The miraculous icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria of Smolensk.

14.10.2019

The Virgin Mother is the boundary between created and uncreated nature, and those who know God will know Her, as the receptacle of the inconceivable, and those who sing of God will sing Her after God. She is the foundation of those who are before her, and the intercessor is eternal.

St. Gregory Palamas

Novodevichy Convent is one of the most beautiful monasteries in Moscow. It is beautiful in any weather, at any time of the year. From childhood and for the rest of my life, I remember the unusually lush thickets of the monastery lilac (now, for some reason, almost all of it has been cut down). It is difficult to get used to this beauty, and every time you enter under the dark vaults of the gate church, you involuntarily freeze and admire.

Inside the monastery walls, in a small wooden house lived a real ascetic in the world - Pyotr Dmitrievich Baranovsky, the great architect-restorer of the twentieth century, who saved almost a thousand churches and ended his life here, in the main Moscow monastery of the Most Pure - therefore the street from which the road to the monastery begins is called Prechistenka. Peace be upon your ashes, servant of God Peter!…

From the window of his room, littered with books, folders with measurements and drawings of the room, Baranovsky, while he could still see - in his old age he was completely blind - he admired one of the most majestic churches in Moscow - the 16th-century cathedral in the name of Our Lady Hodegetria "called Smolenskaya", which kept a miraculous list with one of the greatest shrines of Russia - the Mother of God of Smolensk.

As long as there is faith in Russia, the Blessed One keeps this Her lot. The northern borders of our country were under the protection of the image of the Sign of Novgorod, the eastern - the Kazan icon, and the western - Smolensk.

The prototype of the Smolensk Mother of God is very ancient and, according to legend, was written by the Apostle Luke himself for the Antioch ruler Theophilus. After the death of Theophilus, this image of Hodegetria the Guide returned to Jerusalem; in the 5th century, the noble queen Pulcheria transferred him to the Second Rome, to the Blachernae church. From there the future Smolensk icon came to Russia. It is not known for certain under what circumstances, but it happened no later than the middle of the 11th century. According to legend, the icon became a parental blessing for the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Porfirorodny, who was married to the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich.

After the death of Prince Vsevolod, Hodegetria found a new guardian in the person of his son, the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir II Monomakh, a commander, a writer (his “Instruction” is still being studied in the course ancient Russian literature) and the temple builder. In 1095, he transferred the miraculous from Chernigov (his first inheritance) to Smolensk, and in 1101 he laid here cathedral church Dormition Holy Mother of God. Ten years later, the Hodegetria was placed in this cathedral and from that time on it became known as Smolenskaya - after the name of the city, the guardian of which this miraculous remained for almost nine centuries.

In the XIII century, the hordes of Batu fell upon Russia, rapidly moving west. Crying and praying, the Smolensk fell to the intercession of their Guardian. And a miracle happened: the Blessed One, through the image of Hodegetria of Smolensk, bestowed upon the city miraculous salvation. The Tatars were already several miles away from Smolensk, when a pious warrior named Mercury heard a voice coming from the holy icon: “I am sending you to protect My house. The ruler of the Horde secretly wants to attack My city with his army this night, but I begged the Son and My God for My house, so that he would not betray him into enemy work. I myself will be with you, helping My servant.” Obeying the Most Pure, Mercury raised the townspeople, and he himself rushed into the enemy camp, where he died in an unequal battle. They buried him in the cathedral church of Smolensk and soon canonized him as a saint. In memory of Mercury, on the day of his death, before the miraculous image of Hodegetria, a special prayer of thanksgiving was performed.

When in 1395 the Smolensk principality lost its independence, becoming dependent on Lithuania. But just three years later, the daughter of the Lithuanian prince Vitovt was married to the prince of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich (the son of the holy noble prince Demetrius of the Don), and Hodegetria became her dowry. In 1398, the newly acquired shrine was installed in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin according to right side from royal doors. Muscovites reverently worshiped her for half a century, until in 1456 representatives of the Smolensk people arrived in the reigning city and beat with their foreheads about the return of the shrine to them. Grand Duke Vasily the Dark (1415-1462), after conferring with the bishops and boyars, ordered to "release" the miraculous to Smolensk, leaving her exact list in Moscow. On July 28, at the confluence of almost all Muscovites, the icon was solemnly escorted through the Maiden's Field to the ford at the steep bend of the Moskva River, beyond which the road to Smolensk began. A moleben to the Guide was served here, after which the prototype of the miraculous went to Smolensk, and the mourners took the list from Smolenskaya to the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

In 1514, Smolensk was returned to the Russian state (the assault on the city by Russian troops began on July 29 - the day after the celebration of the Smolensk icon); in 1524 in memory of this event Grand Duke Vasily III founded the Novodevichy Convent on the very spot where in 1456 the Muscovites saw off the miraculous.

