Gallery of icons.

Feodorovskaya icon Mother of God. Gallery of icons.

And the day before, residents of the city saw how a warrior in rich clothes, very similar to the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, in whose honor a cathedral was built in Kostroma, walked through the city with an icon in his hands. That is why the revealed icon was called Theodorovskaya.

"Feodorovskaya" icon of the Mother of God. Feodorovsky Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Bobrenev Monastery.

Among the people who came to venerate the found icon were people from Gorodets, devastated by the Tatars, who immediately recognized that the found icon was the one that had stood in the Gorodets chapel for several years.

An ancient Feodorovskaya icon of the 18th century, donated to the Bobrenev Monastery by His Eminence Metropolitan Juvenaly.

The election of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov to the kingdom in 1613 is associated with the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God. The Kostroma clergy with the Feodorov icon came out to meet the Moscow embassy, which was coming to ask young Mikhail Romanov for the kingdom, and together they went to the Ipatiev Monastery, where young Mikhail lived with his mother, Elder Martha. The old woman entrusted her son to the patronage of the Mother of God in front of Her Feodorovskaya icon.

Since then, the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos began to be especially revered by the Imperial House of Romanov, and all foreign princesses who were married by Russian emperors and grand dukes received the patronymic name Feodorovna after baptism.

The Kostroma Cathedral survived fire twice, and both times the icon was unharmed. After these fires, Prince Vasily decided to build a special temple for the icon - the Assumption Cathedral with a chapel in the name of the Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates. The altar was facing not to the east, but to the north - to the place where the icon was found. The Feodorovskaya icon remained in this cathedral, which became a cathedral in 1835, until 1929. After various movements from church to church associated with “historical changes” in the country, on August 18, 1991, the icon was moved to the Epiphany Cathedral of the Kostroma diocese, where it remains to this day.

Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God. Church of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian in Kolomna.

More about the Feodorovskaya icon

One of the most ancient Russian miraculous icons of the Mother of God, preserved to this day. It was probably created in 1239 by order of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (baptized Theodore) for the wedding of his son Alexander Nevsky. It is a replica of the miraculous Vladimir icon. Distinctive feature Feodorovskaya icon - the naked left leg of the Infant Christ sitting on right hand Our Lady; on the reverse there is a half-length image of Paraskeva-Friday.

In the second half of the 13th century, the Feodorovskaya icon was especially revered by the Kostroma prince Vasily Yaroslavich. The legend about the Feodorovskaya icon arose under the influence of the legend about Our Lady of Vladimir, it combines folk legends and memories of events in Russian history.

In 1613, thanks to the Feodorovskaya icon, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was “begged” to become king; The icon became a widely revered all-Russian shrine.

There are a number of revered lists from the 17th to 19th centuries. The ancient Feodorovskaya icon was renewed and restored many times; The original painting on the faces of the Mother of God and Christ is very worn. The icon was kept in Kostroma: first in the Assumption Cathedral, during the years of Soviet power - in the Church of the Resurrection on Debra, currently in Epiphany-Anastasia cathedral. Every year religious processions were held with the Feodorovskaya icon: on the day of the Holy Trinity - to the Ipatiev Monastery, on August 16 - to the Spaso-Zaprudnenskaya Church to the place of the “discovery” of the icon.

Celebration - March 14 (27) in memory of the end of the Troubles in 1612 and August 16 (29) in memory of the appearance of the icon.

Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God.

The Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God is revered as miraculous in the Russian Church. Tradition attributes its authorship to the Evangelist Luke; the iconography is similar to the Vladimir Icon.

Origin of the image

History of the icon in the XII-XIII centuries

Nothing is known for certain about the appearance of this icon in Rus'; the first legendary mentions of an image of similar iconography refer to XII century. It was located in a wooden chapel near the town of Gorodets; at the beginning of the 13th century, a monastery was built on this site in the name of the icon of the Mother of God, which became its main shrine. Later it began to be called after the icon of the Mother of God, the Mother of God-Feodorovsky, and now - Feodorovsky. In 1238, during the invasion of Batu's troops, the city was destroyed, and the monastery also burned down.

Modern historians point out that the existence of the monastery in the 12th century has not yet received any direct evidence. But at the same time, there are no studies refuting such a statement. One way or another, the place where the icon was located was completely looted, destroyed and burned. Contemporaries of the events believed that the icon was also lost, but after several years it was found again.

There are several legends about rediscovery icons:

The first legend

On August 16, 1239, Prince Vasily Kvashnya of Kostroma, near the Zaprudnya River, saw an icon of the Mother of God hanging on a tree. With the participation of the clergy, the icon was transferred to Kostroma and placed in the cathedral church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Later, the Zaprudnensky Spassky Monastery was built at the site where it was found.

The story of the appearance of the miraculous icon of Feodorovskaya reports that:

seeing the people's honorable icon, and beginning to tell the story, saying, yesterday we saw this icon, carried through our city by a certain warrior, similar to that warrior with a vision of the holy great martyr Theodore Stratelates, and thus testifying to the people.

