What measure of grief and suffering can an earthly woman endure? Early orphanhood, life at the church, suspicions of a spouse about treason - this is the beginning of the life of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Virgin Mary endured a lot of grief and suffering ... The mob's mockery of the Son, his martyrdom and long years of life without Him testify to the suffering of the Mother. Her sacrificial love and endless patience helped to rise to the highest spiritual level.

The icons of the Most Holy Theotokos seem to be shining and humble, her experiences, deprivations, sufferings were replaced by Heavenly glory and the joy of the reunification of the Mother with the Son. The miraculous icons of the Mother of God are revered in many cities and countries. They ease grief and bring faith, heal sickness, and reward forgiveness. Prayers at the image of the Virgin help the soldiers on the battlefields, deliver them from enemies. At the same time, they give simple family joys and consolation in troubles.

Four types of icons of the Virgin

In the Orthodox calendar, many days are marked by the veneration of the miraculous icons of the Mother of God. Through her face, she does good deeds, changes the fate of people, saves the fallen. The icons of the Most Holy Theotokos differ from each other. There are 4 main types of such icons.

Hodegetria (translated from Greek - Guide). On the icon of this type, the Mother of God is holding the Infant Christ, pointing at him with her hand. Her eyes reflect the entire life of a Christian. The most famous images of this type are the Smolensk, Georgian and Kazan icons of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Eleusa (translated from Greek - Merciful). Here the Mother of God clung to the Baby, they hug each other. This image is a symbol of the love of the Mother and the Son, their unity. The most famous icons of Eleus are Vladimirskaya, Donskaya Mother of God.

Oranta (translated from Greek - Sign). In the iconography of this type, the Mother of God raised her hands to the sky in a prayer impulse. The baby has not yet been born, but is already present on the medallion, symbolizing the divine and human principles. The most famous icons are "The Inexhaustible Chalice", "Yaroslavl Oranta".

The acathistic appearance of the icon is a collective image. It is created in iconography under the impression of the Gospel texts. This is more like an illustration of the actions of the Mother of God, her participation in the fate of the Son. Bright icons of this type - "Unexpected Joy", "Burning Bush", "The whole creature rejoices about you".

Patronage of icons

The icons of the Mother of God in Russia were the most widespread. This explains such an abundance of images of the Mother of God. Her face is loved and revered by the people. She is considered a protector, comforter and intercessor. The image of the Mother of God carries love, forgiveness to all sinners and repentant.

They turn to the Holy Image in sorrow and illness, ask to be protected from enemies and ill-wishers. Prayers before the icons of the Most Holy Theotokos help women during pregnancy, give easy childbirth and health to children. Men come for protection and comfort. Each of the miraculous icons of the Mother of God is able to help after sincere prayer.

Before the image "Seeking the Lost" they pray for headaches, toothaches, for dying children, a blessed marriage, for aversion from alcohol addiction.

Before the icon of the Feodorovskaya Mother of God, they ask for relief from difficult childbirth. The Ostrabrahm Mother of God will protect marriage from evil forces, make it prosperous. The "Burning Bush" will save the house from fires. The icon "The Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos" protects from national troubles, protects from danger, helps mothers, bestows happiness on their children.

The image of the Vladimir Mother of God brought victory to the Russian troops over Tamerlane in 1395. They say that the miraculous icon frightened the enemy, and the hordes of the khan simply fled.

The image of the Donskoy Mother of God helped on the day of the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. And in 1558, Ivan the Terrible prayed for a long time before going to Kazan. The icon granted victory to the Russian troops and the capture of the city.

How to pray before the icon of the Virgin

There are many ready-made prayers that are read in front of the face of the Virgin. These are requests for help, glorification of the Mother during church holidays, Akathists. They are so simple that with constant reading they are easy to learn by heart.

There are prayers:

• with hunger;
• in sorrow and illness;
• when there is a danger of drowning;
• with injury and pain;
• with eye diseases and blindness;
• when protecting a house from fire;
• with hearing diseases and deafness;
• with cancer;
• about the illness of drunkenness;
• about the gift of patience;
• about getting rid of thoughts of suicide.

This is only a small part of the prayers with which the people turn to the image. The icons of the Most Holy Theotokos are considered miraculous. Facts are known when the image helped in curing serious illnesses, gave faith and patience.

The Mother of God is the protector and intercessor. If you approach the image with a pure heart, bright thoughts, then the reward will not be long in coming. Prayers can be read at home, in front of the home iconostasis. Or in church after the service. The formal utterance of the words of the text does not grant a miracle. Only sincere faith in the power of God will help fulfill the request.

The priests assure that if the text of the prayer is difficult to learn, then it can be read in written form. Or state the request in your own words. We should not forget that after the fulfillment of the wish, it is necessary to come to the icon, to thank.

Miraculous icons

The icon personifies the connection between God and man. This is an opportunity to partake of Grace and receive it. This is the belief in a happy deliverance from torment and sinfulness. This is the understanding that only suffering can purify the soul, bring peace to the heart, teach patience and forgiveness.

A miraculous icon is a concentration of Divine power. Not all images have survived to this day. And not all icons, being miraculous, were recognized by the church administration. There must be incontrovertible facts of healing, evidence of power for the image to be officially recognized. Only after that the icon receives the status of miraculous. Basically, such testimonies tell about healing during an epidemic, about saving the state from enemies, or curing various diseases.

Miraculous icons of the Most Holy Theotokos can be found in different cities and countries of the world. People come to them with requests, prayers, hopes. They are united by the power of an image that is capable of bringing a miracle into ordinary human life.

Icon "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

Testimonies of the Assumption (bodily relocation) of the Virgin can be found in different sources... However, the Holy Scriptures do not say anything about this. We only know that during VI Of the Ecumenical Council it was decided to open the tomb. In it they saw only burial clothes and a holy belt. The latter can still be found on the holy Mount Athos (Greece) in the monastery of Vatopedi.

Before her death, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Mother of God with the news that her life path would end in 3 days. After that, the Lord will take her to him. The funeral of the Mother of God took place in the Garden of Gethsemane. The sick, having touched her bed, were healed. And 3 days after the funeral, the apostles did not find her body in the cave, only burial clothes remained there.

On August 28, the celebration of the image of the "Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos" takes place. The icon is exhibited in churches in Moscow and Kiev.

The image helps to cope with the fear of death. You can ask for the strengthening of faith, humility. Deliverance from diseases also grants the "Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos". The icon, among other things, helps to comprehend their deeds, to gain a foothold in virtues, to walk their path in life with dignity.

"The Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos"

This name of the image is associated with the events of 1170. The troops laid siege to Veliky Novgorod. The townspeople prayed incessantly for salvation. The Archbishop of Novgorod, during a request for help, heard the command of the Mother of God that her icon be lifted to the city walls. The face was taken to the wall, turned to the enemy troops. One of the arrows hit the image. The miraculous icon turned away from the attackers, depriving them of light and Grace. She turned to the besieged, granting them the miracle of salvation. At the same moment, confusion occurred in the enemy's camp, fear seized them, and the enemies were defeated.

• Velikiy Novgorod;
• Moscow;
• St. Petersburg;
• Barnaul;
• Moore;
• Belgorod;
• Severodvinsk;
• Nizhny Tagil;
• Kursk.

The miraculous icon "The Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos" protects the soldiers and the population in military conflicts. Helps travelers, reconciles warring parties. Saves from diseases during epidemics, heals eye diseases, blindness.

The Annunciation is good news. Archangel Gabriel informs the Virgin Mary that Grace has visited her. She will give birth to the Son of God and will call him Jesus. The day of the celebration of this miraculous icon falls on April 7.

There is a legend according to which on the wall of one of the Kremlin towers during the reign of Ivan the Terrible was the appearance of the icon "Annunciation". It was in this tower that the unjustly accused voivode was imprisoned. He prayed and asked for a miracle. In confirmation of his innocence, there was the appearance of the face of the Mother of God.

The icon "The Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos" survived a fire in 1737. Then the Church of the Annunciation and the Tsar Bell burned down. But the icon remained untouched by the flames. It can be found in the temples of such cities:

• Moscow;
• St. Petersburg;
• Pereslavl-Zalessky;
• Nizhny Novgorod;
• Kazan.

They pray to the miraculous icon for deliverance from imprisonment and unjust attacks, for the healing of spiritual and physical diseases, for sorrows and temptations.

According to legend, this image was painted by the Apostle Luke. Allegedly, during the life of the Mother of God, with her blessing, Luke created from 3 to 70 faces of the Mother.

The Virgin Mary had four destinies - Iveria (Georgia), Athos, Kievan Rus, Diveyevo monastery. There she was supposed to carry the word of God and sermons. The Mother of God did not manage to visit everywhere during her lifetime. But even after her death, she participated in the spread of the Christian faith with signs and visions.

The Iberian icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Goalkeeper" is a symbol of the protection of all true believers. She appears as an intercessor, keeper, comforter in all troubles and misfortunes.

The Iveron Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is in the churches of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Orel. There is it in the churches of the Novgorod, Kursk, Pskov, Tambov regions. The days of celebration fall on February 25, October 26 and on the Tuesday of Bright Week.

There are many written and oral testimonies of healing after prayer. The icon helps to find strength in oneself for repentance and purification. Sinners come to her in search of a righteous path, with requests for protection and consolation. The icon relieves from bodily and mental illnesses. In front of her, you can pray for the preservation of the house from fires, floods and other disasters.

The icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Goalkeeper" remains a mystery to this day. In 1981, a Greek monk created an image copied from the original. The icon turned out to be myrrh-streaming. It was brought to Montreal (Canada) in 1982 by Joseph Muñoz Cortez. After akathists, prayers before the image, serious, incurable diseases (leukemia, paralysis) were healed. The icon returned people to spiritual life, delivered from unbelief. In 1997, the guardian of the image, Cortez, was assassinated. The icon has disappeared.

"Tenderness of the Most Holy Theotokos"

There are several famous miraculous icons "Tenderness". A lot of lists have been made from them, which do not lose their blessed power.

The Smolensk icon "The Tenderness of the Most Holy Theotokos" appeared in 1103. Polish invaders laid siege to the city. For 20 months, with the help of the miraculous image, Smolensk troops held Smolensk, did not surrender it to the enemies.

The Pskov-Pechora icon is famous for its miraculous healings. In the annals of Pskov and Veliky Novgorod, evidence dated 1524 has been preserved.

The Seraphim-Diveyevo icon "The Tenderness of the Most Holy Theotokos" was in the cell of the holy elder Seraphim of Sarov until his death. After that, several lists were made, which later also turned out to be miraculous. With oil from the lamp that burned in front of the icon, the elder of Sarov anointed the sick, and they were healed.

The Novgorod icon "Tenderness" in 1337 hovered in the air above the church doors. Tears dripped from her eyes. Later in the same year, a plague began in the city. The townspeople prayed to the holy image to intercede for them. Soon the disease receded.

Prayer before the icon helps in troubles and misfortunes. Relieves temptation, preserves marriage. Grants pregnancy and easy labor. This image is considered feminine and helps in many illnesses and sorrows. Eliminates eye diseases, blindness. Almost all miraculous images of the Virgin are able to heal bodily and mental illnesses after prayers and Akathists.

"Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

Prophecies about the birth of the Virgin, who will become the mother of the Messiah, sound already in the Old Testament. She came from an ancient family, which consisted of many high priests, patriarchs, and kings. Jokaim and Anna, the parents of the Mother of God, did not have children for a long time. They prayed earnestly for a child to be born in the family. After 50 years of marriage, they were given the happy news of the conception and birth of the Queen of Heaven.

The icon "Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos" tells about a joyful event. The birth and all subsequent life of Mary is imbued with faith, tranquility, patience. It is not for nothing that she is considered the intercessor, the comforter of all Christians and lost souls. The day of the celebration is September 21.

Often the icon "The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos" gave desperate parents a long-awaited child. Any prayer in front of the image can calm, heal the soul from resentment and injustice. Particularly effective are requests for lost souls, the return of faith, cleansing from sins, and the granting of spiritual and moral foundations. Prayers for children, family reunification, elimination of grievances and quarrels between spouses will also be heard.

The meaning of the icon

The icons of the Most Holy Theotokos personify the unity of God and man. As a simple woman, she gave birth to the Savior, as the Holy Virgin Mary stood next to him in Heaven. This is a combination of higher spirituality and understanding of human weaknesses. The image of the Mother of God is a collective image of a mother who knows how to forgive her children, intercede for them, and understand them. Therefore, there are so many icons, prayers, holidays, memorable dates dedicated to the Mother of God.

The priests teach that there is no greater suffering on earth than to stand by and see the death of your own child. The Most Holy Theotokos went to spiritual transformation through the torments of sacrifice. The icon, the meaning of which lies not in external brilliance, but in internal virtues, teaches the laity a lot ...

The Mother of God spent her whole life in humility and patience. Lost her parents early. She married a widower whose sons did not love her, did not believe in Divine Grace. Her meekness and suffering became an amazing combination of earthly spirituality and heavenly holiness.

Formal reading of prayers, indifferent attendance at church will not give the grace of the Mother of God. Only through repentance, a pure heart, and sincere love can the intercession of the Virgin be achieved.

The miraculous icons of the Most Holy Theotokos teach humanity, the ability to remain virtuous in any life situations... With humility, endure difficulties, trials and know that even in sin you can repent and regain Grace.

Icon of the Intercession of the Virgin from what helps

The icon of the Intercession of the Virgin from what helps, how to pray correctly to the icon of the Intercession, where is the face located? In what period is the veneration of the Immaculate?

The Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos is an outstanding ancient early Christian celebration, which embodies the amazing phenomenon of the Mother of God during the siege of Constantinople on the territory of the Blachernae Church. This celebration, in addition, signifies a harbinger of the grace of the Most High.

The very face of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos represents the passage to the Savior through the clouds in the skies. The path of the road to the firmament is presided over by the Most Holy Virgin, which holds a cover in the palms of small volumes.