In 1609 Smolensk was besieged Polish army, and after twenty months of siege, in 1611, the city fell to the superior enemy. The miraculous Smolensk icon was again sent to Moscow, and when the Poles seized the white stone one, then to Yaroslavl, where it remained until the expulsion of the Poles and the return of Smolensk to the Russian state in 1654, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. On September 26, 1655, the miraculous icon of Hodegetria returned to Smolensk.

The intercession of the Most Pure One for Her beloved destiny was again revealed a century and a half later, during Patriotic War 1812. Again, Her miraculous image was taken out, first to Moscow - on August 26, on the day of the Battle of Borodino, the Smolensk, Iveron and Vladimir icons procession carried around Moscow, and on August 31, Iverskaya and Smolenskaya visited the wounded in the battle, who were in the Lefortovo hospital. And when the Russian troops left the first throne, the Smolensk icon was transported to Yaroslavl. However, through the intercession of the Most Pure One, this stay of Her miraculous image on the banks of the Volga turned out to be short-lived: already on December 24, 1812, Hodegetria returned to the Assumption Cathedral of Smolensk.

The Novodevichy Convent in Moscow also had to go through a lot. They sent here objectionable queens and princesses - Evdokia Lopukhina, Sophia; Napoleon's "twelve languages" plundered and plundered it, and even tried, before their flight from Moscow, to blow up the monastery (it was saved by brave nuns who put out the already lit fuses). In 1922, Novodevichy was completely closed, dispersing its inhabitants. Abbess Vera was sent to the camp for resisting the predatory "confiscation of church valuables"; and in 1938 the last confessor of the monastery, Archpriest Sergiy Lebedev, was martyred at the Butovo firing range, where the ashes of tens of thousands of the executed were buried. Back in 1925, there were 2811 tombstones in the cemetery inside the monastery walls, now there are no more than a hundred of them left (including the graves of the historian Sergei Solovyov and his son Vladimir, the great Russian philosopher). The “Museum of the Emancipation of Women” was arranged in the defiled monastery, and in 1934 its buildings were transferred to the State historical museum.

Divine services in the Novodevichy Convent were resumed in 1945, when the refectory Assumption Church was re-consecrated here, since then a prayer before one of the lists of Hodegetria again sounded here. The revival of the monastery itself began in 1994, when the nuns returned to Novodevichy, headed by Abbess Seraphim (Chernaya), the granddaughter of St. Martyr Seraphim (Chichagov), who died in 1999; Abbess Seraphim (Isaeva) became her successor.

... The last reliable news about the most miraculous first image dates back to 1941. Closed in 1929, the Assumption Cathedral of Smolensk was not devastated: its shrines and utensils were kept intact until the start of the Great Patriotic War. On August 1, 1941, the German troops who entered the city informed their High Command that “a very ancient icon attributed by legend to the Evangelist Luke, later rewritten, the icon ... is in its original place and is not damaged. She ... was recognized as miraculous and was a place of pilgrimage for believers. But when two years later Smolensk was liberated Soviet troops The icon was no longer there. One can only hope that sooner or later her fate will begin to become clear - just as it happens with another miraculous woman who disappeared in that war, Tikhvinskaya.

Until its disappearance, the prototype of Smolenskaya was never subjected to a thorough scientific study. According to old descriptions, the board on which the icon was painted was unusually heavy, primed with chalk on glue and covered with canvas; The Blessed Virgin is depicted at half height, waist-deep, holding the Child with her left hand. The Savior with His right hand blesses those who pray, while holding a scroll with a shuitz. The outer garments of the Virgin are dark brown, the lower ones are dark blue; The Baby's clothes are dark green with gold. On the reverse side of the prototype was written the Crucifixion with the Greek inscription "The King is crucified" and a view of Jerusalem. When painting was renewed in Moscow in 1666, the figures of the Mother of God and John the Theologian were added to this Crucifixion, which had not been there before. The features of the Smolensk Icon are the frontal position of the Infant; a very small turn of the Mother of God in His direction of the Child; Her slightly bowed head; typical hand position.

