Since the beginning of iconography, the great creators of graphic art have been able to depict the main characters of the Holy Bible in different ways. However, the artistic image of the “Softening Evil Hearts” icon has a special graphic design, the details of which have a distinctive uniqueness.
Unlike the traditional image of the Mother of God with her child, which is widely known to the Russian Orthodox society, on the sacred canvas Tenderness of Evil Hearts, the mother of Jesus Christ, revered by all, is depicted along with sharp daggers piercing her body.
Date of celebration: August 26
History of the icon
At present, little is known about the origin of the shrine, and many scientists put forward a variety of points of view on this matter. Among them there is one very common one, according to which the myrrh-streaming icon “Softening Evil Hearts” was created by foreign Catholic believers, who subsequently decided to voluntarily hand it over to the ancient Russian state.
The legend says that once upon a time, one serf peasant had a chance to experience very difficult times that accompanied his life with the manifestation of incessant pain. And one night, while in a deep dream, the elder heard a strange voice that kept coming from different sides of the room. He spoke about the ancient Church of St. John the Evangelist and its bell tower. It was there that the icon of the Mother of God “Softening Evil Hearts” was located, capable of helping the peasant eliminate the unpleasant and terrorizing illness. However, her canvas had to be found among numerous shrines, which were kept from prying eyes in a specially designated place. Having discovered the Softening icon right inside the bell tower, the peasant prayed and was immediately healed.
Many Orthodox believers, in order to honor the memory and pray before the icon of the Mother of God “Softening Evil Hearts,” go to Moscow on Sundays. Since a beautiful temple of the Archangel Michael was erected on the territory of the capital, where this icon is now located. Other exact lists of it can be found by visiting the Church of St. Lazarus, located in Volgograd or in the Moscow region inside the Church of the Mother of God.
Finding the Seven Shot Icon
Different sources interpret the story of the found icon in their own way. However, there are a number of similarities. In the 17th century, near Vologda, a peasant suffered for a long time from “sickness of the stomach and legs”; he simply did not get out of bed for several years. During one of his delusional attacks, he had a vision of the Mother of God. She ordered him to find the holy face and identify it “worthily.” And this is where the secrets begin.
Some sources say that the face lay inside out, and everyone took it for an ordinary board. Part of the pedestrian path was paved with this “board”, and the peasant had to look for the image for a long time, lifting all the boards.
The sacred relic was in a terrible state - trampled and dirty. But through all the layers the features of the Mother of God appeared, she seemed to glow. Other sources claim that the icon was in oblivion on the bell tower of the temple.
It was there that the peasant found her, among heaps of garbage, debris and other rubbish.
But the result is the same - the Seven Shot was found, was carefully washed, cleaned and placed in a special place in the temple. The exact authorship of the image has not been established - it is believed that people first saw Semistrelnaya in the 15th century
. The peasant successfully completed the task, offered three prayers to the Mother of God and was miraculously healed of his illness.
The Seven Shot Icon is one of the most revered by Orthodox Christians
Meaning and interpretation of the Seven Shots icon
It is believed that the plot for writing was the legend from the Gospel about the Presentation of the Lord. It is celebrated on the 40th day after Christmas. At that time, the Mother of God brought the Child to the temple of Jerusalem. The Savior was met by Simeon the God-Receiver. The elder was destined to see the Messiah before his death.
Considering that Simeon was over 300 years old at that time, he was very old indeed. His last task on Earth was to reveal to the Blessed Virgin how many trials awaited the Son.
Simeon also conveyed to the Mother of God a message from the Lord about a certain weapon that “will pierce the soul and reveal the thoughts of all hearts.”
The seven-shot has several names: Softening of Evil Hearts, Simeon’s Prophecy, Zhizdra Passionate, Don Madonna. It would be wrong to consider all these icons as a list of one image - they have differences.
