The holiday of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God has been celebrated in Rus' for several centuries. This is one of our most revered images.
When is the Day of the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God celebrated?
The miraculous discovery of an icon Holy Mother of God happened in the city of Kazan in 1579. In memory of this event, the celebration of the Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated annually on July 21.
Also, the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated in the fall - on November 4, in memory of the deliverance of Moscow and all of Russia from the invasion of the Poles in 1612. Then, during the Time of Troubles, the copy from the icon helped Russian soldiers win several battles.
History of the Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
The history of the holiday of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God is as follows: after a fire occurred in Kazan, many citizens were left homeless. Among the fire victims was the daughter of the archer Matryona (Matrona) Onuchina, to whom the Mother of God appeared in a dream and pointed out where her icon was hidden underground.
At first, no one believed the girl - neither the local mayor nor the archbishop. When the girl had this dream for the third time, her family independently began excavations, and in the indicated place, at a depth of about a meter, the girl discovered an icon.
She was sent to the first Orthodox church Kazan - Annunciation Cathedral. Several people took part in this procession. It is known that two blind people, having touched the icon, regained their sight.
On the site of the miraculous find was erected convent. Matryona was the first to take monastic vows and subsequently became his abbess.
In 1649, on the occasion of the birth in 1648 on the feast of the “miraculous icon of Kazan, during the all-night singing” of the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Dmitry, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to celebrate on October 22 (November 4, new style) the Feast of the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God “in all cities throughout years."
A copy of this icon was sent to Ivan the Terrible in Moscow. Later, in 1737, the copy of the icon was transported to the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in St. Petersburg, on the site of which the Kazan Cathedral was later built.
In 1904, the icon was stolen in order to sell its precious frame and destroyed. Today, in churches around the world, copies of the miraculous image are used, which have already been shown more than once wonderful properties. This icon has become one of the independent iconographic types of Mother of God icons in Russia.
How is the Day of the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God celebrated?
The celebration of the Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is widely celebrated in the Russian Orthodox Church. On this day, people turn to the Mother of God with prayers for their loved ones.
According to tradition, this icon has long been used to bless newlyweds. It is believed that this helps to build a strong and happy family.
The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God also has many healing properties. There are numerous cases of healing of believers who turned to her from blindness and other eye diseases.
Feast of the Kazan Icon Mother of God Orthodox Christians celebrate it twice a year - in the fall, on November 4, and in the summer, on July 21. This is due to the fact that Our Lady of Kazan is the most revered and beloved holy image in Russia. She is considered the defender of the Russian land and the patroness of all righteous believers. Read on to learn about the history of the origin of the holiday, the peculiarities of the celebration, the creation of a postcard with the image, as well as signs and stories.
The history of the appearance of the holy face
The Kazan icon has interesting story phenomena to the Orthodox. This happened back in 1579. Then Kazan was on fire, the fire destroyed part of the city, leaving ashes behind. A terrible fire left the merchant and his family without a home. When people were left without a roof over their heads, the Mother of God herself came to their nine-year-old daughter Matrona in a dream. She ordered to come to the ashes to pick up her holy image from the ruins. At first, the adults did not believe the child, but the messages began to repeat themselves. The family went to ruins. There they found an icon that was no different from the new image - fresh and bright colors amazed people. Residents of the city began to pray. They decided to take the image to the church. When the Kazan Icon was transferred, it showed its miraculous power, giving sight to two destitute blind men.
It is still unknown how the face of the Mother of God ended up under the burnt ruins. Presumably, it was buried there by Christian confessors who were fleeing the Tatar invasion. When the fire started, the icon appeared outside.
At the site of the appearance of the Mother of God, Kazan residents built a convent. There the girl Matrona, to whom the Saint turned, was tonsured, as well as her mother.
In a matter of time, news of the miraculous icon spread throughout all the cities, people began to pray for it and highly venerate it. By the time it began in Russia Time of Troubles, war and revolution, the Kazan face was considered the main defender. However, the original face has not reached our time; all that is kept in churches are lists. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the icon was stolen for profit and then burned.
