MIRACLES OF THE VIRGIN. APPEARANCE OF THE MOST Pure VIRGIN IN THE TITH CHURCH IN Kyiv IN 2006. In 2006, on Easter, decades after the destruction of the third Council of the Tithes in 1928, we celebrated our first holiday Divine Liturgy in the tabernacle at the Church of the Tithes. And a few days later, on Thursday of Bright Week, the Queen of Heaven appeared in our church immediately after the all-night vigil for the feast of the Life-Giving Source icon. When this happened, people were still in the temple. The Most Holy Theotokos entered in a long snow-white robe, with an omophorion covering her head. It was not an ethereal image, not a vision that seemed to someone. Everyone who was in the temple saw Her. She walked like a person in the flesh, the sound of Her steps could be heard. The Most Pure One approached the analogue, on which the only painted icon of the Mother of God of the Tithes that we had at that time was installed. The rest were lithographs. In a small tabernacle, this huge image immediately stood out. She walked up to the icon, stood near it, looked, even bowed her head a little towards it, as a person usually does who is carefully examining something.
During Bright Week, the Royal Doors are open all week. And the Mother of God, walking around the lectern with the icon, entered the altar through the Royal Doors. When She raised Her most pure hands to heaven and began to pray, people fell to the floor in a frenzy and their body and mind passed out (St. Paisius the Svyatogorets said that when the grace of God comes to a person, he is “crushed” or literally “paralyzed” and his bones made as soft as wax). What can we say about the immeasurable grace of the prayer of the Queen of Heaven Herself? Who could stand it, standing a few meters from the place where it ascended? As my spiritual children and parishioners who were at that moment in the temple - and people of different classes - told me later, of different ages, different social levels - they all experienced the same state of being lost (falling out) from reality. Although they looked at Her from different sides: some stood on the right, and others on the left. At this time, I was talking with the clergy and my friends outside after the service. We went out and stood literally ten meters from the temple on the path near the bench. Then I saw out of the corner of my eye that people were lying on the floor, clutching their heads, and I thought, God forbid, something happened. We are in a very special place and at the same time difficult. Entering the temple, we saw that people were rising from the floor, all in tears. The priests came in - and we, too, all stood and cried.
The presence of the Queen of Heaven was felt, Her great ineffable grace, which is difficult for a sinful person to withstand. Even if you tell someone that the Kingdom of Heaven was here yesterday, the person still will not cry. And if he feels it in his heart, then even if he remains silent or says two words, the tears themselves will flow in a stream. This is what happened to us. This greatest, fear-inspiring and awe-inspiring event, the likes of which the history of the Church has not known for a long time, showed firsthand how important and dear to our Lady the canonical Orthodox Divine service and the offering of bloodless sacrifice in the place chosen by Her throughout the centuries. After a while, an insight struck me that explained why everything happened right now. The appearance of the Mother of God also marked the most important date in the history of Russian Orthodoxy, 2006 marked exactly 1010 years of the Tithe (10-tin) Church. The temple was built by Byzantine architects in 996. The date of the symbol, the date of exclamation and call to our memory was marked by the visit of the Mother of God to Her first stone cathedral. At that same moment, it became clear with utmost clarity that She Herself had brought us back here and blessed us to bring praise and glory to Her Son and our God.
Ten years of the Tithes After this very blessed visit to the Most Pure One, the Tithes icon began to work miracles. All those present saw the Mother of God enter, but no one saw her leave. And we think that She remained with us. We feel and see this - the brethren and our parishioners - by the many mercies and miracles that are performed among us. In 2016, on Easter, there was an anniversary of this event - ten years since services were resumed at this holy place and ten years since the appearance of the Mother of God. It was providentially right here: Tithe - the first Cathedral of the Most Pure Mother of God in Rus' - the mother of all Russian churches. From here Christianity began to establish itself in our land. This place is holy for all Russian people. All our founders, high priests and fathers served and prayed here, starting from Grand Duke Vladimir, who built the Church of the Tithes in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Byzantine, first metropolitan Kievsky Mikhail; St. Peter Mogila, who considered it an honor to serve here, was the rector of the Tithe Church and initiated its revival after destruction during the Mongol-Tatar invasion. All Russian emperors visited here and tied their royal ribbons around the throne. Many volumes and doctoral dissertations have been written about the spiritual and historical significance of the Tithe Church. Where in the first centuries of Christianity were they ordained to the priesthood and tonsured into monasticism? Where were the bishops? Where else was there such a service under the Byzantine charter? Where did the Greeks serve? Everyone is here, we know it. It is only thanks to the prayers and intercession of the Queen of Heaven that a beautiful temple has now been erected here. She herself keeps us here and takes care of us.
