Our once great and glorious Motherland, Russia - Holy Russia - from ancient times had a great and glorious name: the House of the Most Holy Theotokos. Or in other words: the irresistible heritage of the Mother of God, recalls Archbishop Averky (Taushev).
The Lord helped our noble prince to stand up for the Orthodox faith, for the House of the Most Holy Theotokos - such a joyful exclamation was met by the people of the holy prince Alexander Nevsky, who was returning home after brilliant victory won by him over the Livonian knights.
— Orthodox people! Let us want to help the Moscow State, let us not spare our stomachs. Let us all stand as one for the Russian land, for the House of the Most Holy Theotokos, - with these words Kozma Minin - Sukhoruk called out to the Russian people, urging them to rise to protect and save the fatherland.
And as the whole of Russian history over the course of a number of centuries testifies, this lofty name was not devoid of the deepest meaning.
All the most important events in the historical life of the Russian people are so closely connected with the veneration of the Most Holy Theotokos, who in difficult moments immediately came to his aid, delivering him from the strongest enemies, that indeed our Motherland was, as it were, Her House, in which she constantly lived.
And this is her invisible, but, nevertheless, always really tangible presence on Russian soil She showed through numerous Miraculous Icons. Which were reverently revered by the Russian people, not as idols, according to the arrogant assertion of the sectarians, but as visible signs, symbols of Her invisible presence and patronage of the Russian people.
According to the faith of the Russian people, countless miracles emanated from these icons, and at critical moments that threatened the very historical existence of the Russian people, through fervent prayer before these icons, the Most Holy Theotokos truly miraculously saved the Russian land from terrible ruin, and the Russian people from death.
The main shrine of the Russian people, through the prayers before which the Most Pure Mother of God repeatedly saved the Russian land, is the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir. In the very holy place of the Russian people, in the heart of the Russian state in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral, the first in the iconostasis, to the left of the royal doors, stood this great, cherished shrine of the Russian land.
Russian tsars were crowned before her, and the first hierarchs of the Russian Church were elected before her. For eight centuries, in front of this holy icon, the Russian people sent up their prayers to the intercessor of the Christian race, and she immediately showed Her grace-filled help, until, under the influence of dark forces, blasphemers appeared among the Russian people, blasphemers of the Blessed Virgin, thereby dooming the Russian land to death, as our great hierarch Theophan, the Vyshensky Recluse, writes about this in one of his letters:
- We should be punished: send blasphemy against God and His deeds. Someone wrote to me that blasphemy against the Mother of God was printed in some newspaper. The Mother of God turned away from us. For her sake, and the Son of God, and for his sake, God the Father and the Spirit of God. Who is for us when God is against us? Alas!
This is the reason for the terrible disaster that befell our Motherland: we did not want our Motherland to continue to be the House of the Most Holy Theotokos, and therefore we lost Her protection and intercession, which has always been so tangible throughout our centuries-old history in the past.
Let us remember what the Russian people owed to the Most Pure Mother of God in this past, and above all, what was especially dear to us this greatest of all Russian shrines - the Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir?
Particularly remarkable was the intercession of the Mother of God for the Russian land in 1395 during the invasion of the terrible Asian conqueror Tamerlane. This most ferocious of the conquerors, who was not without reason called the scourge of the peoples, having exterminated millions of people and shed torrents of blood, after the devastation of a number of countries, went to the borders of the Russian state, sowing fear and horror everywhere. He has already reached the Don River. He took the city of Yelets, and killed many people there along with its prince.
Hastily gathering an army, Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich went out to meet him and stopped at Kolomna on the banks of the Oka River. But, of course, salvation from human power could not be expected, and fervent prayers began to be lifted up throughout the Russian land to God, to His Most Pure Mother, the Moscow saints Peter and Alexy, and the mourner of the Russian land, St. Sergius.
An example of this ardent popular prayer was given by the Grand Duke himself, who asked the people to impose the strictest fast on themselves and ordered the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir to be transferred from Vladimir to Moscow. A special honorary embassy from the clergy was sent to Vladimir for the shrine.
On the very day of the Assumption on August 15, after the liturgy and prayer service, the holy icon was raised from its usual place and taken into the hands of the Moscow embassy. The icon's journey to Moscow continued for ten days. It was a breathtaking sight. On both sides of the road people were on their knees and, holding out their hands to the icon, shouted:
— Mother of God, save the Russian Land! At this time, Metropolitan Cyprian, with all the clergy and people, having imposed a strict fast on himself, did not leave the church, performing services day and night and praying with tears for the Grand Duke, for his army and for all Orthodox Christians.
When the holy icon approached Moscow, a solemn welcome awaited it there: The whole city went out against the icon to meet it.
Metropolitan Cyprian himself with bishops and archpastors was at the head of the innumerable people who came out in procession. With abbots and deacons. With all the kliros and church clergy. With chernorytsy and chernorytsy. With noble princes, with noble princesses. With bolyars and bolyarynyami. The people in dense crowds surrounded the primate and those who accompanied him. Husbands and wives, virgins and elders, children and babies, orphans and widows, the poor and the needy, all ages, male and female, from young to old. The whole multitude of countless people of people, with crosses and icons, with the Gospels and candles and censers. With psalms and songs and spiritual singing. More so, say all with tears, malia and greatness, and you can’t find a person without crying. But all with prayer and weeping, incessant sighing and sobbing.
Seeing the holy icon, everyone fell to the ground and bowed to her as the Most Pure Mother of God who had come to them, and with great joy they took her to the Assumption Cathedral, praying to the Mother of God for deliverance from the invasion of a terrible enemy. And what? This common nationwide tearful prayer did not remain fruitless. On that same day, August 26 (September 8), and the hour when the holy icon was so solemnly greeted in Moscow, Tamerlane dozed off in his tent.
And suddenly he sees in a dream a high mountain, from the top of which saints with golden rods descend to him, threatening him with them.
Above them in the air, in indescribable grandeur, in the radiance of bright rays, stood the mysterious Wife. In a crimson royal robe, shining brighter than the sun with lightning-like rays.
Around Her were a great many lightning-like warriors armed with fiery swords.
Terrifyingly turning Her eyes on Tamerlane, She ordered him to leave the borders of the Russian land. And at the same time, the lightning-like warriors, raising their fiery swords, rushed at him.
Tamerlane, trembling, woke up from the horror that seized him. Calling his princes and commanders, as well as wise men and fortune-tellers, he, shaking and groaning, as if in a frenzy, told them his dream. Those who listened themselves were in awe and horror, and the wisest of those called by him explained that the majestic Wife he saw in a dream in a royal robe is the Intercessor of the Russians, the Mother of the Christian God. And that her strength is irresistible.
Then Tamerlane said:
“If the Russians have such a Helper, then we are going against them in vain. And immediately gave the order to his hordes to turn back. On the way, it began to seem to them that the Russians were pursuing them, and the Asians turned into a real flight, crushing each other, throwing weapons and booty, and leaving the prisoners.
So by prayer of the Blessed Virgin The Mother of God was granted victory to the Russian army over the terrible conqueror without a fight and shedding of blood. And the chronicler, describing this event, adds: And Tamerlane fled, persecuted by the power of the Blessed Virgin.
Scenario lesson plan for the EPC in grade 8
Teacher MKOU "Zalininskaya secondary school" Mikhrenina Larisa Germanovna
Lesson topic :Russia is the home of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Goals for the children's team:
the ability to use the accumulated material for the use of their own project;
developing the ability to analyze one's own activities, isolate a problem and build ways to solve it; - fulfillment of the task at the level of speaking about the main events of the earthly life of the Virgin.
Tasks:
the formation of students' ideas about the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos, about the role and significance of the image of the Most Holy Theotokos in people's lives, about the types of icons of the Most Holy Theotokos;
development of figurative thinking expressive means various kinds of arts;
development of interest in sacred music and literature, icon painting as a bright phenomenon of Russian Orthodox culture;
Advance task: develop your own script for a speech about a chosen event in the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos.Music line:
Prayer "Our Lady of the Virgin, rejoice" Optina Choir.
Visual and literary series:
icon "Nativity of the Mother of God";
icon "Introduction to the temple";
icon "Annunciation";
icon "Christmas";
icon "Assumption of the Mother of God";
icon "Vladimir Mother of God";
Icon of the Mother of God "Kazanskaya";
icon of the Mother of God Softening evil hearts
Icon of the Mother of God of Iberia
Old Testament
New Testament
Encyclopedia of Fine Arts. Iconography. Renaissance. Soviet artists.
World of Orthodoxy "Theotokos". Full description life and miracles. - Moscow: "Eksmo", 2009.
Holidays of the Orthodox Church. - Moscow: "Eksmo", 2009.
Oleinikova T.S. "Twelfth Holidays" - Ryazan: "Grains", 2006.
Video series:
film the first "Miracle-working icons of the Mother of God" Old Testament. TC "My joy"
Internet resources:
Lesson equipment:
a computer;
multimedia projector;
presentation for the lesson.
Preparation period.
Student activities:
Assistance in organizing the visual environment (stands with icon-painting images of the Virgin, - selection of musical and poetic material;
Acquaintance with the main events of the earthly life of the Virgin and the distribution of the amount of material for the performers.
Planned learning outcome, including the formation of UUD:
cognitive UDD:
General educational UUD
Information retrieval
Self-creation ways to solve problems of a creative and exploratory nature:expanding horizons in the field Orthodox culture, replenishment of students' knowledge of the type of icons of the Virgin, assistance in the revival of traditional spiritual and moral values through a deep study of the material.
L ogical UDD
Building a logical chain of reasoning
Putting forward hypotheses, their justification
Problem posing and solving UDD
Independent creation of ways to solve problems of a creative and exploratory nature
Regulatory
to form the ability to understand the educational goal and task
Personal
empathy for the feelings of others.
Communicative UUD :
To form the ability to express their thoughts in a value judgment
Construction of speech statements
Ability to listen and hear: developing the ability to give an accurate answer to the question posed, listen to the opinions of others and treat them with respect
Moral and ethical orientation
moral education through the study of Orthodox art.