The essence of the holiday
The Day of the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God is celebrated on November 4 - this is the date of the appearance of the Most Holy One to Christians in burnt Kazan. However, there is another date that is no less revered by the Orthodox - July 21. Then the holy image helped the Russians rid their native land from the invasion of the Poles, who had captured Moscow by deception. They burned churches, destroyed shrines, and mocked the Orthodox. Patriarch Hermogenes called on the people to rise up to fight the invaders. From Kazan the defenders were sent the face of the Most Holy Theotokos. People began to fervently pray to the Holy One, fasted, and Russian army won. July 21, 1649 radically changed the course of history. Since then, the icon of the Kazan Mother of God has been especially revered by the people of Russia: people give each other postcards with the image of the Virgin Mary, say warm words, pray for salvation, happiness and healing.
You need to turn to the Kazan Mother of God for a miracle; she will help you make a fateful decision and protect you during any disaster. The Mother of God covers the person asking with a light veil, protecting him. You can only come to the Virgin Mary with with an open heart, clear thoughts. Then the Christian will receive what he asks for. It is also recommended to carry postcards with the image of Our Lady of the Protector.
Signs and traditions
With the holiday of the Kazan icon, new rituals and signs came into the life of Orthodox Christians. On two solemn days, believers necessarily went to church with the whole family, where they asked the Intercessor for patronage, protection and instructions. The congratulations took place on a grand scale: after the church service, people made a religious procession - with the faces of the Mother of God they walked around the cities and villages. This process symbolized protection from adversity and troubled times. Today Christians do not go into passages, but limit themselves to walking along the main streets of the city. Some believers simply send postcards with the holy image to their relatives and friends.
In ancient times, the Mother of God was considered exclusively a female protector. Therefore, there were many rituals that women had to do during these days. For example, taking care of your beauty. It was believed that it was necessary to pick a birch leaf on the feast of the Kazan Mother of God. The main condition is that it is already covered with frost. You should bring it home and look at it like in a mirror. It was believed that in this way the woman would become even more beautiful and would not age.
The holiday was considered great time for marriages and weddings. According to legends, new family created during this period will be happy. Those who wanted to unite their destinies before God tried to time the celebration to coincide with the autumn holiday. This promised a cloudless life.
Church ministers recommend that those who want to find peace and receive support should always celebrate the triumph of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan. It is worth sending postcards with the face of the Holy One to your family and friends, and praying for their health.
On November 4 (October 22, old style), the Orthodox Church established the celebration of the Most Holy Theotokos in honor of Her icon, called "Kazan".
The feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated twice a year - on July 21 (July 8, old style) - in memory of the appearance of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in Kazan - and on November 4 (October 22, old style), in gratitude for the deliverance of Moscow and all of Russia from the invasion Poles in 1612
The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is one of the most revered in Russia. Of the many icons of the Mother of God venerated in the Russian Orthodox Church, not one is distributed in as many lists as the Kazan one. She was found in Kazan on July 8, 1579. According to legend, the nine-year-old girl Matrona saw the Most Holy Theotokos three times in a dream, who showed her the place under the ruins of the house where Her miraculous image was located. The girl told the local priest Ermolai about this vision, and the icon was indeed found in the indicated place.
The end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries are known in Russian history as the Time of Troubles. An interregnum began in the country, accompanied by various lawlessness, robberies, murders and unrest. At the same time, Russia was attacked by Polish troops, who managed to capture Moscow by deception. At the call of His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes, who at that time led the struggle for the preservation of Russian statehood and was the ideological inspirer of the Russian militia, the Russian people stood up in defense of their homeland.
With the blessing of Patriarch Hermogenes, a recently acquired icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (most likely, according to experts, a copy of the original) was delivered from Kazan to help the defenders of Russia. The Kazan squads that joined the militia brought with them a copy of the Kazan miraculous icon, which was handed over to Prince Demetrius in Yaroslavl. It became the main shrine of the militia.
In March 1612, the Russian militia under the leadership of Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky set off with the Shrine on a liberation campaign against Moscow, which was occupied by Polish troops. Russian troops experienced enormous difficulties: internal hostility, lack of weapons and food.
In October, after a long siege of Kitay-Gorod, it was decided to take it by storm, and a prayer service was served in front of the Kazan Icon. The entire people and militia imposed a three-day fast on themselves and prayerfully turned to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother for heavenly help.
According to legend, on the same night the Greek Archbishop Arseny (later the Bishop of Suzdal), imprisoned in the Kremlin, appeared in a dream, the Monk Sergius of Radonezh and said that “through the intercession of the Mother of God, the Judgment of God for the Fatherland has been transferred to mercy, and Russia will be saved.”
