Among the Orthodox shrines there are many icons associated with specific people, personalities who left this or that mark in the history or spiritual life of people. These are Alexander Nevsky, Matron of Moscow, Boris and Gleb, and many, many others.
Why is the icon of the Mother of God - Igorevskaya?
The Igorevskaya icon of the Mother of God dates back to another holy image - “Our Lady of Tenderness”, the date of creation of which dates from about the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century. She is a variant of Vladimirskaya, her "mantle" image. A lot of copies were written off from the image during its existence. This suggests that the Igorevskaya Icon of the Mother of God is still highly respected and is a true symbol of Faith. Currently, the residence of one of the main copies is the Kiev Lavra of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. And she was called Igorevskaya because in front of her in the most difficult moments of her life, the victim of a bloody civil war, tearing apart Old Russian land, young Igor, Prince of Kiev and Chernigov, the great-grandson of the great Yaroslav the Wise, prayed before her .
He had a tragic, bitter, but also glorious fate, like many Christian great martyrs. In the chronicles it is said about the prince, in whose honor the Igorevskaya Icon of the Mother of God is named, that he was a brave warrior, a good hunter. The main thing is that he succeeded in faith and scholarship, was a great lover of books, read a lot of spiritual literature then, from his youth spent most of his time in prayers, meditations on God, conversations with monks and holy elders. When he had to testament to enter after the death of his brother to the throne in Kiev, Igor was already close to getting away from worldly life.
When, during his arrest and imprisonment in a cold hut, the prince fell ill and then recovered when he was already in a monastery and became a monk, he decided that this was a sign and his future life should be connected with the Lord. But Providence decreed otherwise. The Igorevskaya icon of the Mother of God is the very image in front of which the prince offered his prayers to heaven.
The monasticism did not save the prince from a terrible, tragic death - he was beaten to death by an angry mob. Moreover, even the corpse of him, innocently killed, was subjected to reproach and ridicule. He became a victim of the same riot of the crowd, senseless and merciless, about which Pushkin subsequently warned. In memory of this suffering death, the Igorevskaya Icon was named. It is written in the Greek style, covered with silver plating. And the inscription on the image directly indicates to whom it once belonged. Memorial day of the prince is celebrated annually on June 5 (18) with solemn prayers and services.
Most of all, the Igorevskaya Icon of the Mother of God is revered by people deeply miserable. Prayer, or rather, prayers to her are especially strong if a person is in a difficult situation, in danger or grief. Serious health problems are safely resolved, healing comes to people. Family members reconciled for a long time by cruel quarrels or everyday circumstances are reconciled.
What does this story teach? That one should always maintain faith in good, truth and justice, and by our faith will be rewarded to us!