- How did the relic of the Virgin Mary appear?
- Interpretation of the image “Impenetrable door”
- How does an icon help?
- Veneration of the shrine of the Mother of God
- Icon “Impenetrable Door” - where to hang the image?
- Prayer to the “Impenetrable Door” icon
The Mother of God has always been called the intercessor of humanity. It heals, cleanses the soul, protects from sin and despair. And Her images serve as a visible reminder of the mercy and power of the Virgin Mary. And our article will tell you about a unique shrine that has long protected Christians from sorrows and threats! Here you will find the history of the work, its features and symbolism, and also find out where to buy an amber icon.
Why is the icon of the Mother of God called “The Impenetrable Door”
The “Impenetrable Door” icon is an image of the Most Holy Theotokos, not as widely known and widespread as the “Kazan”, “Vladimir”, “Protection” icons. But at the same time, the icon conveys a significant message to believers. The Mother of God personifies the Door to the Kingdom of Heaven. Only believers who sincerely repent of their sins and actions will be able to pass through this Door to the salvation of the soul. For hardened sinners this wonderful Gate is closed.
Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary “Impenetrable Door”
How to place it in the house
You can pray to the most holy image in a church, nunnery or at home. True, not every temple has an image of the Immaculate Virgin against the background of the Holy Gates. You can purchase the image in the church shop. There is a special text of the prayer, which it is advisable to memorize and recite in front of the icon.
At home, it is advisable to hang the holy image above the front door. After all, according to Christian beliefs, the “Impenetrable Door” will block people with evil thoughts from entering the house. This image will also save your home from robbers and robbers. In the house where the “Impenetrable Door” hangs, peace and tranquility will always reign. The most holy image will protect household members from all filth and quarrels and help maintain marital fidelity. The shrine will protect the soul from sin and save children from evil people.
True, the miraculous power is not in the icon itself, but in the holy faith in the Lord and the Immaculate Virgin, to whom God’s grace extends. You need to pray to the Mother of God with all your soul, sincerely repenting of your sins. The Immaculate Virgin will hear everyone. God's grace will come to a person only if he lives according to the laws of God, does not deviate from the faith and does not harm his neighbor.
Believers do not always receive what they ask for. The Almighty knows best what to give a person, what is good for his soul, and what will only harm him. Any will of God must be accepted with humility and thank the Lord for everything that happens in life. You cannot turn away from the Almighty even at the most difficult moment. The Lord gives tests that a person needs to pass, only in this case can he hope for the mercy of God and, perhaps, go to heaven.
The “Impenetrable Door” icon can be hung on the wall or placed on a shelf near books of religious content. You cannot place the image on a TV or microwave. You need to place a lamp or candle in front of the icon. The candle must be lit during prayer. Before praying, you need to cross yourself twice and bow at the waist to the Immaculate Virgin. Then read the text of the prayer. After praying, you need to cross yourself again and put out the candle.
History of writing the icon
In the central part of the “Impenetrable Door” icon, the Mother of God is depicted with her hands outstretched in prayer. There are believers on both sides of Her. They are united by a single prayer to the Intercessor and Intercessor - the Most Holy Theotokos.
The icon appeared around the beginning of the 17th century. At this time, Rus' was going through the difficult times of the Time of Troubles, when the future fate of the state was in question. A terrible famine prompted the people to rebel and overthrow the royal Godunov dynasty. This was the impetus for the emergence of impostors - False Dmitry I, later False Dmitry II. The Polish king joined the struggle for power. He sought to subjugate the Russian state and impose Catholicism on the Russians. Crime and impunity for evil committed grew.
It was during this time period that the help of God and the Mother of God was needed more than ever. In monasteries and churches, believers fervently prayed before the icon of the Mother of God. They hoped that the “Impenetrable Door” would become an insurmountable barrier for robbers, criminals and rebels. And the Mother of God really came to the rescue, which is why the icon began to be called miraculous.
Thus, the people's militia, which decided to liberate Moscow from the Poles, considered the Mother of God to be their spiritual Leader. On the eve of the storming of the Kremlin, a three-day fast and intense prayer in front of the image of the Virgin Mary were announced in the ranks of the Russian militia. The militia of Minin and Pozharsky stormed Kitai-Gorod and liberated the Kremlin two days later.
