Synaxis of the Pskov-Pechersk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos

Synaxis of the Pskov-Pechersk Icon of the Mother of God
(Feast Day - October 1)

The Feast of the Pskov-Pechersk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was established in memory of the miraculous deliverance of Pskov from the invading troops of the Polish king Stephen Bathory in 1581. During the siege, they carried forth the wonderworking Dormition Icon of the Mother of God in procession from the monastery.

On August 26th of that year, the city of Pskov was surrounded by the hordes of the Polish king. The Bishop of Pskov shortly before this sent an embassy to the abbot of Pechersk Monastery, Tikhon, asking him to come to Pskov with the miraculous icons of the Dormition of the Theotokos. The Pskovites placed all hope in the intercessions of the Heavenly Lady, and the pious aspirations of the Bishop were justified.

Synaxis of the Bogolyuboy Icon of the Mother of God

The Bogolyuboy Icon of the Mother of God, one of the most ancient wonderworking icons of Russia, was painted in the twelfth century at the request of Holy Prince Andrew Yuryevich (July 4), in memory of an appearance to him by the Mother of God.

In the year 1155 Prince Andrew, having resettled from Vishgorod to the Suzdal region, brought with him a wonderworking icon of the Mother of God, which according to tradition was painted by the Evangelist Luke (this afterwards was called the Vladimir Icon). At seven versts distance from Vladimir by horse, the cart carrying the wonderworking icon stopped and could not be moved from the place. Prince Andrew asked the priest Nicholas, who accompanied him, to serve a Molieben before the Icon. For a long time Andrew prayed with tears before the venerable image. Later he went into his tent and continued his fervent prayer. The Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him with a small scroll in her hand and commanded the pious prince that the icon he brought from Vishgorod should remain at Vladimir, and that on the site of her miraculous appearance a church and monastery should be built. She then prayerfully raised her hand to Heaven, and received a blessing from Christ the Savior. Then the vision ended.

Synaxis of the Minsk Icon of the Mother of God

Synaxis of the Minsk Icon of the Mother of God
(Feast Day - August 13)

According to legend,* the Minsk Icon of the Mother of God was brought from Korsun (Chersonesos, now part of Sevastopol in the Crimea) to Kiev and was kept in the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, or Church of the Tithes, erected at the end of the 10th century (the consecration of the church in 996 is commemorated on May 12). Archpriest Pavel Afonsky, who wrote an article about the icon for the 400th anniversary of its acquisition, suggested that the icon was transferred to Kiev by the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir Svyatoslavovich after his wedding to the Roman princess Anna and his baptism in Korsun in 988. Kiev was repeatedly raided by conquerors (in 1169, 1204, 1240). The icon could have been in this temple until 1240, when during the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols, Kiev was destroyed, and the existence of the Church of the Tithes was interrupted until 1635. Information about the icon is lost for more than two hundred years. Perhaps the residents of Kiev hid it, and later it could have decorated the Kiev Cathedral of Hagia Sophia.

Saint Alypius the Iconographer of the Kiev Near Caves

Saint Alypius the Iconographer of the Kiev Near Caves (Feast Day - August 17)

Saint Alypius, one of the first and finest of Russian iconographers, was a disciple of St Nikon (March 23), and from his youth he lived a life of asceticism at the Kiev Caves monastery. He studied the iconography of the Greek masters, and from the year 1083 beautified the Caves monastery church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

If he learned that in some church the icons had become worn, he took them with him and restored them without charge. If people happened to pay him for his work, he set aside one third to purchase supplies for painting icons, one third as alms for the poor, and the remainder for his own needs.

St Alypius was never famous, and he painted icons only to serve God. He was ordained a hieromonk, and was known for working miracles even in his lifetime. St Alypius healed a Kievan man suffering from leprosy and decay of the body by anointing the wounds of the sick man with the paints he used for the painting of icons. Many of his icons were glorified by miracles, and sometimes angels helped him in the holy task of painting icons.

A certain man of Kiev who had built a church, once gave two monks of the Caves a commission to have icons painted for it. The monks concealed the money and said nothing to St Alypius about it. After waiting a long time for the work to be completed, the man went to the igumen to complain about St Alypius. Only then did they discover that he had not been told of the commission. When they brought the boards provided by the customer, it turned out that beautiful icons had already been painted on them.

When the church was consumed by fire, all of the icons remained unharmed. One of these icons (the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos), known as the Vladimir-Rostov Icon (August 15), was taken by Great Prince Vladimir Monomakh (1113-1125) to a church he had built at Rostov.

Another time, when St Alypius lay deathly ill, an angel painted an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos for him. On August 17 (around the year 1114), an angel came to receive the soul of St Alypius, and he was buried in the Near Caves. The first three fingers of St Alypius's right hand were positioned together, and the last two were bent to the palm. It seems that he died while signing himself with the Sign of the Cross.

One of the icons painted by St Alypius survives from the time of Sts Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, and is now preserved in the State Tretyakov Gallery. This is the Sven Icon (May 3 and August 17).

A twentieth century icon in the church of the Pskov Caves Monastery of the Dormition depicts St Alypius holding a copy of the "Assuage My Sorrows" Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (January 25 and October 9).

