Where is the Lokot Icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” located today?

The Lokot myrrh-streaming icon of the Mother of God has again arrived in Samara.

The Lokot myrrh-streaming Seraphim-Diveyevo Icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” is one of the most famous modern shrines of Orthodox Russia. Where has she not been in twenty years! I visited Samara more than once. And meeting a miracle always pleases and excites. So this time, when I heard on the phone from our good friend Yuri Ivanovich Shishkov that he was again in Samara with the icon, I somehow immediately perked up. Good, very good sign! All life seemed to have come to a standstill during the period of self-isolation due to the epidemic; you couldn’t even dream of any arrival of shrines, or any pilgrimage trips. And here is the first sign of good changes. And what else!.. The miraculous Lokot icon is with us now. And this means that these days Samara will be under the Protection of the Mother of God. This is always important, but especially now due to the coronavirus epidemic.

The next day I went to the Holy Kazan Church in the center of Samara to meet with the shrine. And then I talked with Yuri Ivanovich Shishkov. It turned out that during this time, many significant changes occurred both with the status of the icon and with the guardians of the shrine. During the epidemic, Bishop Veniamin (Korolyov) of Zheleznogorsk and Lgov died in a Kursk hospital. With his archpastoral blessing, all trips around the country and abroad took place with the Lokot Icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness”. And Yuri Ivanovich himself also had to face a serious illness... But first things first.

Lokot Icon of the Mother of God Tenderness

Every year on April 7 (March 25, old style), the Church celebrates the most important Gospel event - the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos: Archangel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary the Divine will about the Birth of the Savior of the world from Her, and She responded with consent to become the Mother of God by human nature.

There are different icons that depict the Annunciation. One of these icons is the miraculous Lokot Icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness”. This is an exact copy of the cell icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov. It depicts the Blessed Virgin at the moment of the Annunciation: “behold, the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”

The Lokot icon was found quite recently - in 1997, in the village of Lokot, Bryansk region.

One day, a servant of God purchased an expired calendar with the face of the Virgin Mary from a local store: the saleswoman wanted to throw it away.

To prevent the image from being desecrated, this servant of God bought a calendar, cut off the calendar and hung it at home as an icon. After this, the image began to smell fragrant and flow with myrrh. Myrrh-streaming continues to this day.

The icon received all-Russian and worldwide fame. On the eve of the celebrations dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the glorification of St. Seraphim of Diveyevo, they decided to dress the icon in vestments. When the icon was removed from the wall, it was discovered that on the reverse side appeared the miraculous face of the Mother of God and the face of Jesus Christ of the Shroud of Turin.

In 2021, the Lokot Icon of the Mother of God will remain in the Vladimir Cathedral throughout Lent. You can bow and pray in front of the miraculous image every day from 9:00 to 20:00.

The icon is located in the lower church of the Vladimir Cathedral. During the day after, prayers are performed in front of the icon. The first is immediately after the morning service.

After the prayer service, you can listen to a story about the miraculous icon.

Where is the Lokon Icon of the Mother of God located now?

According to the website of the St. Petersburg Metropolis, the Lokot Icon of the Mother of God has been in the Church of the Holy Trinity “Kulich and Easter” since May 20 and will remain there until June 10, 2019, access to it is provided daily from 8:30 to 19:30.

“To the doctor, heal yourself...”

— Why did you get sick with coronavirus? After all, you were next to the miraculous icon all the time.

— In those days in Moscow, thousands of people approached the icon. I talked to many. That's how he caught the infection. For many years the Lokot Icon was assigned to the Zheleznogorsk Diocese of the Kursk Metropolis. I was an assistant to the Ruling Bishop, Bishop of Zheleznogorsk and Lgov, Veniamin, all trips with the icon took place with his blessing. And when I felt the first signs of illness, I called Vladika Benjamin. At that time, he himself was sick with coronavirus and was in the hospital. I had to pick up the icon from Moscow on April 21. And so I told him that I felt very weak, and if I took the icon and got into the car, I would drive two hundred meters away from the temple and crash into some pillar. Because I'm afraid of losing consciousness. He blessed me to urgently call an ambulance and demand that they give me a CT scan. And so I did. In one of the Moscow clinics they did a CT scan, took a blood test, a smear, and took a cardiogram of my heart. According to the Moscow protocol, if the lung damage is 25 percent or less, then they are sent home. Simply because the hospitals were already overcrowded. My lung damage was just 25 percent, and I was sent to be treated at home. At first there was no temperature, it rose later, just as the cough did not appear immediately. The very first symptom is weakness and burning in the chest. The abbot of the temple allowed me to stay in the apartment they rented for me. And I spent a month in this apartment completely alone. One day I just got out to the pharmacy, but I got caught on camera and the police immediately rushed in. They wanted to take me to the observatory, but I begged them not to do this. Because it’s not very pleasant to sit there with homeless people and generally unknown people. They “identified” me from the camera, because when they take a CT scan and give out free medications for treatment, they take a photograph and enter it into the database. And so I sat in the apartment all alone. Volunteers from the temple left food for me at the door. And one night a crisis came. I felt like I was dying. I was in a semi-delirious state, some “glitches” started happening. And so I took the rosary and from half past eleven in the evening until half past four in the morning I constantly read the Jesus Prayer. I didn’t miss prayer for a minute, because I understood: if I just got distracted, I could die. Somewhere around four in the morning my condition improved and I realized that I had been left on the ground. After that I started to get better.

And it was also psychologically difficult because the windows overlooked a busy highway. And every now and then, day and night, I heard the howl of sirens from there - either the police were rushing somewhere, or an ambulance... And this howl of sirens gave the everyday life of Moscow during the epidemic something alarming, military, reminiscent of films about the war, where they warned about bombings the howl of a siren... The blow to the psyche is, of course, significant. When they took tests twice, with an interval of ten days, and found that I no longer had coronavirus, I breathed a sigh of relief - and left Moscow with great joy.

Previously, I myself treated all this with coolness. But now I tell everyone: at the first symptoms of the disease, you need to take antiviral medications and medications. Don't wait until things get too far. Without treatment, this disease will not go away. Arbidol helped me, but there are different treatment regimens. Each of us knows Orthodox doctors, and with them we need to find a treatment plan for you. Don't take this lightly.

Healings sent to the Most Pure Mother of God by the Tenderness Icon

Judging by the story of the monk in the chronicle, in 1337, in the glorious city of Novgorod, a terrible disease was rampant, which devoured a huge number of human lives every day, and no one could find an antidote to this deadly disease. And when they had completely lost hope of salvation, all the Christian people gathered and came to the Trinity Church, where, on their knees and with tears in their eyes, they began turning to the Holy Face of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, reading a prayer for protection from the deadly breath of the pestilence. And after some time, the deadly disease was defeated, and in honor of this divine miracle, people every year make a pilgrimage to the Trinity Church from the St. Sophia Church.

It also happened that the icon could shed tears, one of such events was on July 8, 1337, but then the Divine image not only had tears, but the entire miraculous icon hung in the air, held by some invisible hand. After this, they gathered the clergy, who went on a crusade to the Trinity Church to perform divine services;

In the village of Lokot, which is located in the Bryansk region, there is a miraculous holy relic of the Diveyevo Most Pure Mother of God in the house of Victor and Natalya Remezov. One day, a woman suffering from cancer came to visit them, and soon she was scheduled for a very difficult operation. The girl very carefully and sincerely prayed with all her heart to the Virgin Mary for a cure for her illness, and after praying the woman went to the hospital to prepare for the operation. But after undergoing an ultrasound examination, the surprise of the doctors knew no bounds, because the ultrasound showed that the cancer had disappeared and the sufferer had become absolutely healthy.

