- How did the Pochaevskaya Icon of the Mother of God appear?
- Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God: meaning, what it helps with
- Prayer to Our Lady of Pochaev
The Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God has been protecting our country from all threats for many years. Many believers resort to it, seeking to feel the help and support of the Heavenly Queen, to be cured of serious illnesses, and to cope with mental apathy, disbelief, and disappointment. Our article will tell you about how you found the miraculous shrine, what it symbolizes and in what cases it comes to your aid.
History and description of the miraculous image
The history of the holy face is closely connected with the Orthodox monastery in Pochaev, which is located in the Ternopil region (Ukraine). As the elders claimed, back in 1340, two monks went on a journey. After a long journey, they came across a cozy cave in the mountain. Currently, the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra is located in this area. For a long time, wanderers led a hermit life in a cave. They constantly turned to the Lord God with prayers for the granting of liberation to their native land from the Tatar-Mongol invasions.
Once, having climbed to the very peak of the mountain after reading a prayer appeal, Christians saw the image of the Mother of God. The Mother of God stood on a stone around which flames rose. A shepherd passing nearby also witnessed a miraculous vision. The righteous knelt before the image of the Heavenly Intercessor. Soon the vision disappeared. And on the stone where the Mother of God stood, there remained an imprint of her foot. The next morning this trail was filled with clean spring water. Over time, the walls of the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra began to be erected at the site of the miraculous vision.
Depiction of the miraculous vision seen by the monks
The holy image is made in the Byzantine style. The basis was a linden board, which was lined with oak slats at the bottom. The face of the Heavenly Intercessor is painted with oil paints. Initially, the holy image was covered with a thin silver plate, which, unfortunately, was lost over time. Then the miraculous image was decorated with a chasuble with small pearls.
The Most Pure Mother of God is depicted with the Child of God seated on her right hand. The faces of the Infant God and the Most Pure Virgin touch. At the same time, the head of the Virgin Mary bows to the Son of God. Such a “gesture” is a symbol of boundless maternal affection and love.
The left hand of Jesus Christ rests on the Mother's shoulder. With his right hand the Infant God blesses. The back and legs of the Son of God are covered with a cloth.
Uniqueness and distinctive feature of the Holy Face
The Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God has several characteristic features:
- The image was painted with paints based on egg yolk.
- At the bottom of the icon is the footprint of the Mother of God.
- The Infant and the Mother of God are depicted not in full height, but waist-deep.
- There should be a golden glow around the faces of the Saints.
Days of veneration of the icon
Icon veneration of the holy face falls on August 5th. It was on this day in 1675 that the Pochaev Lavra was liberated from the siege of the Turks.
Other days of veneration of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God are April 13 (variable date) and September 21.
Location of the icon
The original of the shrine is kept in the Pochaev Lavra. The image of the Mother of God and the Child of God is located directly above the Royal Doors in the Holy Assumption Cathedral. On the days of singing troparions, the monk on duty lowers the shrine down so that pilgrims have the opportunity to read their petitions in front of the icon.
The original copy of the holy face is kept in the Pochaev Lavra
Appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In the city of Pochaev in western Ukraine there is a beautiful monastery in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra. The monastery was founded in 1270. Two miraculous events related to the Mother of God took place in this place.
In the 13th century there was no monastery here yet. Although monks lived in caves on Pochaevskaya Mountain in prayers and labors. Even then a great event happened. One night two ascetics and a shepherd saw the Mother of God praying. She stood on a limestone stone and was surrounded by pillars of light. The next morning after the great miracle, a mark from the right foot of the Virgin Mary was discovered on the stone. On the same day, a spring gushed out of the stone. The water in the foot has healing properties. After some time, the ascetics built a small Assumption Church at the foot of the mountain.
What helps and what to pray for
In moments of loss of faith and complete hopelessness, many Christians ask for the protection of Our Savior and His Mother. The Pochaev Icon gives a person spiritual and physical insight. The Holy Face eliminates doubts, unkind thoughts and temptations on the path of life, strengthens faith in the powers of Heaven and resists devilish temptations.
