The island of Valaam with its monastery has always been revered in Rus' as Northern Athos. It was especially glorified by the Saints Reverend Sergius and Herman of Valaam, who settled on the island in 1329 and founded the Transfiguration Monastery, whose icon and tomb attracted many pilgrims for many centuries.
One of them was Natalya Andreeva from St. Petersburg. Her amazing story laid the foundation for the worship of the miraculous Valaam Icon of the Mother of God.
Losing and regaining an icon
This story took place in 1887. Natalya Andreeva, who led a pious lifestyle, 10 years earlier had caught a very bad cold, after which she began to have a serious illness in her legs: they hurt and swollen so much that she had to walk on crutches. The doctors could do little to help, and then she was advised to go on a pilgrimage to the Valaam Monastery.
The night before her departure, she had a wonderful vision: a woman in a red robe appeared to her with a baby in her arms, from whom a wondrous radiance emanated. She ordered the sick woman to visit the monastery and promised to help her, and then disappeared.
On this day, the discovery of the relics of St. was celebrated on Valaam. St. Herman and Sergius of Valaam and a huge number of pilgrims gathered, so Natalya barely managed to get into the Assumption Church. Imagine her amazement when, on the icon of the Mother of God, she recognized the woman from her vision who had promised her help!
But as soon as Natalya had time to venerate the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, she had to rush to the pier - the ship carrying pilgrims was leaving from minute to minute, so she was not even able to serve a prayer service in front of the icon of the Mother of God. Upon her return, Natalya stopped having pain in her legs, which had tormented her for so many years, and she felt an inexplicable lightness in them. Now she no longer needed to use crutches.
After another 10 years, Natalya finally decided to go to Valaam again to express gratitude to the miraculous icon that healed her, but the icon was not there, and no one knew when and how it disappeared. Searches in St. Petersburg at the courtyard of the Valaam Monastery also turned out to be fruitless.
Nevertheless, some inner voice urged her to go to Valaam for the third time to search for the icon. At night she had a prophetic dream, as if at the ancient abandoned church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on the island, she heard a voice from heaven: “I am here, you will soon find me,” and then the gates of the church dissolved, and the Monk Sergius of Valaam showed her the place in the temple where the miraculous icon.
After three days of fasting and continuous prayer, leaving the temple, she saw the priest, to whom she told her dream, with the miraculous Valaam icon of the Mother of God in her hands. A solemn prayer service was immediately served, during which many more healings occurred. All of them were recorded in writing and certified by numerous witnesses, as were the subsequent ones, when a mass pilgrimage to the miraculous icon began.
Meaning and photo
The news that the Mother of God took the Russian land under her special protection came precisely from Valaam, which bears the spiritual name of Northern Athos.
This is a sign that the Mother of God has chosen it as a place of her special presence. That is why the Valaam icon is among the most revered, although locally revered.
The discovery of the miraculous icon here testifies to another unique meaning - not only for the island, but for the entire country: it shows that the Mother of God stands before the Creator for the entire Russian land. This is even stated in documentary records about the visions that visited the Valaam elders during the First World War.
One of them tells that the Most Holy Theotokos, precisely in the form in which She appears in the icon, tearfully prayed to the Lord to save the country from the adversary and to grant victory to the people of the Russian land.
The monks of the Smolensk monastery, where this image was found at that time, prayed before it for the soldiers who died in World War I, and then in the Civil War, and even later for those who suffered for their faith in the time of repression, in the decades of total loss of spirituality, for the return of which one should pray in front of this icon even now - for the happiness of future generations.
Description of the icon
According to its iconographic type, the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the Mother of God images called “Panagia” (All-Holy); It is close in composition to another type - “Nicopea” (Winner). Characteristic differences from other images of the Mother of God are the orb held in the left hand of the Infant Jesus, and the bare feet of the Mother of God standing on a cloud.
As it turned out, the icon was painted by the hieromonk of the Valaam Monastery Alipy (Konstantinov) at the very time when Natalya Andreeva fell ill. How can one fail to see the meaning of God’s Providence!
