The Mother of God is perhaps the most revered image in Orthodox Christianity (after the Savior himself, of course). Each church must have several icons of the Mother of God of various types.
The “Unexpected Joy” icon is one of the most popular. She has been revered for only a couple of centuries, which, compared to other images of the Queen of Heaven, which have been worshiped for more than a thousand years, is not much. However, this image is the quintessence of Christian morality and a moral textbook, which is why many worshipers turn to “Unexpected Joy” in the hope of a miracle.
The story of the acquisition of the icon “Unexpected Joy”
The icon “Unexpected Joy” (“God’s Joy”, “Unexpected Joy”, “Unexpected Joy”, “Accidental Joy” - it is called differently among the people) is a visual reflection of the story of Metropolitan Demetrius of Rostov, who was later canonized.
Dmitry Rostovsky is not only a prominent religious figure, but also the author of numerous sermons and spiritual books. In one of them, “Irrigated Fleece” (published in 1863), Dmitry described the story that formed the basis of the plot of the “Unexpected Joy” icon.
... One sinner was very pious - a strange combination, but one that often occurs in our lives, right? Before every bad act, he fervently prayed and asked for blessings in front of the icon of the Mother of God.
This went on for quite a long time until the sinner received a miraculous vision. He dreamed of a living Mother of God with a divine offspring. On the limbs of Jesus there were gaping wounds (as after crucifixion), from which blood oozed.
The sinner asked the Mother of God in horror: what happened to Jesus? And the Ever-Virgin told him that people crucify Christ again and again, multiplying his torment with every sinful act.
The man felt repentance, burst into tears and asked the Mother of God to beg the Savior to forgive his sins. The Virgin Mary turned to Jesus twice, but he refused. And only the third time did he agree to have mercy on the sinner out of respect for the immaculate parent who wanted to fall at his feet.
The sinner kissed the wounds of Christ, woke up and felt an unprecedented surge of joy, as he realized that he was saved. Since then, the man led a pious life, prayed sincerely and did not sin.
The story of a sinner who received salvation after kissing Christ’s wounds is often reflected directly on the icon. An excerpt from it is placed directly under the image of the Virgin Mary holding Christ on her knees. Sometimes it is replaced by the text of a prayer.
The first image, “Unexpected Joy,” was created by an anonymous icon painter approximately in the 18th century. Many copies were made from it, some of which became miraculous.
Narration of the miracle as presented by Dmitry, Metropolitan of Rostov
The saint describes it this way. One person had the habit of praying every day before the image of the Mother of God with the words of the gospel of the Archangel Gabriel: “Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” After such a pious exercise, he went to do some nasty deed. One day, while praying, he saw blood flowing from the wounds on the Baby’s body. The vision plunged the unfortunate man into horror. In a frenzy, he turned to the Mother of God with the question: “Who committed this crime?”
The Mother of God replied that sinning people are like the ancient Jews who sentenced Christ to a painful death: “You and sinners like you crucify My Son.” The man began to beg for mercy and forgiveness, to which he was given the answer: “You call Me the Mother of Mercy, and at the same time you bring Me sorrow with your deeds.” The epiphany came to man that sinful actions have truly universal consequences. He began to beg the Mother of God for intercession before the Savior.
Only after the third petition did the Infant Christ agree to accept the petition of the Mother of God. Divine institution commands that the Son honor the Mother. And the One who established the Law must Himself fulfill it. For the sake of the prayer of the Mother of God, this man was absolved of his sins. The vision disappeared. The blood-splattered icon was also cleansed. The unexpected joy of forgiveness of sins transformed the inner world of man. Inspired by supernatural intervention and intercession, the sinner began a new life from that moment on.
Meaning of the image
The meaning of the “Unexpected Joy” icon is clear to any person who is at least somewhat knowledgeable in Christian morality. The image recalls the great feat of the Savior, who atoned for all human sins with his suffering. We pray often, but we continue to commit unseemly acts, mistakenly believing that prayer replaces a righteous life.
The icon means that the Lord expects from us not only prayers, but also plausible actions. Anger, drunkenness, theft, greed, adultery, and so on - all these are sins that multiply the suffering of Christ. We, the ungrateful, sin – the Savior accepts an additional bit of torment.
Nevertheless, there is an Intercessor in heaven who begs the Lord to spare sinners. And no matter what we do, we should ask her for protection. She will beg the Divine Son for forgiveness and salvation, but we must also try in the future not to make a sad contribution to the suffering of the Redeemer.
Our Lady hears all our prayers. Absolutely everyone can receive forgiveness. The main thing is sincere repentance and the desire for a righteous life.