The image is made in such a way that the body of the Queen of Heaven is pierced by 7 swords (arrows). The priests give a double understanding of the meaning of the icon:
- Arrows are a symbol of the 7 deadly sins. The Mother of God “accepts” all sins and blesses those who repent for good deeds, and forgives them their troubles and pains.
- The seven arrows are the seven torments of Her Son at the crucifixion.
For Orthodox Christians, it makes no difference exactly how to interpret the icon. The image shows the depth of the Mother of God’s feelings for the entire human race, Her wounds on her body are from our sins.
The icon seems to remind everyone what troubles and sorrows the Intercessor went through, what reproaches she endured, how she saw the death of her Son and his subsequent Resurrection.
In Orthodox Christianity, the number 7 is a symbol of prosperity, and arrows (swords) are a symbol of suffering. Thus, it turns out that the Seven Shot signifies the fullness of the suffering of the Intercessor, her dedication and self-denial. At the same time, the look of the Virgin Mary remains gentle, radiating love and patience.
It is not for nothing that the icon is called the Softening of Evil Hearts - the Blessed Virgin pierces the soul with her radiant gaze, drives out troubles and instills goodness, warmth and hope in the soul. The position of Mary's fingers is symbolic - they are folded in a gesture of prayer. The Queen of Heaven begs people not to sin, not to increase grief and misfortune, to renounce unrighteous deeds and open their souls to the Lord.
Her Son suffered mortal torment for the sins of people. She asks to remember this and not to increase the sorrows of Her and the Child.
Description of different images of Semistrelnaya
The Icon of the Mother of God Softening Evil Hearts differs from the Seven-Shot Icon in the number of arrows on different sides. On Semistrelnaya there are 4 arrows on one side, 3 on the other. The image of Softening Evil Hearts is written like this: 3 arrows on different sides and 1 at the bottom. The Mother of God appears before people alone, without her Son, taking upon herself all the turmoil and burden of human sins.
It is interesting that the icons of the Mother of God without the Savior were painted for the sake of glorifying the Queen of Heaven. The seven-shot and holy lists are no exception.
The Icon of Softening Evil Hearts is slightly different from the Seven Shot
Zhizdra Passionate is the third option, which is also called “And a weapon will pierce your very soul.” The image was found in Zhizdrinsky district, a village of the same name in the Kaluga region. The iconography is not similar to Passionate, the type of image is not Hodegetria. On this icon, the Mother of God is painted with the Child, whom she holds with one hand. The second hand covers the Child from the aimed 7 sharp swords.
Zhizdrinskaya Passionate with Child - image of the Mother of God with the Son
The Icon of the Don Madonna is named after the place where it was found. For decades, the image was considered lost; it was only found during the Second World War. The soldiers of the Italian army gave the holy image to the chaplain, then after the advance of the Soviet army, the Russian military returned the image. Subsequently, the icon was reverently handed over to a Catholic priest, who took the Madonna of the Don to the Vatican.
The icon of the Don Madonna was taken to Italy
Revered miracles of the image
For more than half a century, Semistrelnaya showed people her miraculous powers. All of them are confirmed historically and by witness testimony:
- The first miracle is the appearance of the icon. After all, until the moment of the peasant’s vision, no one remembered about her. The image itself “declared” itself, wishing to return to the people in all its strength.
- The second happened in the 19th century, when a plague epidemic swept across the country. Cities and villages perished, villages died. The plague captured more and more new areas and reached the Vologda province. Priests and parishioners despaired of stopping the plague with medical forces and prayed to Semistrelnaya. Having taken the image out of the church, they performed several processions of the cross. In the evenings they prayed fervently before the Intercessor, and the pestilence subsided. Since then, it has been customary to hang the icon at the head of patients suffering from incurable or severe pathologies.
- The second discovery of the icon called the Don Madonna (Madonna del Don). The image was lost during the time of great persecution after 1917. It was found only in December 1942 near the Don, where there were battles between the Soviet Army and Italian troops. We must give the enemy soldiers their due - they not only carefully handed the icon to the chaplain, but also did not dare to violate the image, as was the case with other icons. After the victorious offensive of the Soviet troops, the enemy divisions were defeated. The icon passed into the hands of Russian soldiers, and then was solemnly handed over to Chaplain Policarpio.