Return to life The most striking of the miracles that happened soon was the return to life of one servant of God. This was immediately a month after the appearance of the Mother of God. A high-ranking official came to me to negotiate the burial of his mother. A grown man, a little older than me. His mother, whose name was Maria, was in the intensive care unit of an elite hospital and no longer showed any signs of life - breathing was forcibly supported by machines. The question was when to turn them off: the doctors unanimously said that it was impossible to return the woman and gave the relatives time to agree on a place in the cemetery. One of Maria’s two sons, my friend, we are still friends, was very grieved, cried, reproached himself that his mother died, and he did not have time to say goodbye. He so wanted to do and tell her something else, to repay his filial debt. We only had two candlesticks then. And without wanting it, I don’t know how it happened, I told him: “Take it, put two full candlesticks of candles and pray from the bottom of your heart in your own words - and mom will still live.” He stared at me: “How? She’s practically dead already.” And as if listening to my words from the outside, I repeated again: “He will live yet.” He, oddly enough, believed me and asked: “How much?” "How much do you want?" He blurted out: “Six months is enough for me to say goodbye.” “That means mom will live for another six months.” He went, put two full candlesticks of candles, we prayed and... mom came to life. All our clergy and parishioners know about this. Servant of God Mary, who was then over seventy, returned to life from the “point of no return.” The head doctor and the entire medical staff of the hospital were in shock; it was a colossal shock for everyone. The man actually died, they were preparing to pronounce death. And suddenly she stood up, frightening the nurse. Then I gave Maria unction and we talked. She herself is a teacher, she was the head teacher at a school in Bila Tserkva near Kiev. Then I came to visit them, the lively one prepared a three-course dinner and fed us. And six months later we buried her. She confessed, took communion, and got ready. Every Sunday her children come to the temple and bring a large bouquet of roses in memory of their mother. This is truly a stunning miracle, but there were many others. We wrote down a whole thick book of them. But so many of them happened that we later stopped recording them.
Come and see For example, an everyday miracle. One pious family, in which a child was born, wanted to exchange their apartment. Children were afraid to let their parents go far because they were sick and needed care. But it became difficult for them to live together. It’s difficult to change, it’s expensive to pay extra, and there are no opportunities. They came to the temple and explained their grief. We served a prayer service. “Go in peace,” I tell them, “The Mother of God will help.” They went home hopeful, and the next day they received a call: an ideal option had been found in their own house, and they exchanged one of their apartments for two. The parents stayed with the children in the same house. Isn't this a miracle? To a non-believer, this story may seem like a coincidence. But this is impossible. The odds are one in four million. Another story. little child he couldn’t hold his head, he had a terrible disease - his muscles atrophied. Young parents came with this child, we prayed at the miraculous icon. And immediately after the prayer service, the child’s head stopped shaking, his muscles became stronger - the baby was healed. We also healed a man who had suffered from purulent thrombophlebitis for fifteen years. This is a terrible thing: the man could not walk, his legs were rotting alive. He couldn’t get up, all the blood clots were clogged, his legs were black. When we were serving a prayer service, a fog as white as milk suddenly appeared from nowhere and floated through the temple. I looked at it again, but didn’t pay much attention to it. And then, after the prayer service, before our eyes, this seriously ill man got out of the stroller and walked away on his own feet. He is a newcomer, sometimes even now he comes to our services, the brethren see him. After the healing, he then came and thanked the Most Holy Theotokos and us. A man spent fifteen years of his life in a wheelchair. And in fifteen minutes all the wounds on his legs healed.