In the most difficult and difficult times for themselves and the state as a whole, people submitted petitions through prayers to the heavenly powers. The most revered image among the people has become the Holy Image of the Most Holy Theotokos “Tenderness”, which is famous for such miracles as: With the help of this icon, the Mother of God grants recovery, support and encourages the sufferers, shares with them the joy of healing and eases their suffering, is proud of the unlimited abilities of God’s son.

In 1581, the Holy Image protected the city of Pskov from danger during its siege by the Poles. According to legend, a cannon shell fell into the church, but did not touch the icon, nor did it hit the people who were nearby. Two more decades later, the Holy Image of the Mother of God of Tenderness, during the military conflict of 1812, saved another Russian village - Polotsk. The outcome of that incident was so important that from that moment on, on October 7, a holiday in honor of the icon is celebrated every year.

Starting from the middle of the 16th century, a stream of believers headed to the Pskov temple who came for recovery, good parting words and advice in various matters. Ancient records keep the names of those people who were helped by the Holy Face of the Mother of God “Tenderness”.

The glory of the Heavenly image - the Healer - has firmly entered the lives of people. For those who were blind from birth or who lost their sight by an absurd accident, it returned. Sufferers who could not stand or walk were miraculously healed. For people who were speechless, it appeared. All these cases and many other miracles remained in the memory of people and were passed on from person to person, and the clergy in churches recorded all these cases for subsequent generations - in the name of the glory of God. However, wonderful events do not end in our time. Orthodox believers are completely convinced: The petition submitted to the Holy Image “Tenderness,” read sincerely and from the bottom of the heart, is capable of much. Especially if these are prayers for your relatives and neighbors, for your parents and children, for health and prosperity. Also, the Holy Face is able to change anger to the mercy of those people who are angry with you. With the help of her influence, it is easier to make peace with loved ones and gain peace of mind and harmony. That is why the Holy Image of the Mother of God is not called “Tenderness”.

In addition to the icon located in Pskov, in Russian cathedrals and monasteries there are many different icons of the Mother of God “Tenderness”. 66696666666666666665656 This testifies to the great reverence for this divine image. Also, there were cases when the Mother of God herself appeared weak and sick, either in dreams or clearly and advised how to submit a petition in order to get rid of the disease, and where this image should be located. And indeed the sufferers went to the said place, noticed the image that the Mother of God told them about, turned to her and were immediately healed. A lot of people were cured in this way - by prayer before the Holy images of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Icon of the Mother of God of Tenderness of Lokot

From April 1 to April 8, the Lokot Icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” will be in the Smolensk Church.

From February to June, in the churches of the Oryol Metropolis, with the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony of Oryol and Bolkhov, there will be a miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” from the village of Lokot. In 1999, the icon began to stream myrrh. This is a two-sided miraculous myrrh-streaming image.

The history of the appearance of the icon.

The shrine appeared in one pious family in the village of Lokot, the former estate of Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov, brother of Tsar Nicholas II.

A resident of the village of Lokot, Bryansk region, Natalya Shishkova, as usual, went to the local department store and saw calendars with the image of the Mother of God lying neglected on the store counter.

She made a remark to the saleswoman that even though the calendars are not church calendars, since there is an image of the face of the Mother of God, it is unworthy to store it in this form, but it is necessary to store it in a proper way.

To which the saleswoman said that these calendars were expired, and anyway no one would buy them and they would have to be thrown away.

Natalya went home, and on the way the thought occurred to her that she had denounced the saleswoman, but she herself just needed to buy this calendar. She went back and bought the last two calendars of the Mother of God with the Tenderness icon. I cut off the numbers and hung them on the wall at home and at work using regular push pins.

As in the case of the Iveron Montreal Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, she at first decided that someone had spilled cologne or perfume in the house, but when she began to look for the source of the aroma, she discovered that a large, greasy, fragrant stain had formed on the face of the Mother of God.

She invited a priest, who, having looked, noticed that now this often happens, when not only in churches, but also in the homes of lay people, images begin to stream myrrh, that you don’t need to pay attention to it, you look - it streams myrrh and will pass.

But the flow of myrrh and the fragrance did not stop; moreover, the flow of myrrh increased over time in such quantity that the myrrh flowed from the image onto the wall.

Seeing this, the priest said that this must be approached with caution, in case this miracle is not from God: “Let’s pray, and if during Great Lent this miracle stops, then this miracle is not God’s.” But on Easter, in their house, all the icons that they have were filled with myrrh, and there are quite a lot of them

It became clear that this was truly a miracle and they decided to place this image in an icon case.

They took it off the wall and, to their amazement, discovered this: you know that myrrh is an oily substance that saturates the paper right through, and since the entire image was covered with myrrh, it would seem that the calendar should also soak up this world through and through.

But when they took it off the wall, they saw that on the reverse side only the face of the Mother of God was saturated with the world! The rest of the surface of the calendar remained as white and dry as before.

The study of miracles associated with the icon of “Tenderness” is carried out by a special expert group on miraculous phenomena in the Russian Orthodox Church under the leadership of Professor P.V. Florensky. Over the past 19 years, there have been many cases of healing and grace-filled help in everyday needs of people who came to her to worship.

Schedule of stay of the Lokot Icon of the Mother of God

• April 1 - April 8 - Smolensk Church;
• April 8 - April 15 - Epiphany Church;
• April 15 - April 19 - Baptist Church;
• April 19 - April 24 - Alexander Nevsky Church (900 block);
• April 24 - April 29 - St. Nicholas Church;
• April 29 - May 3 - Vvedensky Convent;
• May 3 - May 8 - Trinity Church;
• May 8 - May 13 - Mtsensk;
• May 13 - May 20 - Bolkhov.

Materials from the Information and Analytical Department of the Oryol Metropolis were used

Not of this world

— Tell us about the life and death of Bishop of Zheleznogorsk and Lgov Veniamin (Queen).

— Bishop Benjamin died on April 26. Vladyka had diabetes, and with such ailments the coronavirus is more difficult to tolerate. He was 55 years old. In 1998, he began to restore the Akhtyrsky Church in Kursk, at the altar of which the mother of St. Seraphim of Sarov, Agafya Moshnina, was buried. The temple was then destroyed almost to ruins. Now it has been completely restored, and the beginning of this was laid by the future Bishop Benjamin. Then he was the governor of the Kursk Root Monastery. His life is amazing, mysterious, things happened around him that are inconceivable for many. When I first saw him, I thought that he was a man out of this world. Mysticism surrounded him. Icons and photographs of saints constantly streamed myrrh... He did not want to become a Bishop, and His Holiness the Patriarch elevated him to bishop, one might say, without his consent. And the Patriarch answered his opponents this way: those who do not want this should be appointed bishops first.

Zheleznogorsk was built in the 1950s, when the Mikhailovsky mining and processing plant began operating, when they began to extract ore from the now well-known Kursk magnetic anomaly. This is a city of immigrants from all over the Soviet Union. The city was built from scratch; there was not a single temple there. There were no church traditions either. This is probably why so many unusual and even incidental things happened there. Here's an example. A woman comes to Vladyka’s office for an appointment. Bishop Benjamin blesses her and... she faints. The next visitor comes in and sees a woman on the floor in the Vladyka’s office... After this incident, in order to avoid ambiguity and gossip, the Vladyka received visitors only in the presence of witnesses.

