There are many miraculous Orthodox icons that prove to believers the correctness of the path they have taken, hoping for the salvation and eternal life of their immortal soul. But even among these miracles, one icon stands out in that almost at the same hour it fulfills the petitions that people bring to it. These are the prayers to the Mother of God before the “Quick to Hear” icon - the requests of believers are fulfilled immediately, immediately.
Date of celebration: November 22
In Russia there are several copies of the miraculous icon. The ancient image itself, painted in the 10th century, is located on Holy Mount Athos in Dochiara.
There are lists of icons in Moscow, in the Antioch Patriarchal Metochion. Here it can be found in the Temple of Archangel Gabriel.
In St. Petersburg, a copy of the icon of the Mother of God “Neva Quick to Hear” is located in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
The meaning of the icon in Orthodoxy
The icon was painted by an Athonite monk in the 10th-11th centuries. In the 17th century, it was located at the entrance to the refectory of the Dochiarsky monastery. One of the monks walked with a lit torch so close to the icon that soot began to settle on it. The monk heard an unknown voice warning him not to smoke the image of the Mother of God any longer.
But he did not attach much importance to this, believing that the other monks were making fun of him. The Mother of God punished the monk with loss of vision. The next day the brethren found him kneeling in front of the icon with a prayer of repentance on his lips. The guilty person prayed every day in front of the icon, admitting his guilt and begging for mercy.
The Heavenly Queen heard and forgave the monk: his sight returned. The Holy Virgin said that she was taking the monastery under her protection, and the icon at the refectory should be called “Quick to Hear.” She promised everyone who would pray at the image to provide immediate support.
The image on the icon belongs to the “Hodegetria” (“Guide Guide”) iconographic type. The peculiarity of the icon painting lies in the arrangement of the figures of the Mother of God and the baby Jesus. Their heads don't touch. The Heavenly Patroness, with a gesture of her right hand, points the believers to the Son as the Savior of the human race.
Believers must realize that they can always count on the Grace of the Lord if they repent of their sins in sincere prayer, and then the Blessed Virgin will be an intercessor for them before the Son.
Lists of “Quick to Hear” came to Russia from Mount Athos in the 19th century. The most famous versions are located in Moscow (in the Athos Chapel), Trinity Buttercup Monastery (near Przemysl), Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery (Murom), and in St. Petersburg. The holy image in the northern capital differs from the traditional one: it depicts the Holy Virgin Mary alone with her palm turned towards those praying.
The miraculous power of the icon was manifested in the healing of believers from blindness, lameness, epilepsy, and assistance in natural disasters. In the Dokhiarsky monastery, a chapel was installed for the icon, in which services were held daily. November 22 is the festive day of commemoration of the holy image “Quick to Hear”.
In the 40s of the last century, an excerpt from the image of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear” was donated to the Russian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, where it is kept to this day in the Monastery of Olives.
The Quick Hearer helps believers who turn to her with prayers in various situations
In prayers to the Mother of God, believers ask:
- calm the heart, instruct in good deeds;
- about conception;
- about the birth of a healthy child;
- about the speedy recovery of a sick child;
- about the fulfillment of a cherished desire;
- about strengthening spirit and health;
- about a successful marriage.
A girl's prayer to find a worthy husband
You can also read it on the eve of the wedding.
“Most Holy Theotokos, Quick to Hear, Most Holy Mother of the Lord! I pray to You in my powerlessness - send me, Your servant [Name], to give me a righteous life in a godly marriage! Pray for me, Virgin Mary, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.”
Moscow list. The miraculous image is kept in the chapel of the Great Martyr Panteleimon at the Athos Metochion
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin has great power. Say a prayer in front of the icon of the Virgin Mary with great reverence and gratitude. The Mother of God will definitely hear and help the one praying in solving a variety of problems.
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How to ask correctly before an image
The original of the miraculous icon is located in the Dohiarsky monastery, where only male pilgrims can enter. Through prayers to the lists of the holy icon “Quick to Hear”, many miraculous healings have occurred in the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church. Prayer from a pure heart will reach the Mother of God if you pray to her privately.
