Among the many icons, one of the most necessary in every house is considered the icon "Softening of evil hearts." By praying before this image, you protect yourself from your own anger and irritability, which are not the best human qualities. In addition, in prayer in front of the icon they ask for a family truce or that there should be no enmity between neighbors, as well as for peace between entire states. In our culture, the image of the Mother of God, with her chest pierced by arrows, is one of the most emotional and expressive in icon painting. It provides an opportunity to feel mercy and compassion.
The origin of the icon
The icon "Softening evil hearts" is completely shrouded in mystery, so its exact origin is still unknown. According to one assumption, it came from the South-Western part of Russia, and according to another, from the West, since this image is revered in Catholicism. In addition to this name, the image has something else - "Simeon's prophecy." According to the story of the Evangelist Luke, the venerable old man Simeon the God-Receiver was visited by the Holy Spirit, who predicted that he could not leave this world until he saw the Messiah. When Jesus was brought to the temple on the fortieth birthday, Simeon hurried there. Picking up the Baby, he uttered the words that we now know as the prayer that sounds at every evening service in the temples. It is in these words that he indicates that the soul of the Most Holy One is pierced by suffering and pain, the completeness of which is symbolized by the number seven.
Icon "Softening evil hearts": the meaning of the image
On this icon, the mother of God is depicted alone. It is pierced by seven swords, symbolizing the fullness of heart disease and sorrows that were experienced by the Blessed Virgin Mary on earth. These seven swords convey the prophecy of Simeon, since this number in the Holy Scriptures characterizes the completeness of something. There is another icon with a similar meaning - “Seven-shot”. Many do not recognize the differences between these images, but they are, albeit insignificant. So, on the icon described in the article, three swords pierce the Virgin Mary to the right, three to the left, and one to the bottom. As for the “Seven-shot” icon, it depicts the Mother of God, which is pierced by three swords on the left and four on the right. In prayer practice, no distinction is made between these icons, since they have the same iconographic type.
The “Softening of Evil Hearts” icon has another interpretation with respect to the seven swords, according to which they convey the fullness of the sorrow of the Mother of God, but not because of the torment of the Son crucified on the cross, but because of our sins. The number seven symbolizes the number of man's main sinful passions, reflected by pain in her chest. But She is ready to ask her Son for everyone who asks for Her holy intercession.
Revered Lists Icons
The miraculous icon "Softening Evil Hearts" is located in the temple of the same name, which rises in the small village of Bachurino in the Moscow region. Until recently, this image was a private property of the Moscow Sparrow family. In 1998, the Vorobyovs took their icon to the Intercession Convent, as they wanted to attach it to the relics of the Blessed Old Woman. Immediately after that, the icon began to myrrh. Pilgrims began to go to this family from all over the world. They could not accept such a number of people at home, so the icon "Softening Evil Hearts" was given to the temple. A similar image is found in a one-shift church in the village of Kamenka. A myrrh-streaming list of this icon is also in Venice.