It is interesting that the SA generals, who were categorically opposed to the church, admitted that they were saved many times by Semistrelnaya. After a fierce offensive, battles were fought in which death threatened all living things.
And the salvation of the SA divisions, according to the veterans, was impossible without the protection of the Queen of Heaven. Everyone prayed to her - from privates to army generals.
And She helped to withstand and cope with the monstrous onslaught of the best forces of the Wehrmacht.
Where is the image of Semistrelnaya stored?
The icon of the Don Madonna today can be seen in Mestre - this is a town in Venice, where the image ended up after being transferred from the Vatican. The place is famous among the residents of the country - it is here that relatives and friends of Italian soldiers who died during the war come to venerate the icon. Locally revered copies of the image are also kept in the Lazarevsky Church (Vologda), the Temple of the Archangel Michael (Moscow).
Characteristics of the image
The drawn daggers digging into the flesh of the Virgin Mary clearly symbolize the manifestation of topical, immoral and illegal actions that some people are accustomed to constantly commit, based on their own selfish goals.
And all these sinful acts, committed from time to time by different representatives of society, traumatize the innocent Virgin Mary, who continues to suffer more and more from this. Moreover, the exact number of these weapons presented on the canvas of the Most Holy Theotokos “Softening Evil Hearts” is a reflection of the most terrible deadly sins that continue to be committed at the present time. These include the following acts:
- anger and aggression;
- envy;
- gluttony (gluttony);
- treason;
- sadness or despondency;
- greed;
- pride.
The only way to save a living human soul from its ungodly crime is repentance before the Lord God. It is to him that the sacred image of the Mother of God, which is depicted on the myrrh-streaming icon of Softening Evil Hearts, calls upon him.
Orthodox believers need to remember that such biblical compositions as “Softening Evil Hearts” and “Seven Shots” differ from each other in the arrangement of the daggers in the image. In the first version, they can be seen digging into the heart of the Mother of God from three sides, including the bottom. And at the Seven Shot shrine, the daggers are distributed only on the sides.
How and what to pray to the image
People often ask what exactly they should pray for in front of this icon. The Virgin Mary is our common mother. She is the intercessor of people before God, the Son. You can pray to her for different things:
- ask for help to return to the true path of spiritual life and development;
- pray to take away any doubts that arise in faith, for example, in difficult circumstances;
- you need to ask an intercessor so that all evil thoughts, anger leave, and also the evil intentions of ill-wishers disappear;
- very often they pray for the protection of soldiers;
- It’s good to ask the icon for healing.
The most important thing is to approach the image sincerely, exclusively with a pure heart and bright intentions.
Texts of prayers before the icon “Softening Evil Hearts”
Troparion, tone 5
Soften our evil hearts, Mother of God,/ and extinguish the misfortunes of those who hate us/ and resolve all the tightness of our souls,/ looking at Your holy image,/ with Your compassion and mercy We are touched by our lamentation/ and we kiss your wounds/ our arrows that torment you , we are horrified./ Don’t let us, O Gracious Mother,/ perish in our cruelty and from the cruelty of our neighbors,// You are truly the softener of evil hearts.
Translation: Soften our evil hearts, Mother of God, and repel the attacks of those who hate us, and resolve all our spiritual sorrows, for, looking at Your holy image, with Your compassion and mercy for us we heartily lament and kiss your wounds, for our arrows that torment We are terrified of you. Do not let us, Merciful Mother, perish in our hard-heartedness or from the hard-heartedness of our neighbors, for You are truly the softener of evil hearts.
Kontakion, tone 2
By Your grace, O Lady,/ soften the hearts of evildoers,/ send down benefactors,/ keeping them from all evil,/ those who pray to You fervently// before Your honest icons.