— How did Bishop Benjamin of Zheleznogorsk and Lgov feel about the Lokot miraculous icon?

— The Lokot icon was associated with Vladika Benjamin from its very first miracles. The icon shed myrrh for the first time in 1997, and in the same year he took monastic vows. Our icon was his favorite. He said that through this icon he would know the will of God. I don’t know how this happened. This is his secret. Natalya Nikolaevna embroidered Vladyka a copy of the icon and gave it to him. He placed this icon in his home church, prayed to it, and asked questions.

Now I want to talk about an amazing incident that during the life of Vladika Benjamin I did not dare to talk about. This was in the early 2000s. He was then a hieromonk, the head of the monastery in honor of St. Seraphim of Sarov from the Root Hermitage. And then one day he was serving the Liturgy, and a voice came to him: “Take the throne from the High Place to Elbow, to where the icon streams myrrh.” At first he decided that it was an obsession. But then the voice repeated itself. And then the Liturgy ends. He takes the throne from the High Place and takes it to Elbow. A chapel was being built there at that time. I was not yet in the village of Lokot at that time. Natalya Nikolaevna met him and asked: “Why did you bring this chair?” - “This is not a chair, this is a throne. And the Queen of Heaven Herself will sit on it. Look, keep this place, no one else has the right to sit on it. Only the Bishop can sit on this throne, and then only during the reading of special prayers.” And with that he left. The chapel had not yet been built, and the throne was wrapped in plastic and hidden; at that time there was simply nowhere to put it. Then the throne was installed in the chapel. And there was a case when one priest decided to try it on himself and sat on this throne. I don’t want to scare anyone, but the consequences were serious...

So, the future Vladyka Benjamin returns from the village of Lokot to his monastery. And it takes three and a half hours to get to the village of Lokot from the Root Desert, and the same time back. He returned to his monastery in the evening. I was very worried that the bishop would suddenly come to the temple, and there was no throne there! And so he returns to the monastery, and there his spiritual children are already waiting for him, and they brought with them as a gift to the temple... a throne for the High Place! That temple stood without a throne for just half a day.

The chapel in the village of Lokot was built as a prayer room, it was an extension to the house, as Bishop Melchizedek (Lebedev) of Bryansk blessed at that time.

When he was at the Yekaterinburg See, under him the Royal Family was canonized as locally revered saints. The myrrh-streaming of the Lokot Icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” began during the time of his Bishopric in Bryansk. He blessed to keep the icon in the house, in this prayer room. And he also gave us a document, a kind of safe conduct - we take care of it like the apple of our eye! - where he certified that this was a miracle of God. If it weren’t for his safe conduct, I don’t even know what would have happened to us. They would peck...

In between trips, the Lokot icon is in that chapel, but this does not happen very often. And yet she is assigned to this place. And so the chapel was built. It was painted by teachers of the Kursk icon-painting workshop. They were all girls. The painting took a long time, more than two years, because they worked only on weekends, and then only if there were no major holidays. And as soon as the painting of the chapel was completed, all these girls immediately got married.

And so the throne was installed. The question immediately arose of how to maintain this place. We decided to put up two stands like in a museum and stretch a red velvet ribbon between them. But what kind of ribbons can stop our pilgrims with children? But buses with pilgrims have already left. There are even double-decker buses! How can you keep track of everyone here? And the children strive to climb onto the throne! And so we decided to put something on the throne. If someone decides to sit on the throne, he looks to see that a seat is occupied and stops. We began to pray that the Mother of God would give a revelation of what exactly should be put on the throne. They thought, maybe the cross, maybe the Gospel. But the icon was silent. And about six months later, we only received instructions to place symbols of royal power on the throne. But where can you get them? And who in our time can make symbols of royal power - a scepter and an orb? Then my friends via the Internet found a jewelry workshop in the city of Zlatoust, Chelyabinsk region, which specializes in making weapons from Damascus steel and inlays from gold and silver. They undertook to produce this unusual order. And then we spent another year looking for funds for this. And with the help of the same Father Veniamin, by that time he had already become abbot, abbot of the Korennaya Pustyn monastery, the deputies of the Kursk Regional Duma pitched in and paid for this order. The scepter and orb are made of gilded brass inlaid with precious stones. And when Abbot Veniamin brought the relics, he gave them to us to hold in our hands. Then he consecrated them, placed them on the throne and said this mysterious phrase: “Well, now none of you has the right to even touch them.” We touched them only before consecration! He also said: “It is open to me that your icon will be related to the last Russian Tsar. But it’s not useful for you to know how all this will happen.” And since that time, and this was 2006, symbols of royal power lie on the throne in the village of Lokot. We do not touch them, but Hieromonk Joseph wipes off the dust from them with the blessing of Vladyka Benjamin.

There is an interesting story connected with the scepter, but it is too early to talk about it in detail. This was on the eve of the Ukrainian Maidan. One priest came with pilgrims to Lokot. There was a sick woman in his group. He did not know that nothing could be taken from the throne, and he easily took the scepter and placed it on the head of the possessed woman. And she suddenly spoke in a language unknown to us. The demon said through her that the language was Aramaic. When the priest said that he did not understand this speech, then through that woman the demon began to speak clearly to us... Our hair stood on end from those speeches... But I will not quote those words here. Those were amazing and terrible words. But what can I say, I will say. “You don’t even realize how much we hate the word “Russian.” You can’t even imagine how afraid we are of the word “Holy Rus',” the demon said in the possessed woman. “For us, this word is like a spell...” And when the possessed woman uttered the words “Holy Rus',” she became so distorted that she could hardly even pronounce these words. And when she finally spoke them out, she fell unconscious and foam came out of her mouth...

— How did you find out that Vladika Benjamin died?

“The last time I saw him was six months ago, he came to visit us in Lokot. And he even called him extremely rarely; he tried to call him only when he could tell him something good. And since there is not so much good in our world... I didn’t tell him about problems and troubles. Shore, I didn’t want to upset you.

On April 21, I was released from the hospital to recover at home. I immediately called Vladyka, he answered. He said that he had 17 percent lung damage. And I had 25. He spoke to me in a cheerful voice, and I had no fears for his life. After all, according to the tests, my situation was even worse than his. And I'm five years older. But when the next day I wanted to know about his treatment regimen, he no longer answered. A few days later it was reported that he had died. Elder Schema-Archimandrite Vlasy (Peregontsev) said about him: “The Lord takes away not the mature, but the ripe.”

The death of Bishop Veniamin is also shrouded in mystery. He was not confirmed to have COVID-19. An autopsy showed that all his internal organs were damaged. Death was due to a detached blood clot in the brain. And he also died one day apart from the head of the mining and processing plant, Andrei Varichev, who died of double pneumonia. Three more people from his close circle died along with Vladyka.

Vladyka was lying under an oxygen mask in the hospital, and the day before his death the oxygen supply broke down, and Vladyka was without an oxygen mask all night. And this is very dangerous with such a disease. When the next day they tried to connect him to a ventilator (the oxygen supply could not be organized), the doctor who tried to connect this device then said that Vladyka was dying conscious. And he said quite clearly: “I have already been given a red Easter egg, and I am going up.” These were his last words before he breathed his last.

Icon of the Mother of God Tenderness

What do they pray to the Most Holy Theotokos for in front of the Tenderness icon?

Among the people, the image of the Mother of God “Tenderness” is considered “feminine,” but this icon can also be turned to by those men who need to build mutual understanding with their mother or spouse. Having an icon of “Tenderness” at home and praying in front of it can help your daughters maintain inner purity and turn them away from unclean temptations.