Basic concepts: oranta, hodegetria,tenderness,akathist, apocrypha.
Interdisciplinary connections: literature, music, visual arts, history, MHK.
Lesson steps:
organizational moment: emotional mood;
updating knowledge: the earthly life of the Virgin
goal-setting and motivation: to give knowledge about the types of icons of the Mother of God and the miraculous icons that saved Russia more than once in difficult periods of history.
Lesson plan:
The earthly life of the Virgin.
Types of icons of the Virgin:
independent work of students, test.
Miraculous icons of the Mother of God. Watching a movie.
During the classes
Introductory speech of the teacher
The Blessed Virgin Mary is considered the patroness of Russia. Therefore, the Russian people, in difficult periods of their history, first of all turned to her, as their ruler and constant intercessor before the Lord, and always received help and protection.
I put all my hope in You, Mother of God, keep Me under Your shelter.
These are the words of short prayer facing the Virgin. They are simple, pure, harmonious and divinely sincere. The same harmony is in other prayers and akathists in honor of the Mother of God, in honor of Her miraculous icons. The words come straight from the heart. And it cannot be otherwise, because the Mother of God is, first of all, the Mother. Mother of Jesus Christ and spiritual Mother of each of us. That is why the words addressed to her are warmed with spiritual warmth, and the faces of the Virgin reciprocate, radiating the same warmth, but Divine.
The student reads by heart the poem by Yu.V. Zhadovskaya "Prayer"
PRAYER
Mira Intercessor, Mother of all singing,
I am before You with a prayer:
Poor sinner, dressed in darkness,
You cover with grace.
If trials befall me,
Sorrow, loss, enemies, -
In a difficult hour of life, in a moment of suffering,
You help me, please.
Spiritual joy, thirst for salvation
Put in my heart;
To the kingdom of heaven, to the world of consolation
Show me the straight path.
Teacher.
More than two thousand years separate us from the day when the Blessed Virgin appeared in the light of God. Today it is hard even to believe that She had an earthly life filled with human worries, joys and sufferings. We are accustomed to perceive Her as the Queen of Heaven, and She had her earthly character traits - a tendency to rest, thoughtfulness, as evidenced by Her contemporaries. The divine touching smile of the Virgin Mary was forever captured by icon painters, this is not even a smile, but an image of kindness itself.
Let's listen to the messages you have prepared about Mary's earthly life.
(Performance of students with a presentation about the earthly life of the Virgin Mary)
See applications.
The student reads by heart a poem by P. Lebedinsky
To You, Queen of Mercy,
To Thee, O Mother of the Divine,
With warm and fervent prayer
We direct all hearts.
For everyone you pray unceasingly
Christ - Judge of the days to come,
And at your desired prayer
He sends salvation to people.
He gave you a sovereign cover,
So intercede, O Lady,
Our Russian Orthodox people:
Our hope is all in You.
All who are in sickness and adversity,
In sorrow, under the burden of sins
And in the grave misfortunes of life,
Take under Your holy protection.
Only with a tender soul
With hope for you alone
And with broken tears
We pray to you:
Deliver us from evil and anger,
Send all the blessings for the slaves
And save us, Queen-Virgo,
You are our divine protection.
Part II Miraculous Icons of the Mother of God and their types.
Teacher. Medieval art cannot be imagined without the widely depicted image of the Mother of God.
The art of the High Renaissance brought such an understanding of beauty, when the desire to create the image of a perfect person, beautiful both physically and spiritually, is vivid. The embodiment of such an ideal is the Madonna, the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus Christ - the lofty ideal of motherhood and sacrificial love for people.
If in Western Europe there was a cult of the Madonna, then in Russia we have the cult of the Virgin, who was perceived as the patroness and protector of her native land, the intercessor of people before God.
What do we know about her? Very little. Little is said about the Virgin Mary in the Gospel. She always modestly kept aloof and only on the terrible day of the death of her Son was next to him.
…Magdalene fought and sobbed,
Beloved student turned to stone.
And to where silently Mother stood,
So no one dared to look ...
The first Christians searched for and kept memories of her, wrote down the testimonies of those who saw her. These carefully collected traditions were not included in the Gospel. They were collected in separate books and calledapocrypha , which in Greek means "secret, separate books." Not all apocrypha were approved by the church. Here is what they said about the Mother of God:
“She was of average height, or, as some say, a little more than average. Her hair was golden, her eyes were lively, her eyebrows were arched, dark, her nose was straight and elongated, her lips were blooming, her face was not round or pointed, but somewhat elongated, her arms and fingers were long ... completely artless, simple. She did not think a little about Herself, and far from effeminacy, she was distinguished by complete humility ... In short, in all Her actions a special grace was revealed.
It was in this way, meek and spiritualized, that the face of the Mother of God was painted on the icons.
Many different icons were painted in Russia. Over time, they began to be called according to the place where they appeared or became famous: Vladimirskaya, Smolenskaya, Kazanskaya, Kurskaya, Tikhvinskaya, etc.
As a rule, these were images of the Mother of God with the baby Christ - only the poses and symbolic details differed slightly.
Conventionally, the whole variety of types of icons of the Mother of God with the Child can be divided into four groups, each of which represents the disclosure of one of the facets of the image of the Mother of God.
Types of icons of the Virgin
First group - type of iconography"The Omen"(abbreviated and truncated version -Oranta, from lat. orans - praying).
Mary is represented in the pose of Oranta, that is, praying, with her hands raised to the sky.
Second type received the name"Hodegetria"what does it mean in greek"Guide".
The icon depicts the Mother of God, on one of Her hands sits the Infant Christ, with the other hand the Mother of God points to Him.
The most famous variants of Hodegetria include: "Smolenskaya", "Iverskaya" (Goalkeeper), "Tikhvinskaya", "Georgian", "Jerusalemskaya", "Three-Handed", "Passionate", "Czestokhovskaya", "Cypriot", "Abalatskaya", "The guarantor of sinners" and many others.
Third type icons of the Mother of God in Russia received the name" tenderness",which is not quite an accurate translation of the Greek word "Eleusa", i.e."Merciful."
On these icons, Mary's head is bowed to the Son, and He hugs the Mother's neck with his hand. This touching composition contains a deep theological idea: here the Mother of God is revealed to us not only as a Mother caressing her Son, but also as a symbol of the soul in close communion with God.
A whole series of icons belongs to the type of akathist. They received such a name due to the fact that each of them reflects one or another ability of the Mother of God, which were described in akathists. This includes such well-known icons as "", "" and others. They pray to them at certain moments of life, asking for intercession in one or another difficult life situation. The icon for prayer is selected according to its properties.
Akathist Icon of the Mother of God
Akathist - a form of church poetry, a laudatory hymn in honor of Jesus Christ, the Virgin or saints. Greek word akathist means "non-sedal singing", that is, a hymn, during the singing of which one does not sit. The oldest is Great akathist Theotokos (“The Chosen Voivode ...”), compiled on the occasion of the deliverance of Constantinople in 626 from the Persians and Avars through prayers before the icon of the Mother of God. There are several icons with the name "Akathist".
"Akathist" is often called, on the stamps of which scenes from the akathists of the Most Holy Theotokos are depicted. In the central part of such images, the icon of the Mother of God of Arapet (Arabian or “O All-Singing Mother”) was often placed, so some icon painters mistakenly began to call the Arapet icon “Akathist”.
In the Balkans, the "Akathist" is widespread, which depicts the Most Holy Theotokos sitting on a throne.
Teacher: To consolidate knowledge about the types of icons of the Virgin, I suggest you take a test. I think that you will have enough time while the prayer is played by the choir of the Optina Desert.
Reflection. Independent work (tests)
Rejoice Virgin Mary" . Performed by the Optina Pustyn Choir"
The calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church mentions about 260 revered and miraculous icons of the Mother of God, in general, one can count more than 860 items Her icons. For most icons, separate days of celebration are set, prayers are written for them.
III part. Watching a movie
Teacher: Let's watch a film about the Miraculous Icons of the Mother of God
SUMMARIZING
After listening to and viewing the material about the earthly life of the Mother of God, we come to the conclusion that her whole life passed near the Savior. She did not know how to love and serve otherwise than "... looking to Jesus Christ and he was crucified." Only near the Savior, with strong faith in Him as the Son of God, with fiery love for God, with firm hope in Him, is every woman a true Christian, full of dignity, high in her humblest position. There is no such Christian virtue that would not find a model in the life and character of the Mother of God...
Homework: prepare presentations on one of the icons of the Virgin.
Attachment 1
Earthly life of the Virgin Mary
Student 1.
Mary's mother's name was Anna, her father's name was Joachim, both family branches had respectable ancestors, among whom were patriarchs, high priests and rulers of the Jews from the branches of the wise Solomon and the powerful David. Joachim and Anna were not considered wealthy and noble, although they lived comfortably, breeding large herds of sheep. Only one sadness oppressed them: there were no children. The coming of the Messiah was already predetermined, and childless people obviously lost the hope of having the Messiah as their descendant, which every family secretly dreamed of. Among the Israelites at that time, even the clergy perceived the childless as punished from above. This confirms the fact from the life of Joachim. On the feast of the renewal of the Temple of Jerusalem, he, along with other residents, brought rich gifts for the Temple, but the priest refused to accept them - Joachim's childlessness was the reason for this. He endured his grief heavily, for some time even retired to the desert, where bitterly weeping repeatedly turned to God: "My tears will be my food, and the desert will be my home until the great and wise Lord hears my prayer." And then Joachim heard the words of the Angel of the Lord: “I have been sent to announce to you that your prayer has been heard. Your wife Anna will give birth to you a wonderful daughter, and you will call her Mary. Anna, and she will also please you with joyful news. But remember that your daughter is the fruit of a divine gift."