The Sven Icon of the Mother of God

The Sven Caves Icon of the Mother of God was written by St. Alypius of the Caves. On the icon the Mother of God is depicted sitting upon a throne, with the Divine Infant on Her knees. St. Theodosius is on the right side of the throne, and St. Anthony of the Caves is on the left. Until 1288, the icon was in the Kiev Caves Monastery, where it was glorified by miracles. In 1288 it was transferred to the Briansk-Svensk Monastery, which is dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

At Briansk, Prince Roman of Chernigov became blind due to an unknown ailment. Hearing about the miracles worked by the icon written by St. Alypius, the prince sent a courier to the monastery requesting that the icon be sent to him. A priest journeyed with the icon along the River Desna. After the voyage, the boat landed on the right bank of the River Svena. After lodging for the night, they went to the boat to pray before the icon, but they did not find the icon where they had last left it. Looking around, they saw it on a hill on the opposite bank, resting in the branches of an oak tree. News of this reached Prince Roman, and he was led to the icon on foot.

The prince prayed fervently before the icon and vowed to build a monastery on that spot, donating all the land which could be seen from the hill. After praying, the prince regained his sight. First he saw the footpath, then nearby objects, and finally all the surroundings.

After making a shrine for the icon, the prince had a Molieben served, and laid the foundations for a wooden church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. The tree on which the icon rested was cut down and used as wood for other icons.

The feast day of the Sven Icon of the Mother of God is also commemorated on August 17 (the day of the repose of St. Alypius the Iconographer). The August 17 celebration was established in the year 1815 in thanksgiving for the deliverance of the city of Briansk (around which the icon appeared in 1288) from invasion during the 1812 Napoleonic War.

The icon was glorified by healings of the blind and of the possessed, and has long been regarded as a protector from enemies.

Source

St. Alypius and the Miracle of the Dormition Icon

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

The Lord does not allow His faithful servants to be shamed. It often happened that the martyrs of Christ, ridiculed and mocked before the courts, unexpectedly performed a miracle, which instilled fear in the unbelievers. Either the idols fell or thunder destroyed the temples of the heathen or an unexpected downpour of rain extinguished the fire prepared for their burning or the torturers beat themselves with stones and rods and so forth. Thus, Antipater, the torturer of St. Myron (Aug. 17), during the suffering of this man of God suddenly went insane and killed himself.

St. Alypius, the icongrapher, was already at the end of his life when he received an order from a man to paint the icon of the Dormition of the Most-holy Theotokos. As the feast was approaching, this man came several times to see whether the icon was completed. But the icon was not even begun, not even on the eve of the Feast of the Dormition itself when the icon was supposed to have been placed in the church. When this man returned home completely saddened, at once there appeared a young man in Alypius' cell who immediately sat down and began to paint the icon. He worked very quickly and very expertly. When the icon was completed, it shone like the sun. Showing the icon to the astonished Alypius, the young man took the icon and brought it to the church for which it had been ordered. The next day, that man who had ordered the icon went to the church and, to his great surprise, saw the icon in its place. Then that man came to the monastery and, with the abbot, entered Alypius' cell. "How and who painted the icon of this man?" asked the abbot. The ailing Alypius replied: "An angel painted it, and he is now standing here to take me away." And with that, he gave up the spirit.

Apolytikion in Plagal of the Fourth Tone

Thou didst portray the Saints' faces on panels of wood, O all-praised Alypius, as a skilled craftsman thou didst inscribe their good works on the tablets of thy heart. Like an icon adorned in a God-like manner thou wast gilded with the grace of holiness by Christ our God the Savior of our souls.

Kontakion in the Second Tone

Divinely sealed, thou didst learn iconography from thy childhood, and take thy part in adorning the church of the Mother of God. Thou didst behold the illumination of the Holy Spirit, and receive power from God to paint wonderworking icons. Wherefore we venerate thee, blessed Alypius.

Synaxis of the Icon of the Mother of God of Saint Theodore

Synaxis of the Icon of the Mother of God of Saint Theodore
(Feast Days - March 14 & August 16)

The Theodore or Kostroma or Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God was allegedly painted by the Evangelist Luke, but more likely is a copy of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God which it resembles.

This icon received its name from Great Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (+ 1246), the father of Saint Alexander Nevsky, and who in holy Baptism was named Theodore in honor of Saint Theodore Stratelates (Feb. 8).

According to one tradition, Prince Basil of Kostroma, the younger brother of Prince Alexander Nevsky, became lost in the forest while hunting game. This was on August 16, 1239. He saw an icon standing amid one of the spruces, but when he tried to take it down, it rose up in the air. Amazed by such a wondrous occurrence, Prince Basil returned to the city and told the clergy and the people of his vision. Everyone went out to the forest and, in truth, found the icon in the indicated spot and fell to their knees in prayer to the Mother of God. The clergy then took the icon and carried it to the church. The inhabitants of Kostroma observed that while the prince was hunting in the forest, a warrior in rich armor came up to the city with an icon in his hands. The warrior looked like the image of the Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, in whose honor the Kostroma Cathedral was consecrated, and for this reason the icon was called Feodorovskaya. One time several people living in the vicinity of the Gorodetsk Monastery that had been destroyed by the Tatars came to Kostroma, and they immediately recognized the cathedral icon that used to be in their church.

Deposition of the Honorable Robe of the Theotokos in Blachernae

The Placing of the Venerable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae (Feast Day - July 2)

During the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Great (457-474), the brothers Galbius and Candidus, associates of the emperor, set out from Constantinople to Palestine to venerate the holy places. In a small settlement near Nazareth they stayed in the home of a certain old Jewish woman. In her house they noticed a room where many lamps were lit, incense burned, and sick people were gathered. When they asked her what the room contained, the pious woman did not want to give an answer for a long time. After persistent requests, she said that she had a very precious sacred item: the Robe of the Mother of God, which performed many miracles and healings. Before Her Dormition the Most Holy Virgin bequeathed one of her garments to a pious Jewish maiden, an ancestor of the old woman, instructing her to leave it to another virgin after her death. Thus, the Robe of the Mother of God was preserved in this family from generation to generation.

