“Affection” is an icon of the Mother of God. Prayer meaning

In the Orthodox Church, several types of icons of the Virgin are accepted for veneration , one of them is “Affection”. On the icons "Tenderness" (in the Greek tradition - "Eleusa"), the Most Holy Theotokos is usually depicted waist-deep. She holds the baby - the Savior - in her arms and leans with tenderness towards her Divine Son.

The seraphim-Diveyevo icon “Tenderness” differs from the rest, on it the Mother of God is depicted alone. Her hands are folded crosswise on her chest, and her whole appearance conveys a state of deep humility and love. This image does not belong to the type of icon painting "Eleusa", however, bears the identical name.

"Tenderness" - the icon of the Mother of God of Pskovo - Pechersk

The Pskov-Pechersk Icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” (photo below) is a list of the “Vladimir Mother of God”. It was written by the monk Arseniy Khitrosh in 1521. The icon was brought to the Pskov-Pechersky monastery by pious merchants in the years 1529-1570, when the Monk Cornelius was the abbot of the monastery. This holy icon has become famous throughout the world for its miraculous help, supporting and protecting Orthodox Christians in difficult times of life.

"Tenderness" - the icon of the Mother of God of Pskov-Pechersk - refers to the icon-painting type "Eleusa", which is the most common in Russian icon-painting. Here is the Virgin Mary holding in her arms her Son Jesus Christ. The baby presses his cheek against the Mother of God, showing the highest degree of filial love.

This type includes such icons of the Virgin as Donskaya, Vladimirskaya, Yaroslavskaya, Feodorovskaya, Zhirovitskaya, Grebnevskaya, Pochaevskaya, the Recovery of the dead, Akhrenskaya, Degtyarevskaya and others. One of the images of this type is the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” Pecherskaya.

The history of the glorification of the miraculous icon

In 1581, the Polish ruler, King Stefan Batory, attempted a siege of Pskov. From the bell tower of the Mirozhsky Monastery, soldiers of the opposing side dropped red-hot kernels, one of which fell into the icon of the Virgin "Tenderness" hanging on top of the city wall. But the image was miraculously saved, and the core fell near it, without causing any damage. Having lost this war, the Lithuanian principality was once again forced to conclude a truce with Russia.

Thanks to the help of the Virgin, the city of Polotsk was seized from the French. The event took place on October 7, 1812 during the Patriotic War during the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte. The commander of the 1st corps ascribes his victory to the help of the Virgin and her holy image “Tenderness”. The icon of the Mother of God with her miraculous power helped to win another victory.

Numerous cases of the help of this icon are known for the miraculous healing of blind people. The widow, praying to the Blessed Virgin Mary, recovered after a fervent prayer in front of the icon “Tenderness”. The icon of the Mother of God was glorified by a great miracle. The woman was blind for almost three years, and after a fervent prayer before the miraculous image, she received her sight. Also from the blinding was healed and the peasant, who had not seen before this for six years. In addition, various cases of recovery from serious illnesses that occurred with the help of the Virgin after prayer before this holy image were noted.

“Tenderness” - Seraphim-Diveevo Icon

The Icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness" is considered one of the main shrines of the Seraphim-Diveevo monastery. The nuns and nuns of the female monastery consider her their Heavenly Mother Superior. This icon was in the cell of Seraphim of Sarov. He revered this icon very deeply, calling it “joy of all joys”. Standing in prayer before the image of the Virgin, the monk peacefully departed to the Lord. Even during the life of the saint, an icon lamp burned in front of the icon, from which he anointed all people who came to him, healing from spiritual and bodily ailments.

An interesting fact is that the iconographic type of this icon is characteristic of Western Christianity rather than the Eastern tradition of writing. The Blessed Virgin Mary is depicted here at a young age, at that moment of Her life, when the Archangel Gabriel announced the Good News about the incarnation of the Son of God. The face of the Holy Virgin Mary is thoughtful, her arms folded on her chest crosswise, her gaze turned down. Above his head there is an inscription of words from an akathist: "Rejoice, Bride of the Shameful!"

History icons

The history of writing and the author of this icon is unknown; its origin dates from the end of the 18th century. After the death of Seraphim of Sarov, the image was transferred to the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Diveevo monastery. For this, a special chapel was rebuilt, and the icon was placed in a special elegant icon case. Since that time, there is a tradition: to all the nuns of the monastery during the service to stand behind the icon case of the Virgin.

