One of the most important shrines sent to people is the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God - a miraculous image associated with many amazing phenomena and miracles of faith.
Celebration days:
- September 21
- 5th of August
History of the holy image
In the 16th century, Metropolitan Neophytos passed through Pochaev. The Goysky nobles greeted him hospitably, for which he gave them an icon. Over time, the image became famous for numerous miracles, and became a real shrine for people.
The Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God remained in the home of pious Christians for several decades until the first miraculous healing occurred. Then the hostess decided that it was wrong to hide the shrine from people and transferred it to the Pochaev monastery. However, when Anna Goyskaya died, her relatives decided to return the image to themselves. This act did not go unpunished - the heir’s wife became mentally ill. The Monk Job of Pochaev advised to return the image of the monastery, which they did. The woman soon recovered.
Temple of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God
For a whole century, the Pochaev Monastery was protected by the Mother of God, until the war began in 1675. The monastery was tightly surrounded by the Turks and pelted with arrows. At some point, the Mother of God appeared in heaven, surrounded by angels, and St. Job stood nearby. The arrows fired by the Turks began to return, hitting the enemy with his own weapons. The Turks fled in disgrace.
In 1721, Uniate Catholics became the owners of the Holy Image. Under their cover, the icon was crowned, and golden crowns appeared over the heads of Christ and the Virgin Mary.
The miraculous shrine was returned to Pochaev in 1831.
Holiday
On August 5, 1675, Tatar troops, fighting as part of the Turkish army, besieged the Pochaev monastery, which seemed to them an easy prey because it was not fortified.
Hegumen Joseph ordered the brethren and laity in the monastery to pray to the Queen of Heaven and St. Job, the first abbot of Pochaev. Literally from the first phrases of the prayer, the Most Holy Intercessor Herself suddenly seemed to soar over the domes of the temple, accompanied by angels armed with swords. And nearby the Monk Job prayed to Her.
The Tatars, in fear, began to shoot randomly at the holy defenders, but the arrows, like boomerangs, came back and struck those who launched them. The enemy, overwhelmed by horror and panic, fled. The defenders of the monastery rushed in pursuit.
Many enemies were captured. Over time, some of the Basurmans were baptized into Orthodoxy and remained in the monastery until the end of their lives.
In memory of this miraculous deliverance from an enemy attack, August 5 was established as the day of celebration of the Mother of God Pochaev Icon.
Miraculous image
The face of the Blessed Virgin Mary is painted in the Byzantine style with oil paints on a linden board. At first, the shrine was covered with a thin silver plate. After it was lost, the plate was replaced with a chasuble studded with small pearls.
The image depicts the Mother of God holding the Child in her right hand. The back and legs of Christ are covered with a cloth, his left hand rests on the Mother’s shoulder, and with his right hand the Baby blesses. The head of the Queen of Heaven bowed to the Baby, thereby showing boundless love.
The image also contains the following faces of saints:
- Saint Araamiy - Orthodoxy knows many ascetics with this name, they believe that this is Abraham of Rostov, who crushed idols and converted many pagans to Christianity;
- Martyr Stephen - there is an opinion that he was the first to suffer martyrdom for the Christian faith;
- Prophet Elijah is an Old Testament prophet and is the patron saint of paratroopers and pilots. He is revered not only in Christianity, but also in other religions. Known for ascending to heaven before his death;
- martyr Mina - the first Florentine martyr;
- St. Paraskeva - suffered martyrdom during the reign of Nero along with her family;
- Great Martyr Catherine - the girl refused to marry the Roman emperor, since she decided to devote her life to Christ, for which she was executed;
- St. Irina, together with her two sisters, accepted death for Christ.
Two monks lived on the site where the Lavra now stands. One of them, having prayed, climbed to the top of the mountain and saw the Mother of God standing on a stone, engulfed in flames. The second monk and an ordinary shepherd also witnessed the miracle. The three of them climbed the mountain and began to glorify the Almighty and the Queen of Heaven.
When the knowledge disappeared, on the stone where the Queen of Heaven stood, the imprint of Her foot remained, which is still there. It is always filled with water. The most amazing thing is that despite the fact that pilgrims constantly draw up this water, it appears again.
They began to build a monastery on this site, which today includes 16 churches. First, the Assumption Church was erected, then the cathedral was built over the footprint of the Virgin Mary. The imprint, together with the source, is covered with an ark and fenced with a lattice.
The Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God can be distinguished by the imprint of the foot, which is located in the lower part of the image.
Where is the image
The miraculous icon is located above the royal doors. In the temple where the image is located, the monks serve the midnight office, after which the holy image is lowered to the usual level with the singing of troparions. The icon hangs on silk ribbons, and a monk is constantly on duty next to it. Everyone who attended the service takes turns approaching the image.
In the temple you can get water from the holy spring, which is distributed by the novice.
Pochaev Lavra is a stronghold of the Orthodox faith throughout western Ukraine. The holy relics of St. Job, who lived in the Lavra for more than a hundred years, are also kept here. The monastery was not closed either during the first or second world wars.
