The myrrh-streaming icon “The Seven-shot Mother of God” is nowadays located in the church of the Archangel Michael, located on the Maiden Field in Moscow. The holy image depicts the prophecy of the holy elder Simeon.
History of the birth of the icon
This learned man, translating the Holy Scripture into Greek, doubted the purity of conception, that is, he wanted the word “virgin”, considering it a typo, replaced with the word “wife”. For this, he was destined to live until the moment of meeting with the Savior firsthand. The meeting took place, and it happened in the
Temple of Jerusalem, on the day of the Presentation of the Lord - one of the great
Christian holidays, when Jesus reached the age of 40 days, and the elder was almost 300 years old. The depths of suffering and suffering, to which the holy mother and son are doomed, were revealed to his eyes. For Mary, Simeon figuratively defined the measure of suffering with seven arrows that pierce her heart. Therefore, the icon of the “Seven-shot Mother of God”, as well as the icon “Softening of Evil Hearts”, unified with it, depicts the Virgin (without the Son), whose heart is pierced by 7 arrows or swords located on both sides of the virgin Mary. If there are 6 swords, then the Virgin Mary is holding the baby Jesus in her arms. Some sources attribute the number 7 not only to the suffering that befell her, but also to the number of the most serious human sins, from which the Virgin wants to save people.
Myths about the Seven-shooter icon
The icon "Seven-shot Mother of God", incredibly revered by the Orthodox, has its own background. We found it in the Vologda Oblast, in the 17th century, when a revelation appeared to a terminally ill peasant in a dream. He was instructed in the bell tower of the St. John the Theological Church, which is located near the Toshny River, to find the icon, by praying which he will recover. Three times he was not allowed into the bell tower, assuring that there were no images there. The search lasted a long time, and the image was found on the stairs, in dust and dirt, where its back served as a step. The icon "Seven-shot Mother of God" was made on canvas and attached to the board. After restoration (washing and cleaning), it was suggested that this is a list from the ancient icon of the northern peoples of Russia, which is at least 600 years old. The peasant of the Kadikovsky district of the Vologda province fully recovered, and the fame of the miraculous icon spread throughout the district. But popular fame came to her after 1830, when the Vologda province was seized by an epidemic of cholera.
Icon of peace and protection
“The seven-shot icon of the Mother of God”, an akathist and divine texts read in her honor at the time when the holy image was worn around the perimeter of the city, saved Vologda from cholera. Grateful residents, at their own expense, ordered a list (copy) of the miraculous icon. The city lived under its protection. After the revolution, both the list that has become myrrh-streaming and miraculous, and the icon itself have disappeared without a trace.
The “Softening of Evil Hearts” icon (its second name is “Simeon Prophecy”), like the “Seven-shot” icon, meaning, prayer, akathist, whose homage is identical, belong to the same type of iconography. This holy image is incredibly in demand, since, along with physical and spiritual healing, it protects a person from anger and hatred, both external and internal. In recent years, many believers are increasingly turning to this shrine before any litigation, in the days of gloom and asking Mary for mercy and reconciliation of the warring.