The Pochaev shrine protects and preserves, and also cures the most severe and life-threatening ailments.
When reading prayer appeals before the Pochaev image of the Mother of God, you can ask for the following:
- about successfully overcoming chronic, severe and/or congenital forms of various pathologies;
- about good health for relatives;
- about establishing trusting relationships among loved ones;
- about preventing misfortunes and difficulties;
- about protecting the house from thieves, uninvited guests and people with sinful thoughts;
- about the safety of housing and acquired property;
- about salvation from heavy and sinful thoughts;
- about protecting the native land from enemy invasions.
The miraculous icon protects and protects from diseases
Miracles and healings given by the Mother of God
The history of the holy face includes at least 600 miraculous acts and healings. Let's look at a few of the most interesting of them:
- In 1664, trouble came to the house of the nobleman Zhabokritsky - his son died. The grandmother, not wanting to come to terms with the death of her beloved grandson, spent the whole night in prayer. When the sun rose, the dead boy came to life.
- During the siege of Pochaev, believers asked for help and protection from the Lord God and His Mother, reading prayer petitions before the face of the Most Pure Virgin. Suddenly the face of the Mother of God appeared before the attackers. Frightened by what they saw, the Turks lost their minds and began to maim their own brothers.
- In 1950, a miracle happened in the healing of the crippled nun Varvara, who lived in the city of Orenburg. For 48 years, the unfortunate woman could not walk. Desperate, the nun turned to the Most Pure Virgin with prayerful speeches. After the prayer, a miracle happened: the woman stood up and walked on her own feet. The crutches of the nun Varvara are still located near the icon.
- Blind from the moment of birth, Anna Yakimchukova came from the city of Kamenets-Podolsky to the top of the mountain, where the Mother of God appeared to the pilgrims. After washing herself with spring water from a footprint, the woman instantly regained her sight.
- After suffering an infectious disease, a boy named Yura lost his hearing. This grief happened in our days. The child was hospitalized, but he spent only one night in the hospital. All night the child held in his hands the icon of the Mother of God given by his grandmother. In the morning, doctors examined and discharged the boy as he was healthy.
Meaning of the Shrine
People turn to the image of Pochaevskaya for healing from terrible and incurable diseases. People rush with their last hope to the Mother of God, when even doctors are powerless. The unique miraculous properties of the holy cloth help to cope with all difficulties and troubles. There is a legend that in 1664, thanks to washing with water from the footprint of the Mother of God, they were able to revive a child who had suddenly died from an eyesore.
Fig. 2 There is an opinion among believers that healing in front of the Pochaevskaya icon occurs thanks to the heavenly radiance emanating from the holy image.
In 1950, a miraculous healing of a partially paralyzed nun occurred. After diligent seven-day prayers, the woman was able to give up crutches and began to walk again. Prayers to the face of the Intercessor help get rid of blindness, physical and mental illness, problems with the heart and blood vessels. Every year, thousands of pilgrims worship the holy image of the Mother of God in the Pochaev Monastery, take healing water with them and perform thanksgiving services.
Miraculous lists of the Holy Image
Lists of shrines are presented all over the world, including Orthodox churches in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia. However, the most famous are the images that are located in the following temples, churches and monasteries:
- Demetrius of Thessalonica Church in Moscow;
- St. John the Vvedensky Monastery for women, located near Tobolsk;
- Trinity Cathedral, located on the territory of the St. Daniel Monastery in Moscow;
- Church of the Holy Apostles in Lefortovo.
Peter and Paul Church (Moscow)
St. John the Vvedensky Monastery (Priirtyshsky village)
Demetrius of Thessaloniki Temple (Moscow)
Where does the image reside?