A host of sinless people follow the Mother of God. This holy image personifies the patronage of Heaven for a common human view.

The importance of iconographic composition

The Mother of God on the icon is presented in full growth in clothes of turquoise and scarlet-brown colors.

The main tone personifies the Innocence and honor of the Mother of God, and the second - means that Jesus the Savior took flesh and blood from the Mother of God, in order to come to our planet and support the people in a difficult moment. In the palms of the Mother of God is a veil - an amice, with which she covers Mother Earth, protecting humanity. The role of the icon "Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos" is to preserve light and unity among nations.

From the most ancient treatises it has been established that the veneration of this sinless species began in 1164., due to the decree of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky.

In 910 the Russians and Bulgarians laid siege to Constantinople... The king of Byzantium at that time was Leo the Thinker. Attacks on Byzantium during this era were not uncommon. Constant raids were carried out by all the surrounding countries, as well as by the castes of idolaters and Muslims.

On the night of the siege of the town, a mass of the surrounding population went to seek salvation in the local cathedral.... Among the data, the Christian was blessed Andrew, to whom the phrases of this famous proof refer.

At 4 o'clock in the morning, the blessed one raised his head and saw the Most Pure Mother of God in the air in the company of the host of the sacred: the messenger of John the theologian and the blessed John the Baptist.
Mother got down on her knees and began to piteously ascend for the Christian who dwell in the faith of the Lord. The Blessed Virgin prayed for an extremely long time, and then approached the altar, threw off her own cloak (shell) and threw it over absolutely everyone who prayed in the cathedral during this period. Not believing his own eyes, Andrew asked Epiphanius: “Do you see the Queen of Azure, who is ascending for us”? Epiphanius gave the answer: "I see and am terrified."

Further, the Mother of God finished sending the prayer to God and disappeared with her own escorts and omophorion. And absolutely everyone who created this one has a feeling of serenity, peace of mind and grace. And the army that besieged Constantinople scattered like a whirlwind. Thus, Constantinople was delivered.

In the XX century veneration of the Pokrov will become part of the custom of the Orthodox cathedral.... They say that the face of the Intercession of the Virgin can help in the period of attacks by opponents and ill-wishers.

Certain priests note that the appearance of the Protection of the Mother of God saved Greece from conquest during the 2nd World War.

Where is the face located?

This miraculous image of the Virgin Mary seems to be one of the most respected displays of Orthodox iconography. In domestic churches there are a lot of all kinds of lists of this type.

In addition, there are real miraculous masterpieces:

In the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Nerl. This building was erected in the 12th century by the nobleman Andrei Bogolyubsky;




On the territory of the Intercession Church that was created by Ivan the Terrible. The building has a valiant lot, as it felt so many twists and turns of the Russian chronicle. At the present time, the building carries out 2 functions: the first is a functioning cathedral, and the second is a general historical gallery;




On the territory of the Intercession Women's Monastery.

In addition to the above, there are more than 100 Intercession Cathedrals in the capital.

In what period is the veneration of the Immaculate?

In what situations is it necessary to send prayers to this image of the Most Pure One?

The Most Pure Mother of God is the main protector of people, helping them to overcome various difficulties.

The main thing is to send a prayer to God before the icon honestly and from the very depths of the heart.

The Mother of God can help the nations that have despaired and lost their faith, making torment easier and helping to cleanse the soul and heart. Praying to this species can protect from atrocities, troubles and diseases.

The Orthodox say the prayer before the image:

If there is a situation when the Fatherland has a need for protection;

To overcome the internal enemy;

To get rid of the patient's illness;

To add wealth to the poor;

For the acquisition of love and spouses;

About home for the homeless;

With despondency and sadness;

With the immoral properties of human nature.

Not only people who are in the service can send a prayer to God, but also their relatives. Protects the style from both external opponents and internal difficulties, for example, prayer will undoubtedly help to consolidate belief in difficult moments, recognize the correct resolution of the issue and protect oneself from temptations and seductions.

A prayer before the iconographic composition is allowed to be said about marriage to single representatives of the weaker sex. The Most Pure Mother of God will undoubtedly help to find your own soul mate, with which she will live in peace and prosperity. Family people have every chance to strive for the blessed one, who strive to put their relationships in order, free themselves from strife and other difficulties. The prayer of the father and mother will undoubtedly help set the child's brains and put him on the right course.

And here is the prayer itself before the immaculate icon:

“O Mistress of the Most High, the Highest Forces, Heaven and the planet, the Queen, the city and state of our almighty Intercessor! Take this singing of praise and gratitude from us, Thy immoral slaves, and lift up our prayers to the Throne of the Lord Thy offspring.
We should not deserve to be merciful with Him, if not Your mercy having propitiated Him for us, the Lady, as if all essence from Him is probable to You. For this we resort to You, exactly as to our indisputable and quicker Intercessor: hear us praying to You, illumine us all with Your imperious Cover and ask the Lord for Your offspring as our presbyter for distrust and worship for souls, for the governor of wisdom and strength, judgment for truth and impartiality. , teacher consciousness and not contradiction, husband passion and agreement, Child obedience, offended tolerance, offending fear of the Almighty, yearning responsiveness, triumphant self-control; absolutely to all of us, the spirit of reason and piety, the spirit of mercy and good-naturedness, the spirit of innocence and truth.
To her, Most Holy Lady, have mercy on the powerless Thy company; scattered composition, honest guidance, lost on the road, support old age, youthfulness, raise babies and look upon absolutely all of us with the charity of Your merciful intercession, raise us from the depths of immorality and enlighten our heart's eyes to the sight of salvation; have mercy on us here and there, in the state of earthly advent, and on Last Judgment Thy offspring: having reposed in religion and repentance from this life, the founders and our brethren into the Imperishable Existence with the Angel and with absolutely everyone blameless living create. Your mercy, God, is the Recognition of the heavenly and the Anticipation of the earthly, Your mercy according to Bose is our Faith and Patroness of absolutely everyone who flows to You with faith.
To You, therefore, we ascend to You, exactly as the Almighty Helper, to ourselves and a friend of a comrade, and give our whole belly, now and constantly, and forever and ever. Amen".

Short prayer

Remember us all in your prayer, the Most Pure Mother of God. We will not leave this world for all our sinful deeds, save us from all evil deeds and fierce adversity. We strive to you and the triumph of Your veil, we honor and exalt you.

Ascension

We exalt you, Most Pure Mother of God, and we honor your most honest veil, St. Andrew saw you when you sent a prayer to the Almighty for us.

May the Almighty be with you!

In Orthodoxy, there are many icons that help people overcome spiritual and material problems. One of these icons is the "Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos".

Obviously, this icon is dedicated to the feast of the Intercession of the Virgin, which is celebrated on October 14 from year to year. This is one of the greatest and 12 major holidays in Christianity, which reminds us of a miracle that happened over 1000 years ago in Constantinople, when the bishop and his disciple saw the image of the Mother of God praying with people and covering them with her omophorion.

How does the icon help?

The Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos is reliable protection from the evil eye, from misfortune and any misfortune. This icon protects all family members from illness and disease. All the most important prayers are read in front of her.

The icon helps in study, work and love, if your moods and goals are pure. If you are facing difficult task, put the icon in front of you on your desktop. You can take her with you to the exam.

The icon "Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos" is presented to newlyweds for a wedding or at a wedding by parents, thus celebrating their blessing.

Where to hang the icon

You can hang it anywhere - the main thing is that it is at the top, above you. This is its secret meaning, because the Mother of God, according to legend, appeared over people and held her omophorion over them.

• In the kitchen, the icon will protect all family members from accidents and will bless the food they eat.
• In the bedroom, the Mother of God will keep the husband and wife from moving away from each other, strengthen love.
• In the living room or in the corridor, the icon will protect you from the penetration of evil spirits into the house.

Wherever you put this icon, it will always and everywhere protect you from troubles and troubles.

All icons have their own special story. The Protection of the Theotokos was miraculous and was always revered by kings and priests. Read prayers before her for the coming sleep and in the morning, thanksgiving prayers and ask the Intercessor to help you solve your problems. Be happy and don't forget to press the buttons and

12.10.2016 01:22

The Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos is a feast dearly beloved by the people. Many customs are associated with it and ...

For many women, it is important to have a faithful spouse and a happy family. Rituals will help to find family happiness, ...

14.10.2016

... cover us from all evil

your honest omophorion

The history associated with the origin of the Intercession and, accordingly, its iconography is complex and confusing. For several centuries, historians and art critics have been struggling to solve this mystery. To begin with, the Byzantine saints do not know such a holiday. And on the Byzantine territory not a single icon (or mural) similar to our Russian "Pokrov" has survived, and most likely never existed. In our country, the Intercession is one of our favorite holidays dedicated to the glorification of the Mother of God, and quite a few icons of this holiday have survived.

Let's try to understand this story. Many books have been written on this topic, and a huge amount of material has been accumulated. I will try, however, to state as briefly as possible and only the most basic and important.

As you know, the holiday is based on the legend about the apparition of the Mother of God in Constantinople in 910 in the Blachernae Church. And first we will have to at least very briefly outline the history of this temple, since it played a huge role not only in the formation of the Feast of the Intercession in Russia, but also in many ways served as a model for stone construction, icon painting, and spiritual life in general - not only in Russia, but the entire Orthodox East, and its influence went far beyond the framework of the Empire. In addition, the higher clergy of the relatively recently baptized Rus maintained constant contacts with the Church of Constantinople and, specifically, with the Blachernae Church. Many pilgrims from the Russian lands (especially Novgorodians) visited the capital of the Empire and left their memories of it, including the Blachernae Church and the relics kept there.

Blacherna is a former northwestern suburb of Constantinople at the foot of the sixth hill, not far from the Golden Horn Bay, famous since pagan times for a sacred healing spring, which, after the appearance of the Mother of God in this place, is considered to be filled with Her tears. It is also believed that the Blachernae temple got its name from this very source.

In the fifth century (450-453), in honor of the apparition of the Mother of God, the Blachernae Church of the Mother of God was built next to the source - one of the main shrines of Constantinople. The temple was founded by the pious Empress Pulcheria, on whose initiative the miraculous icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria was brought there from Palestine and honorably installed. After a while (during the reign of Emperor Leo), the spring was covered with a round rotunda, where a baptismal chamber was built, which was also used as a bathhouse, including by emperors. Water was supplied from the marble bas-relief of Our Lady of Oranta - in two streams it beat from Her open palms.

Ancient copies from the relief icon of Oranta-Vlahernitisa:

1 - from the Constantinople monastery of St. George, Istanbul Archaeological Museum, 11th century

2 - from the Museum of Messina, but of Constantinople work, much better preserved.

3 - Madonna delle crochete (with crosses) or Greek Madonna. marble icon 2nd floor 11th century Santa Maria in Porto, Ravenna, Italy. Most likely, the icon in the Blachernae Baths looked exactly like this, except that the crown was put on later, already in Italy.

Such an icon of the Mother of God Oranta in growth, with outstretched hands in prayer, received the name Theoskepastos - "God-protecting" or "God-protecting", which in Russia was simply translated - "Unbreakable wall".

1 - Kiev Oranta or Unbreakable Wall, 11th century Let's pay attention to the crosses on the robe of the Mother of God, as well as to the purple-gold robe descending in folds.

2 - Modern Greek Blachernae icon.

The bath was connected by a passage and with a large temple-basilica (Megas Naos), as well as with the imperial country palace. On the other hand, with the participation of Emperor Leo and his wife Empress Verina, a second rotunda was added to the basilica, also connected to the Great Temple. It was needed to accommodate the greatest shrine of the Christian world - the clothes of the Most Holy Theotokos, according to legend, brought from the Holy Land to Constantinople by the patrician brothers Galbius and Candide (approximately in the 470s). The church annually commemorates this event on the day of the Deposition of the Robe.

In addition, the Blachernae Church is closely connected with the feast of the Assumption, which began to be celebrated precisely here and precisely in connection with the transfer of the robe of the Mother of God here, which was perceived by the Byzantines as an image of Her burial in the Garden of Gethsemane. The temple complex itself outside the city wall, with its gardens and groves, has become an icon, an icon of the Garden of Gethsemane. And the rotunda itself, where the robe of the Mother of God was placed and which was named Holy Cancer (Agia Soros), became an icon-image of Her tomb.

By the way, in the 4-6 centuries throughout the Christian world on the place of the death of the holy martyrs or the acquisition of their relics, many temples-martyries were built, which had a round or octahedral shape; baptismal baptistries were built in the same form - as the place of death of the old man and his birth into eternal life. Basilica churches in the name of this holy martyr were often added to the martyria-rotunda, connected with them by a passage.

In Blachernae, it turned out the opposite: first, the basilica was built, then two rotundas joined it, and the general view turned out to be about the same. And just as altars were set on the graves of Christian martyrs in martyria churches, in the chapel of Agia Soros the chest with the robe of the Mother of God was placed on the throne, and the bloodless Sacrifice was brought right on it.

The Byzantines perceived the sacred rites performed in the temple symbolically and even poetically. This is how the image of the Mother of God arose, combining two ancient images - Nikopea (with the Infant whom the Mother of God holds in front of her on a shield-diskos) and Oranta: the praying Mother of God, raising her hands in prayer, no longer holds the Infant, but He Himself, depicted in a medallion by On her chest (such His position can be perceived both as dwelling in the womb of the Mother, and as already born), with both hands he blesses all those who pray in front of the icon.

Fresco in the conch of the apse of St. Sofia in Ohrid.

According to legend, during the renovation of the building of the Great Church, an icon of the Virgin of Nicopeia, covered with plaster, hidden from the iconoclasts, was found in the wall - perhaps about the same or depicted bustly as the icon of the 8th century. in the church of Santa Maria Antiqua. Few people believe in this story, but it is in vain - one more icon hidden from the iconoclasts just under the plaster - this time a wonderful mosaic of the 5-6 centuries. with the image of the Second Coming of Christ - was discovered during the repairs in the apse of the apse of a small monastery church in Thessaloniki only in the 20s of the 20th century. Fortunately for us, the mosaic survived. Blachernae Nikopeia died, apparently in a fire.

