According to the ancient chronicles, the Novgorod icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”, now stored in St. Sophia Cathedral, was first glorified in the XII century, and this happened during the ordeal that hit the city. Since then, this image has been a symbol of the protection of heavenly forces.
Fratricidal Campaign
The 12th century entered the history of the fatherland as a period of fierce confrontation between the specific princes, who spilled rivers of blood in their quest for power. One of his grim episodes was the attempt of Vladimir-Suzdal Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky to subjugate Veliky Novgorod. Not only relying on his own strength, he entered into an alliance with other princes: Ryazan, Murom and Smolensk, and at the head of the combined army he placed his own son Mstislav. In the winter of 1170, this huge army moved to the shores of Volkhov, leaving behind itself countless corpses and ashes of villages. In late February, the soldiers of Mstislav approached Novgorod and began to prepare for the assault.
The Will of the Blessed Virgin
Seeing that there were a great many besiegers, and clearly lacking their own strengths, the inhabitants of the city, hoping only for heavenly intercession, constantly prayed, invoking the Lord and His Most Holy Mother. Many Novgorod icons by that time were already famous for the miracles revealed through them, and this inspired hope in the besieged.
And it so happened that one of the nights, the Archbishop of Novgorod John (glorified later in the face of saints), standing in prayer, heard the voice of the Most Holy Theotokos, who commanded him to go to the Church of the Savior, on Ilyinskaya Street, and taking her image from there , elevate it to the city wall.
The miracles revealed by the icon
Not a bit slow, the venerable archpastor sent his servants to the indicated church, but when they returned, they reported that they could not only bring a saving image, but even failed to move it. Then Saint John gathered the people and, at the head of the procession, personally went to Ilyinskaya Street. The legend says that only after a general kneeling prayer the Novgorod icon “Sign” (it turned out to be the miraculous way that the Mother of God pointed to) was able to be picked up and triumphantly carried through the streets of the besieged city and put on the wall.
Unaware of what they were doing, the soldiers of Mstislav showered the marvelous image of cloudy arrows, one of which pierced the image of the Virgin. And then those present were able to see a miracle: the Queen of Heaven turned Her pure face to the city, and bloody tears flowed from her eyes. At that moment, terror besieged the besiegers. Deprived of their minds, they drew swords and began chopping each other randomly. Many of them then died under the walls of the city, and those who survived in panic fled.
The glorification of the miraculous image
On that day, the Novgorod icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” shielded the Novgorodians from imminent disaster and thereby became popularly famous. Soon the date of her annual celebration was established. It was February 25, ─ the day of the happy deliverance of Novgorod from enemies. For almost two centuries, the miraculous image “The Sign” stood on Ilyinskaya Street in the Church of the Savior, founded in the 11th century by Archbishop Nikita of Novgorod. The icon was taken out only during the celebrations, and then returned to the place. But over time, the Novgorodians built for their savior a new stone church, and the former was demolished due to dilapidation. Today in its place you can see a stone temple, founded in 1374.
The patron saint of Novgorod
The history of the Novgorod icon “Sign” preserves the memory of many miracles revealed through it. So, in 1566, she saved the city from an unprecedented fire that engulfed him. In those days, fiery disasters often happened in Russia, but this time the fire raged so violently that it threatened to destroy all city buildings. Only thanks to the procession, led by Metropolitan Macarius, carrying a miraculous image in his hands, did the element stop.
Another striking episode of the story is a miracle revealed through an icon in 1611, in the days when Novgorod was captured by the Swedes. Wanting to rob the “Sign” church ─ the very one that was specially built for the miraculous image, ─ the invaders tried to break into it during the service, but in front of everyone present they were thrown out by unknown force. Their second attempt ended in the same. Soon after, the Swedes left the city, full of fear of its heavenly patroness. There are many such examples.
The fate of the icon in the 20th century
In 1934, the cathedral, where the Novgorod icon "Sign" was located, was closed, and it was transferred to the museum of local lore, in which it remained until perestroika times. Only during the Great Patriotic War, saving the valuable relic from the Nazis, Novgorodians evacuated it inland. In 1991, when the government’s policy towards the Church underwent fundamental changes, the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary “The Sign” was returned to the Novgorod diocese and has since been in the St. Sophia Cathedral.
Iconography of the image
By its artistic features, the image of the Mother of God “Sign” refers to the icons of the Novgorod school. On a blackboard measuring 59 x 52.7 cm, there is a half-length image of the Virgin, raising her hands in a prayer gesture. On her chest, against the background of the oval sphere, the Eternal Infant Jesus is placed, blessing the audience with his right hand, and in the left holding a scroll is a symbol of teaching and wisdom. In addition to these two central figures, the icon’s composition also includes images located at the edges of St. James of Persia, the Great Martyr George and two hermits ─ the Monks Peter of Athos and Macarius of Egypt.
This iconographic type, called "Oranta", belongs to the most ancient images of the Virgin and, as researchers believe, goes back to the image that was once in the Blachernae Church of Constantinople. It gained distribution not only in the Orthodox world, but in churches of the western direction of Christianity. A vivid example of this is the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with arms outstretched in prayer and a blessing Infant, placed in the Roman tomb of St. Agnia.
In Orthodox Russia, the images of the Virgin of this iconographic type appeared one of the first. The earliest of them, dating to the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries, were already called the “Sign”, although they did not correspond in all respects to the icon stored in the St. Sophia Cathedral of Novgorod. The main difference was that the Mother of God was depicted on them in full growth, resting her feet on the rug-eagle, which is a characteristic element of the Orthodox bishop's service. As for the prayerfully raised hands and the location of the Eternal Infant, they were the same as on the icon we are considering. The above is the prayer offered before this in an honest manner.
Features of the image stored in St. Sophia Cathedral
The Novgorod Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” is two-sided. On its back there is an image of Saints Joachim and Anna ─ the earthly parents of the Virgin Mary, standing in prayer poses before Jesus Christ. Another characteristic feature of the icon is the presence of a pole, which serves to carry it out of the church during the processions.
According to the data available to art critics, in the 16th century the front side of the icon was renewed. There is reason to believe that this work was carried out personally by Archbishop Makarii, who later occupied the department of the Metropolitan of Moscow. A detailed study of the painting layer showed that only some fragments of the vestments of the Virgin remained original, as well as part of the medallion in which the figure of the Baby Jesus is placed. The flip side, not touched by the bishop’s brush, came to us in its original form.