An ancient legend claims that the icon of the Mother of God āGraciousā was painted by the Evangelist Luke. The second name is Kikkotisa, which she received thanks to Mount Kikkos, which is located on the island of Cyprus. Here she is kept in the temple, in the imperial monastery, built in her honor.
Where did this wonderful image of the Heavenly Queen travel before being on the island of Cyprus? At first, it was owned by one of the first Christian Egyptian communities. After he was transferred to Constantinople, where he was kept until the reign of Alexy Komnin (beginning of the XII century). It was then that the recluse Isaiah was told in a miraculous sign that through his efforts the miraculous image written by the Evangelist Luke would be stored on the island of Cyprus.
The elder spent a lot of energy before fulfilling the divine revelation. When the icon of the Mother of God āGraciousā arrived on the island, she began to work miracles. To this day, people possessed by all kinds of diseases come to the monastery of an extraordinary image from all sides of the world: they receive healing according to their faith.
Interestingly, the miraculous power of this icon is believed not only by Christians, but also by foreigners, who also ask for help from her in troubles and diseases. The mercy of the Blessed Virgin, the patroness of all the afflicted, is endless: it is not without reason that her image bears the name āGraciousā. The wonderful āKikkā icon of the Queen of Heaven has a stunning quality: it is not known from what time it is covered with a shroud to the middle - from the lower right to the upper left. Because of this bedspread, no one can see the faces of the Virgin Mary and the baby of Christ, and they donāt even try.
The image of the Blessed Virgin on the icon is similar to the image of Hodegetria, as well as the face of the Smolensk image of the Queen of Heaven: her head is crowned with a crown. It should be noted that today the list from this image is especially honored in the Nikolsky nunnery of the city of Mukachev.
Kykkos Monastery
And let's explore the Kikk monastery? This is the stavropegic male monastery of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, one of the richest and most famous monasteries of Cyprus. It is called the Holy Royal Monastery of the Kikk image of the Virgin.
This monastery was founded at the end of the eleventh century by the Byzantine ruler Alexei I Komnin. It is located near the Troodos mountain system at an altitude of 1,140 meters above sea level.
History of the cloister
Legend has it that an ancient hermit, whose name was Isaiah, lived in a cave of Mount Kykkos. Once, the Byzantine satrap of Cyprus Manuil Vutomitis came to the village of Maratasa. It should be noted that this person every summer came to rest in this place. And then the governor went hunting in the forest and suddenly went astray. For a long time he was looking for the road leading to the house, and by chance met Isaiah. Satrap asked him to help him find his way, but the hermit who had retired from worldly life said nothing. Manuel became very angry and struck Isaiah.
A little time passed, and the governor returned to Nicosia, where he was suddenly overwhelmed by the incurable disease of "shatik": she was considered a kind of paralysis. He was terribly tormented, every cell of his body suffered from pain, and suddenly he remembered what he had done to the hermit. And at that very hour the unfortunate one began to pray to the Lord for recovery, for only then could he meet Isaiah and ask him for forgiveness.
God heard the prayers of the satrap, and he was healed. Soon the Lord appeared to the hermit and informed him that he had met the governor of Godās will. Among other things, the Almighty ordered Isaiah to ask Manuel Vutomitis to bring him the icon of the Virgin, which was painted by the Apostle Luke in Cyprus. It is known that this relic was kept in the imperial palace of Constantinople.
Having heard the hermitās request, Manuil Vutomitis was very upset, as he considered it impossible to fulfill this request. Then Isaiah told him of the will of the Most High and invited Manuel to go to Constantinople together. They arrived in the capital and walked on it for a long time, but the governor could not take courage and appear before the emperor. Not wanting to exhaust Isaiah, he ordered him to go to Cyprus, providing various ceremonial decoration and icons. He also reassured him, promising that he would definitely meet with the emperor.
A little later, the daughter of the ruler fell ill with the same ailment as earlier Manuil Vutomitis. The viceroy, taking this opportunity, immediately went to the lord Alexei I Komnin. He informed him of the monk Isaiah and what had happened to him. Manuel assured the ruler that if he allows the icon to be transported to Cyprus, the child will instantly recover. The emperor was very sad, so he obeyed Manuel, and soon his daughter was healthy.
It should be noted that the emperor really liked the icon of the Mother of God āGraciousā, and he did not want to part with it. Alexei ordered the best artists of the empire to draw an exact copy of which he planned to send to Cyprus. At night, the Queen of Heaven appeared in a dream to the ruler: she said that she wanted to see the original of her image on the island, and let him keep copies of it at home.