In Russia, such an icon received the name "Sign" (from the sign given to the prophet Isaiah) or "Incarnation", but initially, in the Blachernae, it was called "Skepi" or "Episcepsis", which means "Protection" or "Protector", that is, in fact, "Pokrov". In addition, this icon was poetically called "Great All-Holy" ("Panagia") and "Shirshaya of heaven" - according to the Akathist. It was said that the saint of cancer was placed on the Eucharistic throne in the same way that the Christ Child was carried on the breast of the Mother of God.

Variants of the Episcepsis icon:

1 - Mother of God "Shirshaya Heaven" in the apse of the church of St. Panteleimon in Nerezi, 12th century fresco.

2 - Theotokos the Great Panagia (Vlachernitissa) from the Assumption Cathedral in Yaroslavl, 1224

Some researchers (in particular, I. Shalina) believe that this was exactly the miraculous icon installed in the Blakherna chapel of Agia Soros in the immediate vicinity of the shrine with the robe of the Mother of God, i.e. directly at the altar - on the left side. But it is in this place that the icon of the Virgin Mary is usually located in Byzantine churches - on the altar pillar or (especially if it is not there) on the template. And it is with this icon that the so-called "Friday" or "ordinary" miracle that took place in this temple is associated.

But more on that later. Now it is important for us that the inhabitants of Constantinople began to perceive the Robe of the Virgin kept in Blachernae as a kind of palladium, protection from all enemies and misfortunes. And, I must say, she justified this belief more than once.

Twice - in 619 and 626, by the prayers of the inhabitants of Constantinople to the Mother of God and Her Son, the city was saved from the attack of the Avars. Moreover, in the latter case, the emperor and the army were not in the city - at that time Heraclius was waging a war with the Persians for Palestine. The Avars withdrew from the city without causing any harm to the Blachernae temple outside the walls, for, as they said, they were frightened by the appearance of their Wife in shining clothes. Tradition connects this event with the appearance of the Akathist of the Mother of God and its first performance in Blachernae after the miraculous salvation of the capital from the Avars.

Upon his return from the campaign against the Persians, the Emperor Heraclius, who had won the Life-giving Cross from them (probably, nevertheless, in order to avoid the ruin of the holy place from future attacks of enemies) surrounded the Blakherna complex with a small wall with a tower.

In 822, during the next siege of Constantinople by barbarians under Emperor Michael III, a grandiose procession was arranged along the walls of the city, in which the emperor and patriarch, accompanied by the people singing prayers, carried along the wall miraculous icons and the most holy relics, including Miraculous image Savior (Mandylion), the Honest tree of the Cross and the robe of the Mother of God.

So it was in 860, when the Byzantine capital was besieged by the squad of the Kiev princes Askold and Dir that arrived by sea. According to legend, Patriarch Photius took the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos from the Blachernae Church and with prayer lowered its edge into the waters of the Bosphorus. A sudden storm that arose scattered and sank many ships of the besiegers, and Askold and Dir, struck by a heavenly sign, soon after took holy baptism with the names of Nicholas and Elijah.

During the siege by the Saracens - in 910, the Mother of God appeared to those praying in the church of St. Andrew and his disciple Epiphanius, who saw how She stretched out Her robe over Constantinople - in honor of this event, the Orthodox holiday of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was established in Russia. It is this event that is depicted on the icon "The Cover" and is the subject of our current conversation.

But before we get to it, let's finish the history of Blakhernsky temple complex and its shrines.

In the 12th century, Byzantine emperors often came to rest at the Blachernae Palace. To protect this part of the city, now impressive fortifications and walls are being erected here (the remains of the palace still rest against the powerful city walls with towers).

The fortifications built during the reign of Manuel Comnenus stand out in particular. And here there are still powerful walls with many towers.

Alas, in 1204 the walls did not help - the city was captured by the so-called "crusaders" and ravaged.

During the Latin rule in Constantinople, the Blachernae temple fell into decay, miracles ceased. John III Duca bought it from the Latins a plot of land with a temple, but the temple no longer achieved its former splendor.

After recreating Byzantine Empire in 1261 the emperors, together with their court, finally settled in the Blachernae Palace, tk. The Great Imperial Palace fell into disrepair. Almost all the relics kept in Constantinople were stolen and taken to the West. From the robe of the Virgin, cut into pieces and distributed throughout Europe, in Blachernae, apparently, only a small part remained. The Chalkopratian temple complex was also ravaged, where in the chapel with the same name - Agia Soros - the belt of the Mother of God, once received as a gift by the Apostle Thomas, was kept. There was also kept the miraculous icon of the praying Mother of God, depicted in a three-quarter turn, which was called "Agiosoritissa" by the name of the chapel. Before the Latin conquest, there were weekly processions of the cross between the Chalcoprate and Blachernae temples. But now the remains of the shrines - a small part of the belt and the icon "Agiosoritissa" were transferred to Blachernae, where pilgrims still saw them.

Lists from the Chalkopratic icon of Agiosoritissa:

1 - Icon of the 12th century. the collection of the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai. As you can see, it is precisely such a version that took its place in the Deesis rank of the Russian high iconostasis.

2 - Fresco in the church of St. Andrew on Treska, Macedonia, 14th century Notice the blessing hand of Christ in the right upper corner- in the segment of the celestial spheres.

In 1434 a misfortune struck in Constantinople. The boys who hunted pigeons in the Blachernae area, inadvertently, caused a terrible fire that completely destroyed the Blachernae temple along with all the shrines. The Palaeologus had no money to restore.

Many Byzantines saw in this incident a formidable omen, foreshadowing the city of disaster, and prepared for the worst. Nineteen years later, Constantinople was besieged by the Turks, and the fall of the city was simultaneously the end of the Byzantine Empire.

In 1453, the Turks broke into Constantinople, penetrating the city through the wall in the Vlakherna quarter.

Almost the entire period of existence Ottoman Empire the holy place was desolate. Only in the middle of the 19th century, the local Greeks bought a plot of land on which the Blachernae Church once stood, and received permission from the Sultan to rebuild it in the same place. Modern building church was erected in 1867, and since then in Blachernae again ascends Orthodox prayer... The marble font of the holy spring is still full of holy water.

Today, the appearance of the Blachernae Church is very modest and does not in any way resemble the magnificent architecture of the Byzantine era. A church surrounded by a high fence with a small green garden is lost among Istanbul houses near the Old Galata Bridge on the southern bank of the Golden Horn. But the grace and power of God, which has overshadowed this mysterious place since ancient times, still attracts pilgrims from different countries, including from Russia.

So, the event of interest to us took place in the Blachernae temple in 910. This is, so to speak, the official version. However, the author of the Life of Andrew the Fool, Priest of the Sophia Cathedral Nikifor, refers the life of this saint to the 5th century - to the time of the "Christ-loving King Leo the Great" (the First) and St. Daniel the Stylite (+ 493). And then he claims that he was personally acquainted with the saint and even talked with them. On this basis, researchers attribute the life of Andrey the Fool to the 10th century - the time of the reign of Emperor Leo VI (886-912), and others (including the famous author of books about foolishness as a phenomenon in general S. Ivanov) even believe that this Life is a purely literary work and such a saint never existed, and the facts of his biography were borrowed from the lives of others for Christ's sake - Simeon of Emesa, Basil the New, etc. The mother of the Monk Andrew and his disciple Epiphanius happened in 910 in the Blachernae Church, where the people gathered for fervent prayer to the Intercessor about the attack on the Saracen City (note, however, that there is not a word about this in the Life). But it is still strange that, despite the wide circulation of the Life of Andrew the Fool (to this day, at least 100 manuscripts in Greek have been preserved and almost 200 - in full or in excerpts - translated into Slavic) and, accordingly, despite wide popularity this phenomenon of the Mother of God, the Church of Constantinople did not notice it in any way.

It is believed that St. Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky. This happened in 1164 on the occasion of the victory over the Volga Bulgars. It was then, at the behest of Prince Andrey, that the first temple was built in honor of this holiday - the famous Intercession on the Nerl, which miraculously survived to this day.

It is assumed that the first icon of this holiday was also written at the same time - as a temple image. However, it has not survived, and the earliest surviving icons that we have now belong only to the 14th century. However, there is information that in the same century a Russian pilgrim to Constantinople, clerk Alexander, saw there an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos praying for peace, painted in the way that Saint Andrew contemplated Her. But where then is at least one Byzantine icon of this holiday - a copy of this icon, or at least an icon of the appearance of the Mother of God of St. Andrey? In Russia, there are a great many such icons, and, with the general scheme, they are quite diverse. We will talk about this now.

Icon of St. Andrew Christ for the sake of the holy fool with life.

This event took place closer to the end of the saint's life and, accordingly, is located closer to the end of the text. Here it is.

“When the all-night vigil was performed in the holy tomb located in Blachernae, blessed Andrew also went there, doing what was in his custom [that is, all sorts of disgraceful things that caused condemnation and abuse of those who were witnesses of these inhabitants of the Reigning City - M.G. ]. There was also Epiphanius [a disciple and spiritual son of the monk, one of the few who saw the saint under the guise of foolishness - MG] and one of his servants with him. And since he usually stood, how much his zeal gave strength, sometimes until midnight, sometimes until the morning, already at four o'clock in the morning [about 10-11 pm - Friday Vigil after the "usual miracle" was served in Blachernae, indeed, all night - M .G.] Saw Blessed Andrew with his own eyes the Holy Mother of God, very tall, appeared from the side of the Royal Gate with a formidable retinue. Among her were the venerable Forerunner and the Son of Thunder [ie. St. Apostle John the Theologian - MG], holding the Mother of God by the arms on both sides, and many other saints, dressed in white, marched before her, while others followed her with hymns and spiritual chants. And so, when they approached the pulpit, the blessed one approached Epiphanius and said: "Do you see the Lady and Lady of the world?" He answered: "Yes, my spiritual father." And while they were watching, the Mother of God, kneeling down, prayed for a long time, watered her godlike and most pure face with tears. And after the prayer, she went to the altar, asking for the people standing around. And when she finished her prayer, with wonderful dignity she took off the maforium, which she wore on her immaculate head and which looked like lightning, and, taking it with her pure hands - and he was great and formidable - she spread it over everyone standing there. people. And for a long time, these wondrous men saw him prostrate over the people and radiating the glory of God like amber. And as long as the Holy Mother of God was there, he was also visible, and after she left, he was no longer visible, for she, of course, took him with her, and left grace to those who were there. Epiphanius saw this through the mediation of the God-bearing father: after all, he himself, being able to see all this, conveyed his vision to him as a mediator. "

After reading this passage, another test immediately pops up in my memory, namely, N. Motovilov's description of the vision of divine light, which he, in general, an ordinary person, although pious, was honored with the prayers of the great saint - the Monk Seraphim, who also spoke in in this case, as a mediator, a conductor of divine energies. Motovilov saw the coming from St. Seraphim's divine light through the eyes of Seraphim himself, just as when his disciple blaz. Andrew Epiphanius emanating from the Most Holy Theotokos. It turns out that such things do happen in spiritual life, although rarely. Questions in connection with this passage from the Life of Andrey the Fool arise on completely different grounds.

For example: where did the Mother of God come from with her formidable retinue? What is meant here by the term "Royal Doors" - what we now understand by it, ie the gates in the altar, which only the clergy enter, or the entrance doors to the temple, usually located on the west side? Why does this question arise? Because St. Andrew saw a moving procession of saints in white robes (because they were shrouded in divine radiance), and there was only one step from the Royal Doors in the altar to the pulpit. And here we must take into account the construction of the Blachernae temple: the basilica is a rather long temple in terms of plan. Ordinary western doors were called the Royal Doors in Blachernae, tk. they entered the service of the emperor with his wife and retinue. Thus, the procession of the saints led by the Mother of God invisibly entered the temple and passed right through the crowd of people - or through the air over their heads. However, there was probably a passage in the middle, because men stood on the right, and women on the left, as was customary before the schism and in Russia, and as our parishioners still pray in Old Believer churches.

The place of worship is directly indicated in the life - "the holy tomb", that is. the chapel of Agia Soros, where the high pulpit stood in the middle of the rotunda.

A typical Byzantine pulpit from the deceased monastery of Our Lady the Deaconess now stands in the courtyard of the Sophia Cathedral. Roughly the same could have been in Blachernae.

So, the Mother of God stands on the ambo and prays to Her Son for the people, watering Her most pure face with tears. Note - he is on his knees, but still towering over the people gathered in the temple ("very tall", as it is said in the Life) and not hanging "on the air." Perhaps the vision "on the air" (in the altar above the templon or on the salt in front of the templon?) Appears in other copies of the Life, as well as Epiphany's more lengthy answer - "I see and am horrified"?

Further, after finishing the prayer, the Mother of God gets up from her knees, goes to the altar (i.e. to the templon - this is already the 10th century, and not the 5th, when the shrine could be located in the middle of the temple; in the same place, on the templon, with the left side, obviously, could be fixed and the icon Episcepsis or the Sign in growth, and another icon - the throne - presumably on the eastern wall of the altar), removes the maforium from Himself. And again the question - what is meant by the word "maforium", which She wore on her head, as they say in the Life, - is it only the headdress, separate from the rest of the garment, or is it a large veil that completely envelops Her entire figure from her feet to the head, as is usually depicted on icons? In the latter case, She had to remain in a blue dress and a small cap-cap on her head, spreading Her maforium-plate on her outstretched arms. It seems, however, that She remains in Her usual attire, but takes off from Herself something else - some other Veil, which was not of ordinary fabric (blue or cherry color, as it is customary to depict), but “was great and formidable” and "Like lightning." That is, some kind of energy shell, so to speak, or divine glory that radiated to everyone present in the temple and, presumably, to the entire city. This glory, which St. Andrew was reminded of amber in appearance (and he, like a "Scythian", that is, a Slav, knows what amber looks like; however, in the Greek text there is the word "electrum", and it also denoted an alloy of gold and silver) - golden yellow warm light. However, the comparison “like lightning” makes one think that this stream also sparkled (that is, nevertheless, closer to metal), and was rapidly moving, or floating, or swaying like a river; and if this stream did not go beyond the boundaries of the temple, then, therefore, it moved in a circle, like a whirlpool. (However, this is all just guesswork - but based on the text).