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The miraculous icon is placed above the royal doors. In the church where the Pochaev Icon is kept early in the morning (the monks get up while it is still dark), the brethren of the monastery serve the Midnight Office. Then, with the singing of troparions, the miraculous icon is lowered to its normal level. It hangs on silk ribbons, and a monk is always on duty nearby. One by one, everyone who came to the service approaches the icon.
In the same temple you can get water from a wonderful spring discovered by the Mother of God. The spring itself is located behind a fence where unquenchable lamps glow. You can attach to the image of the foot. The water itself is distributed by the novice (“stack”). But the Pochaev Lavra is rich not only in these shrines.
The monastery has been a stronghold of the Orthodox faith throughout western Ukraine for several centuries. The famous prayer book St. Job reposed here, having lived for more than a hundred years. Now his holy relics are also kept here.
Neither the first nor the second world wars prevented the monks from carrying out their obediences - the monastery did not close. The German occupation, Khrushchev's persecutions - during all these difficult moments for the country, prayer sounded within the ancient walls, services continued. They say that the world will stand as long as the Liturgy is celebrated. Therefore, monasteries are the spiritual stronghold of the entire earth.
Russian churches of the Pochaevskaya Icon of the Mother of God are being built in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don; there are operating churches in other cities.
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Prayers to the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God
You can ask the Most Pure Virgin Mary for grace and help alone at home or in a church church. Prayer speeches are spoken aloud or read silently. But the main thing is that prayer must come from the heart.
At the end of the prayer, do not forget to thank the Mother of God for the help provided.
“To You, O Mother of God, we, sinners, prayerfully flow to You, Your miracles in the Holy Lavra of Pochaev, revealed in remembrance and lamentation of our sins. We, Lady, we know, as it is not fitting for us sinners to ask anything, except for the righteous Judge of our iniquities to leave us. All that we have endured in life, sorrows, needs, and illnesses, like the fruits of our falls, have languished for us, and I allow this to God for our correction.
Moreover, the Lord brought all this truth and judgment to His sinful servants, who in their sorrows came to Your intercession, the Most Pure One, and in the tenderness of their hearts they cry out to You: Our sins and iniquities, O Good One, do not remember, but more than Your all-honorable hand Having risen up, stand before Your Son and God, so that the evil we have done may be forgiven us, and for our many unfulfilled promises, He will not turn His face away from His servants, and He will not take His grace, which contributes to our salvation, from our souls.
To her, Lady, be an intercessor for our salvation and, not disdaining our cowardice, look upon our groans, even in our troubles and sorrows we lift up before Your miraculous image. Enlighten our minds with tender thoughts, strengthen our faith, confirm our hope, grant us the sweetest gift of love to accept us. By these gifts, Most Pure One, and not by illnesses and sorrows, may our belly be elevated to salvation, but protect our souls from despondency and despair, deliver us who are weak from the troubles and needs that come upon us, and human slander and unbearable diseases.
Grant peace and prosperity to the Christian life through Your intercession, Lady, establish the Orthodox faith in our country, throughout the world, do not betray the Apostolic and Catholic Church to disparagement, preserve the statutes of the saints forever, unshakable, save all who come to You from the perishing ditch. Also, bring the heresy of our deceived brethren or the saving faith of those who have been destroyed by sinful passions to true faith and repentance, so that together with us those who worship Your miraculous image will confess Your intercession.
Vouchsafe us, O Most Pure Lady Theotokos, even in this belly the victory of truth by Your intercession to behold, vouchsafe us grace-filled joy before the end of our perception, just as the ancient inhabitants of ancient times were shown by Your appearance to the victors and enlighteners of the Hagarians, so that we all have a grateful heart, together with the angels, and prophets, and apostles, and with all the saints, glorifying Your mercy, let us give glory, honor and worship in the Trinity to the sung God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen".
The Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, which has special powers, is known for its good and miraculous deeds. However, you cannot ask Our Lady about troubles and misfortunes for enemies and unwanted people. Everything will turn against the person asking.
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