Prayers to the Mother of God before Her image “Tenderness” often help in conceiving a child and during childbirth. Then, when the child reaches adolescence, they become a significant help in overcoming the transition period.

It must be remembered that icons or saints do not “specialize” in any specific areas. It will be right when a person turns with faith in the power of God, and not in the power of this icon, this saint or prayer. Which saints and who should we pray to on different occasions and why our prayers remain unanswered.

The history of the image of the Virgin Mary “Tenderness”

It is believed that the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” began its life in the second half of the 18th century.

The Icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” is also called “Rejoice, Unbrided Bride.” In this image we see the Virgin Mary even before the birth of our Savior, but after Archangel Gabriel informed Her of the great honor - that she would soon be a Mother.

The Icon of the Mother of God of Tenderness is very strongly associated with St. Seraphim of Sarov. According to descriptions, throughout his life Saint Mary patronized the great Russian saint. She came to his aid more than once, helped him in many righteous deeds, even healed Father Seraphim from fatal diseases.

In the “Life of St. Seraphim” it is written about this:

“With special love, the holy elder received sincerely and humbly repentant people and those who showed ardent zeal for the Christian spiritual life. After talking with them, the Monk Seraphim used to place the end of the stole and his right hand on their bowed heads.

At the same time, he offered to say a short prayer of repentance after himself, after which he himself said a prayer of permission, which is why those who came received relief of conscience and some kind of special spiritual pleasure; then the elder anointed the visitor with a cross in the form of oil from a lamp that burned in front of the image of the Mother of God of Tenderness located in his cell, which he called the icon of the Mother of God - the Joy of all joys.”

In his cell, the Monk Seraphim was found on the day of his repose, January 2/15, 1833, as he himself prophesied - among smoldering things, in a prayerful position in front of the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness”. His arms were crossed in the same way as those of the Virgin Mary in this image.

Emperor Nicholas II revered the saint and also knew that “Tenderness” was one of the most beloved icons of Seraphim of Sarov. Therefore, soon after his glorification as a saint, the king, in memory of him, presented a precious robe for this icon.

After the revolution, in 1927, the monastery in Diveevo was closed, and Christian believers were able to hide the beloved icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov “Tenderness” that was located there from the authorities.

For decades this image was securely hidden from defilement, and only sixty years later, in 1991, the holy icon was transferred to Patriarch Alexy II and is currently in the residence of the patriarch.

Every year, on the Feast of the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Seraphim-Diveyevo Icon of Tenderness is exhibited for veneration in the Patriarchal Epiphany Cathedral.

GREATNESS

We magnify You, Most Holy Virgin, God-chosen Youth, and honor Your holy image, through which you bring healing to all who come with faith.

Icon “Tenderness” gives children to infertile families

For a long time, the city of Chisinau, like, indeed, probably all large cities of the former Soviet Union, celebrated its day without a specific spiritual meaning. This holiday, until the year 2000, was celebrated on the first Sunday of October. In the anniversary year, 2000 from the Nativity of Christ, celebrations on this occasion were also held in the Moldovan capital. Then, for the first time, Chisinau celebrated its holiday on the day of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, October 14. Since then, the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos has become a temple holiday in the city. In the central Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Chisinau there is a chapel that is consecrated in honor of this holiday. And the only temple consecrated in honor of the Intercession of the Mother of God is located in one of the capital’s sectors, in the north-west of Chisinau, called Buiucani. It was in this temple that the Icon stayed two years ago. For the temple holiday of the House of God and the Moldovan capital this year, parishioners wanted to venerate the great shrine again. When there were a few days left before the departure of the icon, a young woman entered the church with a stroller in which a baby was restlessly spinning, looking at everything around her so as not to miss something. Mom approached the Icon, humbly bowed and stood for a long time at the image of the Most Holy Theotokos. When she turned around, her face shone with heavenly joy, which only the Queen of Heaven can give to the human soul. “I can’t help but share my joy!” exclaimed the young mother. “What happened?” the parishioners and Father Viktor Lukin, the rector of the temple, asked her. “Through prayers to the Icon of the Mother of God, two years ago, when the Icon was here, a miracle happened, and today I thanked the Blessed Virgin for this miracle.” “What kind of miracle?” everyone asked with interest. “And here it is in the stroller,” said mom. Mom's name is Tatyana Levinskaya. And she told us about the miracle that happened in her life. According to Tatyana, doctors did not give her any chance to give birth to a child. According to the results of medical examinations, Tatyana’s chances of giving birth, even with the help of modern technologies, were reduced to zero. After fervent prayers, she went again to the doctors. Only this time to register for pregnant women. The attending doctors did not believe what they saw, they asked how and who corrected the situation, since before the tests were hopeless. Some acquaintances even suspected Tatyana that she had transplanted a donor egg into herself and did not want to talk about it. “I have said and will not stop telling everyone that the power of God is great, that the Mother of God works miracles through her Image. Pray - and a miracle will definitely happen in your life, just as it happened in mine,” Tatyana calls on everyone with a face overflowing with joy and tears.

Thank God for everything!

Icon of Tenderness, its meaning, what it helps with and what they pray for in front of the image of the Mother of God

Seraphim of Sarov had several images of the Mother of God, to whose service he devoted himself entirely. Our Lady patronized him throughout his entire journey.

The holy image of “Tenderness” occupied a special place in the life of the great saint. Father Seraphim almost never parted with him; bowing before him, he passed into another world (01/2/1833).

What does the “Tenderness” icon mean and what impact does it have on the lives of believers, find out from this article.

Description

The history of the Tenderness icon is as follows. She was the main cell image of the great Russian saint, St. Seraphim of Sarov. The saint called her “Joy of All Joys,” prayed before her and ended his earthly journey. Soon this face became one of the most revered among the sisters of the Diveyevo monastery.

Saint Seraphim repeated more than once that he left the nuns of the Diveyevo monastery in the care of the Most Holy Theotokos, and at the same time always pointed to the “Tenderness” icon.

Therefore, after his repose, the face was transferred by the abbot of the Sarov Monastery, Nifont, to the sisters of the monastery, where it remained until the revolution in Russia. On August 10, 1885, “Tenderness” was placed in the Holy Trinity Church of the Diveyevo monastery.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gKnAezyxqZE

At the beginning of the 20th century, on the orders of Emperor Nicholas II, a chasuble decorated with precious stones was made for the Sarov shrine. It was presented in honor of the glorification of the saint. Then, in 1903, the holy face of the Mother of God “Tenderness” was brought to Sarov, where the celebration took place, in a religious procession from Diveevo.

In 1927, after the monastery was closed, it was saved. Abbess Alexandra was arrested and sent to Moscow. After liberation, the abbess and several sisters moved to Murom, where they settled. Somehow they managed to preserve the holy icon and take it with them, as well as the rest of Father Seraphim’s belongings.

After the death of Mother Superior, the face of the Mother of God and other shrines were transferred to the custody of one of the nuns named Maria (Barinova).

While still a hieromonk, he served in Murom and visited the monastery more than once, venerated the shrines of Father Seraphim, carrying his love for the saint throughout his life.

However, His Holiness ordered differently and gave the miraculous face of the Mother of God and the personal belongings of Father Seraphim for the safekeeping of Viktor Shipovalnik, an archpriest from the village of Kratovo near Moscow.

For almost 20 years the shrines were kept in the priest’s family and only in 1991 were they returned to the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery.