Veneration of the shrine of the Mother of God
The memory of the icon is celebrated twice a year - on January 8 (on the celebration of the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos) and on Saturday of the 5th week of Easter Lent. On these days, the relics are decorated, candles are lit in front of them and prayers are offered in honor of the shrine.
However, when calling on a shrine, you must understand that it is only a conductor of your aspirations. By bowing before the image, you open your soul to the Creator and the Mother of God, and only they have the power to help a person with his problems. Therefore, every prayer should begin with gratitude to the Heavenly Queen.
Icon “Impenetrable Door” - a variant of the Oranta icon painting type
The icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Impenetrable Door” belongs to the Oranta iconographic type (that is, “Praying”). The Virgin Mary is depicted with her arms raised and outstretched to the sky. This gesture traditionally means an intercessory prayer addressed to God. In Byzantium and Rus', the Infant Christ in a round medallion was usually depicted on the chest of the Mother of God. Circle matters:
– Divine sign as a symbol of the revelation of the coming of the Savior into the world;
– Divine energy emanating into the world or “Light has come into the world” (John 3: 19);
– The Mother of God releases the Infant God into the world for the salvation of humanity.
The Mother of God in the “Impenetrable Door” icon is depicted in full height. All details of the icon are deeply symbolic and non-random. The silhouette of the Mother of God resembles in its outline a lamp - a seven-branched candlestick, located in the altar part of an Orthodox church. And the sacrificial cup in which the priest takes the Holy Gifts from the altar - the Blood and Body of Christ.
Where is the best place to buy an icon?
Today the icon is sold both in regular stores, church shops and jewelry stores, and in online stores.
The abbots of churches and monasteries advise purchasing this icon directly from the church shop, since it will be consecrated and can be immediately hung in the house.
When purchasing in other places, priests recommend consecrating icons. Sanctification is necessary. Otherwise, the icon will not have miraculous powers.
The importance of prayers to the Virgin Mary
There is not a single person who, after death, is able to be as close to God as the Mother of God. She gave birth to the Savior of the entire human race - Jesus Christ. It is as the Mother of God that we turn, asking Her for intercession and intercession before God. Believers pray to the Mother of God as their spiritual Mother. A strict Father can refuse his guilty child. But the Mother’s loving heart cannot resist sincere requests.
“A long time ago, one beauty once asked me: “Why is the Mother of God honored so highly, not only above all holy people, but even Angels and Archangels?” I answered: “Because neither the Angels and Archangels, nor the Cherubim, nor the Seraphim had such a close and significant participation in the arrangement of our salvation as She did.” The dispensation of our salvation is called the incarnate Dispensation. It was necessary for the Son of God and God to take human nature into His person, and without this our salvation could not have been achieved...
This nature was taken from the Ever-Virgin through the influx of the Holy Spirit and the overshadowing of the power of the Most High. Angels and Archangels serve during the incarnation externally, without entering into the essence of the work of incarnation: whereas the Mother of God enters into its very essence. For this reason, the niche of all creatures is honored... By virtue of this essential participation and incarnation, Her intercession for us is stronger than all” (St. Theophan the Recluse).
The Holy Fathers treated the Mother of God with the deepest respect and love. Countless miracles occurred through prayers before the icons of the Mother of God. All this convinces us even more of the need to pray to the Most Pure Virgin.
Meaning and how the icon helps
The meaning of the icon is that the Mother of God acts as an intermediary and the so-called door to heaven. To enter heaven, a person must become a believer and prove the right to stay there. through righteous living. At the same time, the blessed one asks her son for forgiveness for all people.
She acts as the Ever-Virgin Mary, who retained the purity of her body and soul even after the birth of a savior . This is her feat.
The icon glorifies the birth of God, the earthly feat of Jesus, the incarnation of God, the joy and sorrow of the Messiah, and the anticipation of the Last Judgment. Therefore, its meaning is for every Christian to pray to the icon, be firm in the faith, try to be like the Virgin Mary and sincerely hope for forgiveness and salvation of the soul.
How does an icon help? It helps believers protect their home, strengthen their faith, and protect their home from the influence of enemies, disasters and other troubles.