From the name of the Great Martyr Theodore, the icon received its name - Theodorovskaya. Soon a man from Gorodets came to Kostroma, who recognized the icon as the one that had disappeared from their city.

Legend two

It repeats the plot of the above, but differs in dates and the name of the prince. According to him, the icon was found on August 16, 1263 by the younger brother of Alexander Nevsky, Prince Vasily Yaroslavich. This date is contained in the “Tale of the Appearance and Miracles of the Theodore Icon of the Mother of God in Kostroma,” compiled in 1670 by Hierodeacon Longin of the Kostroma Ipatiev Monastery.

Legend three

The icon was found by Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich (1188-1238) in a dilapidated wooden chapel near Gorodets (the Gorodetsky Feodorovsky Monastery later arose on this site). After his death, the icon passed to Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (Yuri’s younger brother), who blessed with it the marriage of his son Alexander Nevsky with the Polotsk princess Alexandra Bryachislavovna. After the death of Prince Alexander in 1263, the icon passed to him younger brother Vasily (the second legend about the discovery of the icon also reports about him), who transferred it to Kostroma.

This and other events formed a series of events that later formed the basis of the legend about the icon. One way or another, the icon was transferred from Gorodets, devastated by Batu, to Kostroma, where it was placed in the church of the Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates. This fact is confirmed by the “Tale of the Appearance and Miracles of the Theodore Icon of the Mother of God in Kostroma.” From that moment on, the name “Feodorovskaya” was assigned to it.

Researchers' opinions

Researchers, based on the identity of the iconography of the Feodorovskaya icon with the Vladimirskaya, consider it a copy from the famous ancient shrine and put forward three versions of its origin:

The icon was painted in 1164 by order of Andrei Bogolyubsky for the Gorodets Monastery.

The icon was painted by order of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich in 1239 as a gift for the wedding of his son Alexander Nevsky. The wedding nature of the icon is explained by the presence on its back of the image of the Great Martyr Paraskeva, who was revered in Rus' as the patroness of brides and weddings, as well as the former patroness of the Polotsk princely house, where Alexander’s bride came from.

The icon was painted by order of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich in 1218-1220 in connection with the return of his wife Theodosia, taken away by her father in 1216 during the confrontation, and the birth of his first-born Theodore from her.

Further history of the icon

The first miracles of the icon include stories about its miraculous salvation in a fire (legends report two fires: one destroyed the old wooden church, the second occurred in a new stone church) and about the miraculous salvation of Kostroma from Tatar troops in 1260:

the Tatar abomination came to the city of Kostroma, and the prince great Vasily go against them; He commanded the Mother of God to carry that icon before her. And then she saw the fiery rays of fire from the icon, and having seen it, she became confused and rushed to run.

The last miracle was called “The Miracle of the Icon of the Theodore Mother of God in the Battle of the Holy Lake” and in the place where the icon stood during the battle, a worship cross was first erected, and then at the end of the 17th century a stone Theodore chapel was erected.

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XX century

After October revolution the icon did not end up in museum collections, but continued to be in the church. In 1919, in Kostroma, in order to reveal the original paint layer, it was examined by a commission of the museum department of the People's Commissariat for Education. In 1922, the Assumption Cathedral and Theodore Icon passed to the Renovationists, who owned it until 1944. In 1929, the Kostroma community brought the icon to Moscow to the Central State Restoration Workshops. During the restoration work, experts came to the conclusion that the main part of the 13th century painting was lost.

The icon was not restored for long; the work was carried out by V. O. Kirikov. At the same time, due to the lack of more ancient layers of painting of the New Age, it was necessary to leave them on the face and hands, as well as on the clothes.] In the 1930s, the Assumption Cathedral where the icon was located was destroyed and the image was transferred to the Church of St. John Chrysostom. In 1947, a simple copper-gilded chasuble from one of the lists was placed on the icon. In 1948, Patriarch Alexy I visited Kostroma and wished to decorate the icon with a new precious robe, corresponding to its status as a revered shrine. Fundraising took several years, and in the spring of 1955, Moscow craftsmen made a silver-gilded frame for the icon.

Since April 1964, the icon began to reside in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ on Debra, where the bishop's see was moved. Since 1990, the tradition has been renewed on the day of celebration of the icon, August 16 (29), to make a religious procession with it to the place of its appearance. On August 18, 1991, the Feodorovskaya icon was transferred to the returned Russian Orthodox Church Epiphany-Anastasia Cathedral of Kostroma. Also, since 1991, a chronicle has been kept modern miracles performed through prayers at the Theodore Icon; To date, more than 100 such events have been recorded.