The jewelled chest, containing the sacred Robe, was transferred to Constantinople. St Gennadius, Patriarch of Constantinople (August 31), and the emperor Leo, having learned of the sacred treasure, were convinced of the incorrupt state of the holy Robe, and they certified its authenticity. At Blachernae, near the seacoast, a new church in honor of the Mother of God was constructed. On June 2, 458 St Gennadius transferred the sacred Robe into the Blachernae church with appropriate solemnity, placing it within a new reliquary.

Afterwards, the maphorion (i.e., the outer robe) of the Mother of God, and part of Her belt were also put into the reliquary with Her Robe. This circumstance also influenced the Orthodox iconography of the Feast, in connecting the two events: the Placing of the Robe, and the Placing of the Belt of the Mother of God in Blachernae. The Russian pilgrim Stephen of Novgorod, visiting Constantinople in about the year 1350, testifies: "We arrived at Blachernae, where the Robe lies upon an altar in a sealed reliquary."

More than once, during the invasion of enemies, the Most Holy Theotokos saved the city to which She had given Her holy Robe. Thus it happened during the time of a siege of Constantinople by the Avars in 626, by the Persians in 677, and by the Arabs in the year 717. Especially relevant for us are events of the year 860, intimately connected with the history of the Russian Church.

On June 18, 860 the Russian fleet of Prince Askold, a force comprising more than 200 ships, laid waste the coastal regions of the Black Sea and the Bosphorus, then entered into the Golden Horn and threatened Constantinople. The Russian ships sailed within sight of the city, setting ashore troops who "proceeded before the city, stretching forth their swords." The emperor Michael III (842-867), interrupted his campaign against the Arabs and returned to the capital. All night he prayed prostrated upon the stone tiles of the church of the Mother of God at Blachernae. The holy Patriarch Photius spoke to his flock, calling for tears of repentance to wash away sins, and to seek the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos with fervent prayer.

The danger grew with each passing hour. "The city was barely able to stand against a spear," says Patriarch Photius in another of his homilies. Under these conditions the decision was made to save the church's sacred objects, especially the holy Robe of the Mother of God, which was kept in the Blachernae church, not far from the shore.

After serving an all-night Vigil, and taking it out from the Blachernae church, they carried the sacred Robe of the Mother of God in a procession around the city walls. They dipped its edge into the waters of the Bosphorus, and then they transported it to the center of Constantinople into the church of Hagia Sophia. The Mother of God protected the city and quelled the fury of the Russian warriors. An honorable truce was concluded, and Askold lifted the siege of Constantinople.

On June 25 the Russian army began to leave, taking with them a large tribute payment. A week afterwards, on July 2, the wonderworking Robe of the Mother of God was solemnly returned to its place in the reliquary of the Blachernae church. In remembrance of these events an annual feastday of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God was established on July 2 by holy Patriarch Photios.

Soon, in October-November of the year 860, a Russian delegation arrived in Constantinople to conclude a treaty "in love and peace." Some of the conditions of the peace treaty included articles concerning the Baptism of Kievan Rus, the payment of an annual tribute by the Byzantines to the Russians, permission for them to serve with the Byzantine army, an agreement to trade in the territory of the Empire (primarily in Constantinople), and to send a diplomatic mission to Byzantium.

Most important was the point about the Baptism of Rus. The continuator of the Byzantine "Theophanes Chronicles" relates that "their delegation arrived in Constantinople with a request for them to receive holy Baptism, which also was fulfilled." An Orthodox mission was sent to Kiev to fulfill this mutual wish of the Russians and the Greeks. Not very long before this (in 855) St Cyril the Philosopher (February 14 and May 11) had created a Slavonic alphabet and translated the Gospel. St Cyril was sent with his brother, St Methodius (April 6 and May 11), on a mission to Kiev with books translated into Slavonic. This was at the initiative of St Photius, whose student St Cyril was. The brothers spent the winter of 860/861 at Cherson, and in the spring of 861 they were at the River Dniepr, with Prince Askold.

Prince Askold was faced with a difficult choice, just as holy Prince Vladimir faced: both the Jews on the one hand, and the Muslims on the other, wanted him to accept their faith. But under the influence of St Cyril, the prince chose Orthodoxy. At the end of the year 861, Sts Cyril and Methodius returned to Constantinople and carried letters with them from Prince Askold to Emperor Michael III. Askold thanked the emperor for sending him "such men, who showed by both word and by example, that the Christian Faith is holy." "Persuaded that this is the true Faith," Askold further wrote, "we bid them to baptize in the hope that we may also attain sanctity. We are all friends of the Kingdom and prepared to be of service to you, as requested."

Askold accepted holy Baptism with the name Nicholas, and many of his retinue were also baptized. Directly from Constantinople, the capital of Orthodoxy, through the efforts of the holy Apostles to the Slavs both the Slavonic divine services and the Slavonic written language arrived in Rus.

St Photius appointed Metropolitan Michael to Kiev, and the Russian metropolitan district was entered into the lists of dioceses of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Patriarch Photius in an encyclical of the year 867 called the Baptism of the Bulgarians and the Russians as among the chief accomplishments of his archpastoral service. "The Russians, who lifted their hand against the Roman might," he wrote, almost quoting literally from the missive of Askold, "have now replaced the impious teaching which they held to formerly, with the pure and genuine Christian Faith, and with love having established themselves in the array of our friends and subjects." (The Byzantines counted as "subjects" all accepting Baptism from Constantinople and entering into military alliance with the Empire.) "The desire and zeal of faith has flared up within them to such an extent, that they have accepted bishops and pastors, and they embrace Christian sanctity with great zeal and fervor."

The Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae also marks the canonical establishment of the Russian Orthodox metropolitanate in Kiev. By the blessing of the Mother of God and by the miracle from Her holy Robe not only was the deliverence of Constantinople from the most terrible siege in all its history accomplished, but also the liberation of the Russians from the darkness of pagan superstition to life eternal. Together with this, the year 860 brought recognition to Kievan Rus from Byzantium, and signified the emergence of the young Russian realm into the arena of history.

The attempt of Prince Askold to renew the Christian evangelization begun by the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, which he intended as a religious and state reform, ended unsuccessfully. The time for the spread of Christianity in the Russian Land had not yet come. The adherents of the old paganism were too strong, and the princely power was too weak. In the clash of Askold with the pagan Oleg in 882 the Kievans betrayed their prince. Askold, lured into the camp of his enemies for talks, received a martyr's death at the hand of hired killers.

But the deed of Blessed Askold (the Ioakimov Chronicle calls him such) was not extinguished in the Russian Church. Oleg the Sage, who killed Askold, occupied the Kiev princedom after him, and called Kiev the "Mother of Russian Cities."

The most ancient chronicles of Kiev preserved the grateful memory of the first Kievan Christian prince: the church of the Prophet of God Elias, built by Askold and later mentioned in Igor's Treaty with the Greeks (in 944), is on the site where the present church of this name now stands, and there is also the church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker, built in the 950s by St Olga over Askold's grave.

The most important achievement of Askold, entering forever into the Church inheritance not only of Rus, but of also all Orthodox Slavs, is the Slavonic Gospel and Slavonic services, translated by Sts Cyril and Methodius. Their apostolic activity among the Slavs began in Kiev at the court of Askold in 861, and continued afterwards in Moravia and Bulgaria. Following Blessed Askold, in the words of the ancient Alphabetic Prayers, "the Slavonic tribe now soars in flight, all striving toward Baptism."

Several outstanding works of Byzantine Church hymnology and homiletics are connected with the miracle of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae. There are two homilies of St Photius, one of which he preached within days of the siege of Constantinople, and the other soon after the departure of the Russian forces. Also associated with the campaign of Askold against Constantinople is the composition of a remarkable "Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos," which certain Church histories ascribe also to holy Patriarch Photius. This Akathist forms an integral part of the services of Praise to the Most Holy Theotokos (i.e., the "Saturday of the Akathist," Fifth Saturday of Great Lent).

It is not only Byzantine sources that relate the events of the year 860, but also Russian historical chronicles. St Nestor the Chronicler, stressing the significance of the Russian campaign against Constantinople, notes that from this time "it was begun to be called the Russian Land." Certain of the chronicles, among them the Ioakimov and Nikonov, preserved accounts of the Baptism of Prince Askold and Kievan Rus after the campaign against Constantinople. The popular commemoration of this event is firmly associated with the names of the Kievan princes Askold and Dir, although in the opinion of historians, Dir was prince of Kiev somewhat earlier than Askold.

The veneration of the feast of the Placing of the Robe was long known in the Russian Church. St Andrew Bogoliubsky (July 4) built a church in honor of this feastday in the city of Vladimir at the Golden Gates. At the end of the fourteenth century, part of the Robe of the Mother of God was transferred from Constantinople to Rus by St Dionysius, Archbishop of Suzdal (June 26).

The holy Robe of the Mother of God, which previously saved Constantinople, later saved Moscow from hostilities. Tatars of the Horde of the princeling Mazovshi approached the walls of Moscow in the summer of 1451. St Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, with constant prayer and church services, encouraged the defenders of the capital. On the night of July 2, the Chronicle relates, great confusion occurred within the Tatar camp. The enemy abandoned their plundered goods and speedily departed in disarray. In memory of the miraculous deliverance of Moscow, St Jonah built the church of the Placing of the Robe in the Kremlin, making it his primary church. It burned, but in its place in the years 1484-1486 a new church, also dedicated to the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God, was built thirty years later. This temple, standing at present, continued to serve as the primary church of Russian metropolitans and patriarchs until the cathedral of the Twelve Apostles was built under Patriarch Nikon.

Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

O Ever-Virgin Theotokos, shelter of mankind, thou hast bestowed upon thy people a mighty investure, even thine immaculate body's raiment and sash, which by thy seedless childbirth have remained incorrupt; for in thee nature and time are made new. Wherefore, we implore thee to grant peace to the world, and great mercy to our souls.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone

O godly shelter that dost cover all mankind, the sacred robe that covered thy sacred body hast thou bestowed on all the faithful graciously, O pure Virgin, as a robe of divine incorruption. As we celebrate with love its august deposition, we cry to thee with fear, O graced of God: Rejoice, O modest one, boast of the Christian race.

Source

The Honorable Robe of the Theotokos in Georgia

A history museum in Zugdidi (in western Georgia) has preserved many of the sacred artifacts confiscated from churches and monasteries at the beginning of the Soviet rule, from 1923 to 1936. Included among the artifacts is the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was brought there from the Dormition Monastery in Khobi (near Zugdidi).

There are several different explanations as to how the Robe came to Georgia. According to one account, it was brought from Jerusalem at the beginning of the 12th century. According to another, it was brought to Georgia in the 8th century, during the period of iconoclasm in Byzantium. According to the chronicle Life of Kartli, the wonder-working Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos had been preserved in the church at Khobi for many centuries.