Specific, namely:

• icon "St. Seraphim" with a piece of mantle;
• image of “St. Seraphim praying on a stone."

A separate chapel was built for these icons, in the construction of which Father Victor was helped by the famous writer A.I. Solzhenitsyn. Viktor Shipovalnik served his last liturgy there in 2005 on All Saints Week.

The miraculous face itself was transferred by His Holiness to the Patriarchal residence (Moscow, Chisty Lane). Once a year it is brought out for public worship at the Patriarchal Epiphany Cathedral (Elokhovo).

This event falls on the Feast of the Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is celebrated by the church during the 5th week of Great Lent. An akathist is read before the miraculous face, after which everyone can venerate the shrine.

How does the holy image revered by all the Russian people help believers?

Prayer tradition

According to established tradition, the holy face of “Tenderness” is considered a female shrine, as it personifies youth, femininity, purity and chastity.

He is especially loved by young girls, women who dream of getting married or who are already married and are responsible for maintaining the family hearth and raising children in faith and chastity.

Brides walking down the aisle pray and take a blessing from the Queen of Heaven to enter a new life.

Prayer to the face of the Holy Mother of God helps girls overcome the difficult teenage period, so many mothers acquire it even with the birth of their daughter, so that by praying before the pure and bright face of the Mother of God, the child will be formed pure and chaste.

The Mother of God is asked for essential things:

1. Healing bodily infirmities.
2. Getting rid of mental sorrows, anxiety, depression.
3. Preserving children in purity and chastity.
4. Have a successful marriage.
5. Conception and successful childbirth.
6. Restoring peace and love in the family.
7. Cleansing the soul from passions and vices (laziness, pride, vanity and others).

The gentle and warm face of the non-bride bride “Tenderness” enlightens the soul of any person darkened by sin and heavy thoughts of hopelessness. Revives hope for a favorable outcome in difficult life circumstances, gives peace and tranquility, instills the quiet unearthly joy of Divine existence.

How does godly tenderness differ from godly tenderness?

Tenderness, like many other human feelings, in a moral sense can have both good and bad content.

During the Old Testament, for many representatives of Israel, due to the coarsness of their hearts, godly tenderness was something not very familiar and not very understandable.

Educating and educating the chosen people, reminding them of what their mission and their chosenness were, God turned them away from the temptations of paganism, allowed disasters, sent down punishments, and through this contributed (including) to arousing tenderness in them (cf.: “He showed Thou art cruel to thy people: thou hast given us to drink the wine of tenderness” (Ps. 59:5)).

Preparing Israel for the coming meeting with Christ, God promised through the prophet that with the Coming of the Messiah, He would send the spirit of grace and tenderness to the house of His servant, David. Under the influence of this gracious feeling, even many of those who participated in His execution and murder should have believed in Christ (Zech. 12:10).

During the New Testament, tenderness as a feeling based on the joy of communication with God, reverence and humility before Him as the Heavenly Lord, to one degree or another became available to all true believers Christians. However, in order to comprehend this state in depth, a lot of effort is required from the ascetic.

One of the most important means to achieve this state is cutting off the sinful will, detachment from the vanity of the world, sincere prayer, participation in the Sacraments, obedience and trust in God.

If a person does not live in accordance with the moral law, and does not even believe in God and His purifying Providence, tenderness is also possible, for example, tenderness before idols, tenderness caused by an impulse of certain passions (for example, a love passion or a passion for acquisitiveness).

Such tenderness can further alienate a person from God, cultivate in him an addiction (to the object of tenderness) or intensify an already burning passion, subordinating him to the will of evil spirits.

It is precisely this sinful form of tenderness that the apostle speaks of when he says: “God has given them the spirit of tenderness, so that eyes cannot see and ears cannot hear, even to this day” (Rom. 11:8).

St. John Climacus speaks of the “blessed joyful sadness of tenderness.” He writes: “Reflecting on the property of tenderness, I am amazed at how crying and so-called sadness contain joy and gladness, like honey is contained in a honeycomb... Such tenderness is truly a gift of the Lord... God comforts the brokenhearted in a hidden way... In the abyss of crying is found consolation, and purity of heart receives enlightenment...”

See JOY SORRY

History of the image of the Most Holy Theotokos Tenderness

Initially, the shrine was made on canvas mounted on a cypress board. This image was especially revered by the monk Seraphim of Sarov, who knew how to see the soul of every person and ask for healing for everyone. He prayed before this face most often, with his hands raised to heaven. The saint lived a long life and ended his earthly journey in prayer before the image of the Protectress. Seraphim bequeathed this face to the Diveyevo temple, located not far from his monastery.

Interesting! Lamp oil burning near the image of the Virgin Mary acquired healing properties. Saint Seraphim often used this divine remedy to save many unfortunate people from various ailments.

Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow received the “Tenderness” in 1991. The Holy Image of the Mother of God was placed in the patriarchal monastery. Every year the image is brought for veneration to the Epiphany Cathedral, which can accommodate a large number of believers.

This day is considered a holiday: the clergy dress in appropriate clothes and perform a solemn service. On the days of December 22, August 1 and August 10, in monasteries you need to light candles in front of the Virgin Mary with a request for the health of loved ones, and also sing an akathist (praise choir). The icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” is designed to instill meekness and spiritual humility in all parishioners.

“Tenderness” SERAFIMO-DIVEEVSKAYA

Hymn to the Mother of God before the icon, how to read and order correctly

The holy face of the Seraphim-Dineevskaya Holy Blessed Virgin Mary is the protector of all young girls who want to find their soulmate and get married.

Hymn to the Holy Face Tenderness is also served by girls who want to nurture and give birth to a child without any problems. They say that it won’t hurt and will serve as a good sign to have such a Face in the house, especially if there are girls among the children. This gives them a good life.

The chant before the most pure face must be read while standing and with great trepidation.

The Akathist should be read with the following prayers:

• Our Father;

• Glory to You, our Almighty;

• Heavenly Almighty

• Prayer of the Reverend Father.

After the holy father has finished reading the akathist, a prayer service to the Mother of God begins before the icon of tenderness and several more prayers are read:

• Glory and Now;

• Worthy to be;

• Songs of the Holy Fathers;

• You must say three times, God save and preserve.

Prayer chants can be read from prayer books. The chant read before the holy image of Tenderness during the celebration of the memory of the Virgin Mary of Seraphim-Dineevskaya is considered especially deified. This holiday is celebrated twice a year - on August 1 and 10.

The text of the chant must be pronounced very vigilantly, slowly and in complete silence. In this way, a person is completely immersed in a state of balance and completely belongs to faith.

Of course, it is not prohibited to submit these prayers twice a day, although the prayer books, which should be read at the very beginning and at the end, can be omitted if they have already been read out once. Of course, it is correct to read the akathist before the Holy Face. However, if there is no icon in the house, then you can go to the temple or determine the east and turn your face there and read the akathist.

In this icon, the Most Pure Virgin Mary is depicted at the most beautiful time, even before she gave birth to Our Savior - Jesus Christ, but after the Archangel Gabriel revealed to her her destiny.

This Holy Face is distinguished by the fact that the Mother of God is depicted with an admiring expression on her face and a most pure image. The Most Holy Theotokos is depicted with her palms folded respectfully in a prayerful gesture, with her head slightly bowed and her eyes slightly closed, which in turn means such qualities as the embodiment of kindness, integrity, patience and modesty.

The Virgin Mary the Mother of God is depicted at the moment when Archangel Gabriel tells her that her destiny is to give birth to the Son of the Most High.