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Iconography

The Feodorovskaya icon belongs to the iconographic type of Eleus (Tenderness). Its general iconography is very close to the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. For this reason, many researchers consider it a replica copy. The difference between the Feodorovskaya icon and the Vladimirskaya icon is the left leg of the Infant Christ, naked to the knee. By ancient description When the icon was transferred to Kostroma, it had the following appearance.

THEODOROVSKAYA ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of Godfor three centuries she was the patroness of the Royal House of Romanov, the sovereign Intercessor of the Russian state. It is this icon that represents the end of the Time of Troubles and the beginning of the restoration of the Russian state after many years of humiliation and disorder.

According to legend, the Theodore Icon was painted by the holy evangelist Luke and is close in iconography to the Vladimir Icon, but unlike the latter, the left leg of the Infant Christ in the icon is bare to the knee.

The Feodorovskaya Icon received its name from the Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the father of Saint Alexander Nevsky, who bore the name Theodore in holy baptism in honor of Saint Theodore Stratilates. It was found, according to legend, by his elder brother, Saint George (Yuri) Vsevolodovich, in a dilapidated wooden chapel near ancient city Gorodets - later the Gorodets Feodorovsky Monastery was built on that site.

It is with this image of the Mother of God Grand Duke In 1239, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich blessed his son, the blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky, to marry the Polotsk princess Bryachislava. This is confirmed by the peculiarity of the Feodorovskaya icon: on its back side there is an image of the holy martyr Paraskeva, called Friday, the heavenly patroness of the Polotsk princely house.

One of the significant events in the history of our country is also associated with the name of the Feodorovskaya icon. On February 21 (Old Art.), 1613, at the Zemsky Sobor in Moscow, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the first Russian Tsar from the boyar family of the Romanovs, was elected sovereign of all Rus'. The 16-year-old youth was the son of Fyodor Nikitich, (monastically Philaret, future Patriarch of Moscow), and Ksenia Ivanovna (monastically Martha) Romanov. On March 14, 1613, an embassy from the Zemsky Sobor arrived at the Ipatiev Monastery in the city of Kostroma to notify Mikhail Feodorovich and his mother nun Martha about their election to the throne. At the same time, the Feodorovskaya icon was brought from the Assumption Cathedral in Kostroma to the monastery in a religious procession. After much persuasion, the ambassadors of the Zemsky Sobor managed to convince young Mikhail Romanov and his mother to accept election to the throne. Nun Martha blessed her son with the Feodorovskaya iconto the kingdom with the words: “ Behold, to You, O Mother of God, Most Pure Mother of God, in Your Most Pure Hands, Lady, I commend my child, and as you wish, arrange for something useful for him and for all Orthodox Christianity».

Since that time, the Feodorovskaya icon has become one of the main family shrines of Russian sovereigns and their families. Since the end of the 18th century, German princesses, marrying Russian grand dukes and converting to Orthodoxy for this purpose, according to tradition, received the patronymic Feodorovna in honor of the Feodorovskaya icon. These include Maria Feodorovna (wife of Paul I), Alexandra Fedorovna (wife of Nicholas I), Maria Feodorovna (wife of Alexander III), Alexandra Fedorovna (wife of Nicholas II) and Elizaveta Fedorovna. This tradition dates back to XVII century, when, in honor of the same icon, the “discordant” patronymic of Tsarina Evdokia Lopukhina was changed from “Illarionovna” to “Fedorovna”, and when Tsar Ivan Alekseevich married Praskovya Saltykova, not only the patronymic was changed, but also her father’s name was changed from Alexander to Fedor.

Many members of the royal family, including all Russian emperors, starting with Nicholas I, considered it their duty to visit Kostroma - “the cradle of the House of Romanov” - and venerate the miraculous Theodore Icon of the Mother of God. The patroness icon was especially revered by Tsar Nicholas, and his entire family prayed before it. In Tsarskoe Selo (1909-1912), on the site chosen by the monarch himself, the Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral was built in honor of the shrine. At the site of the death of the holy passion-bearers, in the house of Ipatiev (Ekaterinburg), a copy of the Theodore Icon of the Mother of God, which belonged to the martyr Queen Alexandra Feodorovna, was discovered.

Church history has preserved many miracles of icon renewal. But the opposite miracle happened with the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God. Shortly before the abdication of the passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas II, the image darkened and became almost black.

Celebration in memory miraculous acquisition icons have been known since the 13th century and were of a local nature. However, starting in 1620, which is associated with the return of Patriarch Philaret, the royal father, from captivity, this holiday was assigned to March 14 and immediately became very solemn and significant in the royal family.

Under the first Romanovs, the date of celebration, which fell on the days of Lent, was strictly observed and transferred to other days only in exceptional cases. The celebration of the icon was distinguished by a splendor atypical for Lenten services and was equated to the Feast of the Annunciation. It was celebrated in the Assumption Cathedral, dressed in white vestments, and served all-night vigil and the liturgy of John Chrysostom. From the second half of the XVIII century, the holiday began to be moved to the next Sunday, which has already reduced its status. In modern liturgical regulations, the celebration of the icon is carried out according to the usual Lenten rite.