An angel of the Lord also appeared to Anna and also told that she would give birth to a blessed daughter. The small southern town of Nazareth, where Joachim and Anna lived, was located three days from Jerusalem. From the very beginning of their life together, they walked from Nazareth in order to express their great request to God in the famous Jerusalem Temple: to have a child. And now the dream came true, their joy knew no bounds.
On December 9 (according to the old style), the Orthodox Church celebrates the conception of the Blessed Virgin, and on September 8, Her birth. Three years old, Mary was brought into the Temple of Jerusalem. It was a very important moment, and it is no coincidence that the Orthodox Church celebrates such an event. It took place in a very solemn atmosphere: the procession was opened by girls of the same age as the Blessed Virgin, with lit candles in their hands, followed by Joachim and Anna, along with their blessed daughter, holding hands. They were followed by numerous relatives, among whom were very noble persons. Everyone's faces were lit up with joy. The virgins walked with the singing of spiritual songs, their voices merged with the singing of the Angels.
Student 2
In the Temple of Jerusalem, the Blessed Virgin was destined to spend many years. That temple was a prototype of a monastic monastery. Within the walls of the Temple there were 90 separate spacious rooms-cells. A third of them were assigned to virgins who dedicated their lives to God, the rest of the rooms were occupied by widows who gave dinner to keep celibacy. The elders took care of the younger ones, taught them to read sacred books and needlework. The Blessed Virgin Mary immediately surprised everyone by the fact that she easily comprehended the most difficult parts of the sacred books, better than all adults who have studied these books all their lives.
After the birth of the desired child, the parents die very soon, first Joachim at the age of 80, followed by Anna. There was no one even to visit a small child staying in the Temple. Orphanhood and the consciousness of her loneliness turned Mary's heart even more strongly to God, in Him was contained Her whole destiny.
When Mary was fourteen years old, the high priests announced to her that it was time to get married. Mary replied that she wanted to devote her life to God and wanted to preserve her virginity. How to be?
The angel of the Lord appeared to the high priest Zechariah and told him the advice of the Almighty: "Gather the unmarried men of the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of David, let them bring their staffs. And to whom the Lord will show a sign, you will hand over the Virgin to become the guardian of Her virginity."
It all happened. High Priest Zechariah gathered unmarried men near the temple and turned to God with a prayer: "Lord God, show me a man worthy to become the Virgin's betrothed." The staves of the invited husbands were left in the sanctuary. When they came for them, they immediately saw how one staff blossomed, and a dove sat on the branches that appeared. The owner of the staff turned out to be 80-year-old widower Joseph, who was engaged in carpentry. The dove, flying off the staff, began to circle over Joseph's head. And then Zechariah said: "You will receive the Virgin and you will keep Her." At first, Joseph objected, fearing that with adult sons who are older than Mary, he would become a laughingstock of people. Tradition says that Mary herself was very upset that she had to leave the Temple of God. But by the will of the Almighty, the betrothal happened, only Joseph became not the husband of Mary, in our usual understanding, but the guardian of holiness and caring servant of the Virgin Mary.
Student 3.
Not much is said about Joseph in Scripture, but still, bit by bit, a fairly clear image can be put together. The elder was a descendant of the kings David and Solomon, a man of firm and truthful disposition, modest, attentive, hardworking. From his first marriage to Solomiya, he had two daughters and four sons. Before his betrothal to Mary, he lived for many years in an honest widowhood.
Joseph brought the God-given girl to his home in Nazareth, and they plunged into their daily routine. Only Mary did not leave the premonition of a great accomplishment, something indescribable, extraordinary. All people were waiting for the coming of the Messiah, as the only deliverer from the numerous vices that entangled people like a cobweb.
Luxurious Rome, having conquered many countries, excelled in pleasures, mired in debauchery, perversions, fanaticism, forgetting about all the virtues. The catastrophe of the spirit always leads to the catastrophe of the body. Only the Almighty could be the healer of the spirit. And the Virgin Mary, as if instinctively, without realizing it, was preparing for the fulfillment of the greatest Divine plan. She comprehended with her soul the appearance of the Savior into the world, She did not yet know in what way God would send His Son to Earth, but Her soul was already preparing for this meeting. Thus, the Most Holy Virgin of things, by Her only essence, could unite the age-old foundations of the Old Testament with the new Christian laws of life.
For the gospel of His Divine plan, the Lord chose the archangel Gabriel, one of the very first angels. The icon "Annunciation" (celebration of March 25, April 7) reveals to us this great deed of the Lord. It depicts a quiet rally from heaven to Earth of an angel in the guise of a magnificent young man. He gives the Virgin Mary a heavenly flower - a lily and utters priceless words; "Rejoice, full of grace: the Lord is with you! Blessed are you among women!" The meaning of these heavenly words is that the Blessed Virgin conceives a Son whose kingdom will have no end. Before She read sacred books, in particular, the prophet Isaiah, that a certain Virgin will give birth to the Son of Man from God. She was ready to become a servant of That woman, and did not think about her own divine destiny.
Pupil 4
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, one of the twelve main holidays, which the Orthodox world celebrates on February 15.
The feast of the Presentation of the Lord was established in Byzantium in the 6th century. In the 7th century, it spread to the entire Western world. However, the status of this holiday in Catholicism is lower than other twelfth holidays.
The holiday has its roots in Old Testament. On this day, after forty days after the birth of the baby, according to Jewish laws, it was necessary to perform two rites: the mother - to be cleansed of ancestral blood, and the baby - the first-born male to dedicate to God with his further ransom from serving the Lord.
Two sacrifices were made for the cleansing of the woman in labor: burnt offerings - a one-year-old lamb, and for sin - a young dove. The poor could replace the lamb with a dove. In addition, parents had to pay a ransom in the form of a certain amount for a male first-born baby.
And so, exactly forty days ago we celebrated the Nativity of Christ, marked by significant events: a bright star, the veneration of the Magi, the singing of the birth of the Divine Infant by an angelic choir, and the announcement of the Nativity to the Bethlehem shepherds.
The time has come to bring the Baby to the temple, as they would say today - for baptism and dedication of the baby to God. Therefore, it completes the Christmas cycle.
The Holy Family - Joseph the Betrothed, the Mother of God with the Child carry with them what is required - two doves as sacrifices and some money - for the ransom of the Child. Although Mary remained a Virgin after birth, everything that law-abiding citizens had to do had to be done.
And it happened when Mary and Joseph came to the temple, and came. Simeon was one of 72 interpreters who translated the Old Testament (at the direction of Ptolemy II, who collected the famous Library of Alexandria) from Hebrew into Greek.
Each interpreter got separate book. Simeon had to translate the book of Isaiah - a very complex one, also called the Old Testament gospel. There is a phrase in the book
"Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son".
Simeon doubted: “How? Can a Virgin conceive and give birth without a husband? And I decided to translate the word "Virgo" differently, replacing it with the word "Wife".
Then, according to legend, an angel appeared to him in a dream and said: "Since you did not believe the words of the prophet, you will not die until you yourself are convinced of his rightness and see the living Messiah."
According to another version, when Simeon was returning to Jerusalem from Egypt, he threw his ring into the river and said: “If I find a ring, I will believe the words of the prophet.” And he bought a fish in the market, finding his ring in her womb. Then I heard that Angel's prophecy.
And the years began to drag on: a hundred years passed, then two hundred, and three hundred, and three hundred and fifty years passed, all the prophecies indicating the birth of the promised Messiah expected by the Jewish people had already been fulfilled. And the righteous Simeon still lived. Remained last prophecy- "Behold the Virgin in the womb will receive and give birth to the Son."
And then one day inspiration came to him: “He needs to go to the temple.” That day Mary and Joseph came with the Child. And the Holy Spirit led him to the Infant, whom the Mother held in her arms. Simeon tenderly took the Infant in his hands and with a smile said the words of thanksgiving to God:
“Now you release Your servant, Lord, according to Your word, in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel (Luke 2:29-32).
This song is one of three taken from the Gospel and is sung at every evening service. It resounds with the celebration of the end of the waiting period for the Savior and the revelation by Simeon of the mystery of the Incarnation.
Simeon looked at Mary and said terrible words to Her: “And a weapon will pass through your soul, because here lies the One who will become a banner of strife: one for rebellion, the other for a fall.”
This prophecy was fulfilled on the day of the Crucifixion of Jesus and served as a plot for the well-known icons in Orthodoxy "Softener of Evil Hearts" ("Simon's Prophecy") and "Seven-shot".
Elder Anna, aged 84, also served at the church. She saw and heard everything, and told people about what had happened in the temple, but not everyone believed her. In the church, the memory of Simeon, the prophetess Anna and the icon "Softener of Evil Hearts" is celebrated on the next day - February 16th. By Orthodox tradition it is believed that Simeon the God-bearer died immediately after these events. He was 360 years old.
Student 5
At all stages of the spiritual feat of Jesus Christ himself in the name of saving people, His Mother, the Most Holy Theotokos, stood next to Him. She carried Her cross with the greatest earthly dignity. On a cold night, She, having given birth to a son, could not shelter Him in Her house ("She bore Her firstborn son, and swaddled Him, and put Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in an inn) Luke 2:7". King Herod, who unjustly commanded the people, was very afraid of the coming of the Messiah, he in every possible way prevented the fulfillment of God's intentions. Having learned about the birth of Christ, he went on a terrible, barbarous atrocity - he ordered to kill all the babies in Bethlehem and its environs, hoping that among the dead would be the newborn King of the Jews - the Savior. 14,000 innocent children - boys - fell victim for Christ at the behest of King Herod. What fear did the Mother of God experience for the life of her Son?!
She lived every second of Jesus' life, from birth to crucifixion and ascension. And one must imagine Her grief, how it shuddered the soul when the ignorant crowd mocked Holiness, when the blood froze on the forehead of Her Son from the crown of thorns, and when the most pure body of Jesus had to be removed from the cross ...
After the Ascension of Christ, the earthly path of the Mother of God was still quite long and fruitful.