In front of the icon, you should light a consecrated candle from the lamp. Sign yourself with the sign of the cross and bow. Read the “Our Father” three times. Cross yourself, bow, read a prayer to the Mother of God. In conclusion, cross yourself and bow.
When turning to the holy image, it is necessary to cleanse yourself spiritually from sinful thoughts towards the people around you:
- anger;
- gloating;
- hostility.
We must believe that the prayer to the Mother of God will help your request come true. An appeal to the Most Holy Mother of God must be sincere and sincere.
Days of veneration and memory of the icon of the Mother of God Quick to Hear
The Mother of God is honored in November on the 9th according to the new style (November twenty-second according to the old style). The divine image helps every believer with a pure heart who needs help and protection. The holy face also serves the venerable fathers as a means of delivering the believer from possession by the unclean. And in ancient times, prayer requests were submitted in front of the icon when troubled times came, in the name of saving lives.
What do believers pray for?
The miraculous image of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear” helps if people turn to her for help:
- Mothers. Women pray for a safe delivery, continued breastfeeding, so that the baby is born and grows healthy and does not experience problems with the outside world in the future.
- Unmarried girls. Prayer to the Mother of God gives hope of meeting a person worthy of marriage.
- Sick people with diseases of the central nervous system, eye diseases that cause vision loss.
- People with weakened faith in God, who have lost their purpose in life and hope for a better outcome.
They pray to the miraculous icon when the health and lives of people are threatened by natural or man-made disasters.
Miracle healings
Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, Quick to Hear, helps people heal. The first miraculous healing was the epiphany of the Nile, whom the Mother of God herself blinded for his ignorance. Afterwards, throughout all Orthodox lands, wherever the miraculous face appeared, inexplicable miracles happened: people were cured of epilepsy and lameness. Shipwrecked people were saved by prayer.
Here are some of the events in which the prayer “Quick to Hear,” the icon of the Mother of God, took part:
- The widow Frolova from Ruza, near Moscow, was cured of attacks of demonic possession by strong prayer in 1887;
- Moscow peasant woman Marfa Palina was cured of epilepsy in 1889;
- Through prayer, his son was returned to his mother from Chechen captivity, when everyone thought that he had died;
- In Siege Leningrad, many people prayed and found salvation from the Neva Quick to Hear;
These are just a few cases known to us. How much do we still not know? The Mother of God does not refuse anyone, she hears all parishioners equally and quickly helps.
Texts of strong prayers
The miraculous power of the icon is manifested in the fact that all prayer appeals to the Mother of God “Quick to Hear” have great power.
Troparion
Let us now fall to the Mother of God as a father figure in troubles, and to Her holy icon, calling with faith from the depths of our souls: soon hear our prayer, O Virgin, who was called Quick to Hear, For for the sake of Your servants, a ready helper in need, the Imams.
About healing
When they ask for their health, they read the prayer:
“Oh, Most Holy Virgin, Mother of the Lord Most High, Quick to Hear the Intercessor of all who come running to You with faith!
Look down from the heights of Your heavenly majesty upon me, who is indecent, falling before Your icon, and quickly hear the humble prayer of the sinner me and bring it to Your Son:
beg Him to illuminate my gloomy soul with the light of His Divine grace and cleanse my mind from vain thoughts, to calm my suffering heart and heal its wounds,
may He enlighten me to do good deeds and strengthen me to work for Him with fear, may He forgive all the evil I have done, may He deliver me from eternal torment and may I not deprive Him of His heavenly Kingdom.
O Most Blessed Mother of God:
You deigned to be named in Your image, Quick to Hear, commanding everyone to come to You with faith:
Do not look upon me who is sorrowful and do not allow me to perish in the abyss of my sins.
According to God, all my hope and hope of salvation is in You, and I entrust myself to Your protection and intercession forever.”
