Of great importance for a believer is the intercession of the Mother of God, the tradition of which has been reverently preserved for centuries, so that we can open this spiritual treasury today and find out how the icon of the Joy of All Who Sorrow helps, what its meaning and meaning is.
The name of the icon is filled with warmth and hope and already carries within itself that deepest connection that has made it closest and dearest to the hearts of the Orthodox people. In any trouble and illness, in any constraint there is Joy, you just need to find it.
Icon of All Who Sorrow Joy: description
In the Russian Orthodox Church this icon is considered miraculous. Due to its wide popularity, the image has different variations and a single, complete iconography has not emerged. There are many lists of the icon, and from each such list, as if in a generous scattering, new miracles emanated. Dozens of miraculous and locally revered icons are known in different cities of Russia. For each of the decommissioned images, there is an independent legend that carefully describes and preserves the history of a separate copy, the miracles that happened from it and the reason for veneration.
As on all lists, the central place on the icon is occupied by the Mother of God, depicted in full growth, standing in a mandorla (radiance). In other versions, the Mother of God may be depicted standing on a crescent moon (the image of a Woman clothed with the sun, Rev. 12:1), or a cloud. In her hands she holds a scepter, a scroll, a rosary or bread. In the Moscow prototype, the Mother of God is holding the Child Christ in her arms. On the sides are depicted people who turn to her in prayer and receive what they ask for. The Virgin Mary is surrounded by angels and the New Testament Trinity.
There are three most famous and revered icons of the Joy of All Who Sorrow:
- Moscow original image from the Sorrow Church on Ordynka.
2. St. Petersburg “List of the Princess” by Natalya Alekseevna.
3. List of “with pennies” at the glass factory in St. Petersburg.
Each of the variations of the Joy of All Who Sorrow icon has its own history and meaning. The day of celebration of the icon is set on October 24 (November 6).
Prayers before the icon
Troparion, tone 4
We are now diligent to the Mother of God, / sinners and humility, and let us fall, / calling in repentance from the depths of our souls: / Lady, help, who have had mercy on us, / struggling, we are perishing from many sins ./ Do not turn away your vain slaves, // You and the one hope of the imams.
Translation: Now we, sinners and humble ones, will diligently run to the Mother of God, and we will fall to Her, crying out in repentance from the depths of our souls: “Mistress, help, take pity on us, hurry up, we are perishing from many sins! Do not let Your servants go empty-handed, for in You we have our only hope!”
Troparion, tone 4
Today the most glorious city of Moscow shines brightly,/ having the miraculous icon of our Lady Theotokos:/ for she, who shows miracles to the faithful,/ sends down healing gifts./ For this reason, we and the faith We fall down and pray, / and look at the most pure image, / as if we were the true One We see our Lady, the Ever-Virgin Mother of God, / and with a touching verb: / Look, Mother of God, with the eye of mercy, / stretch out Your most pure hand to us, / as this is seen on Your icon, / and give joy to all who mourn, / to those who are sick from all ailments, healing and deliverance from troubles, // for You are the speedy Representative for our souls.
Translation: Today the most glorious city of Moscow, which has the miraculous icon of our Lady Theotokos, rejoices brightly, for, showing miracles to believers, she sends down healing gifts. Therefore, we pray with faith on our knees and, looking at Her most pure image, we see our Lady the Virgin Mary Herself alive, and we humbly cry: “Look, Mother of God, with a look of mercy, stretch out Your most pure hands to us, as it is depicted on Your icon, and give joy to all those who mourn, healing from all illnesses and deliverance from troubles, since You are a quick Intercessor for our souls.”
Troparion, tone 8
To the source of ever-flowing mercy, the Most Pure Virgin Theotokos, / father, all people, priests and foreigners, / husbands, and wives, and children, healthy and sick, / crying out in repentance and dying literally saying:/ Mistress, help Thy sinful servants,/ manifest Your good glory, / always strive to be angry with us, / to ask for the cleansing of our souls and bodies / from the Source of our life, God, / / Whom you gave birth to, the only Blesser ́naya.