Inspired by such news, Russian troops liberated Kitai-Gorod on October 22 (November 4, new style), 1612, and five days later the Poles, tortured by hunger in the Kremlin, surrendered.
On October 25, Russian squads and residents of Moscow, in gratitude for their deliverance from enemies, solemnly, with a procession of the Cross, went to the Kremlin, carrying the miraculous Kazan icon, sacred banners and other Moscow shrines. On Execution Place The procession of the cross was greeted by Archbishop Arseny, who emerged from the Kremlin, carrying the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which he had preserved in captivity.
In memory of the deliverance of Moscow from the Poles, by order of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and the blessing of his father, Metropolitan, later Patriarch Philaret, the Church established annually on October 22 (November 4 in the new style) a special celebration in Moscow of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God with a procession of the cross. . At first, this celebration took place only in Moscow, but since 1649, by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, local celebrations - Kazan on July 21 (July 8, old style) and Moscow on November 4 (October 22, old style) - became all-Russian.
After the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, according to the Nikon Chronicle, placed the holy Kazan icon in his parish church of the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Lubyanka in Moscow. In 1620, the Kazan Cathedral was erected on Red Square. The holy icon, which was in Pozharsky's troops during the liberation of Moscow, was transferred to the new church.
After the fire of 1635, instead of a wooden cathedral, a stone one was built at the expense of the first Tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, and consecrated in 1636.
In 1930, the Kazan Cathedral was closed, and in 1936 it was demolished.
In 1990-1993 The Kazan Cathedral in Moscow was restored. The main altar of the cathedral was consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
There are many interesting facts about the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. This miraculous icon, which appeared in Rus', but later became known in the Catholic world.
Previously we wrote about the history of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. This image became a kind of symbol of the independence of Rus' and its spiritual strength. This icon appeared under very strange circumstances, and its history is full of secrets.
History of the icon
In 1579, a church and the Kremlin caught fire in Kazan. The fire also spread to residential buildings, leaving many families homeless. In those days, many doubted their faith in God, because how is this possible? Why was God so unmerciful towards people? Many then lost their faith.
In those days, one girl named Matrona dreamed prophetic dream that under the ruins there is an icon of the Mother of God. Actually, this is what the Mother of God told her in a dream, appearing as light. At first the girl did not attach any significance to the dream, but then it happened again. She told her mother about everything, and they went to the supposed place that the Mother of God spoke about in a dream.
Of course, they found an icon there. The news of the miraculous discovery spread throughout the earth. The icon was transferred to the Annunciation Cathedral. During the religious procession, two blind men regained their sight. This was the first of many miracles associated with this image. In other years, the icon helped destroy the army of the impostor False Dmitry in the early 17th century. The militia was able to rid Russia of the Poles.
In 1904, according to one version, it was stolen and sold. The thief said that he destroyed the icon, although later his words changed more than once, which gave people faith in the existence of the icon. Many people still believe that the original exists.
Feast of the Kazan Mother of God
This day has a fixed date - 21 July. From year to year, people visit churches and pray for the health and happiness of the Mother of God. Here is one prayer that can be read before bedtime or in the morning:
O zealous intercessor, Mother of the Lord Most High, pray for everyone to Your Son, Christ our God, and grant to all those who seek refuge in Your sovereign protection to be saved. Intercede for all of us, O Lady Queen and Lady, who in adversity and sorrow and illness, burdened with many sins, stand and pray to You with a tender soul and a contrite heart, before Your most pure image with tears and irrevocable hope in You, for the deliverance of all evil, grant useful to everyone and save everything, Virgin Mary: For You are the Divine Protection of Your servant.
Visit the temple of God on this day to honor the memory of this icon and devote your time to God. On this day, all Orthodox Christians unite in prayer. If you can’t get to church, then read the prayer to Our Lady of Kazan at home.
Let faith in God unite you, and let the memory of the events of 1579 make you move away from any doubts. Yes, this day is not included in the list of 12 main holidays of the Orthodox world, but it is no less important for the formation of the faith of each of us. Be happy and don't forget to press the buttons and
13.07.2016 04:20
The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is one of the most powerful Orthodox culture. It's connected...
The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is one of greatest characters faith in history Orthodox Christianity. ...
