Human life seems to many people to be the result of their actions and occasionally interfering circumstances. But in wars, natural disasters, incurable diseases, people always understood: many troubles or joys can only be explained by the will of God, lessons from the Lord, His punishment. That is why many trust in the Lord God and pray especially for the protection of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God!
The meaning of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God
The Icon of the Kazan Mother of God also became famous during the disaster - Her image was found in the ashes after the terrible fire of 1579 in Kazan. More than half of the city was destroyed, and then the Mother of God Herself appeared in a dream to a little girl named Matrona, telling about the icon and promising Her protection to everyone who would pray in front of it.
For many people, a prayerful appeal to the Blessed Virgin in front of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God has become a way out in difficult life situations.
The icon belongs to one of the three most common iconographic types of images of the Mother of God “Hodegetria” - Guide. (It is believed that these three types were “invented” by the evangelist and icon painter Luke). The image of the Mother of God is painted from the waist up, although usually on icons like “Hodegetria” She points with her hand to the Child - on the Kazan Icon the Mother of God points at Him only with her head. Such a gesture means that the Virgin Mary presents Her Son to all people as the Way, the Truth and the Life. Dear friends, remember that on our pages you can always buy the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God inexpensively and quickly!
Where is the original
The original “revealed” image found in Kazan is usually considered the original. Unfortunately, he was kidnapped and lost. However, from the point of view of the church, there is no real original or any copies of it. Each icon of the Kazan Mother of God has the same enormous power as all the other copies of it, bearing the image of the Queen of Heaven and the Infant Christ. You can see it in almost every home of Orthodox people. One of the copies of this Mother of God icon is found in most Orthodox churches built throughout Russia. Many churches throughout the country are dedicated to this particular icon.
Theft of a shrine
From the moment of its discovery, the miraculous image attracted a huge number of pilgrims. It is interesting that up to 70% of Kazan’s income was generated by people who came from different parts of the country to venerate the miraculous image. Many left him rich gifts in gratitude for his help. In 1768, Catherine II bestowed a diamond tiara-crown on the shrine. Precious vestments and valuable gifts, of which a lot had accumulated, became a great temptation for thieves in 1904. The famous image of the Queen of Heaven, together with the icon of the Savior, was stolen from the Mother of God Monastery. The thieves were soon found, but not a single iconographic image was with them. They assured the investigators that they sold all the jewelry, and broke the boards of the icons and burned them in the oven. They could not prove or completely refute this fact.
There is a version that not only the precious offerings, but also the icons themselves, which were of enormous value even without magnificent gifts and vestments, were sold to the Old Believers. The nuns of the monastery also told another version of salvation. They said that the abbess, fearing theft, replaced the original revealed image with a list in the precious robe at night. But research by specialists has proven that, alas, the image today kept in the Bogoroditsky Monastery cannot be that same miraculously found icon. It has been confirmed that it was written much later than the original, in the second half of the 18th century.
Today it is believed that the most similar to the original revealed image is the list that is located in the Epiphany Cathedral in Elokhov. It is even supposed to look almost like the original.
Memorial Day and when is the holiday
The memory of the Kazan Icon is honored twice a year: July 21 (July 8, old style) - the memory of the discovery by the girl Matrona of the miraculous image on the ashes. This holiday has been celebrated by the entire Russian Orthodox Church since the 16th century; November 4 (October 22, old style) celebrates the assistance of the Queen of Heaven to the people's militia of Prince Minin and Pozharsky in victory over the Polish-Lithuanian invaders.
It is known that the miraculous copy of the Kazan Icon, through which the Mother of God helped the militia, was brought by them from Nizhny Novgorod. Led by Minin and Pozharsky, people prayed to the Mother of God before him, and miraculously defeated their powerful enemies. The holiday in honor of the Kazan Icon on November 4 has been celebrated by the Church since 1649.
It is also a national holiday, National Unity Day, in honor of the liberation of Moscow from the Poles by the people's militia in 1612 - this day is declared a holiday throughout Russia. After the 1918 revolution, the November 4 holiday was canceled, but by decree of Russian President Putin it was resumed in 2005.
On November 4 and July 21, services are held in front of the Kazan Icon. On these days, a special troparion is sung to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and a kontakion - a short hymn in honor of this particular image of the Mother of God: “Let us, people, come to a quiet and kind harbour, an ambulance, a ready and warm salvation, to the protection of the Virgin Mary. Let us try in prayer and repentance: after all, the Most Pure Mother of God gives us endless mercies, gives us help even before our prayer, delivers from various troubles and evil those who strive for a good life and who fear God, us, Her servants.”
Poems, pictures for the Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God 2022
You are our protection, holy support, Who has shown your righteous face to the world, Deliver us from sorrows, troubles and disputes, Thank you for the light that has penetrated into our souls!
Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, You have so much strength, fire and love, We believe that your mercy will help us, Take care of your foolish children!
Bowing in tears and prayers before you, Looking with hope into your holy eyes, We ask that you embrace us with kindness, Come by our side at all times!
A good, quiet holiday has come to us, Therefore, with faith, we will hasten to the church, So that your bright face will open to our eyes, To caress our soul with your warmth!
On the Day of the Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan, let us again be inspired by the holy mercy, And the news of miracles will sweep across the entire Russian, Christian land!
We will ask timidly in the silence of the church For a wonderful fate and happy days, And for the bright intercession of the Supreme Mother! May she become famous in her years!
My soul will become so quiet and calm From your beautiful, bright eyes, You subdue storms, fears, wars, You silently bless us!