Another miracle. This incident happened five years ago. A family came to us: a husband, a high-ranking official in Kyiv, and his seriously ill wife. They are rich people, their children are already adults. The man knew that we had a miraculous icon and asked: “Father, pray, my wife has the fourth stage of cancer. We were in Germany, spent a lot of money there. The doctors did everything they could, and then they told us to go home. your wife will stay at home with her grandchildren for as long as she has left - two, three weeks or a month." My wife was on tranquilizers and strong painkillers. We served a prayer service in front of the Tithe Icon. I tell them: “Ask the Mother of God, She can do anything. Fast, come to confession and communion.” They did it all. Both confessed, repented, and received Holy Communion. The woman was healed completely - and immediately. They then went to Germany to see the same doctors. When the doctors saw her, they were in great shock. The healed woman underwent a complete examination - nothing was found! No signs of illness. The doctors began to ask: “What did you take? Sorry, we thought you were already buried.” They replied: “We prayed in church.” When they heard this, they smiled with understanding; apparently they were already familiar with such exceptions to the rules. They said: “Well, then you don’t have to come to us anymore.” And this couple also often comes with gratitude and prays, and we have been friends ever since. They help us when needed. All our brethren know this man, I cannot say his name, because it is known in the city.
Another miracle of healing that happened a month and a half ago. The small child suffered from urolithiasis and was awaiting a complex operation. It’s hard to imagine, but he was found to have stones that could not be broken through by an ultrasonic crusher. On the eve of the operation he was brought to us. We served a prayer service, prayed, asked the Mother of God for help, and anointed our tummy with myrrh. After this, the child was taken to the hospital. Before the operation, a control ultrasound is required. They did an examination: and there was nothing from the previous stones, clean kidneys, not even sand. This is only a small fraction of the miracles that happen to us through the prayers of the Mother of God. There are no gates in our monastery, since we are located in an archaeological zone, next to the foundation of the ancient Cathedral of the Most Pure One, built by Grand Duke Vladimir. But our goalkeeper is the Queen of Heaven Herself, and the novices are angels of God who help us a lot. Otherwise, it is impossible to stand here for 24 hours (in ancient pre-Christian times there was a pagan temple on this site. According to the words of the Apostle: “Where sin abounded, grace abounded there (Rom. 5:20)." Pagan Satanists tried to burn our monastery and poured gasoline on the miraculous icon The Queen of Heaven threw a Molotov cocktail at the holy image. The fire in the temple was so bad that everything around was charred, the plastic air conditioners melted and hung from the wall like a wet rag. And the icons, like the relics, remained unharmed, only the reliquary was slightly damaged at the edges. This is a great and terrible miracle. It once again shows that the Tithe Church is a symbolic place of absolute great grace. I do not convince anyone.
Date of publication or update 11/01/2017
“Deliverer from troubles” miraculous icon of the Mother of God
"They preach Your help
and Your Love, Mother"
I recently learned about this case from my close friends. This happened in 1985. As often happens, the wife was a believer, went to church, and prayed at home. And the husband was an unbeliever.
And when his wife picked up the Gospel to read the obligatory chapter before going to bed, he usually reproached her. One day he destroyed all Orthodox books. And a month later, a misfortune happened to him - he was paralyzed (the entire right side was affected). The doctors could not help, time passed, and there was no improvement. Finally, his wife persuaded him to call the priest into the house and receive communion. After this, the husband said: “Now I can’t atone for my sins...” The wife replied: “Let’s pray together!”
One Father's Story
One contemporary priest told us that, being young and having a good intention in his heart, he labored for some time in one of the famous Russian monasteries as a simple laborer. The monastery was just being restored after the Soviet hard times, the churches were destroyed or turned into warehouses, so there was a lot of physical work.
And so, one day he receives obedience from his father, the housekeeper, to carry bags of flour and cereal to the upper tiers of the food warehouse, which was then located in one of the monastery churches. At that time, the temple consisted of walls and a roof that had only been restored on the outside; inside, traces of the presence of a lubricant warehouse here in Soviet times were still visible: the walls were smoked, but in some places one could see miraculously preserved frescoes.
And so, he carries a heavy bag along narrow floorings made of boards and, from fatigue, on the next upper platform he loses his balance and begins to fall, and from the fall his gaze is directed at the fresco of the Mother of God with the Child on one of the walls. At that same second, he felt with amazement that someone’s gentle and affectionate hand took him and lovingly put him in his place... Since then, this young man has especially revered the Motherly intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, because the monastery in which this miracle happened was consecrated in her honor...