About help
Most blessed Lady, Ever-Virgin Mother of God, who gave birth to God the Word more than any word for our salvation, and who received His grace more abundantly than all others, who appeared as a sea of Divine gifts and miracles, an ever-flowing river, pouring out goodness to all who come running to You with faith! To Your miraculous image, we pray to You, the all-generous Mother of the humane-loving Lord: surprise us with Your rich mercies and our petitions brought to You, Quick to Hear, speed up the fulfillment of everything that is arranged for the benefit of consolation and salvation for everyone. Visit, O Blessing Thy servants, with Thy grace, grant to the sick healing and perfect health, to those overwhelmed by silence, to those captivated by freedom, and to the afflicted by various images of comfort. Deliver, O All-Merciful Lady, every city and country from famine, plague, cowardice, flood, fire, sword and other temporary and eternal punishments, by Your maternal boldness turning away the wrath of God; and spiritual relaxation, overwhelm by passions and falls, free Thy servant, as if, without stumbling in all piety, having lived in this world, and in the future of eternal blessings, we may be made worthy of the grace and love for mankind of Thy Son and God, to Him belongs all glory, honor and worship with His Beginning Father and By the Most Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
About marriage
O most holy Virgin, Mother of the Lord on High, quick to obey intercessor of all who come running to You with faith! Look down from the height of Thy heavenly majesty upon me, the indecent one, falling before Thy holy icon, quickly hear the humble prayer of me, a sinner, and bring it to Thy Son, beg Him to illuminate my dark soul with the light of the Divine grace of His grace and cleanse my mind from thoughts vain things, may he pacify my suffering heart and heal its wounds, may he enlighten me to good deeds and strengthen me to work for Him with fear, may he forgive all the evil I have done, may he deliver me from eternal torment and not deprive me of His heavenly kingdom. O most blessed Mother of God! You have deigned to be named in Your image, Quick to Hear, commanding everyone to come to You with faith, do not despise me, the sorrowful, and do not allow me to perish in the abyss of my sins, in You, through God, all my hope and hope of salvation, and Your protection and intercession I entrust it to myself forever and ever. Amen.
About assistance during childbirth
Most blessed Lady, Ever-Virgin Mother of God, who gave birth to God the Word more than any word for our salvation, and who received His grace more abundantly than all others, who appeared as a sea of Divine gifts and miracles, an ever-flowing river, pouring out goodness to all who come running to You with faith!
To Your miraculous image, we pray to You, the all-generous Mother of the Humanity-loving Lord: surprise us with Your rich mercies, and speed up the fulfillment of our petitions brought to You, Quick to Hear, all that are arranged for the benefit of consolation and salvation for everyone.
Visit, O Blessing Thy servants, with Thy grace, grant to those who are ill, healing and perfect health, to those overwhelmed by silence, to those in captivity, freedom and various images of the afflicted to console, deliver, O all-merciful Lady, every city and country from famine, plague, cowardice, flood, fire, sword and other temporary and eternal punishments, by Your maternal boldness turning away the wrath of God: and from mental relaxation, overwhelming passions and falls, free Your servants, so that without stumbling in all piety, having lived in this world, and in the future, eternal blessings, we will be honored with the grace and love of mankind of Your Son and God, Him. befits all glory, honor and worship, with His Beginning Father and the Most Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
To fulfill a wish
Oh, Most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of the Most High Lord, Quickly Hearing Helper and Intercessor of all who come running to you with requests. Cast your gaze upon me from the height of your heavenly greatness and hear my spiritual request. Bring to your Son, our God, a prayer for me, a sinful and unworthy servant of God (proper name). Clear my mind from vain thoughts and help my desire come true (you need to voice your desire in detail). Help me calm my suffering heart and heal my spiritual wounds. I accept the will of our Lord and glorify His Holy Name. Amen.
To get pregnant
Oh, Most Holy Theotokos, Mother of our Lord, I ask you to hear the prayer of the servant of God (proper name) and help me. Ask Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to cleanse my mind from vain thoughts and illuminate my soul with joyful hope. Strengthen, Most Holy Theotokos, my will and give me strength to accept the will of God. May the Almighty forgive my voluntary and involuntary sins. Help me, Most Holy Theotokos, in a successful childbirth, do not let me live a meaningless life, let me know the happiness of motherhood. Amen.