The celebration of the Smolensk Icon takes place on July 28 according to the Christian calendar. Once upon a time on this day, a religious procession was made in the Mother See from the Kremlin, along Prechistenka and Maiden Field to the Novodevichy Convent. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were more than three dozen miraculous and especially revered lists of Smolensk, churches dedicated to this image stood in many cities, villages and monasteries of the Russian land, in Moscow alone there were four Smolensk churches, in St. Petersburg - five. And today, in all the Smolensk churches of Russia, the troparion of the Most Holy Theotokos sounds in front of Her icon, called "Hodegetria":

Troparion, tone 4

Now diligently to the Theotokos, we are sinners and humility, and we fall down, calling in repentance from the depths of our souls: Lady, help us, having mercy on us, we are perishing from many sins, do not turn away Your servants of vanity, You and the only hope of the imam.

Kontakion, tone 6

The intercession of Christians is shameless, the intercession to the Creator is immutable, do not despise the voices of sinful prayers, but precede, as if good, to help us, who faithfully call Ty: hasten to prayer and rush to supplication, intercession ever, the Mother of God, who honor thee.

The miraculous icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, called the Hodegetria of Smolensk, has been known in Russia since ancient times. "Hodegetria", translated from Greek, means "Guide". There are several versions of the origin of this name, but the fact that the Most Holy Theotokos for all Orthodox Christians is a guide to eternal salvation is an undeniable truth.

According to Church tradition, the Smolensk icon Mother of God, called "Hodegetria", was written by the holy evangelist Luke during the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos at the request of the ruler of Antioch, Theophilus, for whom he wrote an essay on the earthly life of Christ, known as the Gospel of Luke. When Theophilus died, the icon was returned to Jerusalem, and in the 5th century, the blessed Empress Evdokia, the wife of Arcadius, handed Hodegetria to Constantinople to the emperor’s sister, Empress Pulcheria, who placed the holy icon in the Blachernae Church.

The image came to Russia in 1046. The Greek Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh (1042-1054), passing off his daughter Anna to Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, son of Yaroslav the Wise, blessed her on her journey with this icon. After the death of Prince Vsevolod, the icon passed to his son Vladimir Monomakh, who transferred it at the beginning of the 12th century to Smolensk Cathedral Church in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since that time, the icon has received the name Hodegetria Smolenskaya.

Assumption Cathedral (Smolensk)

History of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God

In 1238 Batu Khan's army approached Smolensk. In that rati was a giant warrior, who, according to legend, alone was worth almost a whole rati. All Smolensk people came out to pray in front of the image of the Smolensk Hodegetria the Guide. The Tatars had already come very close to the city, by today's standards there were no more than 30 kilometers left, when a sexton in the Pechersky Monastery outside the city saw in a vision the Mother of God, who ordered him to bring a warrior named Mercury to Her. Entering the Caves Church, Mercury saw with his own eyes the Mother of God, sitting on a golden throne with the Child in her arms and surrounded by angels. The Mother of God said that Mercury must save Her own inheritance from desecration, which once again indicated Her special protection over the Smolensk land. She also told him about the ambulance martyrdom him, and that she herself will not leave him, but will be with him to the end.

Following the command of the Mother of God, the selfless Orthodox warrior Mercury raised all the townspeople, preparing them for a siege, and he himself penetrated the camp of Batu at night and killed many enemies, including their strongest warrior. Then, in an unequal battle with the invaders, he laid down his head on the battlefield. His remains were buried in the Smolensk Cathedral. Soon, Mercury was ranked among the locally venerated saints (Comm. 24 November), the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God was also declared locally venerated, and the legend “The Tale of Mercury of Smolensk” was composed about his feat, which dates back to about the 15th - 16th centuries. Moreover, the legend says that after the burial, Mercury appeared to the same sexton and ordered the shield and spear that belonged to him during his lifetime to be hung in his resting place.