The Kostroma Cathedral survived fire twice, and both times the icon was unharmed.During the second fire, residents of Kostroma could observe a miraculous phenomenon. When the flames of the fire destroyed the temple, the face of the Virgin Mary was visible above the flames in the air.After these fires, Prince Vasily decided to build a special temple for the icon of Our Lady of Theodore - the Assumption Cathedral with a chapel in the name of the Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates. The altar was facing not to the east, but to the north - to the place where the icon was found. The Feodorovskaya icon remained in this cathedral until 1929.

The original Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, fortunately, was not lost, which was confirmed, surprisingly, by the expedition of the People's Commissariat for Education in 1919. She never left the church walls, prayer never stopped before her. IN modern history For the Russian Orthodox Church, this case can rightfully be called unique. During the years of persecution of the Church, after the closure and destruction of the Assumption Cathedral, it was first kept in the Church of St. John Chrysostom, and then in the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ on Debra.On August 18, 1991, the icon was moved to the cathedral Epiphany- Anastasiin Cathedral Kostroma diocese.

The icon was repeatedly decorated with precious frames. IN early XIX century, at the expense of the residents of Kostroma, a new gold frame was made for the icon, in which it was placed gems from before. Later, a golden chasuble weighing about 10 kg was made for the icon. It adorned the icon until 1922, when the chasuble was requisitioned as part of a campaign to confiscate church property. In 1948, Patriarch Alexy I wished to decorate the icon with a new precious robe, worthy of the spiritual greatness of the shrine. Fundraising took several years, and in the spring of 1955, Moscow craftsmen made a silver-gilded frame for the icon. In 2003 His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II gave a blessing for the development of the project and production exact copy lost precious robe (1891), and the Kostroma diocese began collecting donations.

In 1869 in Church of St. Nicholas in Klenniki Moscow honorary citizen Anna Vasilievna Levina donated a copy of the ancient Kostroma icon of the Theodore Mother of God. Saint Righteous Alexy (Mechev) revered this image very much; he used to perform a prayer service in front of it every Wednesday after Vespers with the reading of the canon. Once, on the eve of the events of 1917, during the service of such a prayer service, tears rolled from the eyes of the Queen of Heaven. St. rights Alexy was shocked by this.

The Monk Ambrose of Optina blessed women expecting a child to resort to prayer in front of the Theodore Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. And now women carrying a child in their womb pray in front of this image of the Mother of God, asking Her help in safely relieving themselves of the burden, andgirls pray for happiness in marriage e.

Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos before Her Feodorovskaya icon:
ABOUT, Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, our only hope for sinners! We resort to You and pray to You, for you have great boldness before the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who was born of You in the flesh. Do not despise our tears, do not abhor our sighs, do not reject our sorrow, do not disgrace our trust in You, but with your motherly prayers beseech the Lord God that He will grant us, sinners and unworthy, to be freed from sins and passions of the soul and body, to die in peace and May He alone live all the days of our life. Oh, Most Holy Lady Theotokos, travel and protect and protect those who travel, deliver those captives from captivity, free those suffering from troubles, comfort those in sorrow, sorrow and misfortune, alleviate poverty and all bodily suffering and grant everyone everything they need for life, piety and life is more temporary. Save, O Lady, all the countries and cities and this city, to which this miraculous and holy icon of Thy was given for consolation and protection, deliver me from famine, destruction, cowardice, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreigners, internecine warfare and turn away all anger, righteously moved towards us. Grant us time for repentance and conversion, deliver us from sudden death, and at the time of our exodus, appear to us, appearing to the Virgin Mary, and deliver us from the airy ordeals of the princes of this age, grant us at the terrible Judgment of Christ to stand at the right hand and make us heirs of eternal blessings, may we glorify forever the magnificent Name of Your Son and our God, with His Originless Father and His Holy, Good, and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. A min.

Troparion, voice 4:
With the coming of Your venerable icon, O Lady of God, the God-protected city of Kostroma, now rejoiced, like ancient Israel to the Icon of the Covenant, flows to the image of Your face and our God incarnate from You, and through Your Motherly intercession to Him you may ever intercede for all who come under the shadow of Your shelter for peace and great mercy. .

Kontakion, voice 8:
Offering thanksgiving to Thy servants, the Mother of God, for everyone in whom You have done good to our city, from the depths of our souls we cry out to You, and we pray: do not cease, O Lady, by giving Motherly prayers to Your Son and our God all that is good and saving with faith and love crying Ti: Rejoice, Virgin, praise to Christians.

