Among the Orthodox lists of saints, the icon “Sophia, Faith, Hope, Love” occupies a special place in the history of Christianity. She is a symbol of impeccable faith in Jesus Christ, absolute hope in the Kingdom of God and divine love. Martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov are three sisters, the eldest of whom, Vera, was 12 years old. The children's feat in the name of Christ could not go unnoticed.
Through the centuries, their names and Mother Sophia shine to modern generations of Christians. The meaning of the icon “Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia”, in which it helps, every Christian must know, for they carry the names of not only the defining conditions for the soul of any person on Earth, but also those qualities without which a person can live, carry his life's cross is impossible.
She is a symbol of impeccable faith in Jesus Christ
Icon Vera Nadezhda Love and Mother Sophia (description)
The story of the young girls and their mother took place in the ancient times of the formation of Christianity. Rome was still engaged in fighting against God and subjecting people to terrible torment for faith in Christ. No one was spared, including children. The icon “Faith, Hope and Love, and their mother Sophia” preserves the fundamental spiritual qualities in children's names. The name Sophia is translated as wisdom, which is also symbolic.
The story of young girls and their mother took place in the ancient times of the emergence of Christianity
The story of the martyrs Faith, Nadezhda, and Love leaves no one indifferent who has a heart. It is incomprehensible to today’s Christians to imagine what kind of inner spiritual strength children’s souls had to have in order not to renounce Christ under torture. Just like modern mothers, Christians, because Sofia showed not only an example of Christian parenting, but also the depth of a mother’s heart. This undoubtedly gives great significance to the icon “Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia.”
Interrogation of pious virgins
The emperor was struck by the fearlessness and nobility of those who came. He began to ask them who they were and to whose family they belonged. Mother Sophia answered first, since she was the eldest and full of wisdom, in accordance with the Divine name. She told about herself, her daughters and moved on to why they were brought to the palace.
The widow fearlessly told the emperor about the faith in which she raised her daughters and grew up herself. She spoke about Jesus, whose teaching she considers true and the only true one. Then the woman declared that Love, Hope and Faith became God's servants in order to bring imperishable purity as a gift to the Heavenly Bridegroom.
Prayer to the holy martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov and their mother Sophia
Mother's sighing for children has the most powerful effect. When unforeseen, difficult moments arise in the lives of children and the mother’s heart rushes to God, prayer in front of the icon “Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia” will help resolve problems, support in difficult times, and give spiritual strength during trials. Saints Faith, Hope, Love were subjected to severe physical torture in front of their mother.
Prayer in front of the icon will help solve problems
Before the torture, the eldest Vera strengthened her younger sisters and asked them not to be afraid to follow her into eternal life. Love was the youngest, she was 9 years old. Sofia was not subjected to any physical torture, for it was nothing compared to the torment of watching the slow death of her own children. Her heart could not stand it, and she died on their graves a few hours later.
Mother's sighing for children has the most powerful effect
The French revolutionaries destroyed the temple where the relics of the saints were kept, it was completely destroyed, only a small part of the relics of St. Sophia was preserved, which is kept in the Catholic Abbey of Escho (France). In front of the small ark stands an Orthodox icon of Christian martyrs.
According to the church calendar, the honoring of the holy martyrs is celebrated on the last day of September. It is noteworthy that the day of the angel of Faith, Hope and Sophia falls not only on this date. But there is only one day for the angel named Love.
As a rule, all four martyrs are depicted on the list. There are separate icons where the young girls, Holy Love, Holy Hope, Holy Faith, are called Roman. But intuitively, it is still more correct to acquire a canonical list of icons for the entire family. Together, faith, hope, love, wisdom form the foundation of all Christianity.
O holy and praiseworthy martyrs Vero, Nadezhda and Lyuba, and valiant daughters, wise mother Sophia, I now come to you with fervent prayer; What else will be able to intercede for us before the Lord, if not faith, hope and love, these three cornerstone virtues, in which the image is called, you are the most prophetic! Pray to the Lord, that in sorrows and misfortunes He may cover us with His indescribable grace, save us and preserve us, as the Lover of Mankind is good. That glory, like the never-setting sun, is now radiantly visible, assist us in our humble prayers, may the Lord God forgive our sins and iniquities, and may He have mercy on us sinners and unworthy of His bounty. Pray for us, holy martyrs, our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him we send forth glory with His Beginning Father and His Most Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Not much history
The story begins at the end of the second century after Christmas. In a rich family, there is a Christian girl, Sophia. When the girl grew up, she married a pagan. Her husband loved her so much that he did not even demand that she renounce the Christian faith. The young couple eventually had three daughters. Their names were Pistis, Alape and Elpis. They were translated into Slavic as Faith, Love, Hope.
Sofia raised her daughters in the Christian faith. She instilled in them the love of God from early childhood. After the birth of her third daughter, Sofia's husband died, and she was left alone with three children. Since the family was rich, they did not need money. The girls grew up in kindness and love. They studied the Gospel. When they grew up, many noticed that the sisters were quite smart and very beautiful.