The meaning of the Pochaev Icon
Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God the meaning of the image - for all believers, the role of the Mother of God in salvation is great, so many pray in front of this icon for peace in Russia and Ukraine. There is even evidence of the Most Holy Theotokos punishing blasphemers and blasphemers through the prayer of St. Job. During his lifetime, the pious owner of the village of Pochaevo died, and it was inherited by a high-ranking person of the Lutheran faith, governor Andrei Ferley, who hated monasticism. But this blasphemer destroyed the monastery and seized the miraculous Pochaev Icon, and gave the jewelry from the icon frame to his wife for blasphemy. However, God soon struck this woman with an incurable disease. The queen was very frightened and returned the miraculous image of the Mother of God to the monastery.
What requests are made to the miraculous image?
A miraculous icon helps guide one to the true path and strengthen faith. The image is approached with requests for:
- the health of your loved ones, healing of physical and psychological diseases;
- giving peace and tranquility in the family and home, getting rid of quarrels, problems and hatred;
- protecting your home from bad people and thieves;
- release from prison and captivity;
- getting rid of unclean thoughts and admonishing sinners.
It is extremely important not to forget to thank the Mother of God for Her protection and help.
Particularly revered shrine
The Pochaev Icon is especially revered not only by Orthodox people, but also by Catholic believers. The composition of the image itself has deep meaning. This is not only and not so much a sacred image of maternal and filial love, it is an artistic symbol of the relationship between God and the human soul: we are all beloved children of the one God the Father.
The significance of the Pochaev Icon is very clearly evidenced by the miracles it revealed, not only in getting rid of illnesses, in admonishing sinners, but prayers for support in front of the icon freed people from enemy captivity, saved the monastery from closure in the most troubled times, including wars and atheism.
There is a belief in the Church that as long as this icon of the Lady of Heaven shines with its light in the Pochaev Lavra - the stronghold of Christianity - the end of the world will not happen.
Miracles that occurred through prayers before the holy image
The first miracle of healing occurred while the image was in the house of the noblewoman Goyskaya. This was the epiphany of a man who was blind from birth.
Count Potocki, angry with his coachman for not performing his duties properly, decided to shoot him. The servant overlooked, and the horses galloped so that the carriage overturned. The poor coachman began to pray fervently, looking at Pochaev Mountain. And a miracle happened, not a single bullet touched him. Count Pototsky was so amazed by this miracle that he donated money to the monastery, with which the Holy Assumption Cathedral was built.
The landowner's son died. The grandmother, grieving, fervently prayed for her grandson in front of the holy image all night. The next morning the child opened his eyes and asked for food.
After suffering a serious infection, the boy Yura became deaf. Doctors prescribed long-term treatment. The boy kept the Pochaev Icon, which his grandmother gave him, near him all night. In the morning he was completely healthy.
Anna Yakimchukova, who was blind from birth, washed her eyes with water drawn from the miraculous foot, and immediately received her sight.
Before the image they also pray for release from captivity.
- During the war, the monk was captured by the Turks. The monk prayed to the Mother of God day and night for liberation. Help came quickly. Miraculously, the monk found himself among the well-dressed people at the courtyard of the Pochaev Lavra.
- The miraculous face frees you from the attacks of dark forces. In a house where there is a holy icon, there is no enmity, anger or quarrels between family members.
Healing a Non-Commissioned Officer's Wife
Among such actions, I would like to note the miraculous healing of the wife of the non-commissioned officer of the 52nd Jaeger Regiment, Elizaveta Miropolskaya. Being a Lutheran as a girl, before marriage she converted to Orthodoxy and became a pious parishioner of one of the churches in her city. After some time, she began to experience unbearable pain in her left leg. The torment intensified so much that the unfortunate woman could not walk, and spent all nights without sleep.
The doctors were powerless to help her. Finally, the relatives advised me to turn in prayer to the miraculous Pochaev Icon and through it to ask the Blessed Virgin for mercy. The non-commissioned officer listened to their advice, but since she was far from the monastery where the shrine was kept and could not come there, she offered a prayer to the Most Pure Virgin, contemplating in her mind’s eye her miraculous image. Soon the sick woman was healed, and the grateful husband brought a silver pendant to the monastery, which adorned the frame of the icon.
How to pray correctly
The only and main rule is that prayer must be sincere and come from the heart. Only in this case can you receive help from the Pochaev Mother of God, who responds to the requests of everyone who turns to her with strong faith and pure thoughts.
Prayers before the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God
First prayer
Oh, All-Merciful Lady, Queen and Lady, chosen from all generations, and blessed by all generations, heavenly and earthly!
Look mercifully at this people standing before Your holy icon and earnestly praying to You, and act as Your intercessor and intercessor with Your Son and our God,
May no one come from here empty-handed and ashamed in his hope, but may everyone receive everything from You, according to the good will of his heart and according to his need and desire, for the salvation of the soul and the health of the body.