She was destined, together with the apostles, to carry the teachings of Christ around the world. Rejoicing at the success of the disciples of the Son, the Mother of God herself almost never spoke before the people. However, there is one wonderful exception in the legends... More on that later.
The Mother of God sought the essence of the Christian teaching not in words, but in life itself. By the way, this is the most effective method of teaching children by parents: you can say little and do a lot, then the children will definitely understand how to do and what to do. The Virgin Mary diligently served the poor, gave to the poor, cared for the sick, helped orphans and widows. She devoted a lot of time to prayers at the tomb of the Son. The Virgin Mary buried the betrothed Joseph when Jesus was a teenager.
The blessings of the Mother of God, like those of Athos, are so endless that a whole chronicle can be made out of them. This is what many icons of the Mother of God are dedicated to. Toward the end of her earthly life, the Mother of God strove for Heaven with all her being. And one day, during a prayer, the archangel Gabriel appeared to Her again with a joyful and radiant face, just like decades ago, when he brought the Good News from the Almighty. This time, the news was that the Mother of God had only three days left to stay on Earth. She accepted this message with the same great joy, for there could be no greater happiness for Her than to forever contemplate the image of Her Divine Son. Archangel Gabriel gave Her a heavenly date branch, which radiated extraordinary light day and night. The Mother of God first told the Apostle John about the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel, who was almost never separated from the Mother of God.
Notifying all households about her impending departure from the sinful Earth, the Mother of God commanded to prepare Her chambers accordingly: decorate the walls and bed, burn incense, light candles. She exhorted her loved ones not to cry, but rather to rejoice that, talking with Her Son, She would direct His goodness to all living on Earth, would visit and protect the distressed.
The apostles and disciples, alerted by the Holy Spirit, gathered miraculously from all over the world to see the Mother of God on her last journey. There were about seventy of them - the most devoted preachers of the teachings of Christ. On the blessed 15th day of August and the third hour from noon, everyone gathered in the church, which had been specially prepared for the sacred unprecedented action. Many candles were burning, the Mother of God reclined on a magnificently decorated bed and prayed selflessly in anticipation of her exodus and the coming of her Son and Lord. According to legend, you can imagine an extraordinary picture.
STUDENT 6
At the appointed time, the entire temple was shone by no one and never before seen heavenly solemn light. It was as if the walls parted and the King of Glory Christ Himself ascended over the heads of people, surrounded by a host of angels, archangels and other incorporeal forces, with the righteous souls of the forefathers and prophets.
Rising from the bed, the Theotokos bowed to her Son and the Lord with the words: "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, as if looking at the humility of my servant! .. My heart is ready; wake me according to your word ..." Looking at the bright face of the Lord, her dearest Son, without the slightest bodily suffering, as if falling asleep sweetly, the Mother of God handed over to him her bright and pure soul. On the ground, the body of the Virgin Mary was buried. Saints Peter and Paul with the Lord's brother Saint James and other apostles lifted the bed on their shoulders and carried it from Zion through Jerusalem to the village of Gethsemane. St. John the Theologian carried in front of the bed a heavenly date branch, handed over to the Virgin Mary by the archangel Gabriel. The branch shone with heavenly light. Over the entire crowded procession and the most pure body of the Mother of God, a certain cloudy circle suddenly appeared - a kind of crown. And the joyful singing of heavenly forces spilled into space. Radiance and Divine hymns accompanied the procession until the very burial.
Tradition testifies how the unbelieving inhabitants of Jerusalem, struck by the extraordinary grandeur of the funeral procession and embittered by the honors given to the Mother of Jesus Christ, reported what they had seen to the Pharisees. Their order followed: destroy the entire procession, and burn the coffin with the body of Mary! But a miracle happened: a shining crown - the Divine sphere, as a protective cap hid the procession. The soldiers heard the steps of people seeing off the Mother of God, they heard singing, but they could not see anyone. They bumped into each other, into houses and fences, they felt as if they were blind. Nothing could interfere with the solemn burial.
The entire earthly life of the Mother of God fits into a specific 72 years, this is evidenced by the calculations of the ancient holy fathers of the church (St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, St. Simeon Metaphrastus), authoritative church historians agree with them. But from all holy life The Orthodox Church identified four most important spiritual events celebrated by the great holidays of the Blessed Virgin: the Nativity of the Virgin, the Entry into the Temple, the Annunciation and the Assumption. These holidays are ranked among the so-called Twelve and are equated with the great feasts of the Lord. There are twelve of them in total in a year. Behind every holiday there is a great spiritual event, the reflection of which is an infinite number of icons.
Additional material to the lesson
beautiful face,
sad look,
Baby in arms:
That is the Mother of God.
For a long time
She looks through the years and centuries.
Brings me light
Love and kindness
Brings me sorrow
And the tenderness of purity
And understands
Everything I live for
And believes
I will understand her.
What's waiting
What will be ahead -
Not known yet.
Embracing a child
pressed to the chest,
She walks towards me
From afar.
More to come
death sentence,
There will be another crucifix
And shame.
But he loves his mother
And carefully carries
The one who is the world
Save good.
How do I like her
familiar and close.
I look at the face
And in silence
I'm with her
I speak through the ages
Say why
Are we having children?
Is it for crucifixion?
And deaths?
Only one
For my son
I ask for happiness.
Nothing else.
Walking of the Virgin through torment
12th century
Summary apocrypha.
Read in 4 min.
The Holy Mother of God wanted to pray to God that the Archangel Michael would tell her about the torment of heaven and earth. Then Michael came down from heaven and with him four hundred angels. The Mother of God and the Archangel greeted each other. Archangel Michael said that it would be impossible to list all the torments that exist. But the Mother of God asked to tell about all the torments.
Angels appeared from the south, hell broke loose, and the Mother of God saw many tormented people. The archangel explained that these were pagans who deified the forces of nature and idols. In another place, the Mother of God saw great darkness. At her command, the darkness dissipated - there were people who did not believe in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, his birth from the Virgin. The Blessed One wept over the fate of sinners.
The angels led the Virgin to the south. There she saw a fiery river, and in it - many husbands and wives. These were people cursed by their parents, godfathers who were at enmity with each other and committed fornication. There were also cannibals and those who falsely swore Kissing the cross. Then the Blessed One saw a man hanging by his feet - it was a usurer. And next to it was a woman hanging by her teeth - she was a grumpy gossip.
Further, the angelic hosts led the Holy Mother of God to the north. There she saw red-hot benches in the midst of a fiery cloud. Sinners lay on them, who during their lifetime were too lazy to get up on Sundays for matins. On the pillars of fire stood those who did not rise to meet the priests. A man was hung by the arms and legs, who during his lifetime served in the church and sold sacred vessels. The slanderers were hung up by their tongues.
The angel showed the Virgin the priests suspended by the edges of the nails. They, serving the liturgy, considered themselves worthy, while they themselves treated prosvirs carelessly. One husband was tormented by a winged serpent: this man read holy books, taught people, and he himself lived lawlessly.
The Mother of God saw patriarchs and bishops in hell who were not worthy of their dignity. Then the angel showed her the tormented women: during their lifetime they were hits and after the death of their husbands they got married again. Other women were also tormented by snakes and flames. These were nuns who indulged in fornication. Again the Holy Fiery River saw, and in it - as if blood flowed. Among its waters there were many people - adulterers, thieves, panders, slanderers, merciless princes, money-lovers. The Mother of God wept at the sight of these torments.
The angels led the Mother of God to the left side. There was a tar river, and its waves were fiery. The Jews who crucified Christ were tormented in them, as well as all the peoples who were baptized, but continued to believe in demons. There were incest, poisoners and child killers.
Then Archangel Michael led the Mother of God to the lake of fire, where Christians were tormented. They were baptized, but continued to do evil deeds and did not have time to repent before their death.
The Mother of God told the archangel that she herself wanted to take the torment along with the sinners. But Michael said, "Be in Paradise." Then the Mother of God began to ask the angels to pray that the Lord would have mercy on sinners. However, the angels were already praying for this day and night. The Mother of God asked to be taken up to heavenly heights, to the throne of God. She began to pray to God for mercy on sinners. But the Lord did not fulfill her request. Then the Most Holy One called the saints, and they began to pray with her. The Lord said that sinners must be recompensed. Angels and saints fell on their faces before the throne of God. Then Christ descended from the throne, appeared to sinners and said that they should suffer, for they were called Christians only in words, but did not keep the commandments of God. But for the sake of the prayers of the Theotokos and all the saints, the Lord gave peace to tormented sinners from Holy Thursday to Trinity Day. The sinners answered: "Glory to Thy mercy."
"Holy House" in Loreto, ancient orthodox shrine.
This is an authentic house in which the Blessed Virgin Mary lived in Nazareth. When the Virgin Mary finished Her earthly journey, Her simple stone house, measuring 9 by 4 meters, was carefully preserved by the apostles, turning it into a church. Somewhat later, in the year 70, the Romans plundered and devastated the Holy Land as punishment for the Jewish uprising, but the powers of heaven kept them from destroying and desecrating the holy house, which miraculously managed to survive. Three centuries later, in the 4th century, Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Helena ordered the construction of a basilica over the dwelling of the Mother of God.
For almost 13 centuries, God kept the holy house, but at the end of the 13th century, the Saracens attacked the Holy Land. In 1291, the holy house was taken by the crusaders from Palestine to Dalmatia (Croatia), and then, dismantled, by representatives of the imperial family of Angels on December 10, 1294, was transported to Loreto. Here it was restored according to the drawings.
Prior to the events described, Mary's dwelling consisted of two parts: an underground grotto, which is still preserved in Nazareth, and the upper part, built of roughly hewn stones, which ended up in Loreto.
In 1469, a huge basilica of the Mother of God was founded in Loreto specifically to house the house of the Blessed Virgin.
The Holy House stands on the site of the main altar. He is hidden in a marble robe, decorated with sculptures of the prophets and scenes from the life of the Most Holy Theotokos. The house consists of three walls 3 meters high. The eastern wall, where the altar is located, was opened towards the grotto, which remained in Nazareth.