Translation: To the ever-flowing source of mercy, the Most Pure Virgin Mother of God, let us all turn, priests and monks, men, women and children, healthy and sick, crying out in repentance and humbly saying: “Mistress, help Thy sinful servants, as the Good One reveal Thy glory “, always be merciful to us and ask for the cleansing of our souls and bodies from the Source of our life, God, Whom You, the only Blessed One, gave birth to.”
Troparion, tone 4
We will never be silent, Mother of God,/ Your powers are unworthy to speak:/ If You had not stood before us begging,/ Who would have delivered us from so many troubles;/ Who would have kept us free to this day;/ We will not retreat, O Lady, from You // Yours for you always save slaves from all evil ones.
Translation: We, unworthy ones, will never stop proclaiming Your power, Mother of God, for if You had not protected us with Your prayers, who would have saved us from so many troubles, who would have kept us free to this day? We will not retreat, Lady, from You, for You always save Your servants from all disasters.
Kontakion, tone 6
There is no other help for imams, / no other hope for imams, / except You, Lady. / Help us: / We hope in You and we boast in You, / For we are your servants, / / Let us not be ashamed.
Translation: We have no other help, we have no other hope, except You, Lady. Help us: we hope in You and boast in You, for we are Your servants; let us not be ashamed!
First prayer
Oh, Most Holy Lady and Mother of God, Most High Cherub and Most Honest Seraphim, God's Chosen Maiden, Reclamation of the lost and Joy to all who mourn! Give consolation to us, who are in perdition and sorrow; Have you no other refuge and help than the imams? You alone are our Intercessor of joy, and as the Mother of God and the Mother of Mercy, standing at the Throne of the Most Holy Trinity, you can help us, for no one who comes to You leaves in shame. Hear us now, on the day of destruction and sorrow, before Your icon, falling down and praying to You with tears: take away from us the sorrows and troubles that are upon us in this temporary life, and make us not deprived. Your all-powerful intercession and eternal endless joy in the Kingdom of the Son and God ours. Amen.
Second prayer
Oh, Most Holy and Most Blessed Virgin, Lady Theotokos! Look with Your merciful eye on us, standing before Your holy icon and praying to You with tenderness; raise us up from the depths of sin, enlighten our minds, darkened by passions, and heal the ulcers of our souls and bodies. There are no imams of other help, no imams of other hope, except for You, the Lady. You weigh all our weaknesses and sins, we resort to You and cry out: do not leave us with Your Heavenly help, but appear to us ever and with Your ineffable mercy and bounty, save and have mercy on us who are perishing . Grant us correction of our sinful life and deliver us from sorrows, troubles and illnesses, from sudden death, hell and eternal torment. You, Queen and Lady, are the quick Helper and Intercessor of all who flow to You and the strong refuge of repentant sinners. Grant us, O Most Blessed and All-Immaculate Virgin, the Christian end of our life to be peaceful and shameless, and grant us, through Your intercession, to dwell in the Abodes of Heaven, where the unceasing voice of the vain with joy he glorifies the Most Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages . Amen.
