Text of the prayer before the icon of the Mother of God Key of Understanding and how the image helps

Icon of the Mother of God “Key of Understanding”
Commemoration April 2 [1]

The history of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Key of Understanding” is closely connected with the history of a very similar image of “Adding the Mind,” which came to Rus' from the Catholic West in the 16th century. The prototype for its writing was the statue of the Virgin Mary from the Italian city of Loreto, about which there is a lot of evidence. Despite the semantic similarity, outwardly the icons “The Key of Understanding” and “Adding the Mind” are completely different: on the latter, the Mother of God is depicted in a dalmatic - a long sleeveless cloak (like the statue of the Virgin Mary from Loreto) and with the Baby Jesus in her arms, the key is on the composition there is no image.

However, there are several facts that indicate the common origins of these two icons. Today in Loreto, next to the famous statue, you can buy an icon of the Virgin Mary (outwardly corresponding to the image of “Addition of Mind”) with the following inscription: “Our Lady of Loreto. Russian icon of the 18th century. The Old Slavonic inscription reads: “Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Most Pure Virgin Mary, called the Key of Wisdom.”

. It is noteworthy that in the images with the name “Key of Understanding” an important part of the composition is the arch, under the arch of which the plot of the icon unfolds. The sanctuary of the statue of the Blessed Virgin of Loreto - the carved niche where the shrine is kept - also has the shape of an arch.

The history of the origin of the icon “Key of Understanding”

Some Orthodox Christians, who are poorly versed in iconography, confuse two different icons with each other - “The Key of Understanding” and “Adding the Mind,” suggesting that since they depict the Most Pure Virgin Mary, it means that they are one and the same image. However, there is a difference between these icons, and each is characterized by individual characteristics, although they also have common features. In order not to confuse them with each other and to know which way to pray in each specific case, it is worth studying their descriptions and individual characteristics.

There is a version among icon painters that to paint the image of the Mother of God “The Key of Understanding” the icon “Addition of Mind” was taken as a basis, and it appeared earlier. In turn, the image of the Virgin Mary “Addition of Mind” was painted under the influence of Catholic iconography. The prototype of the face of the Queen of Heaven was the Loreto statue of the Virgin Mary with the Child in her arms.

This sculpture is considered a shrine in Catholicism and is revered by all believers belonging to this denomination. The figurine of the Virgin Mary is carved from wood, its production is attributed to the author, who was considered an adherent of Umbro-Marchegian art. The cedar wood figurine of the Virgin Mary was created between the 13th and 14th centuries. The Virgin Mary holds her Divine Son in her arms, the Child holds an orb in her left hand, and her right hand is raised in a blessing gesture. On the heads of the Virgin Mary and little Jesus are golden crowns decorated with small pearls. The figurine is covered with paint and decorated with precious stones.

The history of the making of Our Lady of Loreto is connected with the house of the Virgin Mary, in which she lived while in Nazareth. In the 13th century, the Saracens attacked the land of Israel and transported the house to what is now Croatia. At the direction of representatives of the imperial family, it was dismantled and moved to the Italian city of Loreto, where it was completely restored to the form in which it was in Palestine.

After 2 centuries, a special basilica was installed to protect the structure from destruction. Behind the altar they installed a statue of Our Lady of Loreto, which is considered the prototype of all the icons that in Rus' began to be called “Adding the Mind.”

According to church traditions, the first icon of the Mother of God was painted in the 18th century by an icon painter who studied the church books of Joseph’s time and those corrected by Nikon. He became so immersed in analysis and trying to figure out who was really right that he lost his mind. When rare moments of enlightenment came, he began to pray to the Queen of Heaven, begging her to return his mind.

One day, an icon painter had a vision in which the Virgin Mary appeared to him and told him to pray persistently and paint her image the way he saw it. On the days when his mind was not clouded, he took brushes and painted an icon, which he later called “The Addition of the Mind of the Most Holy Theotokos.”

The main difference between this image of the Virgin Mary and the “Key of Understanding” icon is that there is no key on it. And on the image “The Key of Understanding” there is no dalmatic.

