The history of the birth of this image is closely intertwined with the life of one person who fought for Orthodoxy, preached Christianity and called for the veneration of icons. This man was called John Damascene, and he lived in the distant 9th century, it was with him that the Three-Handed, the icon of the Mother of God, was connected.
A little bit about the life of John
Rev. John of Damascus in those days was in the service of the Caliph of Damascus as Minister. John was an honest man and did not conceal his views: he zealously opposed heretics and pagans, urged everyone to worship God alone, and not to pollute the holy icons.
Around the same time, the Byzantine throne was occupied by Emperor Leo the Isaurian. He opposed admirers of icons and Orthodox Christians in general. With the coming to power of this man, the terrible persecution of believers began. Of course, upon learning of the views of Ionne Damaskin, of his sermons and statements, the emperor Leo the Isaurian was furious.
In fact, it was because of this man that the Three-Handed Icon , the icon of the Mother of God, before which Damaskin prayed so often, was soon born.
Punishment for John
As a result, the emperor decides to punish him in this way: a letter was written allegedly on behalf of Damascus, in which John seemed to call Leo to attack Damascus.
A letter was sent to the caliph, who, in turn, gave the order to cut off his wrist for betrayal to St. John and hang it as a sign of intimidation in the local market.
In the evening of the same day, tormented by terrible pains, John wrote a letter to the caliph and asked him to give him a severed hand. A brush was given to him. The crippled John could not sleep all night, he was sitting near the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, putting his severed hand to the joint and praying tirelessly, asking to heal him from a terrible wound. When the Monk John fell asleep, the Virgin Mary appeared to him in a dream and said that his wound would be healed soon. But for this she ordered to work with a cured hand and not be lazy.
Miraculous healing
When John woke up, he found that his hand had grown together, and that a large scar remained from yesterday’s wound. In gratitude for his healing, he decided to make a gift to the Virgin. John cast a hand from a good piece of silver and put it on the image, before which he prayed all night. Since then, the icon of the Virgin Mary of the Three Hands appeared.
Further story image
As the legend says, in addition to a silver hand, as a thank-you, John wrote a whole song, which was called "Rejoices in Thee, Grace, All Creature." Subsequently, Damascene went to the monastery and completely dedicated his life to God.
In the 13th century, the Three-Handed icon was brought as a gift to Savva of Serbia, and he brought this shrine to his homeland. From there, a few years later, when the Turks went to Serbia, the image was sent on a free trip, tied to a donkey. So they hoped to save the icon from abuse.
To much surprise, the donkey with the icon safely reached one Athos monastery, where the monks reverently accepted this shrine.
Miracles of the Three-Handed
Of course, the first miracle that this icon created was the healing of St. John. But her miracles did not end there!
When the abbot died in the Athos monastery , the monks began to choose a new mentor, but could not do it. No matter how much they argue or choose, they have not come to a single decision. And one morning, having come to work, they saw that at the abbot's post there was Three-handed. This icon was immediately transferred to its place, but the next morning she was again abbot. The astonished monks could not understand what was the matter. Then she was returned to her place, and in the evening, leaving work, all the doors were tightly closed.
But early in the morning the image again awaited the monks in the place of the abbot. On the same night, the Mother of God came to one of the monks in a dream and said that she herself would be the abbot of this monastery and herself wished to manage it.
Since then, the Hilandar monastery is under the control of the Virgin, and the abbot is not there.
The Three-Handed Icon in Russia
The first copy of this legendary image came to our homeland in the 16th century. Over time, several more lists were made from this copy and installed in different churches of the country.
So, in one of the Russian churches there is evidence of miraculous healings of parishioners. The Icon of Prayer Three-Handed Healed many people who came to her with their last hope. It is noteworthy that many of the healed had similar injuries to the one that John Damascene had.
So the image “works” today, and everyone can ask before it health or just pray for those who are sick, because the Three-Handed is an icon that actually heals.