The same priest told about his young self that when one day he stumbled and fell into sin and spent more than one night in repentant tears in front of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, he received a comforting vision of Her in a sleepy vision...
He sees that he is standing at the entrance to the temple, where he can hear the service going on, but to entercannot: the door, no matter how much he tries to open it, remains locked. After many unsuccessful attempts, the young pilgrim suddenly realizes that he will not be able to attend the service due to his unworthiness. From these feelings his soul is crushed, humbled... his hand mechanically presses door handle and suddenly the door opens!
With a humble heart, he quietly enters the temple and sees the solemn service: the royal doors are open, a tall priest standing at the throne in a purple robe, whose face is not visible. So he turns around to bless the people and... oh, what does the young man see?! He sees that this is not a priest at all, but a tall Woman in a monastic robe! She turned around and Her face shone like a living sun, so it was impossible to look at this miracle from amazement and heartfelt joy... It was the Queen of Heaven Herself...
Meeting
A priest served in one of the Moscow churches. In his family, Maria, a pious woman who came to Moscow from the village in 1936, lived like a dear mother.
In the thirties, the priest and his mother were forced to leave Moscow for several years. First, mother returned. I had to go to work, but there was no one to leave the girl with.
Shortly before this, Maria arrived in Moscow and became a housekeeper. She wanted to join some pious family and serve there until the end of her days.
Maria did not succeed for a long time. One day she came to one of the Moscow churches, stood in front of miraculous icon Mother of God and began to tearfully beg to place her in a pious family. When leaving the church unknown woman stopped her. The sight of Her struck Mary...
The woman told her: “Go to church tomorrow, approach the priest when he lets the people kiss the cross. Ask him to arrange for you, I will take care of the rest myself.” The woman disappeared, and Maria realized that it was Herself in front of her Mother of God.
The next day, mother, the priest’s wife, also came to the same church. At the end of the service, she approached the priest, who was presenting the cross to the parishioners, and asked for help in finding a housekeeper so that she could look after her young daughter during her absence. Father said that he didn’t have one in mind, and she walked away to venerate the image of the Mother of God.
After her, Maria approaches the priest and asks to place her in a pious family. Surprised by such a coincidence, the priest told her: “Here, go up to this woman standing by the icon, she is just looking for a housekeeper.”
Thus, the Mother of God Herself united Mary and the priest’s family forever for cohabitation.
"Stand up and lift up!"
My great-grandmother lived on her estate in the Yaroslavl province. She lay motionless on the bed for more than ten years - her legs were paralyzed. In the corner, at the head, hung Vladimir icon Mother of God, to whom she often turned in prayer.
One day she hears a knock, as if something had fallen, and hears a voice: “Get up and pick it up.” I looked around - there was no one. “I heard it,” she thought.
And then again he hears the words: “Get up and lift up.” Fear and surprise attacked her: “How will I get up when I’ve been lying motionless for so many years?” For the third time he hears a voice, firm, like an order: “I tell you, get up and raise yourself.”
Then she felt strength in herself, lowered her feet to the floor and walked to the corner from which she heard the voice. And what does she see? The icon (without a frame, just a board, but it was painted very well - the face looked like it was alive) lay on the floor, split into two parts.
She bent down in fear, picked up the icon and began to connect the two halves, and the icon seemed to have grown together. But since she connected the halves inaccurately, the Mother of God has one side of her face higher than the other.
Since then, my grandmother has recovered. The icon was transferred to the church, and miracles began to occur from it.
Quick to Hear
Outside the city lived two sisters I knew - very devout women and zealous women of prayer. There were many wonderful things in their lives. Once during the war, they exchanged something for potatoes, loaded them onto a sled - it was winter - and took them away. The journey was long. Exhausted and hungry, they were exhausted. They prayed: “Most Holy Mother of God, help us.”
They stand on the road, exhausted, and see that a pretty Woman comes up to them and says: “You are very tired, let me help you bring the potatoes.” And She undertook to take them along. And they felt so at ease with Her, and they were amazed, looking at Her, and were afraid to ask Her who She was. Only when they delivered the potatoes to the house did they lose sight of Her.
