are images of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, Luke, Simon, Philip, Matthew, Mark, James, Thomas and Bartholomew and the holy martyrs Procopius, George and Mercury.
Miraculous lists from icons
After 1812, two exact copies of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God were left to console Muscovites. The first, as noted above, was brought to the Kremlin from the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Senya, located in the residential chambers of the Moscow kings, and placed behind the patriarchal place in the altar of the Assumption Cathedral.
Second miraculous list The Jerusalem image of the Mother of God is in the Church of the Nativity in Izmailovo.
Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God. Izmailovsky list
It was written in the second half of the 17th century in the Kremlin Armory. In addition to healings during the plague of 1771, this icon helped stop the cholera epidemic that was approaching Moscow from the south. Residents of villages located on the territory of the modern Southern District asked to release the miraculous icon to them for public prayers, which was done on September 15, 1866. After prayers before the image of the Mother of God of Jerusalem in Kolomenskoye, Dyakovo, Saburov and other villages, not a single person did not die from cholera. The icon remained in the Intercession Cathedral until 1932, when the cathedral, closed five years earlier, was destroyed. Only a few icons were preserved. Among them was “Jerusalemskaya”, which was transferred to the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Izmailovo. After the restoration of the Intercession Cathedral, the icon was returned to its original place, where the blackened image was soon miraculously renewed. On the sides of the ark of the miraculous icon are the apostles and three martyrs.
Other locally revered lists from the Jerusalem icon
Ancient lists of the miraculous icon are also found:
- in the Church of the Resurrection of the Word at the Jerusalem Compound,
- in the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Veshnyaki (Moscow),
- in New Jerusalem, Bronnitsy (Moscow diocese) and other places.
On Athos, in the Russian Athos Panteleimon Monastery (“Rusike”), above the royal doors of the cathedral Church of the Intercession there is also a revered Jerusalem image of the Mother of God. This icon is an exact copy of the Krivoyezersk Jerusalem Icon. This image was painted in 1825 by Nikon, hieromonk of the Nilo-Sora desert.
Icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem of Gethsemane
The Gethsemane Icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem is located in close proximity to the Garden of Gethsemane, in the tomb of the Mother of God, where her most pure body remained for three days.
Tomb of the Mother of God
The Sepulcher of the Mother of God is a small domed chapel with a very low and narrow entrance.
Behind the tomb of the Mother of God, in a stone icon case, is the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem
Icon of Our Lady of Jerusalem of Gethsemane of Russian writing in a stone icon case in Orthodox church Dormition of the Virgin Mary in Gethsemane (Jerusalem)
Icon of Our Lady of Jerusalem of Gethsemane
The Icon of Our Lady of Jerusalem of Gethsemane, located in the Orthodox Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary in Gethsemane (Jerusalem), was painted relatively recently (100-120 years ago) by Russian
a nun-icon painter of one of the monasteries of Jerusalem, to whom the Most Holy Virgin appeared and commanded to paint Her image. The image was painted and the Mother of God is depicted on it as she appeared in the vision.
Iconography
The image of the Jerusalem icon is similar to the GEORGIAN icon of the Mother of God and belongs to the iconographic type “HODIGETRIA” (Guide).
Hodegetria (Greek: "Guide")- one of the most common types of images of the Mother of God with the baby Jesus. This type of Mother of God icons became unusually widespread throughout the Christian world, and especially in Byzantium and Russia. This type includes such widely revered icons in Rus' as Tikhvin, Smolensk, Kazan, Georgian, Iverskaya, Three-Handed, Sporuchnitsa of Sinners, etc.
This is a half-length image of the Mother of God with the Child on the right or left hand. The only difference is in the position of Christ: He is turned both in figure and face to the Mother of God and, raising his head to Her, holds a scroll on his knees on his left hand, and blesses with his right hand with two fingers. Due to this appeal of the Baby to the Mother, She herself, bowing her head and turning her face to Him, looks at Him, lightly pressing one hand to her chest.
Copy of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God
Various versions of the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God
There are several various options Jerusalem icon. The most common are two types: an icon, on the margins of which there are images of the holy apostles and martyrs, and an icon with the upcoming holy righteous Joachim and Anna - the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The Icon of Our Lady of Jerusalem is considered healing. There are many known cases of deliverance from various diseases, but most of all, prayer in front of the Jerusalem image helps with eye diseases, including blindness, and paralysis (in the old days it was called relaxation). During the years of cholera epidemics, common prayer before the Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God helped stop the onset of the disease. Prayer before it saves from fires, from the invasion of enemies into the borders of the Fatherland.
Troparion
the assurance of Your intercession / and the appearance of Your mercy / the icon of Jerusalem has appeared to us, Lady, / before her we pour out our souls in prayer / and with faith we cry out to You: / look, O Merciful One, on Your people, / quench all our sorrows and sorrows, / consolation Send down good things into our hearts / and ask for eternal salvation for our souls, O Most Pure One.
Kontakion, tone 5
Do not reject, O Merciful Mother, our tears and sighs, but having graciously accepted our petitions, strengthen the faith of the people praying before Your Jerusalem icon, fill their hearts with tenderness, and help them bear the cross of earthly life, as much as you can..
Greatness
We magnify You, Most Holy Virgin, God-chosen Youth, and honor Your holy image, through which you bring healing to all who come with faith.