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The Icon of the Mother of God “Addition of Mind”, otherwise it is also called “Giver of Mind”, is one of the rarest in iconography, quite late, but the most beloved images, before which they pray for the protection of children, since study, the spiritual and practical knowledge they acquire - the guarantee of their prosperous future in all respects. Prayer in front of this icon will protect your children if they are not doing well in their studies, with their literacy skills, or from problems associated with learning, especially in the case of developmental delays compared to their peers due to congenital or acquired diseases. Prayer to the Most Pure Mother of God, in the House in which the Wisdom of God created for Himself, the Giver of spiritual gifts, raising our minds from the world to the worldly and leading everyone to the knowledge of reason! Receive prayerful singing from us, Thy unworthy servants, who bow with faith and tenderness before Thy most pure image. Pray to Thy Son and our God to grant to our rulers wisdom and strength, to judges truth and impartiality, to shepherds spiritual wisdom, zeal and vigilance for our souls, to mentors humility, to children obedience, to all of us the spirit of reason and piety, the spirit of humility and meekness, spirit of purity and truth. And now, our All-Singing Mother, give us an increase in intelligence, pacify, unite those who exist in enmity and division and establish an indestructible union of love for them, convert all those who have gone astray from foolishness to the light of the truth of Christ, instruct the fear of God, abstinence and hard work, the word of wisdom and soul-helping knowledge Grant to those who ask, overshadow us with eternal joy, the most honorable of the Cherubim and the most glorious of the Seraphim. We, seeing the wondrous deeds and manifold Wisdom of God in the world and our life, will remove ourselves from earthly vanity and unnecessary worldly cares, and raise our mind and heart to heaven, as if through Your intercession and help glory, praise, thanksgiving for everything in the Trinity to the glorified God and we send all to the Creator, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Troparion, tone 3 By the will of the Heavenly Father, you conceived the Son of God, without the seed of an earthly father, before the creation of the world, from the Father without a mother, you gave birth to the flesh, and pray to Him for the granting of mind to us for the salvation of our souls. Kontakion, tone 6 Born by the Spirit from the Heavenly Father, before the creation of the star, Born by you in the flesh without a father, without breaking virginity, begged him to help us defeat the envy of the fallen star. May we achieve complete victory over the devil, the world and the flesh, through Your prayers, O Bride of God. Greatness We magnify You, Most Holy Virgin, God-chosen Youth, and honor Your holy image, through which you bring healing to all who come with faith. The image of the Mother of God “Key of Understanding” is quite rare; it can rarely be found in Orthodox homes and churches. The Most Holy Mother of God is depicted in this icon in full height; A key is drawn at the bottom of the icon. Prayers are performed in front of her before the youths begin their studies, and they also pray in cases where children notice poor development of mental abilities necessary for mastering the sciences taught to them. That is why it is called the “Key of Understanding.” Typically, icons of this type (as well as their similar meaning, “Adding the Mind”) are votive - that is, painted in honor of the miraculous help of Orthodox saints. The most ancient similar image was in the cemetery church of the city of Balakhna, which is located in the Nizhny Novgorod region. This image is revered locally and is now located there, in the cemetery church of the city of Balakhna, Nizhny Novgorod province. The history of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Key of Understanding” is closely connected with the history of a very similar image of “Adding the Mind,” which came to Rus' from the Catholic West in the 16th century. The prototype for its writing was the statue of the Virgin Mary from the Italian city of Loreto, about which there is a lot of evidence. Despite the semantic similarity, outwardly the icons “The Key of Understanding” and “Adding the Mind” are completely different: on the latter, the Mother of God is depicted in a dalmatic - a long sleeveless cloak (like the statue of the Virgin Mary from Loreto) and with the Baby Jesus in her arms, the key is on the composition there is no image. However, there are several facts that indicate the common origins of these two icons. Today in Loreto, next to the famous statue, you can buy an icon of the Virgin Mary (outwardly corresponding to the image of “Addition of Mind”) with the following inscription: “Our Lady of Loreto. Russian icon of the 18th century. The Old Slavonic inscription reads: “Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Most Pure Virgin Mary, called the Key of Wisdom.” It is noteworthy that in the images with the name “Key of Understanding” an important part of the composition is the arch, under the arch of which the plot of the icon unfolds. The sanctuary of the statue of the Blessed Virgin of Loreto - the carved niche where the shrine is kept - also has a forum arch. Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos “Addition of Mind” Memorial Day - August 28. The miraculous image of the Mother of God “Addition of the mind” in Alekseevsky Address: 129366, Prospekt Mira, 130 (old address: Tserkovnaya Gorka St., 26a). Telephone