The celebration of the Mother of God on July 8 (today this day corresponds to July 21 according to the civil calendar) in honor of Her Kazan Icon begins with its miraculous appearance in Kazan in 1579. Some time after the conquest of Kazan by the young Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible, his establishment of the Kazan diocese and After the successful spread of Christianity, the Mohammedans began to show strong resistance. The fire of 1579, which destroyed half of the Kazan Kremlin and the adjacent part of the city, they regarded as the wrath of the “Russian God”. It was at this time that to strengthen Orthodoxy in Kazan, the mercy of God was revealed through the miraculous discovery of the icon of the Mother of God, which on this occasion received the name Kazan.
Appearance of the miraculous icon
Matrona, the nine-year-old daughter of the archer Onuchin, who intended to set up new house At the site of the fire, the Mother of God appeared in a dream, commanding that the archbishop and mayors be informed to remove Her image from the ground, indicating the place in the ashes where it was necessary to dig.
Since no one paid attention to the child’s words, the Mother of God appeared a second time, and the third time the girl in a dream saw the icon itself, from which came a menacing voice: “If you do not tell My words, I will appear in another place, and you will perish.” Then the mother of the frightened girl took her daughter to the governors and Archbishop Jeremiah, but no one believed the child’s words.
Finally, on July 8, the mother and her assistants began to dig as directed by her daughter, but only when the girl herself took up the spade and began to dig near the stove did an icon of the Mother of God appear, wrapped in an old cloth sleeve. The face of the icon was clear, as if it had just been painted, and had not been damaged at all by the fire (the iconography of the Kazan image is a type of Hodegetria the Guide). Having learned about the miracle, the archbishop and the mayors, in a solemn religious procession, came to the place of the miraculous discovery of the icon and transferred it to the Church of St. Nicholas of Tula, then, after a prayer service, to the Annunciation Cathedral.
The events of the appearance and transfer of the image were described by the priest of the St. Nicholas Church, Ermolai, the future Metropolitan of Kazan and then the Patriarch of Moscow Ermogen, who suffered as a martyr for Orthodoxy in troubled times. He also owns the service in honor of the Kazan Icon, including the well-known troparion: “The zealous Intercessor...”. He also witnessed the first miracles that happened during the celebration: on the way, Joseph, who had been blind for three years, received his sight; in the cathedral itself, another blind man, Nikita, was healed. Subsequently, the special mercy of the Mother of God through Her Kazan image to suffering eyes was also noticed.
After the archbishop and the governors sent the king detailed description After finding the icon with its exact list, he ordered a convent to be built on the site of the apparition. The first tonsures of the monastery were the youth Matrona and her mother. In 1595, Metropolitan. Hermogenes rebuilt the new Assumption Cathedral and increased the staff of nuns to 64 people; the miraculous image was surrounded by royal gifts - gold, precious stones and pearls. In 1798, new decorations were placed by Empress Catherine, and she also allocated 25 thousand rubles. for the construction of a new cathedral monastery church, consecrated in 1808.
Revered lists of the Kazan Icon
The Russian Church especially revered two miraculous copies from the Kazan image of the Mother of God, which twice accompanied the Russian army in the fight against foreigners: Moscow and St. Petersburg. The first list, after the secret appeal of Patriarch Hermogenes, taken by the Kazan squad on a campaign in 1611, was transferred to the squads of the northern cities under the leadership of Prince Dm. Pozharsky, who went to liberate the capital from the Poles.
After the fervent prayer of the Russian soldiers to the Mother of God in front of Her image, it became known about the vision of St. Sergius of Radonezh to the Greek Archbishop Arseny of Elasson, imprisoned by the Poles in the Kremlin, who announced to him that through the intercession of the Queen of Heaven, the reigning city was freed from enemies.
Having received such spiritual support from the Mother of God, on October 22 (today this day corresponds to November 4 according to the civil calendar), the Russians drove the Poles out of Kitay-Gorod, and then the invaders themselves surrendered the Kremlin. The clergy came out to meet the Russian army with Moscow shrines, and ahead of the liberators walked the Mounted Voivode Herself in Her Kazan image.
Until the new revolutionary unrest, this icon remained in the book built for it. Pozharsky Kazan Cathedral on Red Square. Since 1649, by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, local celebrations - Kazan on July 8 and Moscow on October 22 - became all-Russian, and the Kazan Icon began to be revered as the patroness of the House of Romanov.