Look with mercy, O All-Sung Theotokos, and upon this monastery, which bears Your name, You have loved it since ancient times, having chosen it as your property, and endlessly flowing currents of healing from Your miraculous icon and from the ever-flowing source, in the footprint of Your foot, revealed to us,
and preserve it from every excuse and slander of the enemy, as in ancient times you preserved it, by Your appearance, intact and undamaged from the fierce invasion of the Hagarians, so that the Most Holy Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and Your glorious Dormition, will be sung and glorified in it forever and ever. Amen.
Second prayer
Our Most Blessed Queen, Most Blessed Lady, Our Mother of God of Hope!
We now flow to You with tenderness, and with a contrite soul and humble heart we pray to You, All-Singing One, before Your Most Pure Image:
remember Your ancient bounties, even as You were here, and how You sometimes appeared on the rock of Pochaev, in a pillar of fire,
from the stone, flowing forth whole-bearing water, appear to us now, O Mother of many powers, and with the warmth of the Mother of God, Thy love, warm our petrified hearts, tears of love and unrepentant repentance flowing from our eyes.
You alone art our God-given Intercessor:
We pray to You, deliver us from all troubles, from every adversity, illness and sorrow, Thy servants, through the intercession of Thy great intercessor and prayer book for us,
Our all-blessed father Job, Thy saint of Pochaev, whose prayer Thou didst listen to in the air sometimes, when by Thy all-glorious and terrible appearance Thou didst deliver Thy monastery from the invasion and taxation of the Hagarians.
Look with mercy, O All-Singing One, with the charity of Thy merciful intercession, pour out Thy rich mercies upon all our kingdom and country, and upon all Thy people:
Gather those who are scattered, and guide the infidels and those of other faiths in our countries on the true path, who have fallen away from the pious faith of their fathers, return them again and place them among the Holy Ones of Thy Orthodox and Catholic Church;
Establish peace in our families, support old age, guide young people, raise babies, protect the orphans and widows, free those captives, heal the sick,
at judgments and in prisons, and in captivity, and in the bitter labors of those who exist, remember those who protected us from the outside, who visited and consoled us with the currents of miracles and signs of many different kinds, which You always pour out to everyone from Your holy, celibate icon.
Grant, O All-Blessed One, the fertility of the earth, the goodness of the air, and all the gifts that are timely and useful for our benefit, through the prayers of Your chosen saints, Your gracious face on Your holy icon to those around you:
Elijah the God-speaking, the holy Archdeacon Stephen the First-suffering, the Venerable Abraham the All-Blessed, and the God-husband Mina the martyr of many names, and with them a number of saints and righteous women:
The most praiseworthy Paraskeva, the blessed Irene and Saint Catherine the Great Martyr, and all the saints.
When our departure from this life and resettlement to eternity has arrived, stand before us, O Most Blessed One, just as You sometimes brought Your monastery to safety during the Battle of Zbarazh,
and by Your warm intercession grant us the Christian death of our belly, painless, shameless, peaceful and communicant of the Holy Mysteries;
so that in this life, now and in the future, we will all be worthy, through Your prayers, of endless heavenly life in the Kingdom of Your beloved Son, the Lord God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, to Him belongs all glory, honor and worship, forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer three
Oh, Most Holy Virgin, Lady Theotokos!
I thank You with all my heart, for You have vouchsafed me, Your sinful and unworthy servant, to appear here and worship on Your holy mountain.
Oh, how many blessings have I, such a great sinner, been rewarded with Your mercy.
I see, O Most Pure One, and am horrified, and my spirit melts away, in vain with my own eyes this multi-healing source of Thy grace,
which from ancient times You have ineffably revealed in the footprints of Your holy feet, and we all reverently worship in the place where Your Maidenhood stood, I pray to You, blessed Hope and Salvation of our souls and bodies:
wash me with Thy wholesome water from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, quench all the passions of my heart with Thy grace-filled streams,
heal all my bodily ailments with drops from Your ever-flowing source, yes, instructed, healed and delivered by You, I sing to You with all diligence:
Rejoice, source of unceasing joy, rejoice, source of unspeakable kindness.
Rejoice, drowning of unclean lusts, Rejoice, washing away of all kinds of defilements.
Rejoice, the most luminous stream for the health of the faithful from the mountain-shaded thicket, bestowing the grace of healing; Rejoice, heavenly dew, sending down currents of wisdom from above to those who thirst for true knowledge.
Rejoice, praise of Pochaevskaya, save us who pray to You, our hope and consolation. Amen.
Prayers
Troparion, tone 5
Before Your holy icon, Lady,/ those who pray are granted healings,/ the faiths receive true knowledge,/ and the Agarian invasions are repelled./ Likewise, we, who fall to You,/ sin ask for leave, / enlighten the thoughts of piety in our hearts, / and pray to Your Son ascend // about the salvation of our souls
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Kontakion, tone 1
The source of healing and faith of the Orthodox affirmation/ Thy Pochaev icon, the Mother of God, appeared,/ also we who flow to her,/ freed from troubles and temptations,/ preserved Thy laurel unharmed,/ Orthodoxy in establish a prayer book around the standing countries, / and resolve sins Yours // if you want, you can
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