They realized then that it was the Quick to Hear - the Most Holy Theotokos. A miracle on the path.
One of my young friends told me this story about herself. She studied and worked in Moscow, and lived outside the city, somewhere near Nemchinovka. I returned home late, and I had to return along a deserted road and in one place I had to go through the forest. The worst thing was that they played pranks there - they stripped, robbed and even raped.
The girl greatly revered the Queen of Heaven and especially loved Her image “Unexpected Joy.” In all her troubles, she prayed in front of this icon.
One winter she arrived late. She walks alone, enters the forest and hurries along a narrow path trodden in deep snow. Suddenly she sees a man coming towards her. The night was moonlit, it was clear that he was laughing and stretching out his hands to grab her. An indescribable horror and disgust attacked her.
Queen of Heaven, Unexpected Joy, save me,” she whispered, and such calm immediately took possession of her that not a trace of fear remained.
And the man comes closer and looks in surprise, but not at the girl, but at the One who is behind her. And suddenly he turns straight into the snow and leaves very quickly.
The girl did not dare to look back, but she felt her Companion behind her, and approaching the end of the forest, she nevertheless looked back - there was no one, only the dark figure of a leaving man who wanted to attack her was very far away.
"Most Holy Mother of God, save me!"
A young girl, a saleswoman from a bookstore, told about this. She visited occasionally 
in church, I knew how to pray a little. One evening she went to bed. She was alone in the room. And then she hears: steps outside the door of her room, and some strange ones - spanking. She became wary. He hears the door creaking. And she felt shackled. She didn’t even have the strength to turn around to look, and the steps were getting closer to her bed. Then something heavy, black, sticky fell on her from behind and began to choke her. She began to choke and realized that she was about to die. And then she remembered the prayer and began to pray to the Mother of God: “Most Holy Theotokos, save me.” She whispered the prayer more and more often. And it was as if the thing that was strangling her snorted, with such hatred, malice, rose up and began to move away. She walked out the door and the steps died away...
The Most Holy Theotokos helps not only semi-legendary people from ancient legends, but also you and me - you just need to ask. The priests of our diocese share stories of helping the Mother of God in various life situations.
A Lesson in Moderation in Prayer
Archpriest Leonid Dotsenko, dean of the Dobropolsky district:
The Mother of God helps, but sometimes it turns out that we are not ready to accept Her help. We ask: “Mother of God, give this, that, the third, the tenth!” She gives, and when we receive, we understand that we don’t need it at all.
I’ll tell you about a lesson I recently received from the Most Holy Theotokos. The priests of our deanery and I asked about one important matter. The Mother of God heard us, we received help, but we continued to ask further: the more good, the better. In the end, they gave us more, but it became clear: it would be better if we stopped in time.
We need to ask that it be not the way we want, but the way the Lord and the Mother of God want it. They know better how to help us. It is also important not to overdo it. You see what has happened - everything, you need to stop, otherwise it will be too much. Remember the cartoon "Golden Antelope"? The magic antelope asked the king: “Are you sure that you need a lot of gold and you will never say “enough”?” You need to be able to tell yourself “enough is enough” in time. You asked for a little - stop. If not fulfilled - wait. Sometimes it turns out that we don’t need what we are asking for at all. The desired may come true in such a way that a person will not be happy.
Cover during the war
Archpriest Nikolai Markovsky, rector of the Intercession Church in the village. Zaitsevo:
For us, residents of the village of Zaitsevo, parishioners of the Intercession Church, the most important miracle is that today our temple stands intact and unharmed. Regular services are held there, a Sunday school operates, and the parish lives a full Christian life. Seeing houses literally a few meters from our church that were burned by shells, I understand that this is a real miracle and a sign of the patronage of the Mother of God.
Mari, who might not have been born
Archpriest Anatoly Kostenko, rector of the Assumption Church in the village. Svyatohorivka:
Recently people from Kurakhovo came to us. A woman comes up to me and asks: “Father, do you remember us?” - “Well, someone, but I remember you!” - I answer. Six years ago this woman came to our temple - she came with her husband to the springs. The fact is that we have two springs in our village: one is consecrated in honor of the “Life-Giving Spring” icon of the Mother of God, the second is the healer Panteleimon. These people did not have children because their wife had a cyst. I said: “Pray to the Mother of God, the healer Panteleimon, St. Nicholas the Pleasant, take communion, receive unction. You have to work hard, and not just ask.”