The second revered list, which belonged to the Dowager Empress Praskovia Feodorovna, was transferred, among other shrines, by Emperor Peter the Great to the northern capital he was establishing, where it became one of the most important shrines of the city of St. Petra. In 1811, the Kazan Cathedral was built in honor of this image.
The next year, 1812, M.I. Kutuzov, appointed by Emperor Alexander I as commander-in-chief of the Russian army, before leaving for the active troops, prayed in front of the St. Petersburg shrine and, by placing a holy icon on him, received the blessing of the Mother of God for the holy cause of fighting the invaders.
From silver looted by the French and taken by the Cossacks, Kutuzov built a silver iconostasis in the cathedral - a gift from the Mother of God. The ashes of the glorious commander, known for his piety, rested under the arches of the Kazan Cathedral next to the miraculous image of the Mother of God, who did not reject his prayers and, under his leadership, granted victory to the Russian army over the armies of Napoleon.
To the Great Patriotic War, when their strength was already running out, the residents of the blockaded city on the Neva made a religious procession with the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which undoubtedly added resilience to the believing townspeople and helped them survive to the end. Miraculously preserved during the revolutionary hard times, the St. Petersburg copy of the Kazan Icon is now kept in the Prince Vladimir Cathedral, awaiting its return to its place in the iconostasis of the Kazan Cathedral after its restoration.
The story of the revealed miraculous image sadly ended at a difficult time for Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. On the night of June 29, 1904, the cathedral of the Kazan Monastery was robbed by sacrilege; The miraculous icon of the Mother of God also disappeared without a trace. During the investigation, the thieves showed that they sold the precious robe, and chopped up and burned the icon. That same year, the Russian army suffered setbacks in the Far East.
In addition to these three icons, many other copies of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in different parts of our vast Motherland became famous for the miracles of healing and mercy of the Queen of Heaven to the Orthodox people, for which the Russian people loved this image very much. In a rare church you will not find the Kazan Icon; It is also most often used to bless young people for family life.
Return of the Honored List from the Vatican
After the revolution of 1917, the atheistic regime mercilessly dealt with the spiritual heritage of the Russian people and consistently destroyed shrines that were precious to the believer’s heart. Many icons, for the sake of their antiquity and rich frames, were auctioned off and fell into the hands of Western collectors.
One of the copies of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, written in the 18th century. and decorated with a precious frame and stones, was sold abroad, and then bought and presented to Pope John Paul II, in whose chambers the icon had been located since 1993. According to some assumptions, this icon belonged to the founder of the Diveyevo community, Schema nun Alexandra (Melgunova) and in her for a time it was kept in the Kazan Church in the village of Diveeva.
The desire to transfer this icon to the Russian Orthodox Church was expressed by the pope for a very long time. In 1997, the condition for the transfer was a personal meeting of the head of the Vatican with His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, which was unacceptable for the Russian Church due to the complicated last years relations with Rome. In 2000, civil authorities became interested in the issue of returning the image, and the option of transferring the icon by the pope to the Patriarch in Kazan during the pontiff’s flight to Mongolia began to be considered.
In 2003, a mixed commission carried out an art criticism examination, which determined that the icon is not one of the three the most important images, but is a copy of the 18th century, made with a salary (that is, only the faces and hands are well described) and, judging by the salary, belonged to a wealthy family.
After the examination, the Catholic administration again announced the possibility of John Paul II coming to Russia to hand over the icon, to which there was a negative reaction from the Synodal Department for External Church Relations. It indicated that the transfer of the icon was not a sufficient basis for the pope’s visit, and the visit itself by that time did not even appear as a subject of inter-church negotiations (Church Bulletin, No. 9-10 (262-263) May 2003).
Next year 2004 Catholic Church decides to transfer the list of the Kazan Icon without any conditions. On August 25, a solemn farewell to the icon took place in Rome, and on the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15/28, 2004, during the Divine Liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the venerable list was handed over by a delegation of the Roman Catholic Church led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, Chairman of the Pontifical Council to promote Christian unity, the Russian Orthodox Church in the person of its High Hierarch, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II.
The return of the Kazan image of the Mother of God to the Motherland is perceived, on the one hand, as the great mercy of God to the Russian people, and, on the other, as evidence of the good intentions of the Vatican to return to sincere relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, free from the unkind rivalry with which they were marred in last decade. Before deciding on permanent place During the stay of this image, it is kept in the house church of the working residence of His Holiness the Patriarch in Moscow.
Deacon Mikhail Asmus