It is interesting that the Mother of God left (how - it is not specified: either the same way back through the Royal doors of the temple, or did she simply melt in the air along with all the retinue of saints?) And took her sparkling dress with her, but the grace from Her visit remained and was felt by the worshipers in the church - I think, not only St. Andrew and Epiphany. And the thing is that what Andrew and Epiphanius saw with bodily eyes, all the other worshipers saw with the eyes of faith - both the Mother of God and the saints praying with them, because this was a common feeling of Orthodox believers at a divine service. And this is so, and it should be - everywhere, in all Orthodox churches and at all divine services. But do we feel the presence of the Mother of God and the saints among us in the church in the same way as the Byzantines, and even our Russian ancestors, for whom this feeling was common? So commonplace that the inhabitants of Constantinople did not consider St. Andrew at the all-night vigil in the Blachernae Church.

Moreover, it was not an ordinary service, but a Friday service, during which all those present witnessed a miracle, for the sake of which they went to this small round temple, which, of course, could not accommodate everyone, and many remained outside - in the Big Church. (Basilica Megas Naos) and just listened to the service coming from there. There was something to see.

Usually the miraculous icon was covered with a scarlet silk curtain. However, on Friday evening, on the eve of All-night Vigil, this rather heavy curtain, all hung with metal icons-offerings (as a rule, in gratitude for healing or simply as an offering to the Mother of God) miraculously rose, opening the icon in front of the worshipers, and then flew up under the dome of the rotunda and continued hang there during the entire service, i.e. almost until the morning, and at the end of the service, she smoothly returned to her place and again closed the icon. Those praying in the temple were sure that the curtain was lifted by divine power, and under the dome, i.e. in the symbolic sky, held by the angels.

It is interesting that the vision of the Mother of God and Her shining like amber, the Cover, we see, as described in the life, through the eyes of St. Andrew and Epiphany. The rest of the worshipers, presumably, saw only the "usual" Friday miracle - a piece of scarlet cloth under the dome of the temple, as if covering, protecting them all, and the whole great City, praying grace before their eyes - on the icon that suddenly opened - the Mother of God ...

The image of this particular miracle we see on the earliest (of the surviving) icon of the Intercession on the gates of the Suzdal Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, which researchers date to the late 12th-early 13th centuries.

Its iconography is extremely laconic - only the praying Virgin Mary, prostrate, like a dome or an inflated sail of Her Protection. And here's what is interesting: this cover itself surprisingly resembles the maforium on the head of the Virgin Mary on the icons of about the same time.

On these two wonderful icons, the plates on the head of the Mother of God are depicted in purple-gold, i.e. combines two colors - the red color of a miraculously lifted real veil and the golden glitter of the vision of St. Andrew. Even the same exact alternation of gold and purple-copper stripes depicting folds of fabric.

And plus four angels - exactly four to hold the square piece of fabric at the four ends. Above the dome-plate one can see Christ, as it were, hovering in a cloud and blessing Her.

The Mother of God herself is shown not as an ordinary Oranta, i.e. frontally, but in a three-quarter turn with arms outstretched to the Son. The Mother of God stood in the same way, praying to Her Crucified Son, under the Cross. And in the same way, stretching out Her purest hands to the Son, She prays for the whole world, as we see it on the icons of the Deesis order of the Russian high iconostases.

The artist depicted Her in the same pose on the 12th century icon. “Vision of the Virgin of St. Andrey Bogolyubsky ".

And such, as we have already said, was the iconography of the Chalkopratian miraculous icon of Agiosoritissa. However, both chapels with the same name "Agia Soros" were closely connected with each other. The Russian artist, who made a drawing for tracing gold on copper, may have preferred this version of the praying Mother of God, referring to the icon, which later received the name "Bogolyubskaya".

The iconography of the Intercession (there is a corresponding inscription) on the Suzdal Gates did not receive further development, and remained the only one of its kind and unique. However, in a surprising way, the icon of Agiosoritissa "pops up" on very late icons of the Intercession - 17-19 centuries. But more on that at the very end.

Another icon of the 13th century, quite little known in our country, caused a lot of controversy in its time.

At first glance, the icon is painted very clumsily, primitively, even clumsy - if it did not resemble wall paintings in Cappadocia ... And just as its primitiveness is deceiving. However, it can hardly be said that the icon comes from the Orthodox East - all researchers unanimously claim that this is a work of a local Volyn master.

The icon was discovered not so long ago, during the First World War in Galicia, but the exact place of its origin is not known. Where was it - in some church or was it kept at someone's home? Where did it come from? - and remained a mystery.

The icon has been thoroughly studied by many art critics. It turned out that under two layers of records - the 18th century and the 15-16th, there is such an interesting painting. The radiocarbon analysis of the plaque gave an astonishing result in general - the 11th-early 12th centuries! And the feast of the Intercession was established by Andrei Bogolyubsky only in about the 1160s. Was the icon painted before the establishment of the holiday? Or did they just take the old board? But there is indeed, without a doubt, the Cover on the icon - and the signature is appropriate, and St. Andrew is with Epiphanius, and the angels hold the red cloth around the edges. Moreover, the arch formed by this fabric is so steep that it resembles the shawls-sails of the ancient goddesses or the Night in the Paris Psalter, as well as the mysterious maidservant who supports the baby Mary at Her first steps in the Chora monastery. In the same row, you can put the personification of the Cosmos on the sarcophagus of Junius Bass under the feet of Christ in the center of the composition: he holds the firmament in the form of a piece of cloth in his hands. And it would be logical that the Mother of God Herself would hold Her Cover by the ends in her hands, as it is written in the Life, and here it is done by angels - that is, as it will be depicted later, but - what is most interesting - not in the south, and in the north of Russia, in Novgorod.

There is also an interesting detail here - the Infant in the womb of the Mother of God, i.e. it is precisely the icon of Episcepsis. But the fact is that the Mother of God is depicted on the icon not in the way that St. Andrew, but exactly as She looks on the Blachernae Icon, over which the veil was lifted before the Friday all-night service. That is, it is the "ordinary miracle" shown here in the Agia Soros chapel, but not through the eyes of St. Andrew, but the way parishioners and pilgrims perceived him.

It is difficult to say whether the artist himself witnessed a miracle in Constantinople, or whether he wrote his icon from hearsay. Rather, the second. The fact is that there is another strange detail on the icon: the Mother of God is depicted sitting on the throne, but with her hands raised in prayer. Such a contamination of the compositions of Oranta and the All-Tsaritsa looks rather strange, if not ridiculous. Why did it happen? Obviously, in the altar of the Agia Soros chapel (or in one of the apses of the Great Basilica?) There was a traditional icon (mosaic, most likely) of the Mother of God on the throne, surrounded by two Archangels. Either the artist painted an icon many years after the pilgrimage to Constantinople, or, indeed, from hearsay, and numerous icons of the Mother of God in the Blakherna Church merged into one image - the praying Tsaritsa.

And yet let us peer into this icon - in spite of all its wretchedness, how expressively it is nevertheless written! That is, the concept is generally very good. This triple heavenly arch looks especially impressive - multi-layered skies - and the Mother of God herself on a red background - from Her, as it were, emanates bright light, fiery. Moreover, here She is in a green dress, and the veil on her head is red, like the veil held by the angels (well, maybe a little darker), that is, separate from the rest of the robe. It turns out that the maforia of the Mother of God spread over the world is one of the layers of heaven.

And the scarlet cover over Her head, as it were, outlines the conch of the apse. It is interesting that such a technique - the depiction of the scene of the "Friday miracle" in the apse of the Great Church - will appear in two or three centuries in the north of the Russian lands, in Novgorod. But here, in the southwest, this iconography will not develop, and the icon will remain one of a kind.

It remains only to regret that from this time there are no more icons of the Intercession; maybe at that time the icons were already created, reflecting the same thoughts, but the performance, the quality is better than this, we simply do not know.

But we know for sure that they used this icon, prayed in front of it, and then, after 300 or 400 years, they wrote a new icon directly on this painting, and then another - as is often the case. So it disappeared from human eyes and was discovered only recently, appeared before the amazed eyes of researchers - and ours, causing more questions than answers.

Despite the fact that the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God was established in Russia in the 12th century, its iconography took shape only in the 14th century. Moreover, in two versions at once.

Let's start with the northern Novgorod one. How and where did it come from - did one of the numerous Novgorod pilgrims in Constantinople first paint the icon, or was the sample icon sent from Blakhern to some Novgorod ruler? - remains unknown. But the fact is that original version icons of the Intercession appeared in Novgorod.

The earliest icon (1399) is from the Zverin Monastery.

The scene here has been moved from the Agia Soros chapel to the central apse of the Great Temple. Moreover, the five domes of the church, painted in the "grisaille" technique, give a hint that the icon was copied from some source, where the Blakhernsky complex was depicted, which seemed strange to the artist, and he decided to "correct" it - he wrote five domes of the Novgorod Saint Sophia, but like a hint - only an outline, like some heavenly temple - New Jerusalem.

And then the figure of the Savior over the scarlet cover of the "Friday miracle" is conceived simultaneously both in heaven and in the dome of the temple, as it was customary to paint temples in Byzantium and in Russia.

Christ the Almighty, sits on the throne directly on the arch-fabric, moreover, this arch-fabric duplicates the arch-temple, as it were, forms the second heavenly tier.

The very same Mother of God Oranta - and this is how She was often depicted in the conchs of the apses of Byzantine temples - hovers over the altar gates, standing on a cloud ("on air").

And here the question arises: maybe this rather early icon still gives us a hint of the decoration of the Blachernae temple as well? We know that it was a basilica without a dome. In such cases, Christ Pantokrator could be depicted in the conch of the apse, and the praying (or throne, surrounded by angels and saints) Mother of God could be depicted below, on the wall of the apse.

Such a temple decoration has been preserved in the Sicilian basilicas in Montreal (where Our Lady of the Throne is) and Cefalu (Oranta).

Could it be that the Megas Naos Temple of Blachernae was chosen as the model for the mosaics of the basilica in Cefal?

The Novgorod icon very clearly shows the three naves of the building and, accordingly, three apses. The right one is the altar, where the holy fathers perform the proskomedia, the left one is the deacon, where the deacons-angels serve at the heavenly liturgy.

Below, at ground level, the apostles who came to the Blachernae temple with the Theotokos, led by John the Baptist, and on the right, St. Andrew and two holy warrior-martyrs - George and Demetrius, who were venerated both in Byzantium and in Russia.

Despite the fact that the action does not take place in the chapel of St. Cancer, the whole scene representing the "Friday miracle" is shown here through the eyes of St. Andrew: the "very tall" Mother of God prays to her Son, pouring soft golden light around Her, the veil from the icon ascended upward, forming a scarlet heavenly dome, and the saints who came with Her remain on earth, among the parishioners of the church.

Barely visible domes at the top mean the union in prayer of the earthly and heavenly Church.

Over time, as usual, the composition becomes more complicated, numerous details appear on the icons.

A remarkable icon of the late 14th-early 20th century. 15th century Novgorod School (Tretyakov Gallery).

The church domes here have already been painted in color, and therefore, as it were, they are “reified”, now directly transferring us to Novgorodskaya Sofia. In addition, the altar gates now exactly copy the design adopted in Russia - with a kokoshnik at the top.

One cannot pass by the remarkable Pskov icon of the 15th century. (GE). Here, the Mother of God is very tall, which is especially noted by the Life, hovers over the royal gates of the iconostasis and at the same time finds herself on the same level with the saints and the praying people - and this is almost exactly according to the text of the Life.

In the 15-16 centuries. the lower row of New Town icons becomes more numerous: saints are added to the already existing apostles and martyrs, but mostly in the background - we see only halos over the heads.

Northern outskirts of the Novgorod land, early. 16th century Timing

An interesting icon of the Novgorod version is given to us by the Russian North (16th century).

The Karelian icon of the 16th century shows us that the veil of the Virgin is not an ordinary piece of cloth, but rather a cloth from heaven. The icon itself is written roughly, but the stars on a red background are very clearly visible.

Let us remember, however, that the veil on the icon in the Blachernae Church was all hung with gold and silver icons. One can only wonder: did the Russian artist from the distant northern lands really know about this and turned the shiny icons ("fractional grinders") into stars? Or did he really perceive the Protection of the Mother of God, held by the angels, as the heavenly hemisphere saturated with Her grace?

It is interesting that on the icons of the Novgorod version, the red fabric is spread in the form of an arch, that is, a heavenly dome - both over the Mother of God, and over the whole world: the temple space here means not only the Blakherna Church, in which the miracle of the appearance of the Mother of God to the blessed Andrew took place, but the model of the universe, that is, the plates of the Mother of God, is spread not only in the temple, but also over the whole world, and blessed. Andrew saw how once Archdeacon Stephen, "the heavens are open"; the ends of the fabric are held by two angels (in fact, there should be four, but it is difficult to place a three-dimensional image of the heavenly tent on the plane of the icon).

And, finally, the 18th century icon from the Church of the Intercession of the Volnavolok churchyard on Pidmozero almost accurately reproduces the original Novgorod iconography, without adding anything to it. And, frankly, this northern iconography of the Feast of the Intercession seems to me to be optimal, far surpassing the iconography of central Russia in terms of the depth and originality of the embodiment of the main idea. The vitality of tradition is also surprising: in the distant northern province, even in the 18th century, Novgorod iconography was preserved, as if time stood still in the deep Middle Ages and nothing around had changed.