Prayer three
Oh, Most Blessed Lady, Protector of the Christian race, refuge and salvation of those who resort to You! We know, truly we know, how much we have sinned and been angry, O Most Merciful Lady, the Son of God was born in the flesh of You. But to the imams there are many images of those who angered His mercy: tax collectors, harlots and other sinners, to whom forgiveness of sins will be given for the sake of repentance and confession. Thou art, therefore, imagining the images of those who have been pardoned by the hand of my sinful soul, and looking upon the great mercy of God, which I have received, I am bold, and I, a sinner, will run with repentance to Thy blessing. diyu. Oh, All-Merciful Lady! Give me a helping hand and ask Your Son and God with your motherly and most holy prayers for forgiveness of my grave sin. I believe and confess that He Whom You gave birth to, Your Son is truly Christ, the Son of the living God, Judge of the living and the dead, rewarding everyone according to his deeds; I believe again and confess that You are the true Mother of God, the source of mercy, the consolation of those who mourn, the recovery of the lost, a strong and unceasing intercessor to God, who loves the Christian race dearly. ́nsky, and the wrangler of repentance; Truly, there is no other help and protection for us except You, Most Gracious Lady, and no one else, trusting in You, was ashamed when, and by You begging God, no one was quickly abandoned. For this sake, I pray to Your innumerable goodness: open the doors of Your mercy to me who have gone astray and fallen into the darkness of the depths, do not disdain my filth, do not despise sinful prayer mine, do not leave me, the accursed one, for an evil enemy is looking to kidnap me into destruction, but beg for me Your merciful Son and God, born of You, may He forgive my great sins and deliver me from my destruction, as yes and I, with all who have received forgiveness, will sing and glorify the immeasurable mercy of God The living and Your unashamed intercession for me in this life and in the endless eternity . Amen.
Prayer four
Best regards to my queen, my hope, Mother of God, friend to the orphans and the strange, representative! Joy to the grieving, to the offended Patroness! See my misfortune, see my sorrow: help me as I am weak, feed me as I am strange. I have weighed my offense, resolve it, as I wished: for I have no other help except You, no other Representative, no good Comforter, only You, O Mother of God, for save me and cover me in all things for centuries. Amen.
Fifth prayer
Zealous Intercessor, Compassionate Mother of the Lord, I resort to You, the accursed one and the most sinful of all people; Hear the voice of my prayer, hear my cry and groaning. For my iniquity has exceeded my head, and I, like a ship in the depths, am plunging into the sea of my sins. But You, All-Good and Merciful Lady, do not despise me, desperate and perishing in sins; have mercy on me, who repent of my evil deeds, and turn my lost, cursed soul to the right path. On You, my Lady, Mother of God, I place all my hope. You, Mother of God, preserve and keep me under Your roof, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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The meaning of the icon of Joy of All Who Sorrow
The icon appeared in the Moscow church on Bolshaya Ordynka in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord in 1683. Since it contained images of locally revered saints, the researchers concluded that it was written specifically for this place. Nowadays it is a church in honor of the icon of the Joy of All Who Sorrow, the Mother of God, where the shrine is kept to this day.
Initially, the icon did not depict people asking. On the Moscow and subsequent St. Petersburg lists there is no image of people praying. Probably, the characteristic type of writing appeared later, after the glorification of the prototype.
Around 1711, Tsarevna Natalya Alekseevna, sister of Peter I, made the first copy of the icon and took it to the new capital, newly built St. Petersburg. The new image also became famous for its miracles and participated in the military campaigns of Peter I. Today, the original copy has not survived, but in St. Petersburg you can find a third copy, which was kept with the icon of the princess. The shrine is located in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the northern capital.
But the image of All Who Sorrow, Joy “with pennies,” received the most love and reverence. According to legend, the icon was found on the banks of the Neva by the merchant Matveev. When he was caught in a storm and called out to the Mother of God, having in his mind the image of a home icon, he received help: the Virgin saved him from imminent death. In gratitude, the merchant donated his shrine to the Tikhvin Chapel, where after the storm it was washed out by a wave.
In 1888, a unique event took place in the chapel: after a fire, when everything seemed to have burned down, the icon was found almost untouched by the flames. Miraculously, the face on the icon, darkened by time, brightened and was renewed. 12 coins stuck to it in different places. The pennies lay in a mug for donations, and during the fire, in an incomprehensible way, they evenly and quite harmoniously stuck to the icon (at the same time they were not pressed into the paint), and firmly adhered to it, without affecting the face of the Mother of God.
From this time on, a new wave of miracles began, when through prayers in front of the shrine people received healings from illnesses and injuries.