In 1640 the Russian envoys Fedot Elchin and Pavel Zakharev visited western Georgia and reported having seen the Precious Robe. It was also described in the accounts of various travelers through western Georgia including Giuseppe Maria Zampi the Italian missionary, the patriarch of Alexandria (in the 17th century); and several monks of Mt. Athos.

The Robe of the Theotokos was preserved in a silver case on the altar in Khobi, under the seals of both the catholicos and Prince Levan II Dadiani.

According to tradition, many miracles have occurred and a great number of people have been healed by the wonder-working Robe.

Every year on July 2, the Most Precious Robe is carried from the Zugdidi Museum to the Cathedral of the Blachernae Icon of the Theotokos. After the festal Liturgy the faithful joyfully venerate this most priceless treasure of the Christian Faith.

Pilgrims from many countries have traveled to Zugdidi to venerate the Robe of the Most Holy Mother of God.

Thy Robe, O Virgin Theotokos, was bestowed upon the nation that venerates thee as a rampart against enemies both visible and invisible. For this we chant unto thee with glorious hymns!

Source

Links about Blachernae Church here .

Synaxis of the Volokolamsk Icon of the Mother of God

Synaxis of the Volokolamsk Icon of the Mother of God (Feast Day - March 3)

The Volokolamsk Icon of the Mother of God is a copy of the Vladimir Icon of the Moscow Dormition Cathedral. The icon was brought from Zvenigorod to the Dormition Monastery of Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk on March 2, 1572, during the second week of Great Lent and was solemnly met by Abbot Leonid (1563-1566; 1568-1573) and all the monastic brethren.

Art historians unequivocally agree that the image was painted in the early seventies of the sixteenth century by an artist from the circle of tsarist masters and is one of the best works of Moscow church art of that time. In terms of artistic quality, the copy was not inferior to the original and was richly decorated with precious stones, gold, silver and beads.

Synaxis of the Kozelshchansk Icon of the Mother of God

Kozelshchansk Icon of the Mother of God (Feast Day - February 21)

The Kozelshchansk Icon of the Mother of God was glorified in the late nineteenth century, though it is older than that. This icon is of Italian origin and was brought to Russia by one of Empress Elizabeth’s (1741-1761) maids of honor, who was Italian. The owner of the icon married a records clerk of the Zaporozhsky-Cossack army, Siromakh. So, the icon went to the Ukraine with them.

Synaxis of the Icon of the Mother of God of Yakhrom

 

Synaxis of the Yakhrom Icon of the Mother of God (Feast Day - October 14)

Saint Kosmas of Yakhrom (Feb.18) was the son of a boyar who lived within the limits of Vladimir. Apparently, due to a lack of money, he was given to be raised by a neighbor-landowner, from the Sekerin boyars, and served him by traveling to cities and villages with the boyar seeking healing for his illness. 

 

The Yakhrom Icon of the Mother of God appeared to the holy youth Kosmas in the year 1482, while he was accompanying his master, the sick landowner. Kosmas had stopped at the bank of the Yakhrom River, not far from Vladimir, and the sick man fell asleep. Kosmas suddenly saw a bright light coming from a nearby tree, and heard a voice, “Attend and understand the words of life. Live a God-pleasing life and seek the joy of the righteous, and then you will delight in eternal blessings.” The light had come from an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.

 

Synaxis of the Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign in Novgorod

Synaxis of the Icon of the Theotokos of the Sign (Feast Day - November 27)

The term Mother of God of the Sign is a reference to the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel."

The image of the Christ child represents him at the moment of his conception in the womb of the Virgin. He is depicted not as a fetus, but rather vested in divine robes, and often holding a scroll, symbolic of his role as teacher. Sometimes his robes are gold or white, symbolizing divine glory; sometimes they are blue and red, symbolizing the two natures of Christ.

Saint Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev (+ 1708)

St. Hilarion of Suzdal (Feast Day - December 14)

Saint Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev (in the world John), was born November 13, 1631 into the family of the lower city priest Ananias. His father, famed for his piety and reading, was one of three candidates for the Patriarchal throne, together with the future Patriarch Nikon (1652-1658).

On the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos

ON THE FEAST OF THE DORMITION (FALLING ASLEEP) OF THE ALL-HOLY AND BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THE THEOTOKOS

By Fr. George Dion Dragas

The Place of the Theotokos in the Church: The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Theotokos (Mother of God) occupies next to Christ the most important place in Orthodox Christianity. This is most obvious in the Orthodox liturgical tradition. Entering into any Orthodox church you first encounter the Theotokos. Her sacred icon is the first to meet and venerate in the Narthex. She appears in her primary identity as the Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, the Savior of the world, whom she holds in her hands. As you move further into the church, you encounter her again both in the main Nave and in the Sanctuary at the most prominent places. You are thereby reminded that you cannot church yourself and approach God in Christ without the Blessed Virgin Mother of God. She is the primary witness, the new Eve, the Mother of the second and last Adam, your Savior and Savior of the world. She is the Queen of the Church, of the Kingdom of God, of Angels and human beings and of the entire creation, whom the King of all chose as the unique vehicle of his coming into the world to save it and restore in it his eternal Kingdom of freedom, truth and love.