Let's talk now about the second version of the Pokrov iconography, which appeared and developed in the middle, Vladimir-Suzdal Russia.

The earliest example of it (1360s) is now in the Tretyakov Gallery and comes from the Intercession Suzdal Monastery.

Here, as we can see, the "Friday miracle" is also represented, and also through the eyes of St. Andrew. But in a completely different way.

In the center of the icon, the Mother of God, hanging "on the air" in slightly raised hands, holds over those gathered in the temple - and over the whole world - a scarlet cover-cloth, he is the curtain of Her icon, raised up by divine power and supported by the ends by angels, and he is also located right there, in the Holy Cancer Her robe - the Byzantines perceived all these fabrics in a complex, as something single and holy, saturated with blessed energies, and the difference in shades of color did not matter.

Directly behind her is the Blachernae temple complex - the domed chapel of Agia Soros, a typical 5th century martyrium. On one side, the Great Basilica Church of Megas Naos with gable roof, on the other - a certain tower, which will be discussed below.

In the lower tier, as in the Novgorod icons, blessed. Andrew, pointing Epiphany to the Mother of God soaring in a cloud, on the other hand, the apostles and saints headed by John the Baptist. But the most interesting thing is a new character in comparison with the Novgorodian version. This is St. Roman the Sweet Songwriter, a hymnographer who lived in the 6th century. His appearance on the icon of the Intercession, and, in the center, the researchers explain by the fact that a miracle with blah. Andrew and, accordingly, the Feast of the Intercession, took place on the day of remembrance of this saint. In addition, the miracle with Roman, who, as a result of this miracle, received the nickname "The Sweet Songwriter", took place in the same place, in the Blakherna Church, but three centuries earlier. And Roman himself was similar to Andrei - the same guy, as they say, "out of this world." And over such a sin is not a joke, and even evil. Roman was then a simple singer in the church of Our Lady of Kyriotissa. But good singers were often invited to sing in other churches. The novel, on the other hand, had a good voice, but was very shy and did not know how to improvise during the divine service, as was customary then in Constantinople, and was deprived of the gift of poetry. However, he prayed with tears to the Mother of God that She would help him become bolder. And then one day after the night prayer on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, Roman had a wonderful dream: the Lady herself came to him, asleep, and put a scroll in his mouth. And the next day Roman and his comrades had to sing in the Blakherna church. So the comrades decided to play a trick on the ingenuous Roman: when the time came for one of them to go out to the pulpit and perform an improvisation-kontakion (maybe a prepared “improvisation”, it doesn't matter; but from here, by the way, is our expression to do something- then "off the hook"), they pushed Roman to the salt and began, grinning in advance, gawking as he disgraced himself. But instead ... Roman suddenly began to sing. The very same kontakion "The Virgin is Now ..." In a few simple words, but very poetically, the Roman outlined the very essence of both the holiday and the entire dogma of the Incarnation. Needless to say, what a stunning success it was? If it happened in the theater, the Greeks would have greeted the performance of Roman with thunderous applause. But in the temple of God ... they could only quietly wipe away their tears. This is how Roman the Sweet Singer got to the icon of the Intercession - next to the holy fool Andrew, the same simple-minded and pure-hearted, but young and curly like an angel, in a scarlet deacon's now surplice and with a scroll on which a hymn glorifying the Mother of God is written.

And now, on each icon of the Intercession, we certainly see in the foreground a straight, like a candle, the figure of Roman the Sweet Songwriter. This iconography was accepted by the Russian Church as the main one and was further developed.

However, before we move on to other icons of the Intercession of Suzdal, which are all copies of this icon, which until recently researchers considered the original or one of the original, I will give a very interesting and little-known material. In any case, NV Pivovarova, who wrote the volume "The Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos" in a series in a series of books on iconography, for some reason did not even mention this study. It seems to me that it deserves the closest attention. This is a study by Andrey Chernov, who saw in this icon a list with ... the mysterious icon of Pirogoshcha.

We'll have to cite his article in excerpts, in the abstract form, in order to give an idea about it. Those who wish can read the full text themselves (http://chernov-trezin.narod.ru/PIROGOSCH1.htm). I give my comments in brackets and in italics.

APPEARANCE OF THE MOTHER OF THE PIE

the most mysterious icon of ancient Russia

Igor is driving along Borichev vzvoz

to the Holy Mother of God Pirogoscha.

A word about Igor's regiment

In "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" it is said that Igor Svyatoslavich, who returned from Polovtsian captivity, leaving Kiev, is on his way "to the Holy Mother of God Pirogoshcha." The Assumption Church with such a mysterious name stood on Podil until the mid-thirties of the last century.

Let's start with two quotes from the Ipatiev Chronicle. At the same time, the site of the church of Kameana, the Holy Mother of God, was laid down by recommending Pirogoshcha (1132; Column 294; summer 6640). Tom lѣte church of Pirogoshcha was completed (1136; Column 300; summer 6644).

In 1131, two icons of the Most Holy Theotokos were sent from Constantinople to the Kiev prince Mstislav. The first was installed in the Maiden Monastery of Vyshgorod, in honor of the second Mstislav laid a new church. It was the people who called her Pirogoschey. Back in the middle of the 19th century. Church historian Metropolitan Makarii (Bulgakov) confidently translated this word as Tower (in Greek πυργωτις - pyriotis).

Constantinople stood on seven hills, and the Blachernae Monastery located near it, from where the future Vladimir and Pirogoschaya icons were brought, apparently, was not accidentally seven-tower: it was supposed to symbolize the idea of ​​spiritual Constantinople, to be the earthly embodiment of its heavenly image.

(Not quite so. According to I. Shalina, the Blachernae complex was, rather, an icon of the Garden of Gethsemane - initially outside the city walls and with the tomb of the Mother of God, despite the fact that the Chalcoprate temple with the relic of the Mother of God belt was an icon of Jerusalem between the two temples twice religious processions with relics and miraculous icons took place a week, symbolizing the funeral of the Mother of God - hence the semantic connection with the Assumption - and consecrating the entire City).

The fact that Pyrgiotissa became Pirogoschey in Russian is a merit of the "folk etymology": the temple stood near the Dnieper pier (the Blakherna church is also located at the pier on the bank of the Golden Horn), and it was natural for the Russian ear to split the overseas word into two: "feast" and "guests". (Recall that "guests" and "graveyard" are close relatives.) Thanks to the wit of folk etymologization, which retained, albeit distorted, the name of Pyrgiotissa, we have a chance to understand what kind of image the Greek patriarch sent to Russia.

V.Z. Zavitnevich and I.I. Malyshevsky (1891), and after N.P. Kondakov (1915) and D.S. Likhachev (1978) argued that Pirogoschaya got its name or from the church itself in Blachernae ( basilica with a round domed tower), or because the Blakherna monastery was seven-tower. It was assumed that the icon of the Pirogoschei Mother of God should be depicted surrounded by monastery towers.

(As we remember, there were two round domed "towers", or rather, chapels attached to the Great Basilica - the Bath with a spring and the Holy Cancer (Agia Soros), where the robe of the Mother of God was kept. there were also imperial palaces. But if you follow the logic of the authors mentioned, then "Pyrgiotissa" should not be a plot icon, but rather Oranta against the background of the walls - "Unbreakable Wall." But such an icon in Kiev already existed, albeit without walls) ...

Otherwise, it is really impossible to explain why only one of the two icons was called "Tower", and why neither the Tsargrad (also Blakherna) icon, sent in 1071, nor the one that was brought from the same monastery in 1073, was called Pyrgiotissa. G.

Recreated at the end of the XX century. The feasting church in Podil is now consecrated in the name of the Dormition of the Theotokos. It is with this holiday that she is associated with antiquity. Does this mean that at the beginning of the XII century. Pirogoshchaya was built for the Assumption Icon? At first glance, it may seem that yes, since the icon of the Assumption also comes to Russia from the Blachernae Church of Constantinople. However, it is not.

(I. Shalina convincingly proves the connection between the Blakherna Church and the robe of the Mother of God kept there with the feast of the Assumption, so everything is logical here: the icon, which after a while began to be called "The Intercession of the Theotokos" and was associated with this feast, could well have been written for the Church of the Assumption , because Her robe, which was kept in the Holy Cancer and which the Virgin Mary holds in her hands on the icon, as the inhabitants of Constantinople believed, is the very clothes that the Apostles found in Her empty tomb).

[In 1071, the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria was brought to Russia, which received the name Constantinople. And two years later, in 1073, the very festive icon of the Assumption was sent from there for the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery that was under construction].

The icon of Tenderness and Pirogoshchaya, which were brought six decades later, can also be correlated according to the same scheme. One is the image of the Mother of God. The other is a certain plot associated with it (and hence those "towers" that are possible only on a "plot" icon).

Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1155 secretly took to Vladimir one of the two relics that arrived from Constantinople in 1131, and she received the name Our Lady of Vladimir.

Presumably, the prince would like to take away the second icon of Constantinople, but for some reason he failed to take Pirogoschaya.

Prince Andrew is the builder of three churches. And they are all in the name of the Mother of God: the Assumption Cathedral was erected in Vladimir in 1158-1160. for the Vladimir icon. And in his princely residence in Bogolyubov, Andrei built the churches of the Nativity and the Intercession of the Virgin. The latter dates back to 1165-1167. It is generally believed that this is the first Russian Church of the Intercession, although we do not know for certain whether it was called that way in the 12th century. It is only clear that the temple was consecrated in the name of the Mother of God.

Is it possible to establish which icon in the XII century. called Pirogoschey?

Pirogoschaya - Assumption Church. However, in the Ipatiev Chronicle and in the "Lay of Igor's Host" it is also called simply "the Church of the Mother of God."

(And here everything is logical. Initially, churches were consecrated only in the name of the saints, and the consecration of churches in honor of holidays both in the Empire and in Russia appeared somewhat later. In the same way, the Blachernae Church was originally dedicated to the Mother of God in general, regardless of Her holidays, and only later , precisely in connection with the special veneration of the Assumption in it, it began to be called the Assumption.Probably, the Church of the Tithes in Kiev was originally dedicated simply to the Mother of God, and the one that was built on Podol specifically for the icon "with a tower" - it seems that it also was supposed to become an icon-image of Blakhern in Kiev, as Andrei Bogolyubsky wished to create an icon of Blakhern in Bogolyubovo - and he built the Intercession on the Nerl also "on the water" and at a distance from the main church-palace complex).

... In memory of the fact that the Vladimir Icon came from the Blachernae Church of the Assumption, Andrei Bogolyubsky builds the Assumption Cathedral for it. At the same time, the icon itself belongs to the type of Tenderness. This means that the Church of the Assumption was also to be built for the icon of Pyrgiotissa. And about what kind of icon it was, we must judge by some other criteria.

A hint is contained in the ancient Russian work "Prologue" (XII century): "Behold, when you hear - thoughts; what a terrible and merciful vision, and more than our hope and intercession, it was without celebration<..>exaltation, may Thy Holy Protection, Abiding ... not remain without a holiday ... "

These words follow after the story of the vision of Andrey the Fool. I will quote in translation: “When I heard about this, I thought: how terrible and merciful this vision and the intercession of the Mother of God remained without a holiday? Hoping for Your merciful words, Lady, when You prophesied to Your Son in prayer: Heavenly King, accept every person who glorifies You, - hoping for these words of Yours, I wanted, so that Your holy Protection, Abiding, will not remain without a holiday, but if You if you wish to glorify the honest feast of Your Protection, then, All-Merciful, decorate it so that those who glorify You may rejoice, seeing the radiance of Your many different feasts ... "

Professor of Kharkiv University M.A. Ostroumov believed that this reasoning belongs to Andrei Bogolyubsky and that the feast the land of veneration of the Most Holy Theotokos ”. The last statement is apparently true. However, the traditional opinion that it was installed in the Kiev Metropolitanate at the beginning of the 12th century can be confirmed by the delivery of Pirogoscheya to Kiev and the construction of a church for it in Podil.

(Yes, most likely, it was so, and the second, "plot" icon was written especially for Kiev and at the request of the local metropolitan to send an icon for the people of Kiev on the theme of the vision of Blessed Andrew, and it was written exactly "Friday miracle", but with the eyes St. Andrew and with his participation - as in the Galician icon, which we have already spoken about).

The Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin (October 1, old style, 14 new) is not included in the twelve. In the Greek calendar, he is not mentioned, and therefore it is believed that the Greeks did not know the Intercession. But since the icon telling about the miracle that was observed by Andrew the Fool and his disciple Epiphanius was to be kept in the very place where this miracle happened, the Feast of the Intercession was obviously a local feast of the Blakherna Church.

(Most likely not. Why - I. Shalina writes very convincingly:

"It is easy to imagine that the miracle described by the author conveyed the usual spiritual experience of believers who were in" Аγια Σоρоς during the Friday service. The experience of the real proximity of the relic of the robe that once covered the head of the Mother of God, the metaphorical image of her veil (σκεπη) in the words of the service and hymns, " as well as the natural idea of ​​the Virgin Mary, invisibly dwelling in her beloved church in Constantinople, to whose person all the prayers of the all-night service in Blachernae were addressed, suggested a natural and constant desire to see her appearance with his own eyes, to be a spectator and an accomplice of theophany, and precisely in that form, how she opened up to blessed Andrew, for the traditionally read during the Friday evening service of the repentance-supplicatory canon of the Mother of God is characterized by a touching request to “cover up,” to protect believers from troubles and misfortunes. akin to how turning to mo litvakh to the saint - next to his relics and the tombstone icon - explains the usual hagiographic topos of the saints visiting their sanctuary. Therefore, the Byzantines should not have perceived the episode of the life of Andrew as something new and unusual, worthy of creating a new iconography, and even more so a new holiday. ”)

Records have survived (starting from the 12th century) of a certain rite that took place in the Blachernae church weekly during the all-night vigil, on the night from Friday to Saturday. The first news does not reveal its essence - apparently, the order was generally known; the Byzantine princess Anne Comnena calls it "an ordinary miracle in the Blachernae". Let us remind you that the Blakherna Mother of God is a marching imperial icon. And its main meaning is primarily in the protection of the army during a military campaign. And the Icon of the Intercession is a defender icon. And therefore, her mystical status is even higher.