The suffering and humiliation of the revolution were given to us so that we could see the abyss into which the pre-revolutionary seducers were dragging us, and so that we would delight in God; so that we can be cleansed, reborn and woven into fabric new Russia. And therefore it is absurd for us to be proud of the fact that we “revised nothing” and “learned nothing,” and it is even more absurd for us to again “go scrounging under the windows” of Western culture, Western religiosity, philosophy and politics and beg for “poverty” stale crusts of European rational inventions. Russia expects from us its vision, its faith, its thoughts and its state form. And we must prepare for the day when the dominance of the devil in Russia will collapse.

I. A. Ilyin

It is no coincidence that we began our story about the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Feodorovskaya with the words of the remarkable Russian philosopher Ivan Aleksandrovich Ilyin. The fate of this miraculous image was closely intertwined with the fate of Russia, for Feodorovskaya was the ancestral icon of the Romanov dynasty.

The icon itself, painted by the Apostle Luke, was found by the holy noble prince Georgy Vsevolodovich in a chapel near the Volga Gorodets. In the middle of the 12th century, the Feodorovsky Grodetsky Monastery was founded at the site of its discovery, where the shrine was kept. But when Batu’s troops ravaged and burned the ancient Gorodets, all its inhabitants fled from these places, and it was believed that the icon died in the fire.

But in 1239, Prince Vasily Georgievich of Kostroma, while hunting, discovered an icon hanging on a pine tree in the forest. This was the missing Gorodets shrine. The prince tried to take it off, but the image rose into the air. Meanwhile, the residents of Kostroma saw a wondrous vision: they saw how, before the appearance of the icon to the prince, a bright man in rich military clothes was carrying it around the city. This man was very similar to the holy great martyr Theodore Stratilates, as he is depicted on icons. Only when the Kostroma residents, having learned about the miracle, came to this place in a religious procession and served a prayer service, were they able to remove the icon from the pine tree. The miraculous vision of the pious citizens of Kostroma, as well as the cathedral church in the name of the Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates, in which the icon was placed, gave rise to the name the icon of the Mother of God of Theodore, acquired by the prince.

At the site of the appearance of the icon, on the banks of the Zaprudnya River, a monastery was founded in the name of Savior Not Made by Hands(now - Spaso-Zaprudnenskaya Church). The altar of the Kostroma Cathedral, demolished in the 1930s, was facing not to the east, as usual, but to the north - towards Zaprudnya, to the site of the second miraculous apparition. In former times, a religious procession was held there annually on August 16th.

In 1239, the Feodorovskaya icon was brought to Vladimir, to the Assumption Cathedral. Then she became a prayer icon of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky and was with him on all campaigns. After the death of the prince in 1262, his younger brother, Vasily, returned miraculous image to Kostroma. In 1272, the Tatars approached Kostroma and the city was threatened with complete ruin. Having spoken out against the Tatars, the prince took with him the Feodorovskaya icon, and the enemies, struck by the extraordinary radiance of the holy image, which burned their hordes like fire, fled in fear.

More than three centuries later, it was in front of Feodorovskaya that the nun Martha blessed her young son Mikhail Fedorovich to the royal throne. For a long time he did not dare to give his consent, and then Archbishop Theodoret, taking the icon in his hands, said to him and his mother: “If you do not bow to mercy for our sake, at least for the sake of the miraculous image of the Queen of all and the Mother of God, do not disobey and do what is commanded to you from God. For truly you have been chosen by God. Don’t anger everyone, the Lord and God.” Nun Martha prostrated herself before the icon and prayed for a long time, then she brought her son to Feodorovskaya, blessed him and said: “To you, Lady, I entrust my son! May Your holy will be done over him.” The chosen king was immediately enthroned. It was in 1613, on March 14, and therefore on this day the celebration of the Theodore Icon was established. In Moscow - in the Grand Kremlin Palace, in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary “in the entryway” - from that time on, a revered copy of the original miraculous icon that was in the Kostroma Assumption Cathedral was kept. This list was brought to Moscow from Kostroma by the nun Martha herself.

Other miraculous lists from Feodorovskaya were in the Ascension Monastery in Syzran, in Nizhny Novgorod in the church in the name of St. Metropolitan Alexy, in the Feodorovsky Grodetsky Monastery of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, in the Trinity Church in Kazan (St. Hermogenes placed it there), in Morshansk, Yaroslavl and in many other places. In Moscow, in addition to the list in the palace church, there was also another, very ancient and accurate list from Feodorovskaya - in the temple on Malaya Alekseevskaya Street in Rogozhskaya Sloboda.

The accession of Mikhail Fedorovich marked the end of the Time of Troubles in Rus'. The Feodorovskaya icon was especially revered by the entire Romanov dynasty, and in the post-Petrine era, non-Christian brides of the heirs of the Russian throne who accepted Orthodoxy were usually given the patronymic name Feodorovna in its honor. Just as the installation of the first tsar from the Romanov dynasty once took place in front of this icon, so it accompanied the last sovereign and his family until his martyrdom. The Martyr Queen Alexandra Feodorovna especially revered the Feodorovskaya Icon. In Tsarskoye Selo she built the Feodorovsky Cathedral with the Feodorovsky town around it. In Ipatiev’s house in Yekaterinburg after the bloody massacre royal family The image of the Mother of God of Feodorovskaya was found, without which Alexandra Feodorovna did not go anywhere.