Translation: By Your grace, Lady, soften the hearts of evildoers, send down benefactors who will preserve them from all evil, praying to You with gratitude and zeal before Your revered icons.
Prayer
Oh, much-sorrowful Mother of God, who surpassed all the daughters of the earth in Her purity and in the multitude of sufferings You brought to earth! Accept our much-sick sighs and keep us under the roof of Your mercy, for there is no other refuge and warm intercession than You know, but as we have boldness towards Him who was born of You, help and save us with your prayers, so that we may without stumbling reach the Kingdom of Heaven, where with all the saints we will sing praises to the One God in the Trinity, always, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
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How to pray correctly
“Softening evil hearts” is one of the most effective prayers addressed to the Mother of God. In order for your request to be heard and to come true sooner, you need to:
- go to an Orthodox church;
- light a candle in front of the face of Christ;
- touch first your lips, then your forehead to the Crucifix;
- light a candle in front of the “Softening Hearts” icon, say one of the prayers listed below, or pray in your own words.
If it is not possible to visit the temple, then you can pray at home. But to do this, you need to buy a church candle, light it in front of the icon, and ask the Mother of God for help.
What made the image of the Queen of Heaven famous?
Miraculous events associated with the icon of the Mother of God “Softening”:
- in 1830, a terrible cholera epidemic broke out in the Vologda region, claiming many lives. To resist it and protect the people from death, a procession with the icon was organized. The image was also exhibited in one of the largest temples. Thanks to the fervent prayers of the clergy and parishioners, the Mother of God showed her intercession, and the epidemic was soon stopped;
- in August 2000, sores appeared on the Bachurin image of the Virgin Mary, from which streams of blood began to flow. It was then that a terrible tragedy occurred in the Barents Sea, as a result of which the crew of the best Russian submarine died;
- in one of the Murmansk churches, a baby, whom the mother placed to the face of the Mother of God, unexpectedly clearly said to everyone: “She is crying!” After this, those around them once again realized that they were next to a real shrine, and the myrrh of the Queen of Heaven was her tears, which she tirelessly sheds because of human cruelty.
Today, believers from different countries are awaiting the arrival of the icon. The icon consecrated with its presence many domestic dioceses, and also visited Germany, the Czech Republic, Belarus, America, and the Greek Mount Athos. Orthodox Christians, who bowed to him with love and reverence, experienced a feeling of incomparable spiritual joy, were able to resolve complex conflicts, come to mutual understanding with others, and find inner harmony and tranquility.
Wherever the icon of the Mother of God appears, inexplicable events and miracles occur. From this image, fragrant healing oil generously pours out, other faces begin to shed myrrh, and believers get rid of serious illnesses that have tormented them for many years.
Where can the face of the Virgin Mary be located in the house?
If you want to place a holy image in your home, it is important to understand: icons depicting the Mother of God or other faces do not belong to items for interior decoration and are different from ordinary amulets. Such images are revered Orthodox shrines, through which believers can turn to God. They should occupy a special place in the house and in the hearts of its inhabitants, carefully stored and passed on from generation to generation.
When placing an icon indoors, you should listen to the following recommendations:
- It is best if “Softening Evil Hearts” is included in the home iconostasis and located in the eastern part of the house. In this case, the faces should be placed symmetrically so that each of them is open to access and fully visible. In addition, icons must be kept clean;
- If there is no iconostasis, the image can be hung at the head of the bed or in the children's room. Often the face of the Virgin Mary is placed in the corridor, above the entrance to the living room. While here, the icon will greet the owners and guests of the house, as well as protect the home from evil and ill-wishers;
- There should be no unnecessary objects near the image - paintings, photographs, any accessories, shelves with cosmetics, toys, etc. You can place a small lamp next to it, which will need to be lit while reading a prayer in front of the icon.
It is undesirable to place the image of the Virgin Mary near distracting objects - a TV, computer, radio. It is also not recommended to hang it in the kitchen or dining room, above the dining table.