Finding a holy image is associated with miraculous events
The discovery of the Valaam image of the Blessed Virgin Mary is associated with miraculous events that occurred around the end of the 19th century.
1878
this year an icon of the Mother of God was painted in the Valaam Monastery
One monk-icon painter painted a unique life-size image of the Mother of God in 1878. In the same year, one peasant woman who lived in an almshouse fell ill.
Her name was Natalya Andreevna Andreeva, she suffered for about 10 years from severe pain in her limbs.
In 1887, she decided to go to the Valaam Monastery to ask for help from the relics of the founders of the monastery. The founders of the monastery are the holy monks Sergius and Herman of Valaam.
Saints Reverends Sergius and Herman are Greek monks. Creators of the Valaam Monastery. Memorial Day August 26
Natalia's path was very difficult, and she doubted her abilities. But before leaving, she had a dream in which she saw a woman standing with a child in her arms.
She said that she would help Natalia if she came to her house on the island of Valaam.
On the wall of the Assumption Cathedral, Natalya saw and recognized the woman who promised to help her; it was the image of the Most Holy Theotokos. She venerated this image and left this monastery. After all this, the woman began to feel better and better each time.
As a token of gratitude, Natalya came to Valaam in 1896. But she never found the most holy image anywhere in the monastery.
In a dream, a peasant woman saw the Mother of God, who showed her where the miraculous image was located.
Exactly a year later, the peasant woman came to the island again on the day of remembrance of its holy founders.
Before that, at night, she again saw the Mother of God, who told her about the place where the miraculous icon was located.
Three days later, the icon was found exactly in the place where it was indicated by the Mother of God.
A prayer service with blessing of water was served before the icon that was found. After this event, the woman was completely healed of her illness.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the monks of Valaam made several copies of the miraculous image. A copy of one of the icons was kept in the chapel, which was located in the courtyard of the Valaam Monastery on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg.
Then, in the 30s, the revered list was transferred to the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. Here the icon was located before it was transferred to the Valaam Monastery.
Afterwards the miraculous image was placed in the Church of Sergius and Herman. A lot of miracles happened, all of them were recorded in the chronicles of this monastery.
In 1914, the Valaam monastery was visited by one Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. It was for him that a copy of the icon of the Valaam Mother of God and a copy of the legend and its discovery were made.
There is some information that this relic is generally kept by the descendants of the Romanov dynasty.
At the beginning of 40, the monastic brethren began to fear persecution by the Soviet authorities, and they decided to move to Finland.
the 14 th of July
day of celebration of the icon of the Valaam Mother of God
There they founded the New Valaam monastery, where the icon is now located.
The day of celebration of the icon of the Valaam Mother of God is July 14.
A very interesting video that was shown on the news of the Spas channel, which tells how one woman found an ancient icon of the Mother of God of Valaam in her attic. At that time, the icon was almost unreadable.
The woman took it to the temple, after which after some time the image on the icon began to noticeably appear.
Video: The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Valaam”
How does the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God help?
They pray to the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God for healing from illnesses and the granting of health, because for the first time she showed her miraculous power precisely in healing and continued to heal the suffering.
In addition, sincere prayer in front of the “Valaam Mother of God” icon helps in finding peace and harmony in family life, successful childbirth, and guiding children on the true path.
Days of remembrance of the holy monks Sergius and Herman of Valaam: July 11 (repose of the elders) and September 24 (transfer of the relics).
The day of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God is the first resurrection after the feast of the holy apostles Peter and Paul.
What are they praying for?
From the history of the phenomenon and the further “biography” of the Valaam icon, it is known that the first miracles were associated with the healing of the sick, often considered hopeless. Therefore, it is quite logical that people turn to her with a prayer to relieve illnesses and grant health.
The mercies of the Mother of God revealed through sincere prayers are countless. The monastery contains books that describe such cases, and these records were certified by the sufferers themselves, witnesses and eyewitnesses, with their signatures.