Sandals of the holy martyr Mercury - one of the shrines cathedral Smolensk

In 1395 Smolensk principality fell under the protectorate of Lithuania. In 1398, in order to avoid bloodshed in Moscow and soften the acute relations between the Polish-Lithuanian rulers and Moscow, the daughter of the Lithuanian prince Vitovt Sophia was married to the son of Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dimitrievich (1398-1425). Smolenskaya Hodegetria became her dowry and was now transferred to Moscow and installed in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin on the right side of the altar.

Annunciation Cathedral (Moscow Kremlin)

In 1456, at the request of the inhabitants of Smolensk, headed by Bishop Misail, the icon was solemnly returned to Smolensk with a procession of the cross. On June 28, according to the old style, at the monastery of Savva the Sanctified on the Maiden's Field in Moscow, with a large gathering of people, the icon was solemnly escorted to the bend of the Moskva River, from where the path to Smolensk began. A prayer service was served. Half a century later, in 1514, Smolensk was returned to Russia (the assault on the city by Russian troops began on July 29 - the day after the celebration of the Smolensk Icon).

In 1524, in memory of this event, Grand Duke Vasily III founded the Mother of God-Smolensky Monastery, which we know more as Novodevichy Convent. The monastery was consecrated and began to operate in 1525. From this period, the all-Russian glorification of the icon began, officially established by the Church.

Novodevichy Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery on Devichye Pole in Moscow

However, the Muscovites were not left without a shrine - two copies of the miraculous icon remained in Moscow. One was placed in the Annunciation Cathedral, and the other - "measure in measure" - in 1524 in the Novodevichy Convent, founded in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia. In 1602 with miraculous icon an exact list was written (in 1666, together with an ancient icon new list were taken to Moscow for renovation), which was placed in the tower of the Smolensk fortress wall, above the Dnieper gates, under a specially arranged tent. Later, in 1727, a wooden church was built there, and in 1802 a stone one.

The miraculous image of Smolensk again showed its intercession during the Patriotic War of 1812. On August 5, 1812, when the Russian troops left Smolensk, the icon was taken to Moscow, and on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, this image was carried around the camp to strengthen and encourage the soldiers to a great feat.

Prayer before the Battle of Borodino

August 26, on the day of the battle in Borodino, three images of the Virgin - the ancient image of the Smolensk Hodegetria, along with Iverskaya and Vladimir icons The Mother of God was surrounded in a procession around the capital, and then sent to the sick and wounded soldiers in the Lefortovo Palace, so that they could bow to the shrines, thank the Mother of God for their intercession and ask for recovery. Before leaving Moscow, the icon was transported to Yaroslavl.

After the victory over the enemy, on November 5, 1812, by order of Kutuzov, the Hodegetria icon, along with the glorified list, was returned to Smolensk to the native Assumption Cathedral.

In 1929, the Assumption Cathedral was closed, but, like many other temples and churches of that period, it was not subject to desecration and ruin. Intelligence, which can be considered reliable, about the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God- the prototype of other, subsequent lists break off in 1941, after the capture of Smolensk by German troops. Then, in early August 1941, the headquarters of the German command received a message that the list of the icon, attributed according to historical data to the brush of the Evangelist Luke, was in its original place, in good condition, the icon was considered miraculous and its location was a place of worship and pilgrimage. Nothing more is known about that icon.

Now, in place of the missing icon, there is a list of the middle of the 16th century, which is not inferior to its predecessor in the number of miracles and in popular veneration, but Hodegetria is still waiting for the apostolic letter in Smolensk, they still believe that the time will come, and she will reveal herself from some hiding place where miraculously preserved all these years, as it once was.

Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria Smolenskaya Over the Gate, a list from the famous Smolensk Icon. Once it hung over the gates of the Smolensk Kremlin, now it is kept in the cathedral on the site of the Smolensk icon lost in 1941.

Lists with icons

There are many revered lists of the miraculous Smolensk Hodegetria. Many lists from that original, but lost icon have become miraculous (more than 30 in total) - Igretskaya Pesochinskaya, Yugskaya, Sergievskaya in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Kostroma, Kirillo-Belozerskaya, Svyatogorskaya, Solovetskaya and others. All these images are in different time and to varying degrees revealed their miraculous properties.