In 1751, by decree of Pope Benedict XIV, the shrine was subjected to an official survey. It was found that the house does not stand and never stood on a foundation buried in the ground, which indirectly confirmed the version of its transfer from another place. In addition, some scientists believe that the materials from which the Loret house is built are identical in their own way. chemical composition building materials found in use in the Holy Land. Since the 15th century, this shrine has been one of the most visited places in Italy by pilgrims; numerous cases of healings were noted near it.
Behind the altar of the holy house rises the statue of Our Lady of Loret, which served as a prototype for the icons known in Russia as "Increasing the Mind".
Used materials
- Photo (with link to Blessed-Mother.org)
Due to the similarity of the surname with the word "angel", popular rumor later attributed the transfer of the shrine to four angels. An inscription on the wall of the Loreto Basilica, where the house is located now, also speaks of the transfer by angels.
LORETO
HOLY HOUSE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
The Italian city of Loreto is famous all over the world for its Cathedral, under the vaults of which the Holy House of the Virgin has been standing for 7 centuries... The Holy House in Loreto is a room of the original house in which the Blessed Virgin lived in Nazareth and where She received the good news from the Archangel Gabriel about the birth of the Savior of the World from Her. An ancient pious tradition attributed the transfer of the Nazarene House to Loreto to an angelic deed, while modern researchers, studying the tradition and based on recently discovered documents, came to the conclusion that in 1294 the stones of the Holy House and the image of the Most Holy Theotokos on the board arrived from the Holy Land , were moved first to the Italian port city of Recanati near Ancona, and then to Loreto. Currently, on the basis of archaeological excavations, documents, as well as philological and iconographic research, it is confirmed that the stones laid in the walls of the Holy House were brought to Dalmatia, and then to Loreto by the Angel family ( Angeli Comneno) - despots (rulers) of Epirus, an ancient country in northern Greece. 
Among the wedding gifts of the daughter of Despot Nicephorus Angel to her daughter Tamara are “holy stones taken from the House of our Lady the Virgin Mother of God” and “a painted wooden board where the Virgin, the Virgin Mother of God, holds in her arms the Infant Jesus, our Lord and Savior.” Over time, the rumor turned the Greek family of Angels into the Angels of heaven.
In Loreto, the Holy House was restored according to exact drawings. The earthly house of the Mother of God in Nazareth consisted of two parts. One of them was a cave, or grotto, carved into the rock - now it is one of the main shrines of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Another part was an extension made of stone, closely adjoining the rock. This attached room was subsequently transferred to Loreto. 
References to the Holy House of the Virgin in Palestine are also found in Russian pilgrimage literature. Hegumen Daniel, the first Russian pilgrim who left notes about the Holy Land, described the place of the Annunciation as a cave in the rock and an extension to it:
“If you climb into the cave by the western doors, then on right side a cell was created, with two small doors. In this cell the Mother of God lived with Christ, in this temple Christ was fed, here is His bed, where He lay. The bed is low, it was created on the ground.
The “walkings” of Abbot Daniel date back to the beginning of the 12th century, that is, to the time almost 200 years before the transfer of the Holy House.
Another Russian pilgrim, His Grace Porfiry (Uspensky), when he was an archimandrite, when visiting the Basilica of the Annunciation, noted in his diary entry dated March 7, 1844, that only a cave was preserved in Nazareth, without a house attached to it: 
“A magnificent church was built on the very site of the marvelous event. As soon as you enter it, you will immediately see that sacred cave in which the Archangel announced the annunciation to the Humble One about the incarnation of the Son of God in Her. This cave was inside the house and probably made up the lower floor of it, where the Mother of God was engaged in needlework and contemplation. It is remarkable that even now the Nazarene women work in lower parts at home, and in the upper room they only rest at night. It is also remarkable that even now in some houses there are caves, or, better, houses attached to the caves. I saw in passing, one such house in the upper part of the city. No wonder that Joseph's house was attached to a natural cave, where there was a worker and a kitchen ... "
It is documented that already a century before the transfer of the House of Our Lady to Loreto, this place was the church of “St. Mary in the Laurel Grove” (Loreto is one of the forms of the word, which means “laurel grove” in translation), so the place for the Holy House was chosen not by chance.
The Holy House at Loreto has three walls; in the eastern part of it there is an altar, and in it, behind the throne, under the arch, there is a statue of Our Lady of Loret with the Child. According to a centuries-old tradition, the statue of the Mother of God is dressed in a richly decorated tunic - a dalmatic. On the darkened stones of the Holy House, one can see inscriptions dating back to the era of the Jewish Christians of the 2nd-5th centuries AD, and similar to those found in Palestine.
Outside, the Holy House is dressed in marble "clothes". The marble cladding replaces the ancient wall of the early 14th century, erected by the inhabitants of Recanati in defense of the Holy House. Work began in 1507 and was completed by 1538, with the participation of several masters and sculptors of that era. The facing is decorated with various scenes from the earthly life of the Virgin: the Birth of the Virgin, the Wedding, the Annunciation, the Census, the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Adoration of the Magi, the Assumption of the Mother of God.
For many centuries, thousands of patients from all over the world have been rushing to the Nazareth House. Pilgrims ask the Mother of God for relief from suffering, deliverance from painful and often incurable ailments. And miraculous healings are often performed here. This is convincingly evidenced by the many gifts brought in gratitude for deliverance from severe suffering. But as those who have been here more than once say, more often the Mother of God gives the sufferers strength and hope in enduring the hardships of the disease, calming the heart, helping to spiritually understand and accept the sent test - the disease. The Most Pure Mother of our Lord teaches the afflicted to thank God for the illness, sent, perhaps, for sins and impenitence, helps to look at the world in a completely different way, at the relationship of a person with others.
The Holy House in Loreto is one of the most revered Christian shrines in Italy and other Catholic countries - copies of the Holy House are even built in some cities. A monthly magazine is published entirely dedicated to the Loretan shrine - Il Messaggio della Santa Casa(News of the Holy House).
© Natalia GUSEVA
Loreto - Real House of Our Lady
In 1654, the archdeacon of the Church of Antioch, Pavel of Aleppo, visited Russia. In his travel notes, he noted a strange phenomenon in his opinion, about which he wrote in particular, “in this country (Russia) there is not a single large church where there would not be a miraculous icon of the Mother of God, we saw with our own eyes how holy icons, so also the miracles that were wrought by them.”
The foreign clergyman could not at that time find any explanation for such a reverent attitude of the Russians towards the cult of the Mother of God. He was even more surprised by the patronage and intercession of the Virgin Mary, both in relation to individuals and to the entire Russian people as a whole. Neither he, nor those foreigners who lived before and after him, could understand and comprehend the absolute confidence of the Russians that Russia is not just the lot of the Mother of God, it is her Motherland, her Home.
LEDITIONS OF THE OLD OLD.
That was a long time ago. So long ago that now no one will remember when and by whom it was initiated in Russia, surprising in the depth of its manifestation, the veneration of the Mother of God. Whatever page of the history of the Russian people we open, everywhere there is this or that, a legend or a legend about the constant intercessor of the Russian land, which from the beginning of its foundation was the Mother of God. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the history of the Russian people cannot be understood and comprehended in isolation from the image of the Queen of Heaven, a constant and living connection with which goes back to apostolic times.
In order to substantiate this assumption, it is enough to recall that private Christian churches in southern Russia have been known since the time of St. Andrew the First-Called and St. Clement. Metropolitan Macarius unequivocally indicates that one of the first Christian preaching was adopted by the Slavic tribes living in the northern Black Sea region. A little later, from the beginning of the 4th century, when these Slavs appeared across the Danube and on the banks of the Rhine, all Latin historians, without exception, ranked them as Christians, while noting their special reverence for the cult of the Blessed Virgin.
The special veneration of the image of the Mother of God by the ancient Slavs was noted not only by Western historians. This phenomenon was also witnessed in ancient Russian literary monuments, such as the Pigeon Book. This is truly a sacred legend of the Russian people, reflecting the cosmogonic ideas of the Slavs at the dawn of the Christian era, when there were no Ecumenical Councils and the creeds had not yet been formulated. But already in those distant times, almost two thousand years away from us, Russia was considered the House of the Mother of God.
In the verses of the Pigeon Book we read:
Holy - Russia is the land of all mother lands.
…………………………………………………
We will have a White Tsar over kings.
…………………………………………………
And he keeps the baptized faith,
Faith baptized, pious;
stands for the Christian faith,
For the House of the Blessed Virgin.
All the hordes bowed to him,
All tongues submitted to him.
Because the White king is king over kings.
As we see, southern Russia was called the House of Our Lady in the first centuries of our era. However, this concept became truly meaningful in the north of Russia. It is here that we encounter mass references to the fact that Russia is the House of the Mother of God, which she not only inspires, but also protects. How can one not remember here that most often the Russian people called the Queen of Heaven simply the Intercessor.
PROTECTOR OF THE RUSSIAN LAND.
No one knows exactly when and how many times the Mother of God stood up for her people and her land. On this occasion, there are many different epics and legends. Not all of them are confirmed by chronicles and chronographs. And therefore, the miraculous salvation of Novgorod, which happened on November 27, 1170, is considered the first reliable fact of the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.
Not being able to repel the enemy troops, the Novgorodians turned to the Mother of God with prayers, saying: “O Blessed Mother, our hope! Sinners, we pray to You with tears - do not betray us! With these words, Archbishop John took the icon of the Mother of God and climbed the wall. At that moment, fear and horror suddenly seized the enemy, and he fled in a panic from the walls of the ancient city. Novgorodians, seeing the miraculous deliverance, established the feast of the Honorable Sign of the Mother of God, which is celebrated in Russia to this day.