Mother of God Kazan Icon, Which contains all the power of heaven, You are the keeper of the wise law, Before you, anger and fear have disappeared,
And grace quietly appeared in the heart, Tenderness, kindness and beauty, And enmity and malice were instantly forgotten, And love suddenly blossomed in the soul!
The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God illuminates the soul with soft light! Patroness of the wise law, She who is ready to listen to confession,
Before you I will bow in silence, I will ask for favorable protection, You will hear from me a confession, That with which my heart is now full!
Be kind and fair to me, Forgive all sins and misdeeds, Let fate not be so obstinate, But gentle and meek as a dove!
What does it help with?
There are many images of the Mother of God, famous for their miracles: Kazan, Iverskaya, Tikhvin, Unfading Flower, Inexhaustible Chalice and many others. It is believed that through different icons the Mother of God helps in different needs.
Prayer is an appeal with sincere faith in the good will of God, in the fact that the Queen of Heaven Herself will direct your life for the better, a willingness to humbly accept and understand life’s lessons. When saying a prayer, you should not say words like a spell, but understand that you are speaking with the Most Pure Lady Theotokos. It is believed that in front of the Kazan Icon they pray: • for family well-being; • about a quick and happy marriage; • in case of danger of fire, about the rescue and recovery of fire victims, about preserving property from fire - since the icon was found unharmed in a burnt house; • with mental sorrows, depression; • in physical and mental illnesses; • for injuries, eye diseases, progressive blindness - as soon as the Kazan Icon was revealed, in 1579, after praying in front of it, a person was healed of three years of blindness.
A prayer to the Mother of God is a request for physical, mental and spiritual healing. The Most Holy Virgin will guide you on the true path; you just need to ask Her for help more often, visit the temple, and participate in the Sacraments of the Church.
The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God became famous for its help in a quick and happy marriage. Many girls testified that through prayers before her, they miraculously, unexpectedly met their future husbands. Russian artists of the 19th-20th even created a number of paintings depicting girls praying in front of Kazanskaya.
Lonely people can consider the Mother of God as their Patroness and pray for help to the Kazan Icon. Ask with confidence in the Mother of God, this is especially important if your chosen one or chosen one does not respond to love. Believe that the Mother of God will show you the right decision, maybe you will even be disappointed in your loved one, but this will only be for the better - it means that another person is waiting for you, who is more suitable for you.
Description of the icon
Traditional lists of the Kazan Icon are classified as Hodegetria (translated from Greek as “guidebook”). Traditions trace this iconographic type to an image painted by Saint Luke during the life of the Mother of God, with her own blessing. All the numerous copies of the Kazan Icon look like an abbreviated version of the Hodegetria. Instead of figures painted in full height, they are given a shoulder-length image of the Mother of God and a half-length image of the Infant Christ, dressed in clothes traditional for the Mother of God icons. The head of the Mother of God is slightly inclined towards the baby, which, as the description says, expresses not only maternal love, but also the worship of Christ as the son of God. The baby is depicted from the front. His right hand is raised in a gesture of blessing those praying, his second hand is hidden by folds of clothing. The gazes of both are turned to the person praying, as if looking straight into his soul. Recently, due to the great veneration and huge number of lists, it is increasingly proposed to bring the Kazan icon into a separate iconographic type of the Mother of God. If you look at the photos of different lists of this icon, you can see noticeable differences. After all, even following fairly strict rules for painting an image, each icon painter brings something subtly of his own to the plot. They were painted at different times, by representatives of different icon painting schools. These differences help to more accurately date the different lists and understand their history in more detail.
How to pray to the Kazan Icon
Just as we communicate with different people in different ways, so we need to address God differently than people. • Do not demand benefits, because you are turning to the Queen of Heaven, but ask Her with faith, asking as a good Mother. • The words of prayer must be read with understanding. • Your appeal must be sincere and come from the depths of your soul. • You should not demand a quick marriage or the love of a specific person, but understand that the Mother of God knows better than you, perhaps a completely different happiness awaits you - even greater.
Do not be left alone with grief or difficulties, remember that the Lord is always with us, and a prayer to God or the Blessed Virgin Mary can be read at any time of the day.
Temple, Church of Our Lady of Kazan and Cathedral
The icon, originally acquired by a little girl, was destroyed in terrible wars. Her miraculous lists exist in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan. The earliest of them is an image from 1606, which is located in the Tretyakov Gallery in the capital of Russia.
The list located in the Kazan Cathedral of the Northern capital, the main temple of the city, is very close to the original.
The prayer to the Kazan Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary can be read online:
“O Great and Most Holy Lady of the whole world, Lady Theotokos!
With faith, love and awe, standing before Your miraculous icon, we beg You: do not turn away from those who come to You, ask, Merciful Mother of God, Your Son and our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to save us from all evil and give us happiness in family life, saved our country from wars and civil strife, established His Holy Church from religious wars, schisms and persecutions. We have no other help, we have no other hope, except You, Pure Virgin, Mother of God: You are the All-Powerful Helper and Intercessor to all Orthodox Christians, to all believers who pray to You.
Deliver all of us who turn to You with faith and love from falls, from choosing the wrong path, from slander and intrigues of evil people, from all sorrows, from all grief, from sudden death. Grant, O Most Holy Lady, to our souls repentance, understanding and awareness of our sins, patience, humility and purity of thoughts! Help us correct our lives according to the commandments of God, so that we, with a pure heart and trembling soul, gratefully singing Your greatness, will be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, where, with all the holy saints of God, we rejoice and glorify You, Blessed Virgin, together with the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Spirit Saints. Amen."
Through the prayers of the Heavenly Lady Theotokos, may the Lord protect you! Also, dear Friends, if you want to order the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God inexpensively and quickly, then this is easy to do with us!