Time passes, they were not seen for a long time. Once during the service I saw her come in and hold a child in her arms raised high - she showed it to me. The service is going on, and she says: “Father, here is your Mariyka!” Then the choir bursts out!.. I laughed and said: “The whole church was praying for you, so don’t turn on me!”
Then this woman told how it all happened. They did everything as required. After a while she came to the doctor, and he said: “There is no cyst, you don’t need anything, no operations. How were you treated?” She replies: “I was swimming.” The doctor says: “We are all swimming! Come on, tell me more specifically!” “I swam in the spring,” he says. Her cyst went away and she gave birth without any operations. This is a great blessing to the Mother of God. Recently this woman came to us and said that her daughter is already going to school this year.
The second miracle is associated with the construction of the temple. We began to build a church in honor of the Three-Handed Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Verovka, five kilometers from our village. They found ten people who will move other people. Of course, they began to pray to the Most Holy Theotokos. As a result, we did so much in a month and a half that it’s hard to believe. This can only be called a miracle. There was no money at all. We laid the foundation ourselves in three cleanup days, it was cheap. They promised wood - 30 cubic meters. We thought we would have to wait a long time. They call: we will deliver it in a week, wait. Let me run around and look for money. People were found, money was found. Two people arrived from Transcarpathia. We unloaded the timber on August 13, and we put them on the return train on the 25th. During this time they built the walls, the altar and covered the roof. In fact, in ten days the log temple grew. I asked: “Guys, do you need help?” - “The Mother of God will help!” - they answered. They worked from morning to evening, and the temple rose. Of course, we still need to do the dome, there is a lot of work, but the help of the Mother of God is simply greatest. It’s simply impossible to do so much from scratch in a month and a half.
The third story is about our parishioner. We have a pensioner. One day he came and donated five thousand hryvnia to the temple, and then the same amount. For an ordinary person this is a large amount. After a while he comes up to me and says: “Father, they’ll probably kick me out of work!” They started making personnel changes there, he is a pensioner, it turned out that he would be fired. I say: “Here is the Mother of God, here is Nikolai the Pleasant. Go and pray! He prayed. Time passes, and what happened? He was not fired, but transferred to another position: he became deputy director, he works, and it has also become more convenient to get there. After that, he bought a large candlestick and brought it to the temple as a gift to the Mother of God and St. Nicholas the Pleasant.
We have a lot of such cases, we don’t even record them. Those who don’t have children or whose children stutter come to our sources. Healings happened more than once. The Mother of God takes pity on us, sinners and unsettled ones. She cries and asks for us before the Lord. Let us pray to Her and thank her for her help!
The story of the temple and two icons
An ancient building donated to the community
Archpriest Georgy Klapchuk, rector of the Makarievsky Church of Toretsk:
My priestly service is closely connected with the Mother of God, because the first church in which I served was consecrated in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. It is located in the village of Druzhba, not far from Toretsk. The temple is atypical - an adapted building of the former state farm canteen. What is surprising is that it was built in the shape of a cross; moreover, when the building was adapted to serve as a temple, the altar ended up in right place, on the east side. We could not find any information about why this happened. I believe that this is the providence of the Mother of God.
There was nothing in this building, it was dilapidated, part of the roof was leaking. We covered it with slate and arranged it. For many years I had a dream: to have a dome in the church that leads a person’s gaze upward, to have windows in it - I saw one in the St. Nicholas Church of the Svyatogorsk Lavra. I dreamed of dreaming, but I understood that in reality this was impossible: the village was very small, there were few people, there were no teachers.
Ten years passed, and finally a person appeared who agreed to help us restore the temple. This was Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov, who at one time was the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and at that time the chairman of the Federation Council. He was a native of the village, we turned to him for help, and he did not refuse.