Holy icons in general and the Mother of God in particular are not limited to some “narrow specialization” - before this one you need to ask for this and that, and before this one for that. Health, of course, and healing from illnesses is the most basic problem, but not the only one.
In the same way, you can turn to the Valaam Icon, remembering that the Mother of God is our intercessor, prayer book and intercessor before the Heavenly Father, and ask that peace and harmony reign in families, to help enlighten children and guide them on the righteous and true path. Women expecting a child also turn to Her in prayer for a successful release from their pregnancy.
It is known that many physical ailments often arise from mental illnesses. The soul, tormented by passions, despondency and sorrows, cannot “provide” health to the body. And passions arise if in this very restless soul there is a lack of faith and firmness in it, love, patience and humility. It is worth turning to the Mother of God with a prayer to deliver from sorrows and passions, to bestow humility.
This icon is revered as the patroness of soldiers who suffered martyrdom for the faith, and as the defender of the Orthodox faith in our lands.
Prayer to Saints Sergius and Herman of Valaam
About the greatness of our fathers, Christ's servants and warm representatives to the Savior for our souls, Sergius and Herman! You have appeared as healers to those who are ill, as helmsmen on the sea, as safe deliverance to those who are drowning, and as guardians from every deadly invasion, and especially from unclean spirits, freedom and all kinds of slander contained against us, cleansing and help. For blessedness, fathers and wonderworkers of glory, Sergius and Herman, pray to the Lord Christ for us sinners, that through your prayers we will be worthy on the Day of Judgment to stand and enjoy in the Kingdom of God forever and ever. Amen.
Story
The author of the image is the Valaam hieromonk Alipiy (Konstantinov) . Before leaving for the monastery, he studied to be an artist, and here, after tonsure, he was given this name - this was the name of the famous icon painter from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
The legend about the discovery and glorification of this image is described in detail in a church written monument, which is called: “The Legend of the Finding of the Image...” It is here that the first miracle that happened to the peasant woman Natalya Andreevna Andreeva, who suffered from pain in her legs for many years as a result of a severe cold, is described. . One day a mysterious voice spoke to her, commanding her to go to Valaam, to a monastery, which would help her recover.
The pious peasant woman got ready to go on the road. And on the night before leaving, in a dream she was visited by a vision: surrounded by a shining halo, a Woman in a red robe, holding a Baby in her arms. She spoke words of encouragement to Andreeva, and when she asked whether she lived on Valaam, she confirmed: yes, it is there, and soon you will see me.
The pilgrim arrived on the island just on the holiday, but the beautiful stranger from Natalya’s vision was nowhere to be found. Already getting ready to head back, she went to pray on the road to the Assumption Church and saw an image attached to a column : it was the Woman from the dream vision...
But then the calling whistle of the ship on which Andreeva was to sail sounded over the island, and she did not even have time to reach the holy icon to venerate it, let alone serve a prayer service with it. However, upon returning home, the woman felt that the pain in her legs had become noticeably weaker, and later she was able to move around without support.
A few years later, Natalya Andreeva visited the monastery again. In a familiar church, the icon was not in its original place , and no matter who the upset woman asked where it had gone, no one could answer. The sacristan, Father Paphnutius, suggested that perhaps she was transported to St. Petersburg, to the monastery chapel on Vasilyevsky Island.
Natalya Andreeva stayed in the monastery for half a month in the hope of still finding what she wanted, she visited all the monastery churches, but the search was not crowned with success . Returning to St. Petersburg and following the assumption of Fr. Paphnutia, she went to Vasilievsky: she was also disappointed in the chapel.
A year later, the pilgrim again reached Valaam. The woman’s fervent prayers before the relics of the holy monks Sergius and Herman to find the treasured icon did not remain unanswered: she again had a blessed dream .