Church tradition says that Andrew the Fool was not a Greek, but a slave - a baptized "Scythian" (in Russia it is even believed that he was a "Novgorodian"). The fact that it was the Slav Andrei who saw the appearance of the Mother of God in the Blachernae Church, when the Arabs laid siege to the city, had a special symbolic meaning for the Russian medieval consciousness, and the arrival of the Icon of the Intercession to Russia should have meant that the Mother of God extended her maforium over Kiev as well. So Kiev became, if not yet the successor and heir of Constantinople, then in a sense, its equal. Actually, it is from this event that the history of the spiritual gathering of the Russian lands can begin. And the pragmatic Greeks, when they passed on the copy of the Icon of the Intercession to the descendants of those very barbarians, from whom the Mother of God had defended Constantinople more than once, one must think, could not help but experience mystical excitement.

In Russia, the exclusivity of what happened demanded the establishment of the Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin. However, in order to establish a new holiday, the Kiev bishops had to receive an icon of the Intercession. It is believed that we do not know how and when she appeared within the Russian state. But there is, coinciding in time with the establishment of the holiday, the arrival of the Pirogoshcha icon in Russia. So, most likely, the Pirogoschaya icon is the Pokrovskaya icon.

This assumption will be supported by the fact that the heavenly maforium and the stone monastery tower have the main function - protection from external encroachment.

The Icon and the Feast of the Intercession completed the process of transferring Rus to the spiritual jurisdiction of the Mother of God, which began with the construction of the Church of the Tithes by Vladimir Svyatoslavich and, exactly half a century later, was continued in 1037 with the laying of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev.

A century later, in 1136, the Pirogoscha Church will be completed and consecrated. And this means that the arrival of two icons from Constantinople could have been planned as a special jubilee action (remember that Andrey the Fool died "around 936").

Like the Blachernae Monastery, the Pyrogoscha Church in Podil was outside the city walls. So the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl was built at some distance from Vladimir. So in the XIV century. The Intercession Monastery is being built on the outskirts of Suzdal. The meaning of this distance from the secular center is clear: the Blachernae, kept by the Mother of God, do not need the walls of Constantinople to patronize them. On the contrary, it is the spiritual power of the Most Pure and All-Good that protects both the monastery and Constantinople itself.

This explains the town protection function of not only the Assumption, but also the Pokrovsky temples noticed by D.S. Likhachev. Concerning the campaign of Askold and Dir, the researcher writes: “It was this event that contributed to the special veneration of the Russian Mother of God, her Assumption and vestments. The Mother of God became the patroness of the Russian army, and the Feast of the Intercession, dedicated to the vestments of the Mother of God, was a holiday that until the 19th century. was celebrated only in Russia. Neither in Bulgaria, nor in Serbia, nor in Moldova and Wallachia, this holiday was not known at all until the liberation of the Balkans from the Ottoman yoke.

Apparently, the Kiev icon of Pyrgiotissa was lost during the devastation of the city of Batu.

(Moreover, I think that there should have been many lists of Pirogoscha in Kiev, just as there were many icons of Hodegetria, Tenderness and other lists made from icons sent from Constantinople. "Vladimirskaya", and then only because it was stolen in time).

The list from her was supposed to be in the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl. However, there is no information about his fate either.

But we know the list from this list. It is dated by the 60s of the XIV century. and today it is kept, like the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, in the Tretyakov Gallery (No. 12755). And comes from the Suzdal Intercession Monastery. As MV Alpatov notes, referring to the publication of S. Ya. Yamshchikov, "this icon, deeply archaic in type and design, is the prototype of the later Central Russian icons of the Intercession."

Here is a description of this icon:

“The icon conventionally depicts the interior of the church. Above, the Mother of God hovers with a red veil in her hands. The edges of the veil are carried by angels. Below, on the pulpit, is Roman the Sladkopevets. To his left is a group of church fathers led by John the Baptist. On the right are the figures of Andrew the Fool and his disciple Epiphanius. The architecture of the background conveys the specific features of the construction of the Blakhernsky Monastery - a basilica and a round domed church (first noticed by A. N. Ovchinnikov). "

DS Likhachev and his predecessors guessed right: behind the left shoulder of the Mother of God there is a tower under a conical roof made of red tiles. At first glance, it may seem that this is one of the seven fortress towers of the Blachernae Monastery. But this is not so: the "tower" reaches almost to the ground, and its lower "belt" exactly horizontally corresponds to the cornice at the end of the basilica. This means that we have the appearance of the same bell tower. And, therefore, although there was a dome inside the Vlaherna bell tower, it was covered with a cone-shaped roof outside. It is, by the way, the same color as the gable roof of the basilica and the Protection of the Mother of God itself (the cherry vestments of the Mother of God are much darker).

(I do not agree. The Agia Soros chapel, where the robe of the Mother of God was kept, is already indicated by a round dome in the center. Here, the dome is umbrella or hipped, therefore, it is from another "tower" - this is either the second chapel-Bath, or, indeed, the tower of the defensive walls , covered with a tiled roof and equipped for the life of the local garrison. Besides, the presence of a wall tower on the icon with Oranta again brings us back to the semantics of the "Indestructible Wall".

However, in Blachernae there could be another, special tower of the bell tower type; Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in his description of the candle-lighting ceremony before the Friday service in the Blakherna Church, mentions a certain "turret" through which the emperor and his retinue pass. Perhaps it was some kind of separate extension to the narthex of the temple, which had the form of a high tower, which the artist depicted on the icon of the Intercession precisely as an attribute of the Blachernae temple complex, which distinguished it from all other temples and monasteries of Constantinople).

The icon from Suzdal is apparently the only surviving (at least in Russia) image of the Blakherna Church.

We could put an end here, but let's pay attention to the "technical" details that confirm the correctness of our attribution of the icon from Suzdal. The proportions of the board of the Vladimir icon (104 by 69, and according to other sources 103.6 by 68 cm) and the icon of the Intercession from Suzdal (68 by 44 cm) are the same within the rounding range - 3: 2. And, most likely, they are deeply symbolic: horizontal earthly the pair corresponds to the vertical of the heavenly Trinity. Note that the width of the first icon is almost equal to the length of the second.<…>... But in the latter, we are not dealing with the original, but with the second copy from the original, moreover, removed two centuries later. (The dimensions of the board of the original Pirogoscha in the ideal, in terms of proportion, case should have been 69 by 46 or 68 by 45.3 cm.)<…>Even separately icon sizes of 104, 69–68 and 44 cm are not common. (The 4: 3 ratio is much more common). And there is not a single case that the proportion of 3: 2 and the size of either the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, or the Icon of the Intercession from Suzdal coincided simultaneously with the proportion and at least one of the dimensions of any icon from the anthology of M.V. Alpatov.

The double coincidence (of the proportion itself and of one of the sizes), in our opinion, suggests that: 1) the boards for the Vladimir image and for the original Pokrovskaya icon were made in the same workshop and at the same time specially for sending to Kiev; 2) although the icon of the Intercession is the second copy sent from Constantinople, its size and proportion show how carefully boards for its copies were measured and made twice in Russia (in the XII and XIV centuries). If so, then this testifies to the exceptional status of this icon and indicates how carefully both copies were carried out (which is why M.V. Alpatov notes the "deep archaism" of the Pokrovsky image "in type and execution", although the image itself belongs to the XIV v.).

Igor's visit to Pirogoshcha before returning to Chernigov region may be due to two reasons: 1) Igor is going to venerate the icon of the Intercession of the Virgin, because he knows that the roundabout city of Putivl was burned in the summer of 1185, but the Kremlin, from whose scorched walls Yaroslavna's lament sounded, - resisted; 2) Igor's departure from Kiev coincided with the Feast of the Intercession.

It remains to find out what the icon of the Mother of God looked like, which was called (or is called?) Pyrgiotissa in Crete.

So, the Suzdal icon of the 14th century. is a list from the list of the icon of the Mother of God Pirogoshche or Pyrgiotissa, brought from the Blachernae Church, which was, so to speak, the source - the original version of the Icon of the Intercession, specially painted in Constantinople for Kiev. The version, it seems to me, is curious and convincing enough.

Perhaps, an abundance of copies from this particular icon, or from the one that was the temple icon of the Intercession on the Nerl, serves as an indirect proof of it. And many of them are of very high quality.

For example, the second icon is from the same Suzdal Pokrovsky Monastery, but from another church - the Conception, and a later one - from the beginning of the 16th century.

The Blakherna complex is shown in more detail on the icon: the Great Church here is exactly a basilica, and not just a building with a gable roof, as in the first Suzdal icon. In addition to her, the secular buildings of the palace complex are clearly visible on the right and left. And - quite clearly a four-sided tower with a gabled roof, which has nothing to do with the Chapel of St. Cancer. The chapel is represented here symbolically - in the form of a ciborium with a throne, in front of which the Mother of God stands with a scarlet veil in her hands. It is interesting that the angels do not hold the veil, but simply stand among the saints.

Behind the pulpit, on the step of which is Roman the Sweet Songwriter with a scroll, is a group of young men (without halos), respectfully bowing their heads before him. Presumably, these are the same singing comrades of Roman who decided to play a cruel joke with him and as a result were themselves ashamed.

Let's look again at the Intercession in the raised hands of the Virgin Mary. This fabric, by tradition, is red. And one more "cut" is spread out in the sky, on the roofs of houses and temples. This is the same red velum fabric that we see on many icons - the Annunciation, the Entry of the Virgin into the Temple, the Meeting, etc. - where it symbolizes not only the Protection of Heaven over the Earth, but the mystery of the Incarnation, the Nativity of the Son of God in human flesh, which is revealed to people. Therefore, this fabric is precisely red, literally soaked in the Blood of Christ. The same color, as we remember, threads wound on a spindle in Mary's hands, spun by Her, according to legend, for the new curtain of the temple, but this temple curtain, separating the Holy of Holies, symbolized the curtain separating Heaven from Earth (or, on the contrary, connecting?).

And if we understand the symbolism of this velum fabric in this way, the second, Novgorodian, version of the iconography of the Feast of the Intercession of the Theotokos will become understandable: not just the veil from the icon is being stretched there by angels over the worshipers, but just another layer of the heavenly sphere - a fertile energy shell, really , a cover that protects people from the work of the enemy.

There is, however, a "double" of this icon - exactly the same icon from the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist of the Glushitsky Sosnovetsky Monastery, the only difference of which is the white plate in the hands of the Mother of God; these two colors - white and red - are interchangeable, because both colors can symbolize light and divine energies.

The veil-cloth is in the hands of the Virgin. On the fresco of Dionysius from the Ferapontov Monastery, a white fabric, symbolizing the uncreated light, from which the grace of God pours down to the earth, as if in the form of a stream of water.

On the stunningly beautiful composition of Dionysius, Roman the Sweet Songwriter is shifted a little to the side and is dressed in a light deacon's surplice, so that it does not obstruct the main character - the Mother of God praying for the whole world, our warm Intercessor and the great Prayer Book. Delicate colors, especially shades of blue, are superimposed and arranged in such a way that the whole composition appears as a kind of cosmic vision. And the temple behind the back of the Mother of God is perceived as a crystal palace or an air castle, woven from rays of light - truly the image of New Jerusalem and the Heavenly Church praying for us, sinners.

And this three-domed temple in the background is a sign of the development of the iconography of the Intercession, a distance from the image of the Blakherna Church and an approach to the realities of Russia.

In general, iconography can develop in different ways:

1) the artist slavishly copies the previous sample, without introducing anything from himself into it (this way, as we see, is not the worst if the icon is made in good faith);

2) the artist creatively develops the model, introducing something new into it according to the revelation of God (which is rare) or at his own discretion;

3) mechanically combines two iconographies - in this case the North Novgorod and the Central Suzdal - in different versions;

4) the artist distorts the model out of ignorance, cluttering the main plot with unnecessary details and / and is included in the general course of the development of art (the so-called "baroque", especially "Ukrainian" trends, as well as "classicism", "academicism", etc.) ), and then the very meaning of the icon is distorted, which we will see in the 17th century and later.

In the meantime, let us consider examples of combining two iconographies - more or less successful or completely unsuccessful. But the result is not just a mechanical combination of two versions, but something third, qualitatively new, namely, an icon of the Moscow school.

For example, an icon from the 15th century, the front side of a double-sided tablet from the Novgorod Sophia Cathedral, i.e. Novgorod in origin, but completely Suzdal in iconography. From the Novgorod version there are only angels with a veil in their hands. The large church and the small chapel have united under the hand of the Russian artist into one single-domed cathedral, while the ciborium, under which the Mother of God is praying, indicates that she is in the altar - and in the vision of blessed. Andrew, and in the image of His robe.

Palace buildings on the sides and - here it is, the turret, in place, although in the background.

It is interesting that in addition to the saints (in halos) and parishioners praying in the church (without halos), both the patriarch and the tsar-sovereign appeared here. There is a symphony of the authorities.

Perhaps the most beautiful icon of the Novgorod type, but with the addition of Rostov-Suzdal details (Roman Sladkopevets appears here in the center of the lower tier among the praying people - a characteristic feature of Central Suzdal iconography), this is an icon of the second half of the 16th century. from the Karelian Museum (originates from the Kizhi churchyard). The cloud on which the Mother of God seems to be leaning is of the same red color as Her cover, i.e. clearly he is of the same nature (the same is in the previous Novgorod icons). The Blachernae Tower turned into a bell tower. Another one is on the right; however, it may be a double structure.