In the end we drilled good well, a spring appeared on the territory of the temple, consecrated in honor of the Mother of God, wonderful bells were purchased, and a wooden bell tower was built, which Nikolai Ivanovich himself designed. And the temple is crowned with a dome - the kind I dreamed of. I believe that it was the Mother of God who showed Her mercy and performed such a miracle: a beautiful church now stands in the village.
The amazing help of the Mother of God to our church did not end there. One parishioner’s son worked at the Bogoroditse-Rozhdestvensky Stauropegic convent in Moscow. He asked Abbess Victorina (Perminova) to paint an icon of the Mother of God “Tikhvinskaya” for our church, and she gave her blessing for that. The icon appeared even before the reconstruction of the temple - large and very beautiful. I still have a certificate stating that the monastery is donating this image to our temple.
I can’t help but remember another interesting incident. My wife's father was also a priest. He gave her an ancient image of the Mother of God. It depicts the appearance of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas to St. George the Sexton.
The “Conversational” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos received its name because it depicts the Most Pure Mother and St. Nicholas of Myra, who are talking with the sexton George. This event occurred shortly after the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God - in 1383, when the Most Holy Theotokos ordered sexton George to say that a wooden cross should be erected over the temple in Her honor, consecrated in Tikhvin. - Approx. ed.
This icon is still kept in our family. Father Valery gave it to my wife even before we met. It is providential that I am George, and they ordained me in the temple in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. This is a miracle for our family.
On Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent, the Holy Church celebrates the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos. Otherwise, this holiday is called Saturday Akathist, compiled in gratitude for miraculous deliverance from troubles through the intercession of the Mother of God. These stories are about a small fraction of the modern miracles of Our Lady.
Manifestation of icons
Archpriest Georgy Breev , rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Krylatskoye:
When I was appointed rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Krylatskoye 20 years ago, they immediately brought me the Rudny Icon of the Mother of God. Here, in honor of this image, the throne was consecrated, since local peasants found it at a holy spring near the church. I remember the headman comes and says:
Father, I wanted to give you something in connection with the fact that you were assigned to restore this temple...
She knew that the Rudny Icon of the Mother of God was revered here. He holds out the icon, but it’s dark. Nothing was visible: neither colors, nor the image itself.
How did you understand that this was the Rudny Icon? - I ask her.
I was told about this when I bought it on antique market in Izmailovo,” explains.
Okay, since Rudnenskaya, I’ll take it with pleasure!
The fact is that in our church there remained only one revered Rudny icon, preserved by old parishioners. According to legend, when the temple was closed in 1936, the temple icon was split and burned by a resident of the village of Krylatskoye. A few years later during the Great Patriotic War during a German air raid on a factory across the Moscow River, one of the bombs “accidentally” fell and hit the village - precisely this woman’s house, killing her along with her daughter. No one else in the village was hurt except them.
And so I look at this dark Rudny icon brought to me and think: “It requires clearing.” However, on the first feast of this image celebrated in the restored church, I still placed this icon in the church on the lectern. Then, after the icon has been in the temple, I bring it to my cell and cannot understand: what is happening?! It’s as if she’s changing before her eyes, some colors in her come to life... Tamara Alekseevna Gavrilova, the treasurer of the temple, came in:
Look, Tamara Alekseevna, the icon was not like that!
Yes, father,” she confirms, shocked.
The icon was completely renewed before our eyes, sparkling with colors
Indeed, the icon was completely renewed before our eyes, sparkling with colors - and this despite the fact that the restorer’s brush did not even touch it! Do you see the colors on it? It was just a black board, on which only some outlines appeared, but now it shines so much!
And here is another image of “The Burning Bush”. The parishioners gave it to me, too, completely dark. I brought it here to the cell, but nothing is visible on it: neither the face nor the details can be made out. There were just some stripes visible on the dark board. It was only by these lines, converging at the corners, that I realized that this was the image of the “Burning Bush”. He hung it in his cell...
“Okay,” I think, “I’ll find good artists.” It was then that I just realized that I shouldn’t be the first person I met to give an icon for restoration; the day before I had one image ruined. So I decided to wait...
And this icon also manifested itself! What you can see on it now - all this never happened! Now even the blue azure is visible on it - this color was completely absent. There were no angels in sight! And look what a noble face the icon has!
Here you go, the wonders of our time.