First, the Holy Face of Our Lady of Tenderness was written on a sheet of paper, which was attached to a cypress board.

*The icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary was given to the Holy Elder Seraphim of Sarov by Tsar Nicholas II. ** Seraphim of Sarov had amazing abilities, he saw through a person, he could see not only the kindness of hearts, but also the nature of each of the people, which is why he prayed for the recovery of Christian people.

The lamp with oil that stood next to the holy relic had healing effects; with the help of this oil, the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, anointing people stricken with ailments, could heal them.

Saint Seraphim passed away kneeling next to the miraculous icon of the Most Pure Mother of God. A little later, in 1991, the icon was given to the Reverend Father Alexei II in the capital to be placed in the patriarchal church, but for veneration the Holy Face is brought to the Church of the Epiphany every year. A little later, countless duplicates began to be removed from the Sacred Relic, and few of them were prescribed no less medicinal properties than the original.

Icon of Tenderness meaning, what it helps with

On the icon “Tenderness” the Mother of God is depicted in a happy moment before the birth of the baby, but after the Annunciation. She stands out with her bright face and enthusiastic expression.

Mary has half-lowered eyes, prayerfully crossed hands and a slightly bowed head, all this symbolizes meekness, humility and chastity.

The Virgin Mary is depicted at the moment when the angel Gabriel informs her that she is destined to give birth to the Son of God. Icon Day is celebrated on August 1 and 10.

The oil from the lamp that burned near the image had healing properties. The monk anointed the sick with it, which contributed to their recovery. Seraphim called this icon “The Joy of All Joys.”

In 1991, the image was transferred to Moscow Patriarch Alexy II, who placed it in the patriarchal church. Every year the icon is transferred to the Epiphany Cathedral, where worship takes place. Over time, a huge number of copies were made and some of them also have miraculous powers.

In general, the image is considered feminine, so its power is aimed at protecting the fair sex. Thanks to the use of the icon, a girl can maintain purity, good character and chastity. It is believed that the image helps everyone and, most importantly, faith, and the stronger it is, the faster the desired will come true. What they pray to the “Tenderness” icon:

• Prayer to this icon helps to get through puberty easier, promotes conception and easy childbirth.
• The image helps to get rid of various diseases.
• Mothers turn to the Mother of God with a request for a happy life for their daughters, so that they find a worthy life partner and are happy.
• If you turn to the image, you can get rid of bad thoughts, emotional experiences and achieve harmony.

You need to work with a feeling of repentance in a good mood and without bad thoughts. Many women who could not get pregnant found out immediately after finishing work that they were pregnant. Embroidered paintings play the role of an ordinary icon that you can pray to.

And deliver us, O Lady and Lady Theotokos, from all evil, and grant us, your sinful servants, to be at the right hand at the second coming of Your Son, Christ our God, and to be our heirs, to be made worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life with all the saints for endless ages. Amen".

Other icons of the Mother of God “Tenderness” and their meaning

One of the famous icons of the Mother of God “Tenderness” is Pskov-Pecherskaya. It is a list of the “Vladimir Mother of God”. It was written in 1521 by the monk Arseny Khitrosh. This icon belongs to the “Eleus” type.

It depicts the Virgin Mary holding Jesus in her arms. The baby presses his cheek to his mother, which symbolizes the enormous power of children’s love for their parents. The image has become famous throughout the world due to its miraculous power.

She defended Christians in the most difficult periods of life. In 1581, the Polish king decided to conquer Pskov and began dropping red-hot cannonballs on the city.

According to existing legends, the image of the Mother of God helped take Polotsk from the French. There are also many stories where a miraculous icon helped people cope with various ailments.

The Novgorod Icon “Tenderness” is of great importance. Residents of Novgorod have been worshiping this image for more than 700 years. It protects the city from various misfortunes, for example, fires, wars, etc.

Prayers before the icon “Tenderness” Seraphimo-Diveevskaya

If you pray correctly in front of the Tenderness icon, then help will certainly come. First of all, it is necessary to give power to words so that they return in double size. They ask the shrine for deliverance from suffering and mental pain, for easier childbirth, for harmony, but even despite the diversity of these petitions, they need one thing - sincerity, the purity of what they want. Therefore, having gathered your heart to receive the support of the Blessed Virgin, you need to say the following prayer:

Troparion, tone 4

Let us fall to the Mother of God with tenderness, / all who are burdened with sin, / kissing Her miraculous icon of Tenderness / and crying out with tears: / Lady, accept the prayer of your unworthy servants x/ and grant us, who ask,// Your great mercy.

Translation: Let us all turn to the Mother of God with heartfelt contrition, burdened with sins, kissing Her miraculous icon of Tenderness and crying with tears: “Mistress, accept the prayer of Your unworthy servants and grant us, who ask, Your great mercy.”

Kontakion, tone 3

Even as I imitate the barren fig tree,/ I, the accursed one, bear no fruit of tenderness and am afraid of being whipped,/ but, looking at the miraculous icon of Your Tenderness, Lady,/ I groan from my heart and cry out ́:/ was touched, O kindhearted one,/ and to me, with a petrified heart, // deign to give spiritual and heartfelt tenderness.

Translation: Imitating the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6-9), I, the accursed one, do not bear the fruit of humility at all and am afraid of beheading, but looking at the miraculous icon of Your Tenderness, O Lady, I heartily sigh and cry out: “Have mercy, O Merciful One, and bless me, who have become petrified at heart, and grant me spiritual and heartfelt humility.”

First prayer

Oh, Most Holy Lady Lady, Mother of God the Virgin! Accept our unworthy prayers, save us from the slander of evil people and from vain death, grant us repentance before the end, be merciful to our prayers and give joy in sorrow a place. And deliver us, O Lady and Lady Theotokos, from all misfortune, misfortune, sorrow, illness and all evil, and grant us, Your sinful servants, to be at your right hand at the second coming of the Son. him, Christ our God, and our heirs will be blessed with the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life with all the saints for ever and ever. Amen.

Second prayer

Receive, O all-merciful, Most Pure Lady, Lady Theotokos, these honorable gifts, most useful to You, from us, Your unworthy servants: chosen from all generations, all creatures of heaven and earth the highest appearing, for for Your sake the Lord of Hosts be with us, and with You I know the Son of God and have become like His holy Body and His most pure Blood; Moreover, blessed art thou in the lineages of generations, O blessed one, the brightest of the Cherubim and the most honest of the Seraphim. And now, all-singing Most Holy Theotokos, do not cease to pray for us, your unworthy servants, so that we may be delivered from all evil advice and every situation and may remain unharmed from all poison. tago of the devil; but even to the end, through Your prayers, keep us uncondemned, for by Your intercession and help we are saved, we send glory, praise, thanksgiving and worship for everything in the Trinity to the One God and to the Creator of all, now forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer three

Oh, Most Holy Virgin Mary, Christ the King and our Mother God, the Treasure of tenderness and the Source of mercy, the good Giver of soul-saving gifts and the gracious Comforter of grieving souls! We fall to You with love and before Your holy icon we humbly pray: beseech, O Lady, Your beloved Son, Christ our God, to have mercy and save us who are perishing in sins; breathe into our souls sincere repentance and godly tenderness, grant our prayers cleansing tears; beneficial life, temporary and eternal salvation, graciously, Lady, grant us; peace, this holy temple [or: this holy monastery] preserve well, the serenity and abundance of the fruits of the earth have been sent down to us, and at the end of our life, do not deprive us of your maternal intercession and help, yes Through Your intercession we will safely pass through the ordeal of the air and we will be worthy to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven . To her, the All-Blessed Queen, all the joys and consolation of the whole Christian world! Help us now, and always more than ever, we will require Your holy help, and save us with Your Motherly prayers to Christ God, to Him, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is due all glory, honor and worship food now and forever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

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Holy Icon of the Tenderness of the Mother of God

One of the Orthodox shrines, which is especially revered by mothers who have daughters, is the Orthodox icon of the Tenderness of the Mother of God. In front of this shrine, Orthodox Christian women pray for a prosperous marriage, family happiness and prosperity. On the ancient icon of the Mother of God she is depicted waist-deep. The Most Pure One is dressed in a long maforia; on Her head is a short, shoulder-length, dark shawl. This shrine looks festive, thanks to the blue dress and blue chain. The Virgin Mary's arms are crossed on her chest, her right hand is on top of her left. Looking at the face of the Mother of God. One can understand the name given to this Christian icon - Tenderness, which means mercy, compassion, love and humility.