Iconography
The image of the “Unexpected Joy” icon resembles an artistic canvas with a dynamic plot. In addition to the Virgin Mary and her son, it depicts that same sinful man who experienced unexpected joy. The entourage is God's temple visible in the background. The iconographic type is Hodegetria, that is, “Guide” or “Showing the way.”
A kneeling man looks at the Virgin Mary holding her divine son in her arms. He is confused and amazed by the wonderful vision. The Ever-Virgin and the Savior also look at the pilgrim. Their views are reproachful, but kind: this is how loving parents look at their children who have caused trouble.
The hand of the Mother of God points to Christ, as if pointing the way to salvation. Wounds and ulcers are visible on the body of Christ, testifying to his suffering; his clothes are torn. Under the image of the Savior and his Most Pure Mother there is a text (either an excerpt from the book “The Irrigated Fleece” or a prayer).
“Unexpected Joy” is the most dynamic and poignant image of all existing icons of the Virgin Mary. The person praying identifies himself with the repentant pilgrim, imbued with his feelings: first with fear, then with repentance, and in the end with unearthly joy from the forgiveness received.
The icon looks quite modern: we remember that it was created relatively recently. What is a couple of centuries compared to the history of Christianity that is two millennia long?
"Irrigated fleece"
Among the numerous literary heritage of Metropolitan Dmitry of Rostov, according to Academician D. S. Likhachev, the last significant writer of Orthodox Eastern and Southern Europe, there is a description of the miracles that occurred from the icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The book is called “Irrigated Fleece” and tells about the extraordinary events that took place in the Elias Monastery in the city of Chernigov. Saint Dmitry talks about numerous miraculous healings that occurred while reading prayers before the icon of the Mother of God, which he himself witnessed.
Consistently describing 24 miracles, the author attaches to each of them two soul-helping words with instructive examples from the lives of saints. In the last chapter he describes an incident that happened to one sinner. The source of this information, the location of the events and the name of the person are unknown. The book was published in 1683 and is dedicated to the glorification of the locally revered icon of the Mother of God (though information about which one has also not been preserved).
How does the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Unexpected Joy” help?
The “Unexpected Joy” icon is a truly universal divine answer to those praying. She is asked for almost everything, and she helps even inveterate sinners and yesterday's atheists.
Most often, a wonderful image is asked for:
- healing from mental and physical illnesses;
- the sending of healthy children and easy childbirth;
- health and admonition of children;
- returning the lost to the true path;
- reconciliation with relatives and friends;
- consolation in sorrows and sorrows;
- looking for a way out of a difficult life situation;
- getting rid of sinful thoughts and so on.
The Heavenly Intercessor intercedes with the Savior for each of us. And he, out of respect for his mother and love for the human race, atones for our sins and saves our souls.
Temple in Maryina Roshcha
To the north of the Garden Ring, on Sheremetyevskaya Street, there is a temple of the “Unexpected Joy” icon built in the first decade of the last century. The magnificent church was erected with donations from parishioners of the Maryina Roshcha settlement. A plot of land for such a charitable cause was provided by Count A.D. Sheremetyev himself. The miraculous image “Unexpected Joy,” painted in the mid-19th century, was transported to the new church. The icon, which also contains a particle of the relics of the martyr Tryphon, is highly revered among Moscow believers and pilgrims. Parishioners record miracles occurring in the church from this icon. One of the most striking happened in 2003, when an elderly Jew wanted to be baptized.
Lists of the icon “Unexpected joy”
The miraculous icon really helps those who suffer, regardless of the severity of their sins. A list from it is available in almost every Orthodox church. And in many Russian cities there are churches, chapels and monasteries named after “Unexpected Joy”.
In Moscow alone there are at least three miraculous copies of icons. They are located in the churches of Elijah the Prophet in Obydensky Lane, the icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy” in Maryina Roshcha, and the Transfiguration of the Savior on Peski.
The miraculous “Unexpected Joy,” whose divine properties were documented, also resided in the temple of the “Burning Bush” in Khamovniki. Thanks to her, parishioner Agafya Stepanova was healed of deafness. However, under Soviet rule, the miraculous image was lost.
Temple of Elijah the Prophet in Obydensky Lane
Miracles associated with the icon
Unfortunately, there are few documented miracles associated with the “Unexpected Joy” icon. However, many parishioners not only describe the miracles performed by this image, but also sincerely thank him with rich gifts.
In his memoirs, Elder Nikon describes the path to monasticism. He and his brother repeatedly visited Optina Pustyn to take monastic vows. However, the old-timers of the monastery looked closely at the young men for a long time and tested their intentions for strength. The desires of the young men came true precisely on the day of honoring the icon described - probably because their grandfather once did a lot for the temple of “Unexpected Joy”.