They ask the Mother of God for children, their health and well-being
Prayer to the Mother of God for children will heal them from illnesses, guide them on the right path, and bring good luck and prosperity. The main thing is to ask from the heart, from the bottom of your heart. After all, the most powerful prayer is a mother’s. And who, if not the Mother of God, should offer prayer for her children.
Prayer to the Quick to Hear with a plea for help
“Let us fall to the Mother of God as a father figure in troubles, and to Her holy icon now, calling with faith from the depths of our soul: soon our prayers will be heard. Virgin, like the Quick to Hear, was named. Because Your servants have a ready Helper for your needs, the Imam. Amen".
Daily prayer to the Mother of God for children
“O Most Holy Lady Virgin Theotokos, save and preserve under Your shelter my children (names), all youths, young women and infants, baptized and nameless and carried in their mother’s womb. Cover them with the robe of Your motherhood, keep them in the fear of God and in obedience to their parents, pray to my Lord and Your Son to grant them what is useful for their salvation.
I entrust them to Your maternal supervision, for You are the Divine Protection of Your servants. Mother of God, introduce me to the image of Your heavenly Motherhood.
Heal the mental and physical wounds of my children (names) caused by my sins. I entrust my child entirely to my Lord, Jesus Christ and Your, Most Pure, heavenly protection. Amen".
When a woman prepares to become a mother, she is overwhelmed by fears and doubts.
The Mother of God is always close to those who pray; she loves our children no less than we ourselves.
A birth prayer to the icon of the Quick Hearer will help give birth to a healthy child without complications. This prayer is read before and during the upcoming birth. You can pray both for yourself and close relatives for the woman in labor.
“Oh, Most Glorious Mother of God, have mercy on me, Your servant, and come to my aid during my illnesses and dangers, with which all poor daughters of Eve give birth to children. Remember, O Blessed One among women, with what joy and love You went hastily to the mountainous country to visit Your relative Elizabeth during her pregnancy, and what a wonderful effect Your gracious visit had on both mother and baby.
And according to Your inexhaustible mercy, grant also to me, Your humble servant, to be freed from the burden safely; grant me this grace, so that the child who now rests under my heart, having come to his senses,
with joyful leaping, like the holy baby John, they worshiped the Divine Lord Savior, Who, out of love for us sinners, did not disdain to become a baby Himself.
May the unspeakable joy with which Your virgin heart was filled at the sight of Your newborn Son and Lord, sweeten the sorrow that awaits me amidst the pains of birth.
May the life of the world, my Savior, born of You, save me from death, which cuts off the lives of many mothers at the hour of resolution, and may the fruit of my womb be numbered among the elect of God.
Hear, O Most Holy Queen of Heaven, my humble prayer and look upon me, a poor sinner, with the eye of Your grace; do not shame my trust in Your great mercy and overshadow me.
Helper of Christians, Healer of illnesses, may I also be honored to experience for myself that You are the Mother of mercy, and may I always glorify Your grace, which has never rejected the prayers of the poor and delivers all those who call on You in times of sorrow and illness. Amen".
Questions for the priest
How to properly treat the morning and evening rules from the prayer book?
Is it necessary to read them? Or are prayers read at will? It is believed that if you read the rule of the morning, then the day will be good. What if not reading is a sin? Can you pray in your own words in the morning? How else is it possible? The morning and evening prayers from the prayer book are the prayers of the Holy Fathers, “professional prayer books,” who knew exactly how and what to ask God for, how to turn to Him. You can also pray your prayers... But, unfortunately, life shows that often these are only cries of wounded pride, complaints about unsatisfied egoism, inappropriate requests or demands that are not only useless, but also harmful. It is important to learn to live and pray in the spirit of the Gospel. Otherwise, we are not Christians, but pagans with all the ensuing sad consequences... One should not expect a desire to pray. Desires are appropriate when choosing a prayer... However, first of all, it is necessary to penetrate those who are written in the prayer book and bring your soul into line with them. Ascetics on Mount Athos, in other monasteries, and some spiritually experienced laymen also pray the so-called Jesus Prayer - only five to eight words, often repeated and given different meanings. First of all, the penitents. If desire prevails in your prayers, it will definitely benefit you.