The Feast of the Dormition (Koimesis): The Feast of the Dormition (Falling asleep) of the All-holy Theotokos, celebrated on the 15th of August every year is the greatest among several others which commemorate her Blessed person and life. As such, this Feast marks the completion of her earthly life as her full participation in the salvation and eternal life which the Lord God established for us human beings through Christ. But one may ask. Is this not a contradiction in terms? Does not falling asleep imply death? The answer is Yes and No. Yes, because she truly died. No, because she did not remain in death. The Icon of the Feast of the Falling-asleep of the Theotokos depicts her body resting breathless in a bed while her soul, wrapped in swaddling clothes like a new-born baby, is upheld in the arms of the Risen and glorified Christ who stands behind the bed. This icon is the reversal of the usual icon of the Theotokos which depicts the Virgin holding Christ in her arms. Christ holding the Virgin’s soul in his arms indicates her entry into the Kingdom of Heaven which the Incarnate Christ opened up for us through his saving life and work. It indicates in the most concrete way St. Athanasius’ well known dictum: “God became human that we (humans) may be made divine.” Christ the Savior taking the soul of his Mother to Heaven marks the first resurrection, which Christians experience when they die, thanks to our Lord’s redemptive work. The full resurrection of our humanity, i.e. the resurrection of the body, will take place at the second coming of Christ which will be accompanied by the general resurrection and the last judgment of all human beings.

What happened to the body of the Theotokos? The Feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin does not end with her first resurrection, which is the entry of her soul into heaven. There is another mystery also connected with it which refers to her holy body. What happened to the body of the Theotokos? Why there is no tradition in the Christian Church both in East and West that mentions any bodily relics of the all-holy Mother of God, but there are traditions only about her girdle (zone) and garments (estheta and maphorion)? Apparently, according to ancient traditions, her body too was miraculously translated into heaven after its burial in Gethsemane, and was united with her soul. Indeed her tomb was found empty shortly after the burial. This tradition of the translation of the body of the Theotokos from the tomb to heaven (metathesis or metastasis in Greek, transitus in Latin) is very strong in the Orthodox Church as liturgical practice and many and important patristic texts bear witness, although sources do differ on details.

An admirable collection of texts referring to early ecclesiastical sources of this tradition is the book, Early Patristic Homilies On the Dormition of Mary published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press (1997). It contains English translations of texts referring to the Falling Asleep in the Lord of the Blessed Virgin Theotokos by John of Thessalonica, Theoteknos of Livias, Modestus of Jerusalem, Andrew of Crete, Germanus of Constantinople, John the Monk of the Old Lavra, John Damascene and Theodore the Studite. The translator, one of the great patristic scholars in this country, Professor Brian E. Daily, S.J., has provided a good discussion of these texts by way of introduction. To these texts one could go on and add several others from the later Byzantine fathers and ecclesiastical authors of the second millennium, such as Leo the Emperor, John of Euchaita, Isidore of Thessalonica, Philotheos of Constantinople, Gregory Palamas of Thessalonica, Nicholas Cabasilas, Damaskenos Stoudites, etc. These texts point to a common tradition, although one observes differences in the details as scholars argue (see the latest discussion of Stephen J. Shoemaker, Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary’s Dormition and Assumption, Oxford University Press, 2002). They all agree, however, that the tomb of St. Mary in Gethsemane, where the body of the Blessed Virgin Mary was buried by the holy Apostles, was found empty when they opened it three days later. Here is how this ‘tradition’ is presented by Patriarch Juvenal of Jerusalem to Empress Pulcheria of Constantinople at the time of Chalcedon (AD 451) who asked for the relic of the Theotokos to be transferred from Jerusalem to Constantinople (From Sermon II on the Dormition of St. John Damascene, ch. 18 based on an earlier document called Euthymian History).

The Ancient Tradition (from the History of St. Euthymius): “There is nothing in the holy, inspired Scripture about the death of Mary, the holy Theotokos; but we know from an ancient and truest tradition that at the time of her glorious falling asleep, all the holy Apostles, who were traveling the world preaching salvation to the nations, were in an instant lifted up and brought to Jerusalem. As they stood before her, they saw an angelic apparition, and a divine chanting was heard from the higher Powers. And so, in a state of divine and heavenly glory she placed her soul into God’s hands in an ineffable way. Her body, which had received God, was carried with angelic and apostolic hymns, was prepared and laid to rest in a coffin in Gethsemane. It was there and for three days that the angelic choruses and hymns continued unceasingly. After three days, however, the angelic hymnody ceased. The Apostles were there, and since one of them –Thomas– who had been absent from the burial, came after the third day and asked to reverence that body which had received God, they opened the coffin. They could not find anywhere her much-praised body, and since all they could find were her burial swaddling-clothes and the ineffable fragrance that came out of them and filled their bowels, they closed the coffin again. Amazed by the miracle of this mystery, they could only think this: that the One who willed to be incarnated and become human from her in his person, and to be born in the flesh he who is God the Word and Lord of Glory, and who preserved her virginity incorruptible after the birth, he was also the One that was well-pleased to honor her immaculate and spotless body, after her departure from this world, [by endowing it] with incorruptibility and with a transposition (metathesis) [to heaven] before the common, and universal resurrection.”