The Orthodox Church believes that only thanks to the intercession of the Mother of God, Veliky Novgorod was miraculously saved from the Tatar invasion in 1238. Then the Queen of Heaven stood up for Smolensk. In November, the Tatars approached the walls of this ancient Russian city. The prince, the squad and the inhabitants of the city, not being able to repel the invasion of the formidable enemy by force of arms, turned with fervent prayer to the Mother of God, their intercessor ever. The Most Holy Theotokos heard the prayers of her children and, having chosen the pious Mercury to protect the city, on the night of November 24 she appeared to him, saying: “Mercury! I am sending you to protect My House… I begged the Son and My God for My House, so that I would not betray it to enemies. Go to meet the enemy secretly from the people, the saint and the prince .., and by the power of Christ God you will defeat the giant. I myself will be with you, helping you.”
With tears of joy, Mercury called on the Mother of God for help and boldly went to the enemy, and after him the lightning-fast heavenly army and the Mother of God herself moved, whose formidable face inspired indescribable fear and horror on the enemies of the Orthodox faith. Mercury tirelessly crushed the enemy, reaching the middle of the camp and killing the giant, on whose strength the Tatars hoped more than on the strength of their entire army. Seeing the great intercession of the Queen of Heaven, the enemies turned into a stampede, not hoping to find salvation within the Russian land.
So Smolensk was saved, in which since ancient times, every year, on November 24, all-night vigil and thanksgiving service in front of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God.
Following the Smolensk people, the grace of the intercession of the Queen of Heaven was experienced by the Russian squads gathered on the banks of the Don and Nepryadva in September 1380. By the will of fate, they had to fight with a formidable enemy, just on the day of the Nativity of the Virgin. On the eve of the battle, the Don Cossacks delivered the miraculous icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God to Kulikovo Field in order to win the battle with a fierce enemy with her help and under her patronage. The Mother of God did not deceive the hopes and aspirations of the Cossacks, and granted them and the entire Orthodox army a great victory.
According to eyewitnesses, Prince Dmitry Donskoy, in honor of the intercession of the Queen of Heaven, transferred the miraculous icon to Moscow, where for her, Sergius of Radonezh, the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God was built on the Dubenka River. And the wife of the Grand Duke, wanting to thank the Queen of Heaven for her great intercession, decided to build in Moscow a church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.
But less than 15 years have passed since the Battle of Kulikovo, when countless hordes of Tamerlane appeared on the banks of the Don. It seemed that nothing could save Russia from terrible ruin. Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich, not being able to repel the enemy, hoped only for the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. To this end, he asked Metropolitan Cyprian to send him an icon of the Mother of God from Vladimir. On August 15, 1395, the clergy, accompanied by many ordinary people, carried the miraculous icon out of Vladimir. According to church tradition, this was an authentic image of the Theotokos, painted by the holy Apostle Luke on the top of the table on which the Holy Family ate. The people and the army on both sides of the road knelt to meet the miraculous icon. With the words “Mother of God! Save the Russian land”, the procession headed to Moscow.
The Mother of God heard the prayer of her people and saved the Russian land from ruin. The invincible Tamerlane, frightened by the image of the “Majestic Wife”, and with the words “we will not overcome them”, ordered his troops to leave Russia. In memory of the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, in her honor, was built stone temple and Sretensky Monastery. And on August 26, a feast was established, with a procession from the Assumption Cathedral, through the Spassky Gates, to the Sretensky Monastery.
However, the young Russian state did not enjoy peace and tranquility for long. In 1408, Moscow was besieged by Edygei's troops. And again the people turned to their Queen of Heaven, asking her: "Merciful Lady Virgin Mother of God! Our Most Holy Lady and Intercessor is everlasting! Do not betray us into the hands of our enemies, but deliver us who are relying on you." to the entreaties of her children and turned the formidable enemies away from the walls of Moscow.
She did not refuse intercession to her people, and in 1451, when the walls of Moscow were stormed by the troops of Sedi-Akhmet, led by Mazovsha. As before, the enemy, struck by hitherto unknown fear, suddenly left the battlefield, leaving all his goods on it. In honor of the miraculous salvation of Moscow from the troops of Sedi-Akhmet, a church was built in the name of the Position of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The Mother of God did not leave her people in 1480, during the famous standing on the Ugra. For the umpteenth time in the history of the Russian army, the enemy, seized with strange horror, retired home without causing any harm to Russia. In memory of the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, Grand Duke John 3 built majestic temple in honor of Her Assumption, in which since then all Russian tsars have been married.
In the reign of John 3, the Tatars once again had to experience the wrath of the Queen of Heaven. It happened when they wanted to destroy the ancient Russian city of Unzhu. Due to the absence of walls and fortifications in this city, as well as the remoteness from other large cities from where help could come, the enemy hoped for a quick and easy victory.
In this hopeless situation, the residents of Unzhan could only hope for the intercession of the Mother of God. All the inhabitants of the city, from young to old, as it should be in fatal moments, put fasting and vigilant prayers in front of the miraculous icon of the Makarievskaya Mother of God. Reinforcing themselves with prayer, everyone who could hold a weapon in their hands boldly moved on the enemy, who, instead of engaging in a fight with a small and poorly armed militia, suddenly turned into a stampede. The prisoners said that they were frightened, not by a handful of desperate brave men, but by a formidable vision of a rider on a white horse that arose in the sky above the city. The inhabitants of Unzha explained what happened by the intercession of the Queen of Heaven.
Another time, Unzha was miraculously saved in 1522, when 20,000 Tatar troops again approached her. Remembering the former beneficence of the Mother of God, the defenseless inhabitants turned to her this time for help and intercession. Standing day and night before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, they sang the troparion of the Theotokos with tenderness and with tears in their eyes. Meanwhile, the enemy had already entered the city and set it on fire. And then, as in the previous time, a menacing vision of a rider on a white horse appeared in the sky, and a heavy downpour suddenly fell on the flaming city. From what they saw, the Tatars were confused and completely confused. Driven by an unknown fear, they fled in disorder from the city and killed each other, so that most of the enemies fell under the swords of their fellow tribesmen. The prisoners said that, horrified by what they saw, they stopped recognizing each other. It seemed to them that they were beating the Russians, while they were hitting themselves. The inhabitants of Unzhin saw this as an obvious intercession of the Queen of Heaven.
That this was not such a victory - when the strong overcomes the weak - that it was precisely an extraordinary triumph of faith over unbelief - this is evident from the legends of her contemporaries.
Years passed. Holy Russia grew and grew stronger. Her enemies were filled with malice and hatred for her. From time to time they undertook ruinous campaigns against the Russian land. And every time, the Mother of God stood up for her protection. So it was in 1521, when the troops of Khan Giray besieged Moscow. In 1551, during the invasion of Stefan Batory on Pskov. In 1591, when Muscovites saw the troops of Kazy-Girey under their walls. And again, as it happened more than once, Tsar Fyodor Ioanovich, not being able to repel the enemy by force, with fervent prayer turned to the miraculous icon of Our Lady of the Don. Then he made a procession around the city and installed the icon among his few regiments. And this time the Mother of God did not leave her children in trouble. In the midst of the battle, a large army of the enemy, embraced by unknown fear, suddenly took to flight. Russian soldiers rushed to pursue them. Many were put on the spot, many were taken prisoner and captured the entire enemy camp.
In memory of the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, at the place where during the battle stood miraculous image, the king ordered the foundation of the Donskoy Monastery. At the same time, the feast of the icon of the Don Mother of God was established, with a procession to the monastery monastery.
If the icon of Our Lady of the Don saved Russia from the Tatars, then the icon of Our Lady of Kazan saved Russia from the Poles who captured Moscow in 1611. In that terrible Time of Troubles, the wrath of the Lord fell upon the Russian land. The Poles and Swedes tormented defenseless Russia, and its few defenders lost all hope of salvation. “Forgive me, freedom of the Fatherland! Forgive the sacred Kremlin! We have done everything to free you; but apparently God does not want to bless our weapons with victory! ”, They said. At this truly critical moment, one could only hope for the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God. And then the entire Orthodox army, having fasted, began to pray earnestly before the miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God, brought here in the ranks of the militia of Minin and Pozharsky.
The Most Holy Theotokos, Mother of the Russian Territory, heard the prayer of the mourners and implored her Son to turn anger into mercy. On October 22, 1612, the Russian warriors, filled with faith and calling for the help of the Queen of Heaven, together went on the attack and miraculously took possession of Kitai-Gorod, where the miraculous icon entered with them. Having installed it opposite the Nikolsky Gate, the besiegers began to prepare for the storming of the Kremlin.
October 25 26, Russian army with a religious procession and with the Kazan Mother of God moved to the Kremlin. To the great surprise of the participants in the procession, Archbishop Arseniy left the Kremlin with the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir, which he had preserved during his captivity. Shocked by the meeting of two miraculous icons, the people with tears of joy prayed to the Heavenly Intercessor.
Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich established celebrations in honor of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God twice a year, on July 8 and October 22, when the Russian land was cleared of the enemy. In 1631, the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan was installed in the Kazan Cathedral built for it on Red Square. This is how the Russian people appreciated the intercession of the Queen of Heaven in times of great turmoil.
Only the intercession of the Mother of God can explain the events that took place under the walls of the Tikhvin monastery in 1613-14. Then a large Swedish royal army under the command of De la Guardia invaded the Russian land. Hoping for an easy victory, the Swedes began to storm the monastery. It seemed that the Orthodox stronghold was not capable of withstanding a siege from such a formidable enemy. However, the monks of the monastery had a different opinion. Not relying on the power of weapons, they turned with zealous prayers to the Queen of Heaven, after which they raised the image of the Tikhvin Mother of God on the walls of the monastery. And then a great miracle happened. Before the advancing Swedes, a formidable heavenly army appeared, at the sight of which they were seized with such horror that there could no longer be any talk of any battle. The royal army fled in panic from under the walls of the monastery. And having come to their senses, the Swedes asked for peace.