In the dream, Andreeva seemed to be wandering around the closed monastery church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which was abolished , and constantly prayed to the Queen of Heaven to reveal where the servant of God Natalya should look for the icon that had once been revealed to her.
And the mysterious voice again announced that she was here and would soon be found. In a dream, the woman saw where the holy image was located - in the closet of an abandoned church, and then again - that Fr. Paphnutius. It turned out that it was there that he discovered the icon, half wrapped in matting and standing among outdated liturgical equipment and dilapidated images.
Need I say that Natalya immediately recognized the icon that she had seen on a church column many years ago and had been looking for a meeting with for so long ? She asked the priest to serve a prayer service with the blessing of water in front of the found icon, and soon after that she completely got rid of the disease.
An interesting point: the year the icon was painted is 1878 - it was in that year that Natalya Andreevna fell ill, thanks to whose healing the miraculous image was subsequently glorified.
Prayer to the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God
O Most Holy and Most Blessed Lady Theotokos, Queen of Heaven and Earth, Patroness of the monastery of Valaam! We fall down and worship You before Your miraculous icon, and as You looked mercifully upon Your sick servant and granted her healing, so now accept our fervent prayer offered to You. Save and preserve, O All-Merciful One, our Fatherland and all the Orthodox people who live in it and who resort to You with love, from the invasion of foreigners, from famine and pestilence, and from all evil, direct our paths, so that truth and peace may shine in the lands of Russia, joy and love, preserve the true faith in it until the end of time. Look with Your merciful eye at the monastery of Valaam and accomplish in the Lord the salvation of all who struggle in it in faith and hope. Pray to Your Son and our God, may He deliver us all from all troubles, sorrows and illnesses, may He instruct us to fulfill His commandments, may He deliver us from eternal torment, and may He grant us through Your intercession to dwell in the heavenly abodes and glorify the Most Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and The Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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The author of the icon is monk Alipius
The author of the icon is considered to be the monk icon painter Alypius, who was a successful painter even before becoming a monk.
Alypius is a venerable saint, a Kiev mosaicist, icon painter and jeweler of the late 11th century, a student of Greek masters. The memory takes place on August 17 and September 28. He is depicted with an icon of the Mother of God in his hands
Let us consider in more detail this holy image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Valaam Mother of God, dressed in a blue tunic and red maforia, is depicted in full growth on the icon. The Divine Infant sits on the left hand of the Mother of God, completely hidden under the maforium.
The right hand of the Mother of God rests on the chest of the baby, who is dressed in a light tunic. The baby blesses with his right hand and holds the orb with his left.
A white cloud is depicted under the bare feet of the Most Pure Mother of God.
Celebration day
Exactly 20 years ago, in 1997, at the request of Hegumen Pankratiy to glorify the locally revered icon, as well as in honor of its centenary miraculous appearance, then Patriarch Alexy II set the date for its celebration.
For several years it was celebrated on the first Sunday following July 11 according to the new style, when the memory of the Monks Herman and Sergius, as well as St. Apostles Peter and Paul, whose feast day falls on July 12. And since 2004, the date of celebration has been set on July 14 - the icon, according to legend, was found on this day.
But the Finnish Orthodox Church celebrates on August 20 .
How does she look?
The icon painter depicted the Queen of Heaven in full height. She stands on a golden cloud. Her left hand, supporting the Infant God from below, is hidden by a veil, and her open right hand embraces Him from the front. Her vestment consists of a dark blue tunic and a scarlet veil (maforia), covering from head to toe, but it does not hide the naked feet of the Most Pure Virgin.
The right hand of the Infant Jesus is raised in a blessing gesture , and in his left He holds a symbol of monarchical power - an orb, the top of which is crowned with a cross.
In ancient Byzantium, an image of the Virgin Mary similar to this one was called “Nicopeia” - “Victorious”, “Victorious” , and it served as a holy amulet of the imperial court, the so-called palladium.
The image of the Valaam Mother of God differs from other Mother of God icons in a unique detail - precisely in that the Blessed Virgin is depicted barefoot on it .