At that time, Emperor Hadrian was the ruler of Rome. When he learned about the Christian family, he issued an order to bring her to him. When this news was conveyed to Sophia, she immediately understood why the pagan emperor was calling them. She began to fervently pray to Jesus Christ to give her strength to withstand trials and possible death.
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The mother and children were taken to the palace. All the people around were amazed at their calmness and firmness. At that time, Vera was 12 years old, Nadezhda was 10, and Lyubov was 9 years old. The emperor called the sisters to him one by one and asked them to renounce their faith and bow to their faith, but the girls refused and remained faithful to the faith of Christ. As soon as the emperor did not try to achieve such a refusal. He even promised the children gifts and candy.
The first to be tortured was the eldest girl, Vera. The emperor ordered her to be beaten with whips, then thrown into tar, and locked behind bars in a blazing fire. But the Lord protected her and there was not a single scratch on her body. The emperor was very angry that the girl was not taking anything. He was furious. After which he gave the order to cut off her head.
Nadezhda was the second to undergo testing. She was also beaten, thrown into boiling tar, and then her head was cut off. Love was the last to suffer. She was beaten with whips until there was not a single “living” place on her body. They made one continuous wound from her. After this, her head was also cut off. Their mother Sofia prepared the most terrible test.
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All the daughters’ tortures were carried out in front of her eyes; after they were dead, the bodies were given to Sofia. She buried them on a mountain outside the city and carried grief over their graves for two days. She tortured herself with suffering and torment. On the third day, the Lord took her long-suffering soul. The family was reunited.
What do they pray for in front of the image of Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia?
The meaning of the icon “Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia”, what helps, when and in what they turn to them for support, is suggested by the very names of the martyrs. If you need to strengthen your faith, if hope is lost, if love is lacking, and you need to show wisdom, then this is the image that will help you tune in to fervent, sincere prayer.
Since our life is constantly in dynamics and these states are not one-time, and the need for faith, hope, love, wisdom is constant, it is better when the icon of holy Love, the icon of holy Hope, the icon of Faith are united into one whole - the Christian family of virtues - under the maternal wings of Saint Sophia.
This is the image that will help you tune in to fervent, sincere prayer
Willingness to endure earthly torments
The women answered again and again steadily and firmly that their true God was the Creator of Being. They noted that they would worship only Him and were even ready to accept all torture and death for His sake alone. Moreover, after this, in the future life they will be able to unite with Him forever. Neither the temptations nor the threats of the emperor could force Christian women to abandon this belief. Saying all these words, Sophia and her daughters joined hands, forming a wreath that was woven in the name of the One God.
Adrian realized that he had already exhausted all his means of persuasion, and ordered the women to be handed over to the executioners. Christian women were strengthened by the power of prayer; they were full of Grace and endured torment, reciting texts from the Word of God.
The meaning of the icon “Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia”
The icon of the martyrs not only captured the memory and example of true Christians. It can be the subject of a visual aid dedicated to the topic of the fundamentals of existence and the formation of man as a whole. It is good to explain the icon to children and adults, to understand for themselves what it means to live and die in Christ.
The icon of the martyrs not only captured the memory and example of true Christians.
Faith is the path to God, Hope gives hope in God’s mercy and the strength to walk this path with dignity, Love is the reward for those who walk along it, and Sophia wisely trusted God. Therefore, if you want to purchase this image for a home iconostasis or give it to a Christian woman who bears one of the names of the martyrs, for example, Love, you should not give only the Love icon separately. The presence of Saints Faith, Hope and Sophia will only strengthen the significance of the Christian faith.
Clover in tattoo culture
If you look at a photo of a four-leaf clover tattoo, you can find a lot of options for the plot. It is often depicted together with other symbols of good luck, for example, a ladybug or a horseshoe, with inscriptions such as “Lucky”, “Good luck”. Gamblers decorate their bodies with quatrefoils with playing cards or dice, hoping that the tattoo will help them not to lose. Popular images of clovers with a skull are a reference to Celtic funeral traditions and the belief in the rebirth of the soul after death. There is also a clover flower, but quite rarely.
As for the style, the most logical choice would be Celtic; a shamrock or quatrefoil tattoo in it will look authentic. You can depict the leaf itself as an ornament, or enclose it in traditional script.
Watercolor is also a quite suitable style for a clover tattoo; it is much more popular among girls than among guys. Watercolor works look bright, but at the same time quite delicate. Drips of paint, soft transitions of shades and the absence of clear aggressive lines make the tattoo look like real paintings painted using this technique.
Clover images, even if they contain any additional elements, are rarely of a large scale, so they look good on almost any place on the body. But in any case, the features of the size and shape of the sketch should be taken into account. Small round-shaped works look harmonious on the wrist, ankle, neck, larger ones - on the shoulder blade, chest, shoulder or thigh. Vertically elongated patterns are good for the lower leg or forearm.
Before ordering an individual sketch, look through the photos on the Internet; from them you can probably get a couple of interesting ideas for your own work. However, we do not recommend copying other people's tattoos or publicly available designs. Firstly, it is unethical, and secondly, not everyone is pleased to realize that somewhere there is a person with the exact same tattoo.