In the 1930s, the Kostroma Assumption Cathedral - the place of permanent residence of the icon for centuries - was destroyed. However, the icon did not fall into the hands of the atheists, but was transferred first to the Church of St. John Chrysostom, and then to the Church of the Resurrection on Debra, which for many years served as the cathedral of the Kostroma diocese. Before this image, public prayer never stopped. In 1991, the main shrine of Kostroma was solemnly moved to the newly restored terrible fire 1982 and the Epiphany-Anastasinsky Cathedral of Kostroma was returned to the church, where it now resides.

It is providential that when the “dominance of the devil” collapsed in Russia, religious processions with the Theodore Icon resumed. And, as His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Hands said, these moves “are now acquiring national all-Russian significance.”

Until 2001, the Feodorovskaya icon had never left the Kostroma land (with the exception of the 1940s, when it was restored by I.E. Grabar). At the beginning of the third millennium, the miraculous, long since revered as a deliberate patroness Orthodox family and the younger generation, with the blessing of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, she visited Moscow and Yekaterinburg, where she sanctified large Orthodox youth forums. The Feodorovskaya icon was accompanied on these long journeys by Archbishop Alexander of Kostroma and Galich, Chairman of the Department for Youth Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate.

During the stay of the shrine in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christians were able to venerate it and receive grace-filled consolation. The icon was delivered to the capital of the Urals by air, and this religious procession was accompanied by miraculous signs. Despite very bad weather, the plane with the shrine on board - the only one out of dozens of others - managed to land at Yekaterinburg airport. In Yekaterinburg, a penitential religious procession took place with the Theodore Icon to the places of the murder and burial of the saints royal passion-bearers. This event, given the historical and spiritual connection of the icon with the royal family, undoubtedly has a deep symbolic meaning.

Then, at the request of Bishop Tikhon of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory (a native of Kostroma), the shrine was brought to the North on the occasion of the celebration of the three hundred and twentieth anniversary of the Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory diocese. After Divine Liturgy In the Kostroma Cathedral, the shrine solemnly departed for Yaroslavl, where it remained in the Feodorovsky Cathedral for about four hours: thousands of Orthodox Christians came to venerate it. To deliver the shrine to Arkhangelsk, the leadership of the Northern railway allocated two special carriages. A prayer service was held in front of the shrine on the Northern Dvina embankment in Arkhangelsk. It is significant that this was the first religious procession through the streets of Arkhangelsk after 1917. The Feodorovskaya icon was in the St. Elijah Cathedral for two days, during which time more than one hundred thousand Arkhangelsk residents worshiped it. And then the miraculous one was delivered by air to the Solovetsky monastery. As Bishop Alexander said on this occasion, “there is probably no place on Russian soil in which the lawlessness of the revolutionary element would be concentrated to such an extent. The Solovetsky land is a living antimension, stained with the blood of the righteous. Society rejected the Solovetsky prisoners, and along with them rejected those spiritual principles on which it had been based for centuries. Russian state, began Christian. But time has clearly shown that without true spiritual values it is impossible to build a prosperous society; it will be a “house on sand.” Therefore, the current stay of the miraculous patroness of the Russian state on Solovki can be regarded as an act of repentance, similar to last year’s religious procession with the shrine in Yekaterinburg.”

IN religious processions Many hundreds of thousands of people took part with the Feodorovskaya icon. Truly this was a genuine act of great national repentance. Russia is being reborn - first spiritually, then, hopefully, economically. For Russia, the inheritance of the Most Holy Theotokos, the most important thing is to return to our spiritual roots and take our own path. The great Russian thinker I.A. wrote about this. Ilyin.