Just the other day I received from the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “ Life-giving spring“In Tsaritsyno, where I also used to be rector, they reported that three icons shone there. Go there and take a look! These are the icons of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” and “Seeking the Lost”, as well as the image of the Great Martyr George the Victorious. And in my cell, in addition to the Mother of God, the icon of St. George the Victorious was renewed.
I also remember, when I was just appointed rector of Krylatskoye, one artist brought me the “Deliverer” icon of the Mother of God.
Take her to the altar! - asks me.
Why to the altar? - I’ll clarify.
And then she tells me her story. She became seriously ill and made a vow to the Mother of God that she would paint Her icon. And when I recovered, in the rush of fuss I forgot about what I had promised. Two years have passed, one morning she goes out for a walk with the dog and this is what she sees. A tall, slender nun comes towards her... She reined in the dog, but she herself thinks: “How majestic...”
You gave me your word and why don’t you keep it? - suddenly a passer-by turns to her.
“What word?.. To whom?” she thinks and suddenly remembers:
She promised to paint Her icon to the Mother of God!
But the Mother of God has already become invisible.
"Sign" from the sea
Sergey Korablev:
In 2016, after retiring from military service, I took a trip to a sanatorium in Sochi. I went out, I remember, to the coast. It was a clear sunny day. The sea is calm: not a single wave. Exactly at noon I saw a school of dolphins swimming to the shore, and began to count: 12. I sat in a sun lounger and watched them. When I suddenly realized that they were pushing some object to the coastal edge of the water... When the dolphins disappeared, suddenly the only wave that I noticed that day came and threw this bundle onto the sand. I paid attention to him, but soon I was distracted by business and left the beach for a while. I come back, and this sea offering is still lying in the same place... I took out the e-book and tried to get into reading, but my inner voice kept repeating:
Open the bag. Open the bag.
I obeyed. Came up. The bag was covered in mud. I removed these algae. He began to untie the twine. The contents turned out to be tied up with a man's sweater, fastened with stationery needles with plastic tips. I unfold the sweater, and there is an icon! Mother of God.
I called my mother and sent home a picture of the find via WhatsApp.
Mom said:
It was sent to you - take it.
Although someone immediately came up and offered to take the shrine to the temple. But I still listened to my mother. Schema-Archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin) later confirmed this decision to me when I brought him the icon to Peredelkino. Archpriest Valerian Krechetov was still with him at that time. I wanted to give the icon to them, but Father Eli said:
Let her stay with you for now.
This icon is miraculous. How many times has it happened that colleagues who had some serious problems in life came to my home, and I told them:
Believe, pray! Just ask the Mother of God in your own words!
And each time, absolutely miraculously, everything in the lives of these people was resolved.
My life has completely changed. Somehow everything started to work out correctly. Someone wrote something on the Internet about this incident, but there are a lot of lies there. For some reason they wrote that I was there with my wife, but I just got married a year ago! I feel the help and protection of the Most Holy Theotokos.
How the Mother of God intervened when the doctors refused
, monk of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra:
I remember how in the 1970s the monks of the Lavra were prevented from holding separate unctions. They say that one general unction on Great Wednesday is enough for believers. And soon a very young girl living next door to Lavra fell ill. She worked as an accountant at a children's clinic. They were building something in the courtyard of the institution, they dug holes, and through carelessness she fell and hurt herself. She had some kind of hard lump, she thought it would go away, but as it seemed to the doctors, they diagnosed cancer, and already with metastases... She was lying alone in the ward of the Botkin hospital, and she burst into tears:
For what, Lord?..
The Mother of God said: “Lydia, why are you grumbling? No one left you"
And I saw the Most Holy Theotokos right in the chamber:
Lydia, why are you complaining? Nobody left you.
The doctors abandoned her and sent her home as hopeless. Her mother was a believer, and she immediately turned to the Lavra monks with a request to give unction and communion.
The girl was brought to the Lavra, and we locked ourselves in the Mikheevsky Church, without turning on the lights, and offered unction to her by candlelight. Then she took communion three times and returned to work healthy.
How were you healed? - her colleagues ask.
The Lord healed, Communion,” she answered.
You just have to believe, pray, the Mother of God will hear, the Lord will not leave.