Iconography

There is little information left about the iconographic features of the image, since the icon, as is known, was lost in 1941, and therefore no one studied it. It was only known that the icon board was very heavy, the ground was prepared from chalk on glue, as was done in antiquity, and covered with canvas.

The Mother of God holds the Child on her left hand, the Lord’s right hand is raised in a blessing gesture, in His left hand is a “scroll of teaching”. On the reverse side were written the view of Jerusalem, the Crucifixion and the inscription in Greek - "The king is crucified." In 1666, the icon was renovated, and later images of the Most Pure and John the Theologian appeared at the Crucifixion.

The iconographic image of the Smolensk Icon is very similar to the Iver Icon of the Mother of God, but differs in the severity of the arrangement of the figures and the facial expressions of the Virgin and the Infant.

The meaning of the icon

The Holy Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria is one of the main shrines of the Russian Church (along with Vladimir and Kazan).

Amazing historical material is associated with the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, which marks all the most important events in the history of Russia up to the last century. It can be said that not a single event where the intercession of the One depicted on it was required could do without Her intervention. Hodegetria the Guide indicated and protected our west from the predatory interests of neighboring states, which sought to establish their influence in the Russian state both by military and political means. But even the retreats that were accompanied by the transfer miraculous shrine from its main destiny - the Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk, were only a strategic necessity, and in no way agreement with the presence and rule of foreigners and the prevailing Latin faith on our land. The prayers of the Smolensk people and Muscovites in front of her brought their miraculous results - sooner or later the enemy was expelled, and the Smolenskaya Hodegetria returned home to Smolensk.

Believers have received and continue to receive abundant grace-filled help from her. The Mother of God, through Her holy image, intercedes and strengthens us, guiding us to salvation, and we appeal to Her: “You are the faithful people - the All-good Hodegetria, You are the Smolensk Praise and all the Russian lands - affirmation! Rejoice, Hodegetria, salvation of the Christian!

celebration

The celebration of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God takes place three times a year - July 28/August 10, established in 1525, when the miraculous image was transferred from the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin to the Mother of God-Smolensk (Novodevichy) Monastery, founded by Vasily III in gratitude to the Mother of God for the return of Smolensk to Russia during the Russian-Lithuanian war. The festival was established in memory of the arrival of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God in Russia in 1046.

The second time the celebration takes place November 5/18 in honor of Russia's victory in the Patriotic War of 1812.

November 24/December 7 we celebrate the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, remembering the victory of the inhabitants of Smolensk over the troops of the Golden Horde through the common prayer of the people in front of Her icon - the Smolensk Hodegetria.

The Smolensk Mother of God helps everyone who turns to her with prayers for healing from incurable diseases, in search of family peace and in other difficult and insoluble situations, as the first intercessor for us before God.

Troparion, tone 4
Now diligently to the Theotokos, we are sinners and humility, and we fall down, calling in repentance from the depths of our souls: Lady, help us, having mercy on us, we are perishing from many sins, do not turn away Your servants of vanity, You and the only hope of the imam.

Kontakion, tone 6
The intercession of Christians is shameless, the intercession to the Creator is immutable, do not despise the voices of sinful prayers, but precede, as if good, to help us, who faithfully call Ty: hasten to prayer and rush to supplication, intercession ever, the Mother of God, who honor thee.

Yin Kontakion, tone 6
Not imams of other help, not imams of other hope, unless You, the Lady: You help us, we hope in You and we boast in You: Your servants, let us not be ashamed.