The meaning of the icon of the Mother of God Tenderness

This Christian image of the Mother of God was a particularly revered icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov, who gained fame as the most revered saint not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders.

The meaning of the icon of the Mother of God Tenderness acquired great scope during the life of the saint, when the miracles of this shrine brought many Christians back to life. A lamp was always burning in front of the icon in the saint’s cell; Seraphim of Sarov anointed the sick with oil from the lamp, and they received healing. The monk himself called this shrine of All Joys Joy. For many years after the death of the saint, this ancient icon was in the Diveyevo monastery, then, during difficult times for Orthodoxy, the nuns hid the Orthodox icon of the Tenderness of the Mother of God in various secluded places. For almost twenty years, the shrine was carefully preserved by Archpriest Viktor Shapovalnikov in the village of Kratovo. Already in 1991, the things of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the icon itself and its setting were transferred to the Moscow Patriarchate. Every year, on the Feast of the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos, the miraculous icon of the Tenderness of the Mother of God is brought for veneration to the Moscow Epiphany Cathedral. Believers from all over Russia come on this day to pray in front of this wonderful image.

Favorite Diveevo

…For a long time, the confessor of the family where the icon showed itself was Archpriest Alexander Shmatov from the village of Dyadkovo, Bryansk diocese. After the priest’s serious illness, the abbot of the Kursk Root Hermitage, Abbot Veniamin (Korolev), became the family’s confessor. In 2012, during the formation of the new diocese of the Kursk Metropolis, Archimandrite Veniamin was elected Bishop of Zheleznogorsk and Lgov by the decision of the Holy Synod. And the keepers of the myrrh-streaming icon handed it over to this diocese.

Yuri Ivanovich Shishkov (pictured left) was appointed assistant to the ruling bishop of the Zheleznogorsk diocese and accompanies this icon on trips to parishes of the Russian and foreign Orthodox Church. This is his pure obedience. And the custodian of this icon was appointed Hieromonk Joseph, a cleric of the bishop’s courtyard under construction in honor of the “Tenderness” Icon of the Mother of God in the Khomutovsky district of the Kursk region.

We contacted Yuri Ivanovich, and this is what he told us about the history of the icon.

GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS

20 years ago, in the village of Lokot, Brasovsky district, Bryansk region, dentist Natalya Nikolaevna Murashkina came to the village department store to do some shopping. In one of the departments of the store, her gaze fell on a carelessly lying calendar-poster with the image of her favorite icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness”. “Don’t pay attention, it’s expired, throw it away anyway,” the saleswoman waved it off. Natalya had already moved on, but her heart was uneasy. The face of the Mother of God on Her icon - even if it is a simple piece of paper, an expired calendar - will be thrown away... She returned and bought this calendar. She brought it home, cut off the number, and hung the icon on the wall. Not suspecting that this act would change all of her - and not only her! - life.

On November 2, 1998, the icon suddenly began to smell fragrant and flow with myrrh. A wonderful myrrh emerged from a thin sheet of paper; it flowed over the humble face of the Most Holy Theotokos!

Getting very worried, Natalya decided to inform the ruling bishop about this - then the Bryansk diocese was ruled by Archbishop Melchizedek (Lebedev). In this form (attached to the wall with stationery tape) it was awkward to show the icon to Bishop Melchizedek. We decided to put it in a frame.

And when they took it off the wall, they saw that on the back side of the icon an image of the Mother of God appeared, only this time not made by hands.

Arriving at Murashkina’s house, Bishop Melchizedek took the icon - and the myrrh flowed through his hands. “How many times have I been to Jerusalem and Mount Athos, but nowhere have I seen such miracles! - the lord exclaimed. “Probably in Heaven they want to tell us something with this miracle.” And Archbishop Melchizedek gave his blessing to leave the icon in the house and build a chapel for it. Natalya Nikolaevna’s family built the white brick chapel at their own expense.

Subsequently, the icon was taken for veneration to the Snetogorsk convent, and the monastery’s confessor, Archimandrite Hermogenes (Murtazov), prayed in front of it for three days.

And he said: “The Lord gave special, special gifts to this icon. She will attract people to her. Barren women, having prayed in front of this icon, will give birth to healthy children. She will heal cancer patients, help find missing people, and not only the living, but also the dead. This icon has been given the power and authority to change the life path of every person who turns to it with faith.”

MIRACLES ARE REALLY AT EVERY STEP

In 2003, the icon received all-Russian fame. This was the year when the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated the 100th anniversary of the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov. And as part of these celebrations, a walking procession from Kursk to Diveevo was being prepared. Then Schema-Metropolitan Juvenaly of Kursk and Rylsk invited this icon to participate in the procession.

We were accompanied by the streaming of myrrh from all the icons that took part in the procession, both the main ones and the smallest paper ones, which the crusaders carried on their chests. Our spirit was strengthened by rainbows of various shapes in the cloudless sky, crosses made of clouds. All the miraculous phenomena that took place during the religious procession were attested in writing by the abbots of the churches along its route. There was myrrh streaming from the temple icons. It looked like this: when the religious procession entered the temple, and the priests began to serve a prayer service, they immediately began to stream myrrh over all the icons both in the temple and in the altar.

Myrrh flowed from icons and frescoes onto the walls, from the walls onto the floor, looking at this miracle, it was as if someone had come in and poured a huge amount of myrrh here with an invisible hand. Its fragrance could be felt within a radius of half a kilometer.

And so it was throughout the procession. Such miracles - and I attended many religious processions - have never happened again. Only 2003 gave us such a spiritual miracle! The Boot of the Ryazan diocese was especially memorable. In this locality there is a spring with a font. A chapel was built above it. And when they read the akathist to the Mother of God here, her paper lithograph of the “Tenderness” icon began to myrrhize in the chapel.

Myrrh flowed out in such quantity that it completely covered the water in the font. Having bathed in the font and in the myrrh, the participants in the procession walked around for a long time fragrant, their hair easily absorbing this unearthly smell.

DIVO IN DIVEEVO

At the end of the procession in Diveevo, we were placed in one of the tent camps. There were several of them, because then more than 100 thousand people came here for the celebrations. The main celebrations took place not here, but in Sarov, the closed city of nuclear scientists.

In 2003, the city of Sarov was chosen as the center of the celebrations. Representatives of all Orthodox Churches from all over the world came there, including Patriarch Pavel of Serbia. Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was present.

Of course, none of us even dreamed of getting there... But on the night before the main celebrations, a bishop from the organizing committee came to our tent camp.