The history of this icon is complex and amazing. According to legend, it was written in the difficult 17th century for the Russian Orthodox Church by an icon painter who, during the schism, could not understand for himself the meaning of Nikon’s reform and determine which liturgical books were true - old or new. He suffered for so long in this choice that he was afraid of losing his mind and began to fervently pray to the Most Holy Theotokos for admonition. Whether in a dream or in a waking vision, he received an answer to his prayer - a promise to heal him if he vowed to paint an icon of the Queen of Heaven in the image in which She would appear to him. The icon painter fulfilled his vow and depicted what he saw in the iconographic type of image “Adding the Mind.” Another version of this legend says that the icon was painted by a mentally ill person: one day in a vision he saw the image of the Queen of Heaven, which he had never seen anywhere before, and decided to depict it in reality, although he had never written or drawn anything before. When he finished his work, he prayed to the new image for healing - and he recovered. Since then, the icon began to be called “Addition of Mind.” But everything worked out even more miraculously. They say that its prototype was the Loretan (or Loretz) statue of the Mother of God, carved from cedar, according to legend, also by the Apostle Luke, and kept in a small house in the Italian city of Loreto. This holy house used to stand in Nazareth and was associated with the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos: she was born in it and lived in her youth. And when in the 13th century the Turks began to seize the eastern lands, Christians took the shrine to Europe, and the Bishop of Loreto had a vision of the Queen of Heaven, who said to him: “My son, My humble home in Nazareth, where I was born and spent my youth, is coming to your shores.” " And then both the holy house and the cedar statue were brought to Loreto: miraculously, it became the iconographic prototype of the Orthodox icon “Addition of Mind.” It is sometimes believed that Russian ambassadors of Grand Duke Vasily III saw her in Italy in 1528, and a Russian icon was painted in this image. They pray to her for children, and for students, and for the sick, and for the gift of understanding.

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How does the holy image help?

Despite the fact that the image of the Most Holy Theotokos “Key of Understanding” is less known than other Virgin Marys, it is recommended that families with children grow up purchase it. They turn to the Heavenly Queen in the following cases:

• before the start of the school year, so that the Mother of God would bless with intelligence and understanding of science, as well as diligence in studying new subjects;
• if a child with impaired mental development is growing up in a family, in this case it is worth praying in front of the icon not only to the child’s parents, but also to all relatives who profess the Orthodox religion;
• turn to the Queen of Heaven before important exams and tests, for successful completion.

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How to pray correctly

You can pray in front of the “Key of Understanding” icon both in an Orthodox church and at home. The words of the text are spoken out loud or silently, it doesn’t really matter. The main thing is that the heart of the person praying is pure, and he does not plan evil deeds.

It is best to place the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the child’s room, but away from the head of the bed and shelves with toys. You can decorate the icon of the Most Holy Mary with embroidered towels, which you can buy in a church shop or embroider yourself. If the Mother of God answered the request, you should not forget to thank her for the blessing.

The prayer to this image is amazing: brief, clear and touching:

Wisdom, the Teacher and Giver of meaning, the unwise, the Instructor and the Intercessor of the poor, Mother of Christ our God, strengthen, enlighten my heart, Lady, and add reason to Christ with earnest prayer. Give me the word, having given birth to the Father's Word, so that I may boldly ask Your Son for us. Amen.

Author:

Tatiana
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