Based on the number of people who received help, there was a need to build a church for the icon in order to accommodate everyone who wanted to venerate the shrine. On August 2, 1898, a stone church was consecrated in honor of the miraculous icon, which was subsequently blown up by the Bolsheviks.
In the icon with pennies, the Mother of God appears before worshipers in simple clothes with a white covering on her head, without the signs of royal power, which are the crown and scepter, and without the Infant Christ. She spread her arms in a generous gesture to the people around her. Coins are depicted on lists with paint.
The miraculous image is kept in the Trinity Church “Kulich and Easter” in St. Petersburg.
How does the icon of the Joy of All Who Sorrow help?
A unique phenomenon in the Orthodox world: a wonderful icon scattered coins, “pennies” for everyone to enjoy, which stuck to the paint layer. We are structured in such a way that we often ask not for spiritual things at all, but for quite material things. And the Mother of God comes to meet us, understands our weakness, takes pity, and so, scatters coins for us on her icon. Having spent her entire life in poverty, without a home or income, wandering with her Son among relatives and kind people, she seemed to have saved everything, to the last penny, for us.
Sometimes it is ashamed to ask a shrine for such mercantile things as money. But in front of this icon you can. Reasonably, for the benefit of relatives, with the understanding that material wealth is less important than unanimity in the family, leniency towards neighbors and spiritual peace. The Mother of God herself hinted at what to pray for, showing a new image that miraculously appeared, and the glory of which spread throughout the world.
How the icon of the Mother of God helps the Joy of All Who Sorrow has been known since the 17th century. Below is an attempt to list only a small, most expressive part of coma, how it helps and who it is for people. These are the words from the prayer to the icon, translated into modern speech:
- the hungry - the nurse;
- those who have lost hope - hope;
- for those who are offended - an intercessor;
- naked - clothing;
- for the sick - healing;
- to those who are despondent - joy;
- those who repent of their sins are saved.
The help of the icon is also sought by everyone who finds themselves in straitened circumstances, who has been wronged or harmed. In prayer to the icon, she is also called the helper and intercessor of all Christians.
Pray to the Holy Face
It is not necessary to know the words of the prayer by heart, the main thing is to turn to the Mother of God sincerely.
Before turning to the Heavenly Intercessor from the icon described, you should ask God for forgiveness for your sins; do not even mentally blame Heaven for what happened to you and sincerely hope for help from above; do not hold evil in your heart and do not ask for revenge on the offender. It is not always possible to go to church for church prayer - you can do this at home, finding a convenient time so that no one can interfere with your conversation with the Blessed Virgin.
You can turn to Her in your own words with pure thoughts and sincere faith and repentance.
The miraculous icon is honored on November 6 - in memory of the day of the first miraculous healing from the face of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this day, it is very useful to order a prayer service in front of the holy image in a temple or monastery.
Miraculous Icon of All Who Sorrow Joy
The image first became famous in 1688 in a Moscow church. It was there that the first miracle happened: the sister of the Patriarch of Moscow Joachim, named Euphemia, who was seriously ill and bedridden, heard the voice of the Mother of God after prayer. The Virgin reproached her for still not turning to the common Healer of all and ordered Euphemia to be visited by a priest with the icon of the Joy of All Who Sorrow, which is located in the Transfiguration Church. The priest served a prayer service, after which she received healing.
The event took place on October 24, and since that time the icon has shown many miraculous healings. The right aisle of the temple was consecrated in honor of the miraculous image, and the church became famous among the people as the Sorrowful Church.
Architecture
The Church of “Joy of All Who Sorrow” is of particular interest due to its architectural designs. Its bell tower has a rare shape. The building is built in the form of a cylindrical rotunda, with semicircular arched windows and Ionic two-column porticoes. Inside there are 12 columns that support a small drum with a dome in the form of a hemisphere and a spherical head. A characteristic feature of the interior decoration is the placement of candlesticks. They are upstairs, with attendants climbing a portable wooden ladder to light the candle.