Troparion, tone 4
With the coming of Your venerable icon, O Mother of God, the God-protected city of Kostroma, now rejoiced, like ancient Israel to the ark of the covenant, flows to the image of Your face and our God incarnate from You, and through Your maternal intercession to Him you ever intercede for all who seek refuge under the shadow of Your blood, peace and great mercy.
Troparion, tone 4
Today the famous city of Kostroma and the entire Russian country are shining brightly, calling all the God-loving Christian peoples to joy, to the glorious triumph of God's Mother, coming for the sake of Her miraculous and multi-healing image, today the bright great sun hanging for us, come, all God's chosen people, new Israel, to a celibate source, it exudes non-judgmental mercies for us Holy Mother of God and delivers all Christian cities and countries unharmed from all the slander of the enemy. But, O All-Merciful Lady, Virgin Mother of God, Lady, save our country, and the bishops, and all the people of Your heritage from all troubles according to Your great mercy, let us call You: Rejoice, Virgin, praise to Christians.
First prayer
O Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, the only hope for us sinners! We resort to You and pray to You, for you have great boldness before the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who was born of You in the flesh. Do not despise our tears, do not abhor our sighs, do not reject our sorrow, do not disgrace our hope in You, but with your motherly prayers beseech the Lord God that He will grant us, sinners and unworthy, to be freed from sins and passions of the soul and body, to die in peace and the life of Him alone throughout all the days of our life. O Most Holy Lady Theotokos, travel and protect and protect them, deliver those captives from captivity, free those suffering from troubles, comfort those in sorrow, sorrow and misfortune, alleviate poverty and all bodily suffering and grant to everyone everything necessary for life, piety and temporary life . Save, O Lady, all countries and cities, and this country and this city, to whom this miraculous and holy icon of Thy was given for consolation and protection, deliver me from famine, destruction, cowardice, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreigners, internecine warfare, and turn away all anger that is righteously driven towards us. Grant us time for repentance and conversion, deliver us from sudden death, and during our exodus appear to us, the Virgin Mother of God, and deliver us from the airy ordeals of the princes of this age, grant us at the Last Judgment to stand at the right hand of Christ, and make us heirs of the eternal good, may we glorify forever the magnificent name of Your Son and our God with His Originless Father and His Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Second prayer
O Most Merciful Lady Queen Theotokos, accept our humble prayer, and do not reject us, our Intercession and Refuge, and do not disdain us unworthy, but as the Merciful One, do not stop praying, Whom You gave birth to, may He grant us forgiveness of our many sins, may He save us image is the news of fate. Have mercy on us, Lady, have mercy on us, for there is no salvation for us from works. It is also true that we cry to Thee: have mercy on Thy servants, and show our barren heart fruitful in good deeds. Look down on us unworthy. You are our hope and protection, life and light to our heart. As you raised up the Everlasting Light from Your womb, illuminate our soul, O Pure One, and drive away all darkness in our hearts. Grant us tenderness, repentance and contrition of heart. Grant us, all the days of our lives, to do the will of Thy Son and our God and to please Him alone in everything. O Mother of God, do not stop praying to the One born of You for all those who flow with faith to this miraculous image of Yours and give them ambulance and consolation in sorrows, and misfortunes, and suffering, deliver them from slander and human malice, from enemies visible and invisible, and all kinds of needs and sorrows. Save our fatherland, this city and all cities and countries from all troubles and needs, and make the existence of our God merciful to us, turn away all His anger against us, and deliver us from His due and righteous rebuke. O God-loving Lady, adornment of the angels, glory to the martyrs and joy to all the saints, pray to the Lord with them, that he may grant us in repentance to end the course of our life. In the hour of death, Most Holy Virgin, deliver us from the power of demons and condemnation, and the answer, and terrible trials, and bitter ordeals, and eternal fire, so that, having been honored with the glorious Kingdom of God, we magnify You and glorify Christ our God, incarnate from You, glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer three.
To whom will I call, Lady, to whom will I resort in my sorrow, to whom will I bring my tears and sighs, if not to You, Queen of heaven and earth. Who will pluck me from the mire of sins and iniquities, if not You, O Mother of the Belly, Intercessor and Refuge of the human race. Hear my groaning, comfort me and have mercy in my sorrow, protect me in troubles and misfortunes, deliver me from bitterness and sorrows and all sorts of ailments and illnesses, from visible and invisible enemies, pacify the enmity of those who suffer me, so that I will be delivered from slander and human malice; Likewise, free me from your flesh’s vile customs. Cover me under the canopy of Your mercy, so that I may find peace and joy and cleansing from sins. I entrust to myself your maternal intercession: be my Mother and hope, protection, and help, and intercession, joy, and consolation, and a quick Helper in everything. O wonderful Lady! Everyone who comes to You without Your all-powerful help does not leave: for this reason, even though I am unworthy, I come running to You, so that I will be delivered from sudden and cruel death, gnashing of teeth and eternal torment. I am worthy to receive the Kingdom of Heaven and to You in the tenderness of my heart the river: Rejoice, Mother of God, our zealous Representative and Intercessor, forever and ever. Amen.

29 / 08 / 2005

The entire history of the Russian Orthodox Church is inextricably linked with the veneration of icons, especially those that became famous for the miracles revealed through them. They are called miraculous. One of these miraculous images is the Feodorovskaya icon of the Mother of God. This is the oldest image of the Queen of Heaven. Its authorship is attributed to the Evangelist Luke. When and how he came to Rus' is unknown, but many legends and traditions are associated with his stay in Russian lands.

The first information about the miraculous icon

The first information about this miraculous icon dates back to the beginning of the 12th century. It is known that it was kept in a chapel, near the legendary city of Kitezh, in the Gorodetsky Monastery. This continued until they passed through Russian lands Batu's hordes. Gorodets, and with it the monastery, were completely plundered and burned. The miraculous image also disappeared without a trace. Those who were lucky enough to survive the invasion of the Tatars believed that it was hopelessly lost, but after some time what is now called the first of its known miracles happened.