Another recorded miracle dates back to 1994. One of the nuns saw a procession of the Cross in a dream: the procession was moving from the Kremlin to the Ilyinsky Church, and those around them joyfully shouted that the Queen was coming. The next day, the icon was transferred to the corresponding temple in reality, becoming its main spiritual property.
Here is a miracle that happened just a few years ago. A new temple of “Unexpected Joy” was built and consecrated in Saratov. The wife of the rector of the temple, soon after her husband assumed his new position, became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby. But the couple’s marriage was fruitless for many years - the couple had already come to terms with this and took in an adopted daughter, and then their own blood appeared!
The miraculous icon “Unexpected Joy” in the Church of the Prophet Elijah
On the outskirts of the capital in Ostrozhye, more than three hundred years ago, on the site of a dilapidated wooden temple in honor of the goodness of Elijah, a new stone one was erected. Today this parish church is known as the Church of Elijah the Ordinary. Many pilgrims flock here because perhaps the most revered icon in Russia, “Unexpected Joy,” is located here. History has not preserved information about who and when the miraculous image was painted.
Initially, the icon was kept in the church of St. Tsars Constantine and Helena, near the southern wall of the Kremlin in the lower garden. At the end of the 19th century, the famous Moscow preacher and spiritual writer Archpriest Valentin Amfitheatrov served here. Father Valentin regularly read akathists in front of the icon. Prayer services attracted a large number of believing townspeople. After the destruction of the Church of Constantine and Helena in 1928, the image was transported to Sokolniki to the Church of the Resurrection, which had a chapel “Unexpected Joy”. Only at the end of the war did the icon take its current place of honor in the St. Elias Church.
The holy image is decorated with a silver frame and many lamps. The decorations left by grateful believers testify to the numerous miracles performed by the “Unexpected Joy” icon. The significance of this shrine is truly all-Russian. There is an inscription on the frame stating that in 1959, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I, a chasuble was installed on the icon. Patriarch Pimen, who humbly considered himself a parishioner of this temple, loved to pray in front of this image. The church itself was never closed during Soviet times, and services in it did not stop. Many shrines from destroyed and closed churches and monasteries in Moscow were preserved here.
One of the treasures of the great spiritual heritage of our pious ancestors is the “Unexpected Joy” icon. A photo of this miraculous image, reverently revered by many Orthodox believers, is presented below.
Days of celebration
The day of veneration of the “Unexpected Joy” icon is a major church holiday. More precisely, three: the wonderful image has two days of memory (May 14 and December 22). There is another summer moving holiday, celebrated in June.
The Ever-Virgin is highly revered in Russia and in all states where many Orthodox Christians live. In addition to the many feasts of the Mother of God, each famous icon of the Mother of God has 2-3 personal days of veneration. And “Unexpected Joy” is no exception!
Celebration of the Day of the Icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy”
The meaning of the image of the icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected joy”
The meaning of the “Unexpected Joy” icon is clear to any person who is at least somewhat knowledgeable in Christian morality. The image recalls the great feat of the Savior, who atoned for all human sins with his suffering.
We pray often, but we continue to commit unseemly acts, mistakenly believing that prayer replaces a righteous life. The icon means that the Lord expects from us not only prayers, but also plausible actions.
Anger, drunkenness, theft, greed, adultery, and so on - all these are sins that multiply the suffering of Christ. We, the ungrateful, sin – the Savior accepts an additional bit of torment.
Nevertheless, there is an Intercessor in heaven who begs the Lord to spare sinners. And no matter what we do, we should ask her for protection. She will beg the Divine Son for forgiveness and salvation, but we must also try in the future not to make a sad contribution to the suffering of the Redeemer.
Our Lady hears all our prayers. Absolutely everyone can receive forgiveness. The main thing is sincere repentance and the desire for a righteous life.
What and how to pray to the icon
The Mother of God hears all our prayers and intercedes for us before God. They pray to the “Unexpected Joy” icon for the birth of children, their health and well-being, healing from illnesses and addictions, peace with loved ones and mental balance, protection from enemies and other misfortunes.
Texts of prayers
You can pray both in church and at home, in front of a family altar or a pocket icon. It is advisable to light a church candle or lamp and first read the “Our Father”.