And here is an interesting icon of the late 16th century. (center. Russia). And here there is a combination of two options. This icon is remarkable in its own way, it is worth dwelling on it in more detail.

Here we see the creative development of iconography, but there are also details that are clearly superfluous, not related to the plot, cluttering up an already rather complex three-stage composition (for example, the appearance of the Virgin to Roman the Sweet Singer in a dream, explaining the reason for his appearance on the icon).

But the essence of the image here is the same as on other icons of the Novgorod type, even further developed: the red arch-fabric forms an already voluminous dome or tent (folds on the fabric again resemble in the shape of the plates on the head of the Mother of God); the figure of the Virgin is surrounded by clouds and enclosed in an egg, which indicates an otherworldly, sacred space that has invaded earthly reality, but still separated by a certain transparent "watery" or "cloudy" veil (or, as it were, "through dull glass"). This display of two realities - our earthly and subtle, divine - is at the same time generally characteristic of Byzantine iconography. This, in fact, is the meaning of the church, sacred art - to show the reality of the spiritual world through the reality of the earthly world. As Academician B. Rauschenbach wrote, this fourth dimension shines through the three dimensions of the earthly world. But here the artist managed to reveal not even two, but three levels: the angels on both sides of the Mother of God do not enter into Her heavenly mandorla - this is another level - created, like people, but subtle, not visible with bodily eyes, intelligible, which is located between two worlds, and therefore the angels themselves serve as messengers, mediators between these worlds. At this, second, level, but above it in the heavenly hierarchy, in a special, sacred space, the Mother of God is shown, who became the Queen of Heaven, as if superimposed on the image of the Great Mother Sophia, having risen to Her level, becoming above the forces of heaven (“Honest cherub and the most glorious truly seraphim "); She enters the created world, but does not appear at the visible level, and therefore only saints - “pure in heart” can see her, and therefore She is shown at the middle, not at the lower level. And in general, the image of the Virgin Oranta with two angels serving Her on both sides of Her resembles the iconography generally accepted in Byzantium for the apse conch - such an image looks great with a low Greek iconostasis and would be completely covered by a high Russian iconostasis (it is known that the upper tiers of a high the iconostasis of the 18th century in the Kiev Sophia Cathedral had to be removed in order to reveal again to the world the mosaic of the Virgin of the Unbreakable Wall). Perhaps the image of the praying Mother of God "on the air" appeared in the conchs of the apses of Byzantine churches, including thanks to the vision of St. Andrew? Or the Mother of God herself appeared exactly where Her image already overshadowed the worshipers, and St. Andrey?

So, on the second level - the saints and angels and, as it were, the Mother of God descended to this level, and on the upper, third - Christ the Almighty as an equal Face Holy Trinity, surrounded by seraphims - also created, but the highest beings of the angelic hierarchy, as well as the domes of the city of heavenly New Jerusalem, which is shown in this case through a schematic representation of the domes of the cathedral - now not so much the New Town Sophia cathedral, but the Moscow Uspensky one.

The next icon is from Vologda, also from the 16th century. - absolutely amazing.

Here, two versions of iconography are combined in a unique way: The Mother of God - the Queen of Heaven - holds a scarlet cloth in her hands at chest level; the fabric itself, in the form of a celestial arch spread over the world, as it was customary to depict in the Novgorodian version, but it is not held by the angels either; under Her feet and above Her head are the powers of heaven, and She herself appears from the open heavens - a sacred space in the form of a mandorla, also strewn with angels, and very dark, as if at night. The Mother of God brings light to people, and behind Her back is darkness, an unreachable darkness ...

And now on the icon of the 17th century. An interesting detail appears from the iconostasis of the Transfiguration Church in Kizhi - the night sky above the five-domed church, i.e. here, according to the Life of Andrew the Fool, a night service takes place, while the lighting inside the church is obviously artificial, and the very appearance of the Mother of God takes place at night. Although the icon is roughly written, it makes an impression.

Here is another example of combining two versions of iconography on a 17th century icon: an amazing thing - the cover plate, it turns out, can split in two, i.e. to be in the hands of the Mother of God, and in the form of an arch above Her head. In this case, the meaning of the scarlet cover in the form of an arch is lost - it is simply not visible if there is already one cover in the hands of the Mother of God - white - in the center of the composition, which attracts attention in the first place. And the one on top in the form of an arch plays the role of velum, that is, if you do not view the symbolic meaning in velum as such, then it is purely decorative.

The figure of Roman the Sweet Songwriter is here, even though a little, but larger in size than the Mother of God herself. However, the effect of direct perspective (a rare phenomenon in icon painting!) Is evident - the Mother of God seems to be really hovering “on the air” (on a cloud in this case).

And here again the cover-plate itself on the icon from the Resurrection Goritsky Monastery (storage place - Cherepovets Museum Association)

depicted twice - in the hands of the Mother of God, and over Her, and over all the people - in the hands of the angels. The composition of this icon is complicated to the limit: there are no longer three, but four levels of saints - both in the central part and on the sides. And most importantly, crosses appear on the white board in the hands of the Mother of God, i.e. he really becomes like a saint's omophorion (on his shoulders there is a worn sign of hierarchical service, a symbol of a lamb woven of white wool, and the bishop himself thus becomes likened to the Good Shepherd, that is, to Christ). This detail is clearly inspired by the words of the akathist to the Pokrov “cover us from all evil with your honest omophorion”. The overlap of terms sometimes leads to this effect.

On the Vologda icon of the mid-16th century. The arch covering supported by the angels is white. The meaning is lost that brings the veil closer to both the purple robe of the Mother of God and to the veil between heaven and earth soaked in Christ's blood, which we talked about. But another meaning is emphasized - the airiness, transparency of this cover, its light nature (however, the red color implies the same).

But on the icon of the Moscow school of the early 16th century. the artist clearly overdid it - he also depicted a red fabric-arch as the cover of the Virgin, and the same red velum above it. The fact that the meaning has been lost is quite obvious. It is interesting that the Mother of God herself hovers in the air, not even leaning on a cloud, as was customary to depict earlier.

Novgorod icon painters are also gradually forgetting the main meanings that their predecessors successfully reflected. And now on the icon of the late 15th century. The cover-arch is so small that it barely covers only the figure of the Mother of God herself, but it is no longer enough for the praying people.

The magnificent icon of the 16th century. (1530s. From the collection of N.P. Likhachev, State Russian Museum), and on some others too, the cover loses its semicircular shape - it becomes almost straight - and so the symbol of the firmament is almost lost. Although this icon itself is unique and looks very beautiful.

The image of Christ is not bosom, as usual, it is the Savior in strength, seated on cherubim. And the most interesting detail is the equestrian statue of Emperor Justinian on a column, which stood next to the St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople.

And on the icon of the 18th century. (from the Church of the Intercession in the village of Seleznevo of the Spas-Klepikovsky District of the Ryazan Region) The intercession in the hands of angels generally "sags", i.e. the impression is that the artist has "forgotten" that this fabric is heavenly and does not obey the laws of gravity. This is already a clear distortion of the entire meaning of the icon.

However, there are icons of the Intercession, where this veil itself - the mother's plate - is not represented at all.

Icon of the beginning. 16th century, Russian north (Obonezh'e, private collection).

Here we see only the Mother of God-Oranta surrounded by her formidable retinue, St. Roman the Sweet Songwriter and the praying people below. How justified is such a composition? It can be explained in two ways. Firstly, this may be the very first moment of the prayer of the Mother of God - before She spread her maforium over the people - exactly according to the text of the Life. The second option: contrary to the Life, the Mother of God does not remove and extend her maforia, since he and on her is a cover, a veil that covers the earth from all evil, first of all, from the spirits of evil in high places, harassing people, infiltrating all kinds of enemies of the Christian family and inspiring them with the idea of ​​attacking the Reigning City.

There are plenty of examples of such an understanding of the clothes of the Mother of God - as a clever sky - in Christian iconography. Here are at least a few.

Here is a wonderful icon of the Tsaritsa of the 16th century. from the Solovetsky Monastery.

The robes of the Virgin represent the sky with clouds - a vestment in the literal sense of the word. Moreover, both in the blue sky (the lower tunic dress), and in the red sky at dawn and sunset, or, like an arch on the icons of the Intercession, or bloody velum fabric on the icons of the holidays.

The same cloudy robes on the icons of the Virgin of the Burning Bush. Here is the earliest example of this iconography - the 16th century. from the Church of Our Lady of Hodegetria in Rostov. Almost all subsequent icons of the Burning Bush from the 17th century. and then they also depict the Mother of God in the same cloudy garments.

Icon of the Mother of God "Oh, Vsepetaya Mati" early. 19th century from a private collection in Italy.

Maforium of the Virgin - a purple sky covered with clouds.

Oh, all-chanted Mati. Icon of the 19th century.

The clouds on this icon are more like stars.

As in the Passionate Icon of the 18th century.

As you can see, the sky can be cloudless - starry. And this detail is present on many icons of the Theotokos - from antiquity to the present day, from west to east, from south to north. And this suggests that throughout the Christian world, the clothes of the Mother of God were perceived as a heavenly cover that protects the whole world. And any icon of the Mother of God in such a maforia - whether cloudy, or starry, even just in sky-blue - is a kind of icon of the Intercession.

There are a lot of icons of the Mother of God in the star maforia, I will give only a few of the most interesting.

Mother of God Mammal. Ancient fresco in a Coptic monastery on the Red Sea. The maphoria of the Mother of God is covered with crosses, like stars.

On the modern writing of the Coptic icon of the Virgin and Child (it is located in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore - a gift from Egyptian Christians) there are also crosses and stars.

Unfortunately, the stars on the clothes of the Mother of God in the vestibule of the Church of the Mother of God Phorbiotissa in Asina (Cyprus) have almost been erased.

Figured stars on the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Czestochowa (version of Hodegetria, 14th century)

The Mother of God with the Child - the Unsleeping Eye.

Kikotissa (Merciful) - medieval Greek from Cyprus and modern Russian.

AND modern icon Konevskaya.

Madonna and Child, 1250-60, Lucca, Italy.

Miraculous Kozelshchanskaya (a very interesting essay about this icon belongs to the pen of the untimely deceased writer Pyotr Palamarchuk).

As you can see, maforium-sky can be both night dark blue and dawn; the blood-red maforium of the Virgin with the stars - the combination and deepening of the symbolism of the Intercession and the starry sky. Rather, this very sky, filled with angels and divine light.

In connection with all this, it is worth recalling that various fabrics played a significant role in the decoration of the Byzantine temple, and this role was largely symbolic. In addition to the curtain on the templon, which closed the altar and opened at certain times of the service, the pulpits were also covered with cloth, and many icons, not only the miraculous Episcepsis, the curtain of which was miraculously lifted on Friday evening. The most important fabric covered the throne in the altar, and was, of course, red - the color of Christ's blood.

The communion of the apostles in the altar apse of the Church of the Theotokos Pervilepta in Ohrid, 1295. The inditia tablecloth with crosses resembles the Protection of the Theotokos.

Icon "Meeting" from the Solovetsky Monastery, 16th century.

Not only the altar-throne is covered with a scarlet cloth with stars, on which, as if the Lamb-Divine Infant is about to be laid, it is also covered with velum over this whole scene.

Reminds the altar and - at the same time - the sky and the veil on the deathbed of the Mother of God on the fresco "Assumption" in the Church of Nicholas in Prilep (14th century), as if reminding those praying in the church about the "Friday miracle" in the Blakherna church, which at this time is no longer It was.

Close up again.

Western influence can also explain the composition of the 17th century icon. from Little Russia. It is called that - the Protection of the Virgin.

The Great Heavenly Mother covers people with her maforia, regardless of the specific vision of a particular saint.

In Catholic art, there are a great many images of the Virgin Mary of this type and they are called "Misericordia" - the Merciful.

We can also see an example of such a composition in the Baptistery of Bologna.

For some reason, this image is very nice to me, even if it is Catholic.

Here is another Madonna of this type, with a detail rare for him, albeit very cute.

J.A. Pesaro, Sanctuary of Santa Maria dell Arzilla.

We also see an amazing combination of Western and Eastern iconography in the outer fresco above the entrance to the church of an Orthodox monastery in Romania.

The iconography resembles both the Orthodox Intercession and the Western Misericordia: the angels hold the heavenly cover over the Mother of God and those who are praying (here it is blue, but on a yellow-red lining, as if made of rays of light), but St. Andrew and Epiphanius are not. The fresco is very unusual.

Such iconography is the Mother, covering her children with a wide cloak like a bird with wings, reminiscent of the composition on the Old Testament plot "Three youths in a fiery cave", for example, in the Cappadocian cave temple of Karanlik (11-13 centuries), where the archangel Michael overshadows the Jewish youths with wings ...

And here, as it were, the combination of these two compositions - the western "Misericordia" and "Three youths in the cave" - ​​the Moscow icon of the Mother of God called "Cover us with your wing with shelter" (early 18th century workshop at the Armory) is also a kind of Pokrov.

This composition is quite late and also performed under a clear Western influence, however, it is interesting.

However, such an iconography - without witnesses to the miracle, blessed. Andrew and Epiphany - met on Russian icons earlier, but did not receive further development, and returned to her after the schism under Western influence.

Here is the hallmark of the icon Praise BM with an akathist in the hallmarks of the 14th century. Cathedral of the Dormition of the Moscow Kremlin, Ikos 10: "Thou art the wall for the virgins, the Virgin of the Virgin, and for all who come running to you."

Here, under the scarlet cover of the Mother of God, is depicted the widow of the blessed prince Demetrius of the Donskoy Evdokia-Euphrosinia and the nuns of the Ascension Monastery founded by her.

Returning to the later icons of the Intercession, it should be noted that the most interesting and unusual of them are attempts to depict the event as close as possible to the text of the Life. And here we meet with an amazing phenomenon: on the icons of the Intercession, as if descended from the Suzdal gates of the 12-13th centuries, the Mother of God Agiosoritissa reappears.

