Moscow Goalkeeper / Pravoslavie.Ru

Moscow Goalkeeper

All beings in the highest, but also in the lower ones, without retreating, You deigned, O Mother of God, just as in ancient times Anthony was given the blessing of Mount Athos to establish the monastery of Pechersk, to bestow Your grace on the new monastery in the country of Russia, with which You blessed Athos, in the likeness of Your honorable image.

Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in the Iveron Chapel on Red Square

The image of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God has long been considered one of the most revered in Russia. And he appeared in Rus' during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, when, having heard about the miraculous Iveron icon, called the Goalkeeper, the archimandrite of the Moscow Novospassky Monastery and the future Patriarch Nikon turned to Iveron with a request to donate the shrine to the Moscow kingdom. And on October 13/26, 1648, the list was delivered to Moscow.

First, the icon was in the courtyard of the Iversky Monastery, then in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin and in the home church of Queen Maria Miloslavskaya. Then she accompanied Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on a military campaign against Smolensk, which put an end to the century-long rule of the city by Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. But the further fate of the list is not exactly known. According to one version, the icon was transferred to the Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent. According to another, the icon was placed on the Resurrection Gates of Kitay-Gorod, which later received the name Iveron Gates. First in a niche under a canopy, and then in a specially erected chapel. However, perhaps this was already the third copy (the second was delivered to Valdai), made in Moscow from the Athos image from the Novodevichy Convent.

Iveron Chapel

Iveron Chapel

Very soon the icon became revered. Tens of thousands of Muscovites gathered for prayer services in the chapel. It was rare that a merchant, when starting a business, did not first come to venerate the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. And Russian emperors, starting with Paul I, considered it their duty to enter the Kremlin through the Resurrection Gate. Several more copies of the miraculous icon were made especially for the chapel. There was a substitute list, which was exhibited when the permanent image was taken for religious processions or exhibited in other churches and monasteries for solemn worship and prayer. It is possible that there were also remote copies.

In 1929, the chapel was closed by the Bolsheviks, and two years later it was destroyed so as not to interfere with the passage of military equipment during parades. One of the images was then transferred to the Sokolniki Church of the Resurrection of Christ, the other to the Tretyakov Gallery fund. It is now difficult to establish whether one of them brought from Athos is an original.

After the restoration of the Iveron Chapel in 1995, a new copy of the miraculous icon of Our Lady of the Goalkeeper kept there was sent from the Iveron Monastery on Athos. Every day, once every two hours from eight in the morning to eight in the evening, prayer services are held in the chapel with the reading of an akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos. All Moscow clergy serve in turn. This new image has already become famous for many miracles: on the chapel’s website you can read contemporary evidence of the gracious help from the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God.

Sokolniki Church of the Resurrection of Christ

Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Sokolniki

As already noted, one of the images of the Goalkeeper was transferred from the Iveron Chapel to the Sokolniki Church of the Resurrection of Christ - it was one of the few that did not close after the revolution. Thanks to this, many shrines came here from closed and destroyed temples and chapels. In addition, a noteworthy fact is associated with the iconostasis of the temple. To the left of the royal doors, where the icon of the Mother of God, most revered in a given temple or in a given area, was usually placed, we see an image of the Iveron Icon. Moreover, the iconostasis was completed in 1913, that is, 16 years before the miraculous Iverskaya of Moscow chose this temple for her stay.

After praying in front of the icon, the mother found her son, who had disappeared several months ago: she left the temple and... saw him

The Iveron icon is placed in a rich robe and decorated with voluntary donations from people who received healing. And at the bottom of the icon in the “eye” there is a particle of the shroud from the Holy Sepulcher. Every week prayers and akathists for the miraculous icon are served in the church. And the Mother of God soon responds to the requests of those praying.

As the temple employees say, miracles happen here all the time. Many couples, including many celebrities, were able to give birth to a long-awaited child after ten years of marriage. After praying in front of the holy image, the mother found her son, who had disappeared several months ago: she left the temple and saw him in the crowd in front of the park. Although before that they searched with the police, and all to no avail. Quite a lot of healing occurs; according to the testimony of relatives and friends, even from a coma the Blessed Virgin brings us unharmed. He doesn’t refuse to do the little things either – for example, looking for a missing earring. And it appears to everyone in their own way.

The image in the golden robe has darkened with time, but believers see facial features, curls, and even the movement of clothing, as was the case with the cameraman of the film crew who came to shoot a film about the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God.

Church-Museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi

Church-Museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi

This temple was occupied by the services of the Tretyakov Gallery until the 1990s. Worship services resumed only in 1993. Now during liturgical hours the temple is open to all believers, and during other hours it functions as one of the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery dedicated to religious art. It was here that the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, which had been kept in storage for a long time, was transferred. After careful examination by gallery staff, it turned out that the painting corresponds to the second half of the 17th century. In addition, the icon was portable and revered. This is evidenced by the removal devices and the coins preserved below the runner. The icon was cleared, but left practically without restoration, so that people could see that it was an ancient prayer image.