The next day, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God āGraciousā went on a ship to Cyprus, where Isaiah was waiting for her. To the Troodos mountains from the coast, the image was carried on foot: the trees bowed their branches and trunks, greeting him, nodding at the tops, greeting him. So, the icon was delivered to the island, and the emperor ordered the construction of a monastery in the mountains of wood and a chapel for the storage of such a precious relic.
In 1365 there was a fire, and the monastery had to be rebuilt. The second time it was built of stone and wood. Unfortunately, in 1541 the monastery was burned again, and again it was rebuilt, but now made of stone. Previously, the building was one-nave, but in 1745 it was enlarged, and it turned into a three-nave. It should be noted that the middle nave was intended for the Virgin Mary: that is why the monastery celebrates the church holiday Christmas of the Virgin on September 8 and the Assumption of the Virgin on August 15. The left nave is dedicated to the archangels Michael and Gabriel, and the right - to All Saints.
By the way, the bell tower was built in 1882, much later than the monastery. This is due to the fact that during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, Christians were banned from bells. The bell tower has six bells: one of them is melted in Russia, its weight is 1280 kg.
Current state
The construction of the Kykkos monastery dates back to different eras. The temple is located in the center. Around it were built a cathedral room, the abbotās house, a library, monks' cells, a museum, reception halls and other buildings. There is also a well dug in the center of a large paved courtyard. As noted above, initially the monastery and all its buildings were cut down from wood: the peak of Mount Kykkos is not far from the Paphian forest, so the area does not lack lumber.
The monastery is decorated with frescoes and mosaics created in 1991-1993 by the icon painters the brothers of Cyprus and other masters from Romania and Greece.
The image of the Virgin
For many centuries, the icon of the Mother of God āGraciousā was revered by the locals, who explained the wonders on the island only by her presence. For example, they believe that the disposal of locality in 1760 from locusts occurred due to the influence of this image.
Generally Kikk "Gracious" icon of the Mother of God served as a model for a huge number of images of the Queen of Heaven in Orthodox society. In 1975, the image was decorated with a silver salary that completely covered her face, which no one has seen since. The icon of the Virgin Mary is still kept in the monastery, its magical properties attract a huge number of pilgrims.
Monastery Compound
The courtyard of Kykkos Monastery is located in a suburb of Nicosia called Metohion Kykkos. Previously, it was the outskirts of the city, but over time, the land of Nicosia expanded, and the courtyard was located near the city buildings. In this monastery, in 1974, the archbishop of Cyprus, Macarius III, was hiding from the military junta pursuing him: for this reason, the buildings were attacked by tanks and some of them were destroyed.
Museum
The Kykkos Monastery Museum is a unique repository of the history and culture of Cyprus. Since 1992, this institution is open daily for many pilgrims and travelers: from 10 to 16 hours from November to April and from 10 to 18 hours from May to October. The museum owns several rooms in which works of Christian art are located. Amazing exhibits: icons, embroideries, shrines, wood carvings, manuscripts, vestments and other relics - express part of the living veneration of the Lord and the history of the monastery. In general, an impressive collection of antiques introduces visitors to the history of Cyprus. An overview of the treasures of the museum exposition is accompanied by Byzantine music.
The miraculous icon "Gracious"
So, we found out that the Kikk "Gracious" icon of the Mother of God has many duplicates. Let's get acquainted with one of them, located in the cathedral of the Zachatievsky monastery. The image is stored in an old icon case in a white-stone tent and exudes currents of miracles to those who resort to faith under the blessed cover of the Virgin.
It is interesting that the monastery legend connects this image with the ancient icon of the Virgin Mary "Gracious-Kikk". In general, she is called Eleusa, which means "spring of mercy." This image is one of the basic types of images of the Queen of Heaven in Russian iconography.
For the first time the icon of the Mother of God āGracious Kikā was mentioned in the monastery catalogs of the 18th century. Prior to the closure of the monastery, this image was in his cathedral church, erected in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.
In 1909, the abbess of the monastery abbess Maria (Box) compiled an inventory in which the icon of the "Mother of God the Gracious" was marked as one of the most revered shrines of the Zachatievsky monastery. It is written that prayer singing with an akathist was performed in front of her on Wednesdays.
Soviet authority
In 1918, the Soviet government issued a decree on the nationalization of church property and lands; church values āābegan to be confiscated. Abbess Maria decided to protect the shrines and charitable institutions of the monastery. For this purpose, she founded a brotherhood in the name of the Virgin Mary, in honor of her icon āGraciousā, under the protection of the All-Russian His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon. In 1923, the monastery decided to close, so the icon of the Mother of God āGraciousā Together with other revered images, she was transferred to the temple of the prophet Elijah, which was located in Obydensky Lane.