Prayer to the Intercessor
O Most Holy Virgin, All-Good Mother of the All-Good Son, Patroness of this city and holy temple, faithful Representative and Intercessor of all who are in sins, sorrows, troubles and illnesses! Accept this prayer song from us, Your unworthy servants, offered to You, and like an ancient sinner, who prayed many times before Your honest icon every day, did not despise him, but gave him the unexpected joy of repentance and bowed down Your Son with many and zealous petitions to Him for forgiveness this sinner and lost one, so now do not despise the prayers of ours, Thy unworthy servants, and beg Thy Son and our God, and grant to all of us, who with faith and tenderness worship before Thy image, an unexpected joy for someone; a sinner mired in the depths of evil and passions - effective admonition, repentance and salvation; to those in sorrow and sorrow - consolation; for those who find themselves in troubles and embitterment - a complete abundance of these; for the faint-hearted and unreliable - hope and patience; for those who live in joy and abundance - unceasing thanksgiving to God the Benefactor; to those in need - mercy; those who are in illness and long illness and abandoned by doctors - unexpected healing and strengthening; for those who have recovered from illness of the mind - return and renewal of the mind; those departing into eternal and endless life - memory of death, tenderness and contrition for sins, a cheerful spirit and firm hope in the mercy of the Judge. O Most Holy Lady! Have mercy on all who honor Your all-honorable Name and show everyone Your all-powerful protection and intercession: in piety, purity and honest living, keep them in goodness until the end; Do good to the evil; Guide those who are lost on the right path; Make progress in every good work that is pleasing to Your Son; Destroy every evil and ungodly deed; in bewilderment and difficult and dangerous circumstances, those who find invisible help and admonition were sent down from Heaven, save and save from temptations, seductions and destruction, protect and preserve from all evil people and from enemies visible and invisible; to float, to accompany those traveling; Be the Nourisher to those in need and famine; for those who do not have shelter and shelter, be a cover and refuge; Give the naked a robe; for those offended and unjustly persecuted - intercession; invisibly justify slander, slander and blasphemy to those who suffer; Convict slanderers and slanderers before everyone; To those who are bitterly at odds, give the unforeseen reconciliation and to all of us - love, peace, and piety, and health with long life for each other; preserve the marriage in love and like-mindedness; spouses in enmity and division, reconcile, unite to each other; Give permission to those who bear children quickly; raise babies; Teach young people chastity, open their minds to the perception of all useful teachings, instruct the fear of God, abstinence and hard work; Protect your brothers and sisters from domestic strife and enmity with peace and love; Be the Mother of motherless orphans, turn them away from all vice and filth and teach everything good and pleasing to God; those who have been seduced by sin and fallen into uncleanness, take away the filth of sin and bring them out of the abyss of destruction; be the Comforter and Helper of widows; be a support for old age; Deliver us all from sudden death without repentance and grant us all the Christian death of our lives, a painless, shameless, peaceful and kind answer at the Last Judgment of Christ; For those who have ceased in faith and repentance from this life, create a life with the Angels and all the saints; those who died a sudden death, mercifully pray to Your Son and for all those who have died who have no relatives, begging for the repose of Your Son, Be yourself a constant and warm Prayer Book and Intercessor. May everyone in Heaven and on earth know You as the firm and unashamed Representative of the Christian race and glorify You and Your Son, with His Originless Father and His Consubstantial Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Troparion, tone 4 (translation into modern Russian)
Today, believers, we spiritually triumph, glorifying the zealous Protectress of the Christian race and resorting to Her most pure image, we cry out thus: O Most Merciful Lady Theotokos, give us unexpected joy, burdened with sins and many sorrows, and deliver us from all evil, praying to Thy Son, Christ Our God for the salvation of our souls.
Why do Christians pray to different icons?
The Christian faith testifies that the Most Holy Theotokos is the greatest Saint. Prayers for the people of the Most Pure Virgin, or rather, intercessions for them before God, are the most effective. Believers, in their appeals to the Mother of God, ask Her not only to help or hear, but also to save. But only Christ God can save. There is no contradiction or distortion of dogma in this. When Christians call on the Mother of God to save, they believe in Her extraordinary spiritual power.
In this regard, icons become especially important for prayer practice. Icon, translated from Greek, means an image, not the very essence of an object, but its appearance. By paying honor to them, believers thereby express prayerful reverence for the person whose face is present on the shrine.
Each icon of the Mother of God is associated with one or more supernatural events. Believers in the life stories of saints and the Mother of God find examples of miraculous deliverance from disasters, illnesses, and resolution of problems. Church prayers and images only help to correctly formulate and express your spiritual needs. Likewise, the prayer to the “Unexpected Joy” icon has its own characteristics. But we'll talk about this a little lower.
An icon is a kind of window into another dimension. Holy images can be compared to a spiritual crutch for fragile and wavering souls. This support helps to detach from everyday fuss and create a prayerful mood.