Icon of the 17th century. from the Annunciation Cathedral of Solvychegodsk, Stroganov letters.

On the icon of the 18th century. from the Russian Museum, the artist focuses on the radiance emanating from the entire figure of the Mother of God and Her snow-white plate in her hands. However, the heavenly tent over Her head, which gives the iconic space depth and vertical dimension, has disappeared. There is only a multi-domed cathedral from the Novgorodian version, although the whole composition of the background strongly resembles the Moscow Kremlin - cathedrals, palaces, and towers, i.e. the whole set of Vlakhernsky complex, does it all look differently, in Russian.

Here is an icon from the 18th century, representing the Mother of God in front of the procession, walking through the clouds to the royal gates of the iconostasis.

But She is praying on her knees - as described in the Life. In Her hands is again the hierarch's omophorion.

And what does the Feast of the Intercession look like on the icons of contemporary artists?

As a rule, icon painters of the late 20th and early 21st century study all traditional iconography and at the same time show a creative approach.

On the icon of the artist G. Yakovlev in the lower “floor” of the multi-tiered church (and the temple here again represents the entire universe, that is, as in ancient Russian icons, the microcosm and macrocosm coincide here) St. Andrew and all the people praying, in the window of the next tier , already on the cloud, with a white veil, the Mother of God - Mediator between God and people, even higher, also on the cloud - Her Divine Son Christ the Almighty, blessing the whole universe, even higher - the angels again stretch out a scarlet fiery heavenly tent with stars; and all this is crowned by the Cross - the Guardian of the whole universe. The very same temple-space is written in the form of a tower. The artist here applied a direct perspective, so that the Mother of God with the saints, Christ, and the whole temple goes up. In my opinion, very good. Perhaps two icons of St. knaze and svt. Nicholas is somehow useless here - obviously, it was the will of the customer.

Modern greek icon quite obviously copied from Russian icons. Instead of the Blachernae Church, a certain three- (or five-) domed temple with Byzantine hemispherical domes is presented - the image of the Church in general; The Mother of God holds the scarlet cover-cover in her hands, and the cover-arch, accordingly, is absent, which is quite logical. Although there are angels on the sides of the Mother of God - they hold ripids, i.e. serve at the all-night vigil as deacons.

In general, the icon looks very beautiful and festive.

And this is how the icon of the Intercession looks in the modern Greek iconostasis - the second from the left.

(If you look at the icons of the festive row in more detail, in general, it seems that all the icons are Russian from the 17th-18th centuries. But the icon of the Mother of God in the local row is exact copy salary from the ancient Blachernae Hodegetria, only made full-length on the throne.

It turns out that we return to the beginning of our conversation, as if looping the topic.

There is very little left to say.

As we have seen, the composition of the Feast of the Intercession is rather complex, complex and crowded. But it is possible to depict the Intercession and very laconically - only one praying Mother of God with a dress in her pure hands - and it is clear what it is about.

A modern icon of the Intercession of the Virgin (I don’t know who the author is). Let's pay attention to the crosses and stars on the heavenly fabric (no, this is not an episcopal omophorion in the form of a ribbon, but namely, plates made of thin fabric, white as light):

And in the end, I will present a completely unusual composition, but in the same vein as the previous one.

On the icon of the American Orthodox icon painter (his name is Thou, Lord, behold), the Great Mother Theotokos Oranta holds a snow-white Cover over the whole world, moreover, under Her is already a modern city. The idea is very interesting. The only objection is that I would change the city here myself: what does it matter to us about the capital of this truly evil empire, even if the local Orthodox Church is represented on the icon? It is clear that the Mother of God of God extends Her veil over the whole world, but still, nevertheless, nevertheless ...

And we will finish the topic with the words of a famous philosopher.

Prince E.N. Trubetskoy, "Speculation in paints"

“In the icons of the Intercession,” we have something more than humanity gathered under the veil of the Mother of God: there is some kind of spiritual fusion between the veil and the saints gathered under it; as if this entire cathedral of saints in multicolored clothes forms a spiritualized veil of the Mother of God (...) Such icons of the Theotokos reveal the joyful meaning of their pictorial architecture and symmetry (...) This is the symmetry of a spiritualized rainbow around the Queen of Heaven.

LITERATURE

1. The life of Andrey the Fool.
2. IA Shalina, Relics in Eastern Christian iconography. M., 2005.
3. A. Chernov, The Phenomenon of the Mother of God Pirogoscha http://chernov-trezin.narod.ru/PIROGOSCH1.htm
4. L.S.Milyaeva, Monument of Galician painting of the 13th century "Soviet Archeology" No. 3 1965.
5. L.N. Chlenova, "Pokrov" from Eastern Galicia http://archeology.kiev.ua/journal/030501/chlenova.htm
6. A.M. Vysotsky, Church of Our Lady of Blachernae in Constantinople, her reflections in Russia and Byzantine-Russian architectural ties in the pre-Mongol era // VV № 64.

Related materials

On the feast of the Intercession, visiting a church is a good sign, since the Mother of God, according to faith, protects a person with her Holy Protection from both external and internal evil. If you didn't manage to visit the temple, you can celebrate this day at home, setting aside time for prayer and solitude in front of the icon of the same name. The main thing is to try not to sin on this day, to avoid quarrels, conflicts and unholy activities.

History and photos

The holiday is connected with a miracle which the Mother of God revealed when she appeared to those praying in Constantinople in 910(or in 866, according to other sources), in the Blachernae temple. In the terrible hour, when the barbarians attacked Constantinople, under the leadership of the Varangians (or Saracens, according to other sources), the frightened Greeks came to the temple, praying to the Lord for protection.

The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared before the believers, descending from heaven, took off the veil from her head and unfolded it over the crowd of people, sheltering them from harm. A storm arose, the ships of the conquerors were scattered. The city was spared from plunder. The barbarians miraculously retreated from the city, and the vision remained in the memory of the believers as a fact of intercession, deliverance from death and consolation in times of sorrow.

According to legend, after such an unsuccessful campaign against Constantinople, the Varangian princes Askold and Dir asked for baptism, and the feast of the Intercession became one of the most revered in Russia. Written references to the holiday with the name Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in Russia can be found in the ancient Russian collection of hagiographies of the 12th century, the Prologue.

At the same time, in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God, churches began to be erected in Russia. One of the most beautiful temples is the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, built on the initiative of the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, Saint Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, who spread the tradition of celebrating the Intercession on Russian soil.

Where is?

The plot of the legend about the Intercession of the Mother of God has repeatedly been embodied in icon painting. The oldest image of the Mother of God with the Intercession in her hands appeared in the 14th century, in Suzdal, at the gates of the Nativity Cathedral, as well as in the wall paintings of the Pskov Snetogorsk Monastery.

One of the most famous temple icons on this theme, dating back to the 14th century, was for a long time in Suzdal, in the Intercession Monastery. Now it is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

Another ancient icon (1399) was located in the Animal Monastery, now it is in the museum of Novgorod.

What does the icon of the Intercession symbolize, its meaning?

The Protection of the Mother of God symbolizes peace, harmony, protection, security and prosperity... It is believed that a prayer addressed to the image of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God protects from external evil. Therefore, believers turn to this one when there is an external danger.

Believers know that the Mother of God can dispel the intrigues of ill-wishers, eliminate threats from enemies, and ward off troubles and troubles. People come to the Icon of the Intercession to ask for the protection of their home and loved ones from aggressive people and dangerous events. The Mother of God is asked for protection in days of grief, natural disasters, during a war or in a situation of military threat.

Even sinners and criminals, who fear retribution, retribution, resort to the protection of the Cover. The main thing is the awareness of the perfect offense or the evil inflicted. The cover of the Mother of God, filled with love for all people living on Earth, softens the blows of fate, the consequences of unrighteous deeds, covers repentant sins true love, serves as a consolation for those who are broken in spirit.

What do they pray for, what does it help?

Intercessor, Mother of God, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Ever-Virgin, Queen of Heaven - this is how believers turn to the Mother of God, asking for help in difficult situations, protection from external evil and destruction.

• Praying in front of the icon of the Intercession, believers ask to hide them under the Intercession, to remember Christ in prayers, to intercede before the Son of God, to protect even from God's wrath - in the event that unreasonable actions have already been committed, and you need to cope with their harmful consequences.
• Special diligence in prayers addressed to the icon on the feast day of the Intercession of the Theotokos, according to believers, gives protection throughout the year, and the Mother of God invisibly covers those who turn to Her in prayers with her wonderful Protection.
• The prayer for the patronage of the Mother of God is addressed to the icon in cases of unfair and fair prosecutions, unfounded and well-grounded accusations, in cases of slander, slander, hostility and enmity from certain people.
• The Mother of God is the protector and patroness of the family, therefore, they often turn to the icon of the Intercession with a request to restore peace in the house, to keep the family from troubles, quarrels, misfortunes.
• They turn to the Mother of God and with requests for... In this case, together with the traditional canonical prayer, they say: "Cover the father, cover the earth with snow, and me with a bridegroom" or "Cover Mother, cover the earth with snow, and I am young with a scarf."
• They resort to prayer in front of the Icon of the Intercession when ask for a successful pregnancy, the birth of children and the protection of all household members from human malice and disease.
• Pray in front of the image of the Intercession of the Virgin also parents, if they want their children to be under reliable heavenly protection.

Where do they usually hang in the house?

Icon of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary be together with all the "favorite" icons in the "red" corner where the home iconostasis is located.

but there is also a long-standing tradition of hanging the Icon of the Intercession in front of the entrance to the house... Thus, the divine energy of the image of the Protection of the Virgin, captured in the icon, protects the house from ill-wishers right at the entrance.

Prayers

First prayer

Oh, Most Holy Virgin, Mother of the Lord of the highest powers, heaven and earth to the Queen, our city and country, Omnipotent Intercessor! Receive this laudatory and grateful singing from us, unworthy Thy servant, and lift up our prayers to the Throne of Thy Son God, that our unrighteousness will be merciful, and add His grace to those who honor Thy pious name and worship Thy miraculous image with faith and love. We should not deserve to be merciful from Him, if you do not propitiate Him about us, the Lady, for all of You from Him is possible for the essence. For this reason, we resort to You, as to our undoubted and quicker Intercessor: hear us, who pray to You, overshadow us with Your almighty cover, and ask God for Your Son: our shepherd is jealousy and vigilance for souls, the ruler of wisdom and strength, the judges are truth and impartiality , a mentor of reason and humility, a spouse of love and harmony, a child of obedience, offending patience, offending the fear of God, grieving complacency, rejoicing in abstinence, all of us are the spirit of reason and piety, the spirit of mercy and meekness, the spirit of purity and truth. To her, Most Holy Lady, have mercy on Thy weak people; Gather the scattered, misleading on the right path, guide, support old age, young and healthy, raise babies, and look upon all of us with the grace of Your merciful intercession, raise us from the depths of sinfulness and enlighten our heartfelt eyes to the sight of salvation, be merciful to us, be here and there the land of the earthly arrival and at the last judgment of Thy Son; reposed in faith and repentance from this life, our fathers and our brethren in eternal life create life with Angels and with all the saints. Thou art, O Lord, the Glory of the heavenly and the Hope of the earthly, Thou according to Bose is our Hope and the Intercessor of all who come to You with faith. We pray to You, and to You, as the Almighty Helper, to ourselves and to each other and our whole belly, we betray, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.

Second prayer

My abiding queen, my Most Holy Hope, friend to the sire and strange Intercessor, help in need and embittered by the veil, see my attack, see my sorrow: everywhere I am possessed by temptation, but there is no intercessor. You yourself help me as if I am weak, feed me as strange, teach me as if she was delusional, heal and save me as hopeless. Not an imam of any other help, or any other intercession, or consolation, only to You, O Mother of all those who grieve and are burdened! Look at me, a sinner and in anger, and cover me with Thy holy omophorion, may I be delivered from the evils that have eaten me, and I will praise Thy name. Amen.

What are the signs for Pokrov Day?

On the day of the Holy Protection of the Mother of God, believers are watching, which suggest the development of events during the coming year.

So, for example, it is believed that:

• If see a crane wedge in the sky then there will be an early and cold winter ahead.
• If Snow Falls on Pokrov, then November will be snowy, and if the day is relatively clear and warm, then there will be no frost in December either.
• If snow does not fall before the Pokrov, then the winter will be mild, without severe frosts.
• If trees drop leaves completely on the Cover, then the winter will be short and not very cold. And if the leaves are still on the trees, then a cold, harsh winter should be expected.
• The house should be insulated before the Pokrov... If this is not done, then you will be freezing all winter.
• So that children do not get sick during the year, on the feast of the Intercession, it was customary to take them to the threshold of the house and pour water consecrated in the church through a sieve or sieve.
• It is believed that the holiday of the Intercession unmarried girl should celebrate joyfully so that the Lord would send her a good husband in the coming year.
• There is a custom for unmarried put candles in front of the image of the Protection of the Mother of God. If the girl managed to light the candle first, she is destined to get married soon.
• It is considered if a guy on Pokrov expresses signs of attention- then, most likely, it is he who will become a good husband.

On the holiday of the Intercession, work and all kinds of excesses should be avoided. Urgent work is allowed - for example, caring for the sick, children, and other urgent matters. The main condition: if on this day a person is forced to work, then this work should be disinterested and performed with sincere prayer and love in the heart.

As for food, there are no restrictions. If a believer observes fast on Wednesday and Friday, and the Feast of the Intercession falls on one of these days, you can eat fish.

And most importantly: on the day of the Intercession, it is necessary to remember that the Mother of God showed compassion and the greatest mercy. Therefore, you need to try not to condemn anyone, not to allow a feeling of hostility or irritation in your heart. In a bright thanksgiving one should cleanse the heart from negative feelings, and the head from sinful thoughts, filling oneself with mercy and love.