He asked us about the myrrh-streaming “Tenderness” icon, and then gave us the order of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' to deliver the “Tenderness” icon of the Mother of God to the city of Sarov. To our question “why?”, he answered this way: “Don’t you know that tomorrow’s religious procession was predicted by the Monk Seraphim of Sarov during his lifetime. And he said this: “The time will come, and there will be a religious procession from Sarov to Diveevo, the people will be like ears of corn in the field, and in front they will carry the miraculous icon.”

Why His Holiness chose our icon, we still don’t know. We do not know what revelation he had.

In the 30s of the last century, after the destruction of the Diveyevo Monastery, the nuns saved the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness,” and for many years it was passed from one custodian to another. After the death of the last custodian, the icon was handed over to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'. He left the icon in the house Patriarchal Church. And now this icon is brought out for veneration only one day a year, during Great Lent, for the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos, in the Elokhov Cathedral in Moscow.

Therefore, even in Russia, few people have seen this image, because not everyone can come to Moscow on this day.

A copy of the icon was made for the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevo Convent, which is now also revered as miraculous. The icon we brought is also a copy of it.

For this historical procession of the cross, the Patriarch could take the original of the “Tenderness” icon, which is kept in the patriarchal church at home. Or he could have taken the Diveevo copy from it, but His Holiness chose a hitherto completely unknown lithograph, which came to Diveevo in the Kursk religious procession from the Tsar’s Land. One way or another, it was on this icon that the prophecy of St. Seraphim of Sarov was fulfilled, and now we can claim that the appearance of this icon was predicted by Father Seraphim himself. And, of course, now, looking at it, who would think that once it was just an ordinary paper calendar...

Then another unexpected joy happened to us. The icon was immediately taken to Sarov. And overnight, state security officers issued permission to thirty participants in our procession, and we were brought to Sarov. After the Patriarchal service, the procession from Sarov to Diveevo began. Twelve Bishops carried the shrine with relics at the very beginning of the procession. Raka is heavy, silver, 240 kilograms. Next, the Bishops had to give the cancer to specially selected monks.

But for some reason these monks did not make it to Sarov. It turned out that there was no one to carry the relics. And the brethren of our Kursk religious procession carried the relics of Seraphim of Sarov from Sarov. And this was also a great miracle. And there really were countless people in that predicted procession from Sarov to Diveevo, like ears of corn in a field.

A MADE IMAGE

Before the religious procession began, the keeper of the icon, Natalya Nikolaevna, decided to make an expensive chasuble for the icon. Extraordinary, like this icon itself. To honor the Mother of God for Her mercy. Now the icon is dressed in beautiful and expensive vestments.

The entire religious procession in 2003 from Kursk to Diveevo took place in an ordinary simple icon case without a robe. And the robe for this miraculous image was brought only on July 31 and put on the icon just on the night before the main celebrations, when, with the blessing of the Patriarch, the icon was delivered to Sarov.

The history of the creation of the chasuble for the icon is amazing and requires a special story.

Having collected as much money as we could, we arrived in Sofrino. But when the master came out and saw this lithograph... he just smiled condescendingly and said: “Do you understand where you came to? We make vestments for ancient valuable icons! We carry out the orders of the Patriarch himself. What did you bring? Well, just think, it flows myrrh! You know, sometimes our Sofrino icons also stream myrrh; it’s hard to surprise us with myrrh. We recommend that you contact a workshop of a lower rank. Well, however, if you really want us to make the chasuble, then it will cost...” And such an amount was named that even if Natalya sold her house, then this money, together with the funds collected earlier, would hardly be enough.

But when this figure was announced, the icon suddenly shone with a wondrous light from within. It shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow. And the Mother of God in the icon opened her eyes. All the workers of the Sofrino plant came running to see this miracle - and this is a huge production. And work at the plant stopped.

The deputy director of the plant also came running and ordered: immediately take this icon to my office, you are disrupting the Patriarch’s order! (This happened on the eve of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the birth of Patriarch Alexy II). The icon was taken to the office, but people still began to filter in one by one to at least look at this miracle. And one of the craftsmen suggested: “I’ll donate materials for the robe,” another donated stones for decoration. And he undertook to make the chasuble completely free of charge, for now only for one side of the icon. The icon was left with him. Natalya returned home.

And three days later the master called her, saying that there are very strict canons in the Orthodox Church. They also concern the manufacture of vestments for icons. And if vestments are made for an icon of the Mother of God, where there is no Divine Infant or Savior, then stones of the Mother of God colors - white and blue - are used for decoration. And when robes are made for an icon where the Infant God or the Savior is present, rubies are used. And the expert council decided that, according to the canons, it is necessary to use rubies for the chasuble for the miraculous image.

Natalya did not understand anything from his words. He repeated again. And again she did not understand why he was saying this, because there is only one Mother of God in the icon. And then the master asked a direct question: “DO NOT YOU KNOW THAT ON THE MIRACLE IMAGE, IN ADDITION TO THE FACE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD, THE IMAGE OF CHRIST IS ALSO PRESENT?”

This was the first time she had heard about this. The master advised her to put a photographic image of a miraculous image on the table, walk around and look at the image again. And only after doing this, she understood what the master was talking about. We all know this image very well from the Shroud of Turin: this is the image of the Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

The beautiful chasuble he made was brought to Diveevo, to the tent city on July 31st. The next day the icon was already in Sarov dressed in a robe. In the festive procession of the cross in Sarov-Diveevo, the holy relics of Father Seraphim were carried in a silver shrine, and the myrrh-streaming icon “Tenderness” walked along with the silver-shining people. And when the religious procession entered Diveevo to the sound of bells, someone gasped loudly, pointing to the sky. The sun played, shimmering in different colors. It was the first of August - and Easter was in my heart!

Two years later, the chasuble was made for the other side: for the Moscow-Minsk-Kyiv Procession of the Cross.

THE SECRET OF IMAGE CREATION

Once a very famous icon painter came to us from St. Petersburg to be the first to write a list of this icon. But when she saw the miraculous image, she said: “I can’t reproduce this! And no one can. We are working with a brush, but the thinnest stroke will be too rough. After all, this image is written in chiaroscuro. And no earthly artist or icon painter can do this. Just as an earthly man cannot make something dead come alive.”

It cannot be said that this image was written by the world. We tried to conduct such an “investigative experiment.” They took an icon with a white back and dripped myrrh onto it.

But paper is hygroscopic, and the myrrh saturates the paper through and through, the stain begins to spread until the entire paper becomes wet from the myrrh. When the Mother of God depicted this image, the paper around it remained white, only at the edges there were dark spots from the world. But this photo was taken many years ago. The icon itself is of no value to the state, since it is ordinary paper, but the chasuble, made very skillfully, is valuable. And when we export an icon abroad, we apply for an export permit from the Ministry of Culture because of the chasuble. From time to time, some changes are made to the chasuble. Since this work is the author’s, only the master can make changes. And we occasionally take this icon to Sofrino. When we visited there again, we took off the chasuble and saw: now there is no longer any white paper around the edges, it is completely saturated with the world. But one centimeter around the perimeter of this image remains unsaturated. The Mother of God does not allow the world to close in to absorb this image.

The technique of writing this miraculous image on the back of a paper icon is unknown to us. This remains a mystery to us, like many other things connected with this icon. And it is impossible to imagine what the list of this icon will look like if it ever receives all-Russian glorification.

Based on materials from the newspaper: “Rus Derzhavnaya” rusderjavnaya.ru napravdestoy.livejournal.com/5382847.html