Is it true that for a deceased person who was baptized, but did not go to church and did not believe in God, it is impossible to order a prayer for the repose, since this could harm him? Can you order readings from the Psalter for such cases?
A person passes into eternity as he was during life. And since God does not impose anything, the conscious and living atheist naturally becomes hopeless. During the forty-day liturgy (called forty days), the names of the dead are remembered along with the names of glorified saints who mysteriously symbolize and shape the Church. The memory of unbelievers (both living and dead) in this case is absurd and blasphemous, which follows from the logic of what happened. And this can really harm both them and those who fall into complacency. Those who deny the existence of God, the conscious opponents of God, usually pray for the sake of their exhortation.
There is a legend about the monk Nile, who went blind and regained his sight
Dochiar.
Orthodox Greek monastery on Holy Mount Athos in Greece. Keeps the Holy Relic of Orthodoxy - the icon “Quick to Hear” There is a legend that in the 7th century the monk Nil carried out obedience in the Dokhiar monastery. He worked in the refectory, and every time he passed by the icon of the Mother of God, he did not deliberately smoke the image of the Mother of God with a torch.
One day the monk heard the voice of the Mother of God herself, who called him an unworthy monk and asked how long he would smoke the image with impunity.
Dohiar
this is the name of the monastery on Holy Mount Athos in Greece, on the wall of which the icon “Quick to Hear” is written
Trapezary was frightened and suddenly went blind. In the morning, the monks saw Nile, who was lying on his back in front of the image of the Virgin Mary. The monks listened to the unfortunate man’s story about what happened to him, and lit a lamp in front of the icon, in which the fire has always been maintained since then.
Neil repented and did not leave the icon, reading prayers to the Mother of God for forgiveness and healing from blindness.
The monk's prayers were heard. The Mother of God restored his sight. The Most Pure Virgin also said that her icon is called “Quick to Hear.”
Since then, there has always been a constant prayer book in front of the icon, who performs prayers and takes care of the Holy Face.
Miraculous properties of the divine image
Assistance during childbirth. The pregnant woman had to go through a very difficult birth. The doctors came to the conclusion that it was better to have a caesarean section, but in the prenatal days, it turned out that the woman could not endure such an operation. The current situation was quite critical. The young girl was advised to seek help from the miraculous face.
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The woman prayed very earnestly and with all her heart, and at the end of the prayer service she took off all her precious jewelry and gave them as a gift to the Saint. A couple of days later, the girl was able to cope with the birth process herself without surgical intervention and gave birth to an absolutely healthy baby;
Cure from illnesses. A woman diagnosed with acute rheumatism was led into church by her relatives by the arm, since she could no longer move independently. The clergy taught her and her relatives what prayer to say and how to submit a petition. During the service, the woman was anointed with miraculous lamp oil hanging in front of the image of the Mother of God and sprinkled with sacred water.
With the last of her strength, the unfortunate woman endured the service, but upon its completion, she raised her enlightened face to her face and, without anyone’s help, independently approached and kissed him. The patient's relatives and all those people who saw what happened felt awe.
Where is the miraculous face
The original image of the Mother of God can be seen in Greece in the Dohiarsky monastery, however, in addition to the original, there are also miraculous copies. Here are some of them:
- The list of Olives, written from the miraculous face, is located in the Holy Ascension Monastery of Olives for women in Jerusalem;
- Since 1990, in the city of Petrozavodsk, the Athonite copy has become one of the main shrines of the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross;
- Moscow also has many revered icons of the Mother of God, one of which is listed in the Church of the Archangel Gabriel of the Antioch Patriarchal Metochion. A particularly valuable image can be found in Biryulevo in the Church of St. Nicholas;
- The miraculous list of the Blessed Virgin Mary is also available in other Russian cities, for example, in the Church of St. Martin the Confessor in Arkhangelsk you can see an equally revered image of the Holy Mother, as well as in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (the village of Doropeevich), the Cathedral of St. Simeon (Chelyabinsk), St. -Trinity Belopesotsky and Pechersk Bogoroditsky monasteries for women.
When does the celebration take place?
On November 9 (November 22) a holiday is held in honor of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear.”
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