The Most Holy Theotokos constantly cared for the well-being of her House and her people, sending many great ascetics to the Russian land, who sacredly honor the Orthodox faith. Her mercy has always found those whose hearts and souls were filled with great love to Her, to Her son and Her House, which was Russia. A prime example the history of the Pochaev monastery, where the temple of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin stood, can serve for this.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Catholics and Uniates, on a huge scale, began to destroy the foundations of Orthodoxy in the western regions of Russia. Their greedy eyes did not pass by the sacred Pochaev monastery. However, despite the titanic efforts of Rome and its allies, the monastery survived, turning into an impregnable bastion of Orthodoxy, surrounded by apostates. Only the intercession of the Mother of God can explain the fact that the Catholics and the Uniates failed to take possession of the sacred monastery.
The Queen of Heaven did not leave her zealous servants even in 1675, when a large Tatar army appeared under the walls of the monastery. The monks understood that they were not able to repel the enemy by force of arms, and therefore, with fervent prayer, they turned to their everlasting Intercessor. In the morning, in anticipation of the assault, they sang the Akathist to the Mother of God, at the first words of which the Most Pure Theotokos Herself suddenly appeared over the temple. Descending from heaven and "dissolving the snow-white omophorion", she led heavenly angels with drawn swords. At the sight of this phenomenon, horror and madness entered the souls of the enemy, and they began to kill each other with panicky recklessness. Those who were lucky enough to survive this massacre asked for holy baptism. Some of them remained to serve in the monastery.
The Mother of God showed many miracles to the Russian people in their sacred struggle for the triumph of justice and peace. Through her intercession and her will, Holy Russia grew stronger and expanded. Many nations came to her bosom in order to find peace and prosperity there. But there were also those who were blinded by the greatness of the House of the Virgin. From time to time they tried to test the strength of the Orthodox faith and the Russian spirit, and each time they received a crushing rebuff.
The notorious campaign of Napoleon was no exception to the rule, during which he wanted to enslave Russia in just 6 months and bring the Russian emperor to his knees. None of his contemporaries doubted the obvious superiority of the Napoleonic army over the Russian one, forced to resist the forces of a united Europe. The Russian commanders also realistically assessed the strength of the enemy, and therefore retreated in an organized manner, preventing contact with the enemy. But a retreat, even if organized, could not save Russia from ruin. But an attempt to gain victory in battle would lead to the same result. And then it was decided to turn to the Mother of the Russian Territory and beg her for victory over the formidable enemy. For this purpose, the miraculous icon of the Smolensk Mother of God, who had once delivered the Russian land from the invasion of Batu, was delivered to the army. Even on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, the commander-in-chief with generals and officers fervently prayed before her. Then the icon was worn throughout the camp to strengthen the spirit of the Orthodox army.
We know how glad Napoleon was that he managed to force the Russian army to give a general battle. We also know how upset the ruler of Europe was that his victorious army could not defeat the Russians in any sector of the front. We know a lot about the courage and steadfastness of Russian soldiers and officers who did not flinch in the face of a formidable enemy. We also know how early and severe winter came to the French on the mountain. We also know about the one by whose will the mind left the emperor of his generals and the rest of the army. We also know what fear and horror seized the invincible army when it found itself in incinerated Moscow, and how ingloriously the ruler of the peoples fled from Russia, leaving his huge army to perish.
No one in Russia doubted that the victory of Russian weapons became possible only as a result of the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, who deprived the enemy of will and reason. Nobody doubted great role the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Smolensk, which was returned to the liberated Smolensk just three months after the Battle of Borodino. General Konovnitsyn wrote: “The troops with reverence saw this image in the midst of themselves and revered it as a favorable guarantee of the Most High Mercy. Now, when the Almighty God has blessed the Russian weapons and the city of Smolensk has been cleared with the subjugation of the enemy, I, by the will of the commander-in-chief of all armies, Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, send the holy icon of Our Lady of Smolensk back, may it be installed in its original place and the Russian God be glorified in it, miraculously punishing the arrogant enemy who disturbs the peace of the nations.
Since that time, a celebration was established in Smolensk in memory of the expulsion of the enemies of the Russian land on November 5, in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos, who saved Russia from foreign enslavement.
Many Russian people, faced with the treachery of the conquerors, came to know the intercession of the Queen of Heaven. The glorious Russian army did not pass by her mercy. Many times the defenders of the Russian land went into battle under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin, and won great and glorious victories. One of the clearest evidence of this is the battle of Bash-Kadyk-Lar in 1853, when a Russian detachment of 9,000 people utterly defeated the thirty-six thousandth army of the Turks, which consisted of 46 guns. The captured Turks explained their capitulation by the fact that during the battle they saw how the Holy Wife descended from heaven to help the Russian army. Seeing the obvious intercession of the Goddess for Russia, some of them fled, while others surrendered and began to demand holy baptism.
With the explicit patronage of the Mother of God, Russia, by the end of the 19th century, turned into the most powerful world power. Foreign monarchs and governments looked with horror and fear towards the Russian throne. At the same time, pride and grandeur settled in the souls of the Russian people, and they gradually forgot about the well-being of the House of Our Lady, and everyone began to pray to her only about their own, about their own. Retribution for spiritual fall didn't have to wait long. The year 1917 has come.
THE EXILE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD.
In February 1917, a sharp break occurred in the history of the Russian state. The people, to whose sincere prayers the heart of the Mother was always open, began a fierce struggle with their heavenly patroness. People instantly forgot about the greatness of Russia, and that this is the house of the Mother of God. No one remembered the prayers in which Heavenly Queen was called none other than the "Mother of the Russian Territory." No one remembered the slogan of the times of the Russian-Polish war, which said: "Here (in Russia) is the root of the kingdom, here is the banner of the Fatherland, here is the house of the Mother of God." No one, like Kozma Minin, could address the people with the words: “Let's stand for Holy Russia, for the House of the Most Pure Mother of God; Let's liberate the Fatherland." People have forgotten age-old traditions. Time connection is broken. And on their ruins the bloody banner of atheistic internationalism hooted, which pointed out to Russia the shortest path to the bottomless abyss.
In this troubled and disturbing time, an event occurred that literally shook the whole world. On May 13, 1917, the Mother of God unexpectedly appeared to people near the town of Fatima in Portugal. And not just appeared, but told about what will happen in the world in the coming years. She also reported about the second world war, which will begin in the late thirties, and about the war, which may begin in the early sixties. And most strikingly, she pointed to the great and tragic role of Russia in all these events, as well as in the subsequent salvation of the world. Further, she asked to pray tirelessly for this long-suffering country, so that her people would find the strength to return to God. The appearance of the Mother of God was accompanied by unusual celestial phenomena, which were observed by tens of thousands of Portuguese.
It is difficult for us to explain the reasons why the appearance of the Queen of Heaven took place in Portugal. However, she achieved her goal. In 1940, the Vatican received a letter from the former shepherdess Lucia, who was lucky enough to communicate with the Virgin. In it, she reported that the Mother of God asks God for the consecration of Russia to her Heart. The Most Pure Virgin warned that her House could not be given over to be torn to pieces by enemies, otherwise the world would not be saved and the days of sorrow would last forever.
Neither the Vatican nor the Soviet people heeded the warnings of Our Lady. Against. Russia was subjected to a monstrous pogrom. Domes of churches rained down on the ground like hail. Fire and dynamite mercilessly turned into dust and smoke, chapels, cathedrals and monasteries. But most importantly, Russia has lost almost all the miraculous icons of the Mother of God. If Paul of Aleppo had visited Russia in the middle of the 20th century, he would not have found even a tenth (and maybe even a hundredth) of those miraculous icons that struck his imagination in the middle of the 17th century. By this time, the Mother of God was completely excommunicated from Russia. Believers turned to her, but now only on personal matters. And no one asked the Queen of Heaven to intercede for Russia, which was once her home.
It is so established in this world that a mother's heart cannot harden towards her child, no matter how reckless he may be. The Mother of God could not renounce the Russian people either. In 1941, she appeared in the Valaam Monastery, with prayers and tears addressed to the Savior, so that He would save the Russian land. Humbly accepting reproaches that in Russia the abomination of desolation, the depravity of attitudes and morals, the decline of faith and piety, and the fact that it was no longer possible to tolerate these lawlessness, had become great, the Mother of God continued to fervently pray for the salvation of Russia.
No matter how great the sins of the Russian people before God were, the Mother of God managed to soften the heart of the Savior. And then he answered her: “I know how You love Russia and for the sake of Your words I will not leave her. I will punish, but I will keep.
THE RETURN OF THE MOTHER OF GOD.
The appearance of the Mother of God in the Valaam Monastery gave the Russian people hope for salvation. But no one knew how to get it. At that time there were no prayer books in Russia like Seraphim Vyritsky, whose words could reach the Queen of Heaven and ask her for a way to save Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church turned out to be completely drained of blood in an unequal struggle with the internationalists. The militant atheists, tirelessly destroying the faith and culture of the Russian people, in 1941 showed themselves to be helpless lambs in the face of a formidable enemy, and it seemed that no one and nothing could prevent the inevitable death of the state they had created.
In this truly critical situation, by ways unknown to us and by the Providence of God, Metropolitan Elijah of the mountains of Lebanon was chosen as a prayer book for the salvation of Russia. Taking with him the icon of the Mother of God, he closed himself in a deep dungeon. Without eating food and water, without sleep and rest, he began to pray with special zeal to the Queen of Heaven, so that She would open the way for the salvation of Russia.
And after three days, in a shining pillar, the Mother of God Herself appeared to him. Majestic and mournful, She thanked the zealous prayer book for her holy love for Russia and announced that it was he who was instructed to convey God's determination to this long-suffering country. Metropolitan Elijah listened with trepidation to the words of the Queen of Heaven that in order to save Russia, “temples, monasteries, theological seminaries and academies should be opened throughout the country. Priests returned from the fronts and released from prisons should begin to serve. The city on the Neva cannot be rented out. To save him, it is necessary to take out the miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God from the Vladimir Cathedral and surround it with a procession around the city. Then no enemy will set foot on his holy ground. Before the Kazan icon, a prayer service should also be served in Moscow. Then it should be transferred to Stalingrad, which also cannot be handed over to the enemy. The Kazan icon should go with the troops to the borders of Russia.