She is also able to help the Orthodox:
- overcome grief, stress and accumulated negativity in the heart;
- protect your home and everyone living in it from misfortune, evil, and disease;
- maintain harmony and mutual understanding in the family, protect it from hatred, envy, anger and quarrels;
- overcome the need for food, improved housing conditions and money;
- get rid of damage, the evil eye and other manifestations of black magic;
- ward off the misfortune sent by envious people and spiteful critics;
- overcome fear by strengthening a person in faith;
- overcome misunderstanding in the family, aggression and heartache for loved ones.
The icon also helps spouses restore relationships, girls help protect their body and soul from evil, and men find decent work that will save their family from want.
Icon “Impenetrable Door” - prayers
Theotokos, tone 2:
Impenetrable gate, secretly sealed, Blessed Virgin Mary, accept our prayers and bring them to Your Son and God, may You save our souls.
Theotokos dogmatist, tone 5:
In the Black Sea, the image of the Unclothed Bride was sometimes painted: there is Moses, the divider of water, and here is Gabriel, the minister of miracles. Then the depth of the procession is waterless Israel; Now the Virgin has given birth to Christ without seed. The sea, after the passage of Israel, remained impassable; Immaculate after the birth of Emmanuel, she remains incorruptible. He who was before him appeared as a Man, O God, have mercy on us.
Theotokos of dismissal, tone 5:
Rejoice, impenetrable door of the Lord; Rejoice, wall and cover of those who flow to You; Rejoice, unstormed haven and Unartificed One, who gave birth to the flesh of Thy Creator and God, praying not to become impoverished for those who sing and bow to Thy Nativity.
Prayer
O Queen of Heaven! Who will count the great multitude of Your miracles, who will count the cries of prayerful petitions, streams of touched tears, grateful sighs shed before Your icon. For all of it is covered in the sorrow of the people, the tears of the oppressed and the joyful praise of the consoled. The people who suffered the Hagaryan yoke fell to her, crying out to Moscow in times of troubles, calling out Kursk to the enemy invasion. The whole region cried out during the days of deadly illnesses and troubles, and you turned all sorrow into joy. In the same way, bless the Russian land now. Save our country from sin, destruction and temptation.
Pour grace on agricultural labor and on every good social undertaking. Remember, O Most Holy Virgin, by the name of all those present and praying, and all the people who demand Your consolation, help and mercy. You weigh the secret of our hearts. Likewise, fulfill their requests to everyone according to their needs. Turn more of the lost to repentance, and make us all wise with the light of Gospel love and good deeds. Show the archpastors and shepherds and all the faithful in Orthodoxy steadfast until death, rule them into the Kingdom of Heaven, and make them live with Christ forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer and Akathist
In front of the Impenetrable Door, prayers are said in praise and glorification of the Mother of God.
While standing in front of this image, one should reflect on the great mystery of the Incarnation, that the Mother of God remained pure and chaste even after the birth of Jesus Christ, and also that it was thanks to her spirituality and holiness that she had the opportunity to become the Intercessor of the whole world.
Before the icon, one should also read an akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, which has long been used in services in Orthodox churches.
You can turn to the icon of Our Lady of the Impenetrable Door in the following cases:
in the event of a misfortune or insurmountable difficulty, in a threat to life, in moments of grief, in prayer for forgiveness of sins and pardon of the soul, for help in having and raising children, for preserving a marriage, for help in passing the difficult path of chastity and celibacy.
You can buy the icon of Our Lady of the Impenetrable Door in some church shops opened at Orthodox churches. However, this image is quite rare in churches. Therefore, it is better to purchase it in one of the online stores specializing in the sale of Orthodox goods.
The cost directly depends on the size of the icon and the material from which it is made. As a rule, all images are consecrated and made according to Orthodox canons.
Purchasing Orthodox goods in an online store has many advantages, including saving time and the ability to place an order without leaving home. The ordered icon will be delivered to any city in Russia, be it Moscow, Taganrog or Vladivostok.
Prayer “Virgin Mother of God, Rejoice”
Virgin Mary, Rejoice, Blessed Mary, the Lord is with You, Blessed are You among women and blessed is the Fruit of Your womb, for You have given birth to the Savior of our souls.
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