Temple of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God on Vspolye

Temple of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God on Vspolye

In 1792, from the replacement list of the Iveron Chapel, another list was made for the newly rebuilt church in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God on Vspolye. For ten years this image remained in the chapel, and then was transferred to the temple, where it remained until its closure in 1929. Then, in order to save the miraculous image from destruction, the parish gave it for safekeeping to the Church of St. Nicholas in Kuznetsy. It remains there to this day, since the ancient icon requires special conditions of maintenance, and restoration in the Iversky Church has not yet been completed.

On the eve of the opening of the temple, the colors of the image again became light, and the frame became silver

Now there are three images of the Iveron Icon in the temple. The first one after the opening was brought by the rector, Archpriest Gregory Ivanusa. This was the image of the Goalkeeper, with which the old nun Taisiya blessed him in his youth and predicted that he would become the rector of the temple in honor of this icon. Until then, the ancient icon, darkened by time, was kept in the priest’s house, but on the eve of the opening of the temple, its colors became light again, and the frame became silver. And this is not the only miracle associated with the Iveron Icon.

According to Father Gregory, in the winter of the first year the heating was turned off in the church for non-payment: they did not keep track due to inexperience, and the debt amounted to 12.5 million rubles. It was difficult to serve, but along with trouble came help. The required amount was donated by a friend of the owner of a hunting store, who placed a “box” for donations to the church in honor of the Iveron Icon. There were also candles and notes with the name of the temple. A friend also started her own business, but it didn’t take off. Tired of the troubles, she came to ask her friend for help. And only in the store, when I saw the name of the temple on the notes, I remembered one event. A few months before, she dreamed of an unusually beautiful Woman in a blue robe, who told her to donate the necessary amount to the temple in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. “We are like the Apostle Thomas. Do you believe? I believe, but you have to put your fingers in.”

Now prayers and akathists are served at the icon. Decorations appeared in the frame behind the glass - evidence of the miraculous help of the Lady: someone received healing, someone received a long-awaited child.

In addition to this, there are two more Iveron icons in the temple: an ancient image, painted by an unknown monk in 1912, is in the altar, and a life-size one in the center of the temple - a gift from the publishing house. Perhaps, over time, the first list from the Church of St. Nicholas in Kuznetsy will return.

Novodevichy Convent

Novodevichy Convent

After the abolition of the Novodevichy Convent in 1922, the Goalkeeper, along with other relics and valuables of the monastery sacristy, was kept in the funds of a branch of the State Historical Museum organized within the walls of the monastery. In 2008–2010, the icon was transferred several times to the revived monastery for veneration, and in 2012 it was finally returned. The shrine was moved to the Assumption Cathedral, since the historical location of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, the Smolensk Cathedral, is open to visitors only in the summer.

Family club "Goalkeeper"

The Goalkeeper family club was organized at the Church of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Ochakovo-Matveevsky in 2015 with the goal of forming a community of children and parents interested in studying, preserving and transmitting the family traditions and values of the Russian Orthodox people. The target audience is parishioners of the Iversky Metochion Church, as well as all interested parties who consider themselves Orthodox Christians.

As part of the work of the family club, the following programs are implemented:

1) “Mom and Baby” for children from one to 2 years old, “Peas” for children from 2 to 3, 4 years old with their parents. The authors of the programs and presenters are speech therapists, speech pathologists with higher and special education, church parishioners. The objectives of the program are to help parents answer questions: what to play with a baby at one year old, does a child need to crawl after a year, why hum a song when a child washes his hands at three years old and why does a baby start rocking in a chair at the age of five?

Taking into account the age and interests of the children, each group is:

a) Independent work of children with developmental aids and materials on: the formation and development of speech, the development of gross and fine motor skills, knowledge of the surrounding world and the properties of objects, materials, the development of skills of independence, accuracy, self-control, and attentiveness.

b) Creative activities (musical and art) contribute to the enrichment of the aesthetic, sensory, sensory experience of children; development of a sense of beauty; development of the ability to observe, peer, listen to objects of nature and the surrounding world.

c) Group classes : role interaction and communication; development of emotions, verbal communication, mental and creative activity.

The programs are based on Russian folk tales, nursery rhymes, games, and introduction to musical folk instruments. Classes are conducted by speech therapists - defectologists according to their own programs, accompanied by a neuropsychologist.

2) A comprehensive program for children from 5 to 7 years old with parents “Origins” based on the materials of the author’s program by A.V. Kamkina. The program is supplemented by the following areas: musical culture (introduction to Russian folk instruments and chants), Russian folk dance, outdoor games and “Clay Fairy Tale”.

The leading programs are certified teachers with higher and special education.

Classes are held on Saturdays from 11.00 to 15.00

The events of the Goalkeeper family club are associated with the annual circle of Orthodox holidays and the traditions of the club itself:

— Patronal holidays, birthday days.

— Festivals of sacred music

— Historical and everyday themed balls

— Family holidays during the holidays

— Pilgrimage trips with the whole family and labor in monasteries

— Participation in reconstructions of historical events of 1812

— Conducting charity master classes at the Scientific and Practical Center for Child Psychoneurology.

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