The Mother of God warned that if this determination was not fulfilled, then Russia would perish. Vladyko Elijah handed over to the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church everything that had been entrusted to him by the Mother of God. This definition instilled hope for salvation not only in the hearts of believers, but also in the minds of internationalists, who were not slow to fulfill everything that the Mother of God commanded.
Temples, monasteries and seminaries were opened all over the country. Priests were released from prisons. And in the northern capital, from the Vladimir Cathedral, they took out the icon of the Kazan Mother of God and went around the city with it in procession.
After that, the Kazan icon began its victorious march across Russia. At the most critical moment of the defense of Moscow, she was taken to the capital, after which the enemies turned into a shameful flight from the walls of an almost defenseless city. After Moscow, the icon was transferred to Stalingrad and installed on the right bank of the Volga. There she stood among the Russian troops even when only a tiny patch of land remained in the hands of the defenders of the city. But the Intercessor of the Russian land did not allow the Germans to cross the great river, where the Russian people regained not only faith in God, but also faith in Victory.
The battle on the Volga was a turning point in the Great Patriotic War. After her, our valiant army, under the auspices of the Mother of God, began its victorious march to the west, until it completely liberated the Russian land from the servants of the devil.
Continuing to pursue the retreating enemy, the Russian army reached the walls of Königsberg. This fortified city, founded by the knights of the Crusaders on the original Russian lands, was rightfully considered impregnable. The Germans were absolutely sure that our troops would not be able to capture this powerful citadel. They did not take into account only that these lands were the lot of the Virgin. This is probably why, or maybe for some other reasons unknown to us, the Heavenly Queen here also joined the ranks of the Russian army. This is how Hieromonk Philadelphus describes this event in his book The Zealous Intercessor.
Great difficulties stood in the way of our soldiers during the liberation of the old German stronghold - Königsberg. Here is what an officer who was in the very center of the battle for the city says: “Our troops were completely exhausted, and the Germans were still strong. Suddenly we see: the commander of the front arrived, the officers, with them - the priests with the icon.
Many began to joke: "Here the priests were brought, now they will help us." But the commander quickly stopped the jokes, ordered everyone to line up and take off their hats. The priests served a prayer service and went - with an icon - to the front line. We looked in bewilderment: where are they going? They will all be killed! But they calmly walked into the fire.
And suddenly the shooting stopped from the German side simultaneously along the entire front. Then a signal was given, and our troops began to storm the city - a fortress from land and from the sea.
The Germans died by the thousands. The prisoners later said that before the Russian assault, the Madonna appeared in the sky, which was visible to the entire German army, and absolutely everyone’s weapons failed. At that moment, our troops broke the resistance of the enemy and took the city. Seeing the appearance of the Mother of God, the Germans fell to their knees; many of them understood Who is helping the Russians”…
At that time, 22,000 churches were opened: all of Russia was praying. Many officers, and even Marshal Zhukov himself, said before the battle: “With God!” ...
There was a revival of faith in Russia.
STOLE VICTORY.
The Savior kept his word given to the Mother. He punished, but He also saved Russia. He saved the world. For only through the salvation of Russia is it possible to save mankind, as the Queen of Heaven pointed out. The Russian people defeated a mighty and formidable enemy in a fierce battle. It would seem that now the Mother of God can return to her House in order to ensure peace and prosperity in it. But it wasn't there. The victory ordained by God was stolen from Russia. Having recovered from the shock, all kinds of vices returned to the souls of people. The depravity of views and morals, the abomination of desolation, the decline of faith and piety, swept over the Russian land in a new wave. The winners, being in some inexplicable frenzy, for the first time in the history of Russia forgot to erect a temple dedicated to their everlasting intercessor. Moreover, they forgot to restore even the temple, which was built on the personal instructions of the Mother of God, and which became her first home in the vastness of Russia.
God works in mysterious ways. The actions of certain people and peoples are sometimes inexplicable. In the same way, the reasons why the Russian people could not revive the memory of their everlasting intercessor, who repeatedly saved them at the most abrupt breaks in history, are mysterious and incomprehensible. Even a great victory in a cruel and bloody war did not contribute to the general spiritual unity and unity. Gradually, personal problems crawled to the fore. The ideology of individualism and active exploitation of the animal nature has taken a dominant position in the minds and hearts of the vast majority of people. Religions aspiring to Heaven began to give way to their mundane competitors. Against this background, the greatness of the Queen of Heaven, and her sacred destiny, which is Russia, has faded. Russian people began to pray less and less for the well-being of the House of the Virgin. Following this, little by little, the memory of why such an unusual name was applied to Russia in general began to disappear. And why is it that our ancestors so often called the Mother of God the Mother of the Russian Territory?
WHO WILL RESTORE THE CONNECTION OF TIMES?
At present, neither ecclesiastical nor secular sources provide exhaustive information about when and why Russia began to be called the House of the Most Holy Theotokos, or the inheritance of the Mother of God. Extremely avaricious information on this topic is practically inaccessible to the general reader. Rare references to the identity of the concepts of Russia and the House of the Mother of God are not accompanied by any comments or explanations. This topic does not have any scientific study or religious dogmatic canon.
It would seem that under such a fatal set of circumstances, we will never be able to look behind the veil of secrecy that hides from us the reasons why Russia became the lot of the Mother of God. However, as is often the case in the world around us, there is no secret that sooner or later would not come true. I would like to hope that in matters of the extraordinary and mysterious convergence of the concepts of Russia and the House of the Virgin, someday there will be acceptable explanations and interpretations. Although at present there are several interesting versions that can shed light on this mystery. Moreover, one of the interpretations known to us can rightfully be considered, if not official, then at least semi-official.
The well-known legend about St. Anthony, who in 1073, having come from Orthodox Athos, founded the Kiev Caves Monastery, which later became the source of Russian monasticism, can serve as the basis for such a definition. Hieromonk Philadelphus wrote: “Mount Athos, according to legend, is the lot of the Mother of God - the patroness of monasticism. So the spiritual sprout of Holy Athos was planted on the Russian land and found in it extremely favorable soil ...
This is where the “Mother of God Spirit and character” constantly radiated. That is why from the very beginning in Russia such a wide veneration of the Mother of God developed that the whole Russian land became a special lot of the Mother of God, began to be called (and be) the “House of the Most Holy Theotokos”.
Soon, after the arrival of St. Anthony in Kyiv, four church architects appeared there, who told the story of how the Mother of God Herself appeared to them. The architects said: “Seeing the Queen and many soldiers around those who worshiped Her, and She said to us: I want to erect a church for Myself in Russia in Kyiv:“ I command you, take gold for yourself for three years, and go to build it ...
I will come to see the church myself, because I want to live in it.”
The Mother of God had to leave Jerusalem after the crucifixion of her son and as a result of the beginning of the persecution of Christians. Mary found her last resting place in a valley near Ephesus, surrounded by fragrant coniferous forests. The house of the Holy Virgin Mary in Ephesus (Selchuk, modern Turkey) was on a hill (at that time - Mount Solmissos), but about the place of residence of St. Mary of Ephesus - locals did not even guess. Once a year they climbed Solmissos to honor the goddess Artemis, but Mary's whereabouts were never discovered. Only the apostle John knew the secret of the stay of the mother of Jesus in the territory of present-day Turkey.
The House of Virgin Mary near Ephesus was discovered thanks to a vision that appeared to the German nun Anna Katherine Emmerich (1774 - 1824), two years before her death. So, thanks to the believer and the excavations carried out in 1892 at the initiative of the priest P. Jung, archaeologists found the house. As scientists suggest, the dwelling of the Virgin was later a church built in her honor in the 9th century. In 1896, Pope Leo XIII also supported the fact of living in the found house of the Virgin Mary.
Pilgrims have been actively visiting this holy place since the 20th century. In terms of significance for a Christian, visiting this dwelling can only be compared with the performance of the Hajj by a Muslim. According to official statistics, every year more than 2 million pilgrims and tourists come to bow to the house. The highest church representatives of the Vatican have also been here - Pope Paul VI (1967), Pope John Paul II (in 1979) and Benedict XII - in 2006. The Christian shrine serves as a place of mass pilgrimage for Christians.
Arriving on the outskirts of Selcuk (Ephesus), you will see a small Catholic chapel on the mountain, which was restored in 1950, and next to it is a spring, its name is Maryam Ana. As the legend says, it living water The spring helps in atonement for seven-year sins - according to the number of years St. Mary lived here.
Address: Selçuk, 35920 İzmir, Turkey, tel. +90 232 89 41 012.
House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus, Turkey how to get
The easiest way is to use the train Istanbul - Izmir (Istanbul - Izmir), and then - buy a ticket for another train - Izmir - Selcuk (Izmir - Selcuk). Railway Selcuk station (a modern Turkish town on the site of ancient Ephesus) is located 20 km from the Aegean port and beach resort Kusadasi, which is about 20 minutes away by minibus.
An inquisitive reader would like to suggest another holy place where the life-giving spring of the Virgin beats. To do this, you need to visit Holy Athos (Greece) and its famous Iberian Monastery ...
P.S. For connoisseurs of artifacts and admirers of sensational discoveries: today, archaeological excavations in ancient Ephesus cover only a tenth of the territory of the ancient city...
Interesting facts related to the image of the Virgin: 1. The Apostle Andrew and Greece 2. Orthodox shrines, a journey to holy places 3. Kutlumush
Sights of Turkey
The ancient city of Bursa, the mention of which dates back to the thirteenth century AD, has a serious reason to dedicate a few days to it to get acquainted
Alanya (another commonly used name is Alanya) is Turkey's southernmost resort on the Mediterranean Sea.
The curious traveler will find ancient Tlos (Lycian Tlawa) 35 km east of Fethiye (Turkey). Take the village of Asarkale as a landmark.
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