Prayer
O Wonderful and Exceeding all creatures, the Queen of the Theotokos, the Heavenly King Christ our God Mother, the Most Pure Hodegetria Mary! Hear us sinners and unworthy at this hour, praying and falling to Your Most Pure Image with tears and tenderly saying: lead us from the ditch of passions, the Lady of Grace, deliver us from all sorrow and sorrow, protect us from all misfortunes and evil slander, and from unrighteous and fierce libel of the enemy. May you, O our Blessed Mother, save Thy people from all evil and supply and save with all good deeds; unless you have another Representative in troubles and situations, and warm intercessors for us sinners, not imams. Pray, O Most Holy Lady, Thy Son Christ our God, that He may honor us with the Kingdom of Heaven; For this reason, we always praise Thee, as the Creator of our salvation, and we exalt the holy and magnificent name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the Trinity of the glorified and worshiped God, forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer two
To whom shall I cry, Lady? To whom shall I resort in my sorrow, if not to Thee, Lady Lady Mother of God, Queen of Heaven? Who will receive my weeping and my sighing, if not You, O Immaculate One, the Hope of Christians and the Refuge of sinners? Incline, O Most Pure Lady, your ears to my prayer, Mother of my God, do not despise me, demanding your help, hear my groaning and the cry of my heart, O Lady Mother of God Queen. And give me spiritual joy, strengthen me, impatient, despondent and negligent to Your praise. Reason and teach me how to pray to You, and do not depart from me, Mother of my God, for my murmuring and impatience, but be a cover and intercession in my life and lead me to a quiet haven of blessed rest, and count me to the face Your chosen flock and there make me worthy to sing and praise Thee forever. Amen.

Documentary film "Searchers. HODEGETRIA'S TRACE" (2014)

The Assumption Cathedral is one of the most impressive buildings in Smolensk. It was here that the famous icon of the Smolensk Mother of God, the ancient Hodegetria, was kept from the day the temple was built. She, according to legend, more than once saved the city and was considered miraculous, disappeared during the Second World War. There are quite a few versions regarding the fate of Hodegetria. Many researchers are inclined to believe that the legendary image still exists, which means it makes sense to look for it!

The Smolensk icon of the Mother of God, called “Hodegetria”, which means “Guide”, according to Church tradition, was painted by the holy evangelist Luke during the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos. Saint Demetrius of Rostov suggests that this image was painted at the request of the ruler of Antioch, Theophilus. From Antioch, the shrine was transferred to Jerusalem, and from there the Empress Eudoxia, the wife of Arcadius, transferred it to Constantinople to Pulcheria, the emperor's sister, who placed the holy icon in the Blachernae church.

The Greek emperor Constantine IX Monomakh (1042-1054), giving his daughter Anna in 1046 to Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, son of Yaroslav the Wise, blessed her on her journey with this icon. After the death of Prince Vsevolod, the icon passed to his son Vladimir Monomakh, who transferred it at the beginning of the 12th century to the Smolensk Cathedral Church in honor of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. Since that time, the icon has been called the Hodegetria of Smolensk.

In 1238, at the voice of the icon, the selfless Orthodox warrior Mercury entered the camp of Batu at night and killed many enemies, including their strongest warrior. Having accepted a martyr's death in battle, he was canonized by the Church as a saint (Comm. 24 November).

In the 14th century, Smolensk was in the possession of the Lithuanian princes. The daughter of Prince Vitovt Sofia was married to the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dimitrievich (1398-1425). In 1398, she brought with her to Moscow the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The holy image was installed in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin, on the right side of the royal gates. In 1456, at the request of the inhabitants of Smolensk, headed by Bishop Misail, the icon was solemnly returned to Smolensk with a religious procession, and two copies of it remained in Moscow. One was placed in the Annunciation Cathedral, and the other - "measure in measure" - in 1524 in the Novodevichy Convent, founded in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia. The monastery was set up on the Maiden's Field, where Muscovites "with many tears" released the holy icon to Smolensk. In 1602, an exact list was written from the miraculous icon (in 1666, together with the ancient icon, a new list was taken to Moscow for renewal), which was placed in the tower of the Smolensk fortress wall, above the Dnieper Gates, under a specially arranged tent. Later, in 1727, a wooden church was built there, and in 1802 a stone one.

List of the Smolensk icon Hodegetria. Moscow. 1456 Recorded in the 19th century. Armouries

The new list took on the grace-filled power of the ancient image, and when the Russian troops left Smolensk on August 5, 1812, they took the icon with them to protect it from the enemy. On the eve of the Battle of Borodino, this image was worn around the camp to strengthen and encourage the soldiers to a great feat. The ancient image of the Smolensk Hodegetria, temporarily taken to the Assumption Cathedral, on the day of the Battle of Borodino, along with the Iveron and Vladimir icons of the Mother of God, was carried around the White City, Kitay-Gorod and the Kremlin walls, and then sent to the sick and wounded in the Lefortovo Palace. Before leaving Moscow, the icon was taken to Yaroslavl.