Orthodox and Roman Catholic Doctrine: This is not the place to present in detail all the variable patristic accounts of the falling asleep of the Theotokos and assess their conclusions. In spite of differences, it is clear that they all point to the glorification of the Blessed Theotokos at her death, which marks her entry into Heaven and taking a place closer to Christ than any other heavenly or human being. The mystery of her bodily transposition which is warranted by the empty tomb is a matter of faith and piety and is based on the mystery of the Incarnation. Based on this logic that pertains to the mystery of Christ and the unique place of the Blessed Virgin Theotokos in it, it is also logical to assume that she too has experienced the resurrection of the body as a unique anticipation of the general resurrection of all humanity in the end of time. In spite of this, the Orthodox Church has not accepted the Roman Catholic dogma of the bodily assumption of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, which was promulgated by Pope Pius XII on 1 November 1950 through his Bull Munificentissimus Deus. The reasons for this rejection have been both theological and historical. The Roman Catholic Dogma of the Assumption is based on the earlier Marian dogma of the Immaculate Conception (that the Virgin was born immaculate, free from original sin), which was promulgated by Pope Pius IX on 8 December 1854 through his Bull Ineffabilis Deus. In effect this meant that being sinless she could not and did not die but was assumed into heaven both in body and soul. For the Orthodox these Roman Catholic Marian Dogmas are rather rationalizations of piety and are not clearly warranted in the Holy Tradition of the Church. Orthodox piety and faith preserves the mystery of the blessed Theotokos along with the mystery of Christ the Incarnate God and Lord of Glory. The festal hymn of the Dormition proclaims this most clearly: "In giving birth you kept your virginity. In falling asleep you did not abandon the world, O Mother of God. You passed over into life, for you are the Mother of Life, and by your intercessions you deliver our souls from death."

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Saint John the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Novgorod (+ 1186)

St. John of Novgorod (Feast Day - September 7)

Saint John, Archbishop of Novgorod, was born in Novgorod to pious parents named Nicholas and Christina. He passed his childhood in quiet and peaceful surroundings.

After the death of their parents, John and his brother Gabriel decided to establish a small monastery in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos with their inheritance.

Sermon for the Nativity of the Theotokos

How common it is for us to celebrate the birth and milestones in the life of our friends and those whom we hold dear. We enjoy celebrating their birthday and achievements expressing our camaraderie in their triumphs along their life’s journey, rejoicing when they rejoice. Is this not even more natural for us to do within the Church? There are many saints whom we are drawn to (or, more correctly, they draw us to themselves) and we, therefore, make a point to be aware of the day that their feast is celebrated, take time out to read their life and works, prepare and commune at the Divine Liturgy and honor them recognizing their place in the wider Church as well as in our own lives. Therefore, today is no different, and yet it is, due to the greatness of the one we are celebrating: Mary, the Mother of God.

First Homily on the Second Day of Holy Pascha (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on April 29, 1951)

"... I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. Amen" (Matthew 28:20).

Deep despondency and hopelessness took possession of the hearts of the apostles after the terrible crucifixion of their Teacher. Endless darkness settled in their hearts, for all their hopes for what they expected from their Teacher, Whom they considered the Son of God and the Messiah, collapsed. How could the word of Jesus, spoken so long ago by Him, be fulfilled now: “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Mt. 19:28).

Who will protect them from the terrible danger that threatens them from the murderers of their Teacher?! For if they killed Him, then, of course, they will not be spared either. This mood of the apostles was clearly reflected in the answer of Luke and Cleopas, whom the Resurrected Jesus met on the way to Emmaus: “But we hoped that He was the one who should deliver Israel” (Lk. 24:21) .

“But we hoped.... ” So, now their hope has disappeared. What should they do, poor and unlearned fishermen who have lost their Divine Teacher, whose mind and will they experienced? Everything collapsed, and hopeless darkness was before them.

But here is the amazing news that astonishes them. Mary Magdalene and other myrrhbearing women run with her with the news that the tomb of the Savior is empty, and they saw Him Risen and spoke with Him.

And fiery Peter confirms this, for he saw an empty tomb, and the Risen Christ appeared to him.

With the same message, Luke and Cleopas returned to the apostles from their journey to Emmaus.

Remembering the promise of the Teacher that after His resurrection from the dead He would precede them in Galilee, the apostles hastened there.

“And when they saw him, they worshiped him; while others doubted. And drawing near, Jesus said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always to the end of the age. Amen" (Mt. 28:17-20).

And suddenly their dead hearts came to life and kindled with a fiery hope for everlasting help from the light of their eyes, their Divine Teacher.

For forty days Jesus appeared to them, continuing to teach them and strengthening their faith.

And when the time came for His ascension to heaven, then the apostles heard His last great promise: “... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit descends on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

These great promises of the Savior were fulfilled, and the Holy Spirit descended on them on the day of Pentecost reminding them of everything they had heard from Christ, and made them fearless and mighty fighters for the truth of God.

After the murder of the First Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen, “there was a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem, and all, except the apostles, were scattered in different places in Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1).

Such was the fortitude and courage of the apostles, who, of course, faced the greatest danger.

The hands of the apostles performed great miracles, and they fearlessly preached about the Lord Jesus Christ.

“The high priest, and with him all who belonged to the heresy of the Sadducees, were filled with envy. And they laid their hands on the apostles, and shut them up in the prison of the people. But the Angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison at night and, bringing them out, said: 'Go, and standing in the temple, speak to the people all these words of life'” (Acts 5:17-20).

With great boldness, the apostles answered the members of the Sanhedrin, who demanded of them that they should not dare to preach about Christ: “Judge whether it is fair before God to listen to you more than to God? We cannot but speak what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

Christ was with them, to whom was given all authority in heaven and on earth, and the Holy Spirit spoke through their mouths.

The twelve Galilean fishermen faced the seemingly impossible task of entering into an unequal struggle with the whole pagan world, with the mighty Roman Empire, with Greece, which gave the world great philosophers. And this task, to the amazement of the whole world, they victoriously fulfilled and hoisted the Cross of Christ over the new world.

Thus, the great promise of the Savior was fulfilled: “And lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the age.”

The chosen people of Israel throughout the days of the Old Testament were guided by God's power. By this power, the people of Israel, who were in bondage there, were freed from Egyptian captivity. This power dried up the Red Sea before them and drowned the pharaoh in it, who was pursuing them with a huge army. This power expelled from Palestine the pagan peoples who inhabited it, when the forty years of wandering in the deserts of the Jews ended, and they entered the promised land. This power protected Jerusalem from imminent destruction when Rabshakeh, the commander of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, came to it with a huge army and mocked the faith of the Jews in protection from Jehovah.