By the will of the Creator, having survived the fire of the conflagration, the image was again revealed to the Russian soil. Legends present us with several versions of this event, and they name the names of various historical figures who were honored to be the first to take the newly found shrine into their hands, but one thing is indisputable - the Queen of Heaven, by the appearance of a miraculous image, testified to her persistent help and support to all who, with deep faith, trust in her.

Finding the image by Prince Vasily

In connection with this event, Prince Vasily of Kostroma is most often mentioned. It is said that one day while hunting he saw the image of the Mother of God in the branches of a tree. With great honor and accompanied by the clergy, the find was transferred to Kostroma and placed in the city church. There were those who immediately recognized this icon as an image that was considered lost in the fire.

Soon another miracle occurred, which served as the reason for naming the icon as is customary today. One day, the amazed residents of Kostroma witnessed how a certain wonderful warrior in the image of the holy great martyr Fyodor Stratelite walked through the city, carrying a recently acquired icon in his hands. It was from then on that it began to be called the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God.

New disasters and miracles

Further, church tradition tells of new disasters that befell the inhabitants of Kostroma, and of new manifestations of miraculous powers. Thus, it is mentioned that soon after the discovery of the icon, the wooden church where it was located burned down, but when the inconsolable townspeople began to rake away the still smoking ashes, they suddenly discovered a completely intact and undamaged image. And this was not the last time when the icon of the Mother of God of Fedorov miraculously remained untouched by the fire.

In those days in Rus', buildings were most often erected from wood, which is why fires were not uncommon. After some time, the newly rebuilt cathedral church also burst into flames. When the townspeople rushed to save their shrine from the fire, they suddenly saw how the icon, slowly rising from the fire, hung in the air and was ready to disappear forever into the sky. It became clear to everyone that the Queen of Heaven was leaving them for the sins committed by people. Everyone fell to their knees and tearfully repented before the shrine. Only after this the icon, floating in the air, landed on the city square.

Saving Kostroma from the Tatars

It is difficult to list all the miracles revealed by the Mother of God through this miraculous image of hers. Suffice it to remember how in 1260, when hordes of Tatars again approached the city, the icon saved Kostroma from inevitable destruction. Carried out of the temple in the arms of the city’s defenders, she blinded her enemies with the powerful radiance emanating from her. The enemies, distraught with horror, ran away and never returned. By order of Prince Vasily, the icon was installed in the Assumption Cathedral of Kostroma and decorated with a precious robe. She remained there until 1929. An akathist to the Fedorov Icon of the Mother of God was compiled.

The elevation to the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich

But the most striking event Russian history, in which the icon of the Mother of God of Fedorov played a crucial role, was the accession to the reign of the founder of the Romanov dynasty, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. It is known for certain that the embassy of the Zemsky Sobor, which arrived from Moscow to Kostroma, with the goal of announcing to young Mikhail the great mission entrusted to him, brought with it two icons - the Mother of God of Vladimir and the icon of the Moscow miracle workers.

Residents of Kostroma, having met the embassy with the Fedorov icon, went to the nearby Ipatiev Monastery, where the future sovereign was at that time with his mother, nun Matryona. It is known how stubbornly mother and son opposed accepting the royal scepter, and only by the will of the Queen of Heaven, depicted on the miraculous icon, was their consent obtained.

It was in front of the Fedorovskaya icon that the nun Matryona fell to her knees, blessing her son Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom. This happened in the memorable year 1613. He put an end to a difficult period in the history of the country - the Time of Troubles. This year began the three-hundred-year countdown of the reign of the reigning house of Romanov.

Icon preserved by God's providence

In the 20th century, with all its shocks and troubles, by God's providence The Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God was preserved. How does the Most Holy Theotokos help people? In what is asked of her in fervent prayers. So the Most Pure One preserved her image, heeding the prayers of many, many Orthodox Christians who suffered in the era of atheistic theomachism.

Nowadays this miraculous image is kept in the Kostroma Cathedral, and in St. Petersburg the restored and brought back to life Church of the Fedorov Icon of the Mother of God opens its doors every day. It is located in the city center, not far from Nevsky Prospekt, and is always full of people. People come here to pray in front of one of the icon copies, also famous for its miracles. As the Gospel says, everyone receives according to their faith. The Fedorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God also brings help to true believers.

What does she help with and what do you usually ask her for?

You can turn to the Most Holy Theotokos in front of this image of her with any requests - the Lady of Heaven will hear them, and if it is her will, she will help. But most often the prayer to the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God is offered by women during pregnancy and childbirth. It is especially necessary to ask for her help in cases where, for one reason or another, childbirth may be difficult. As in all cases of life, there is no more reliable support and protection than the Protection of the Most Pure Mother of God and her help, revealed through miraculous icons, one of which bears the name of Fedorovskaya.