In 1902, the Holy Emperor Nicholas II presented the monastery with a precious gilded robe on the icon "Tenderness" and a silver decorated lamp. In the year when Seraphim of Sarov was glorified, several exact lists were made from the Virgin Mary icon, which were sent to different Russian monasteries.

In the post-revolutionary time, when the Diveyevo monastery was closed, the icon of the Virgin was taken to Murom by the Diveyevo abbess Alexander. In 1991, the miraculous image was transferred to Alexy II - the Patriarch of Moscow, who placed the icon in the patriarchal church, where it is currently located. Once a year, a miraculous image is taken out to the Epiphany Cathedral for worship. All interested Orthodox Christians can attach to it. The Diveya Monastery now houses an exact copy of the miraculous image.

Novgorod icon "Tenderness"

For almost 700 years, residents of Novgorod have venerated another icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness”. She is known for the many miracles that occurred from prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Blessed Virgin protected the city from fires, ruins and wars. Thanks to heartfelt prayer before this holy image, many people received healings from spiritual sorrows and bodily diseases. The celebration of the icon takes place on July 8th.

Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness"

On the Smolensk Mother of God icon “Tenderness”, the Holy Virgin is depicted with her arms folded crosswise on her chest. She admires her Divine Son playing on the folds of Her clothes. The face of the Blessed Virgin is filled with deep love and simultaneous sorrow for His Son.

The image has been known to the world since 1103. And he became famous thanks to the wonderful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who defended Smolensk from the attack of Polish soldiers at the beginning of the 17th century.

Miraculous Icon of “Tenderness” of the Mother of God, meaning for believers

When praying to the Blessed Virgin Mary “Tenderness”, many Christians ask for strengthening faith, reconciliation of the warring, deliverance from the invasion of enemies and the preservation of the Russian state. But most often young girls and women come to her, pouring out numerous requests for a successful marriage, healing from infertility and the birth of healthy children. Any “Tenderness” icon depicts the state of the holy soul of the Virgin: her endless love for people, great purity and holiness.

Many Christians, after performing sincere prayers before the holy image, note deep tranquility, faith and hope in the miraculous power of the Blessed Virgin. The “Tenderness” icon of the Mother of God helps in this. The significance of this holy image lies in the help of the Virgin to all people asking her.

Many Orthodox Christians embroider icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Recently, for this purpose they began to use beads more often. There is a pious tradition to devote this work to the Blessed Virgin. During embroidery, believing women pray and work with a feeling of repentance. In a request to give birth to healthy children, some mothers take the trouble of embroidering icons. When the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” with beads is ready, it is enclosed in a glazed frame and consecrated in an Orthodox church. After that they pray before the image in the hope of receiving what is requested.

Gymnography

Many prayers are dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. In front of the “Tenderness” icon, believers read an akathist. Prayer to the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” contains a deep meaning: the Orthodox praise the Blessed Virgin, calling her the Intercessor and Protector of our Country, the Beauty and Glory of the monastery, and also ask to save people from evil, save the Russian cities and protect the Orthodox people from the invasion of enemies, earthquakes, flood, from evil people and other misfortunes. It is customary to say this prayer, turning for help to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the hope of Her heavenly help and support.

Akathist

Akathist to the icon of the Mother of God “Tenderness” contains predominantly laudatory texts. It contains 13 ikos and kondakas that cover some historical events related to the appearance and glorification of the holy icon. The akathist also contains various requests to the Blessed Virgin Mary for help, protection and prayer for the sinful human race. At the end, the final kneeling prayer is always read, filled with requests to the Blessed Virgin Mary for the salvation and protection of all people.

Conclusion

There are several different types of Orthodox icons of the Mother of God, called “Tenderness”: there are miraculous, locally revered and revered images.
Despite the fact that all these images are different, they have one thing in common - they always convey the boundless love of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Orthodox Christians and all people.

The Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness" in Moscow is located at the center of social forensic psychiatry . V.P. Serbsky. This is an existing house church located at Khamovniki, Kropotkinsky Lane 23. There are always believers who want to pray and find peace of mind.