For this impudence and blasphemy, he was punished by the One Whom he reproached: in one night, the Angel of the Lord destroyed one hundred and eighty-five thousand people of the army of Rabshakeh and turned him into a stampede.

This has been repeated and is repeated even to this day.

In 626, the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople, was in mortal danger from the Scythians and Persians who surrounded it from the west and east. In horror and confusion, all the people prayed to God with tears in the Blachernae Church, and in the morning Patriarch Sergius plunged the robe of the Most Holy Theotokos into the waters of the Bosporus, and a storm suddenly arose, sinking all enemy ships.

In remembrance of this miracle of God's help, through the prayerful intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, songs of prayer are performed to this day, called the "Akathist of the Mother of God" on the fifth week of Great Lent.

And our capital city of Moscow has more than once been saved from formidable enemies by the power of God and the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.

In 1521, the Tatars, led by Mehmed Giray, made terrible devastation and showed cruelty on the way to Moscow.

Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich, with the people and the army, turned with a fervent prayer before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, and suddenly the Tatars, who were about to burn Moscow, saw an uncountable army around them - and they fled.

Therefore, in the fate of entire nations, if they honor God and put their trust in Him in everything, we see the fulfillment of Christ's promise - "And lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the age."

But the same without a doubt applies to every person who has completely loved Christ and diligently walks along the path indicated by Him. And his fate, and the whole direction of life is always determined by the grace-filled influence of the Holy Spirit, creating in him everything good and pure.

Hope in God is never in vain. If only there was a person worthy of the Holy Spirit dwelling in Him, so that he would become a temple for Him, then there would be no need to worry about anything, and such a blessed one would be completely imbued with the holy word of the prophet David, who said: “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday” (Ps. 36:5-6).

Let us keep forever in our hearts the holy promise of the Lord Jesus: “And lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the age.” Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

 

Holy Prince Igor of Kiev and Chernigov (+ 1147)

St. Igor of Kiev and Chernigov (Feast Day - September 19 and June 5)

The Holy Prince Igor of Chernigov: The mid-twelfth century was a grievous time of incessant internecine strife over the Kiev principality between two princely factions: the Olegovichi and the Mstislavichi. They were all close relatives, they were all great-grandsons of Yaroslav the Wise. The Mstislavichi were called after their father, Saint Mstislav the Great (April 15), son of Vladimir Monomakh (from whence their other name: “Monomashichi”). The Olegovichi were called after the name of Oleg Sviatoslavich (+ 1115), known as “Gorislavich” because of his bitter [“gore”] fate. Oleg Gorislavich was the son of the Kievan prince Sviatoslav (+ 1076), who participated in the Transfer of the Relics of the holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb in the year 1072 (May 2). Sviatoslav was the owner of two of the most remarkable theological collections of this time -- the “Sviatoslav Izbornik [selections from the holy Fathers] of 1073” and the “Izbornik of 1076.”

Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (+ 1515)

St. Joseph of Volokolamsk (Feast Day - September 9)

Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk, in the world John Sanin, was born on November 14, 1440 (1439 according to another source) in the village of Yazvisch-Pokrov, not far from the city of Volokolamsk. He was born into a pious family with his father named John (in monasticism Joannicius) and his mother Marina (in schema Maria). The seven-year-old boy John was sent to the pious and enlightened Elder Arsenius of the Volokolamsk-Exaltation of the Cross Monastery to be educated.

Distinguished by rare qualities and extraordinary aptitude for church service, for one year the talented youth studied the Psalter, and, the following year, the entire Holy Scripture. He became a reader and singer in the monastery church. Contemporaries were astonished at his exceptional memory. Often, without having a single book in his cell, he would do the monastic rule, reciting from memory from the Psalter, the Gospel, the Epistles, and all that was required.

Saint Peter the Wonderworker, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia (+ 1326)

St. Peter of Moscow (Feast Day - December 21)

Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, was born in Volhynia of pious parents, Theodore and Eupraxia. Even before the birth of her son, the Lord revealed to Eupraxia the preordained blessedness of her son. At the age of twelve, young Peter entered a monastery. He successfully studied the sciences of those times and eagerly fulfilled his monastic obediences. The future saint devoted much time to an attentive study of the Holy Scriptures, and he also learned iconography. The icons painted by Saint Peter were distributed to the brethren and to Christians who visited the monastery.

The Heretical Icon of the "Holy Family"

By John Sanidopoulos

The main reason Orthodox Iconography is more about imitation than innovation is to prevent heretical concepts from entering the Church, since heresy can just as much be depicted in icons as written in books and proclaimed from the pulpit. One such innovation in Orthodox Iconography that began in America is the depiction of the "Holy Family", showing Christ either in the arms of both St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary, or in the arms of St. Joseph alone. While such depictions may seem innocent, they in fact display a lack of attention to essential matters of Orthodox doctrine.

Holy Prince Constantine and his sons Mikhail and Fyodor, Wonderworkers of Murom

Sts. Constantine, Mikhail and Fyodor of Murom (Feast Day - May 21)

The Holy Princes Constantine and his sons Mikhail and Fyodor of Murom lived during the eleventh-twelfth centuries.

Prince Constantine, a descendant of Saint Vladimir, asked his father, Prince Svyatoslav of Chernigov, to give him the city of Murom, which was inhabited by pagans, so he might enlighten this land with the light of the Christian faith.