They removed the expensive silver robe trimmed with gold from the shrine and hid it to prevent mockery. At the last prayer service in front of the icon āTheotokos the Graciousā, Mother Superior Mary called the sisters. With tears, with a feeling of heart sorrow, they offered fervent prayers to the Blessed Virgin: they realized that a new life full of suffering and trials was beginning for them.
Everyone knows what miracles the āGraciousā icon of the Mother of God does. The prayer ended, and Abbess Maria uttered the last word: she entrusted the nuns and the whole monastery to the care of the Highest Abbess - the Blessed Virgin. She said that from now on the Mother of God will be a mentor, and abbess, and leader for the sisters. Then mother left her abbot's wand at the image in confirmation of her words.
The subsequent history of the monastery
Further, the Zachatievsky monastery was closed, and most of the sisters were sent to the camps in Siberia and Kazakhstan. Some natives were evicted from the monastery to the street, few sisters managed to go to relatives and friends living in the villages. By the way, the natives tirelessly read the akathist the āGraciousā icon of the Mother of God: that is how they tried to alleviate their suffering. It should be noted that part of the exiles still remained in Moscow, but they had to huddle in the basements and attics, earning a living from any work that turned up. Some quilted blankets, and some were sewing.
The small community of novices of the Conception Monastery secretly led monastic life in the world, preserving the monastery's traditions as far as possible. In the Ilyinsky temple there was a āGraciousā icon of the Mother of God - a prayer to a precious treasure was performed with unlimited love. The image was kept in the right chapel in the name of the holy apostles Peter and Paul.
The sisters looked after the icon. For example, a nun Magdalen from a noble family, before the monastery was closed, obeyed the head of the monastery passport office. Until the end of her life, she kept clean the icon case and image, corrected the lamps. During the services, the sisters in the temple always stood in a special place.
Among the monks, the icon of the Mother of God āGraciousā was very revered. Value it is impossible to measure in their life. The day of the celebration of the image is scheduled for November 25. Every year on this day, the inhabitants of the Zachatievsky monastery gathered to serve in the Ilyinsky church. According to the monastery tradition, the all-night ceremonial vigil was held the other day, accompanied by the singing of an akathist.
After the Divine Liturgy, the clergy and the Zachytchev sisters went on a solemn meal to one of the nuns. They kept the monastery custom, constantly reading the akathist of the āGraciousā icon of the Mother of God. The shrine of the monastery and parishioners of the Ilyinsky temple reverently revered: in the fifties they made a gilded silver robe for her with precious stones and coinage.
In honor of this icon, sisterhood was created in 1991, and a little later, preparations began for the revival of the Zachatiev monastery. Then the sisters began to think about the return of the shrines of the monastery, and first of all they wanted the main relic, the icon of the Mother of God āGraciousā, to return. What helps if she hears all the prayers and lamentations brought to her, every nun could tell about her miracles. And after a long wait on November 25, 1999, the image appeared in the monastery.
"Listener"
The prayer of the Mother of God āGraciousā is very often read by believers who flow into the Conception Monastery under her blessed cover. This icon is sometimes popularly called the āListenerā, because the ear of the Virgin Mary in the image is ajar. The Mother of God all the prayers offered to her, hears and reveals her motherly love and mercy.
The Akathist icon āGraciousā is read when they want to get rid of drought or be healed of infertility, bleeding. Saying prayer lines, many ask her for strengthening in sorrows and needs, for the granting of childbearing, for healing from headaches, and for the recovery of the relaxed. And also this image can help carry the ionic cross and relieve family sorrow.
By the way, the icon of the "Gracious" can be seen in the All Saints Church, which is located in Kulishki. Its exact address: Moscow, Slavyanskaya Square, 2. A distinctive feature of this image is the bee depicted on the salary.
And in the State Rybinsk Architectural-Historical and Art Museum-Reserve (Rybinsk, Volzhskaya Naberezhnaya, 2) there is an icon āOur Lady of Kikkā. This image was painted by the icon painter Leonty Yakovlevich Tyumenev at the beginning of the eighteenth century. In those days, Leonty served in the Church of the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (the village of Borzovo, Rybinsk district). It is noteworthy that the "Gracious" always listens attentively to the prayers offered to her, and by faith fulfills them.
Prayer of the Mother of God āGraciousā exalted from all afflicted with faith and hope for her omnipotent intercession. Help comes immediately to some, while for others, changes in life occur only after months or years. Sometimes the Blessed Virgin does something amazing, completely unrelated to what is requested or expected. But her love for sinful children is visible to everyone without exception.
The Mother of God instructs and heals, helps in the most hopeless everyday situations. Many people, visiting the monastery, talk about the gracious help they received from the Queen of Heaven through her image of the āGraciousā.