So reverently our ancestors kept these icons-sisters, and the Mother of God, through Her images, guarded our Motherland. After the victory over the enemy, the Hodegetria icon, together with the glorified list, was returned to Smolensk.

The celebration in honor of this miraculous image on July 28 was established in 1525 in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia.

There are many revered lists from the Smolensk Hodegetria, which are supposed to be celebrated on the same day. There is also a day of celebration of the Smolensk icon, which became famous in the 19th century, on November 5, when this icon was returned to Smolensk by order of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, M.I. Kutuzov. In memory of the expulsion of enemies from the Fatherland in Smolensk, it was established to celebrate this day every year.
Shuiskaya-Smolensk miraculous icon of the Mother of God

The Holy Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria is one of the main shrines of the Russian Church. Believers have received and continue to receive abundant grace-filled help from her.

The Mother of God, through Her holy image, intercedes and strengthens us, guiding us to salvation, and we cry out to Her:
“You are faithful people - All-good Hodegetria, You are Smolensk Praise and all the Russian lands - affirmation! Rejoice, Hodegetria, salvation of the Christian!”

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria in the Assumption Cathedral. Smolensk. 1912. Beginning of the 20th century. the Russian Empire. Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky. Color photos of the Russian Empire.

THE SMOLENSK ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD NAMED "HODEGETRIA"

According to Church tradition, the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, called the Hodegetria, was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke during the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos at the request of the ruler of Antioch, Theophilus, for whom he wrote an essay on the earthly life of Christ, known as the Gospel of Luke. When Theophilus died, the image was returned to Jerusalem, and in the 5th century, the blessed Empress Eudoxia, the wife of Arcadius, transferred Hodegetria to Constantinople to the emperor's sister, Queen Pulcheriawho placed the holy icon in Blachernae Church.

The image came to Russia in 1046. The Greek Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh (1042-1054), passing off his daughter Anna to Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, son of Yaroslav the Wise, blessed her on her journey with this icon. After the death of Prince Vsevolod, the icon passed to his son Vladimir Monomakh, who transferred it at the beginning of the 12th century to Smolensk Cathedral Church in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary . Since that time, the icon has received the name Hodegetria Smolenskaya .

Assumption Cathedral (Smolensk)

History of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God

In 1238 Batu Khan's army approached Smolensk. In that rati was a giant warrior, who, according to legend, alone was worth almost a whole rati. All Smolensk people came out to pray in front of the image of the Smolensk Hodegetria the Guide. The Tatars had already come very close to the city, by today's standards there were no more than 30 kilometers left, when a sexton in the Pechersky Monastery outside the city saw in a vision the Mother of God, who ordered him to bring a warrior named Mercury to Her. Entering the Caves Church, Mercury saw with his own eyes the Mother of God, sitting on a golden throne with the Child in her arms and surrounded by angels. The Mother of God said that Mercury must save Her own inheritance from desecration, which once again indicated Her special protection over the Smolensk land. She also told him about his imminent martyrdom, and that she herself would not leave him, but would be with him to the end.

Following the command of the Mother of God, the selfless Orthodox warrior Mercury raised all the townspeople, preparing them for a siege, and he himself penetrated the camp of Batu at night and killed many enemies, including their strongest warrior. Then, in an unequal battle with the invaders, he laid down his head on the battlefield. His remains were buried in the Smolensk Cathedral. Soon, Mercury was ranked as a locally venerated saint (November 24), the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God was also declared locally venerated, and the legend “The Tale of Mercury of Smolensk” was composed about his feat, which dates back to about the 15th - 16th centuries. Moreover, the legend says that after the burial, Mercury appeared to the same sexton and ordered the shield and spear that belonged to him during his lifetime to be hung in his resting place.

Sandals of the Holy Martyr Mercury - one of the shrines of the Smolensk Cathedral

In 1395 Smolensk principality fell under the protectorate of Lithuania. In 1398, in order to avoid bloodshed in Moscow and soften the acute relations between the Polish-Lithuanian rulers and Moscow, the daughter of the Lithuanian prince Vitovt Sophia was married to the son of Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dimitrievich (1398-1425). The Smolensk Hodegetria became her dowry and was now transferred to Moscow and installed in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin on the right side of the altar.

Annunciation Cathedral (Moscow Kremlin)

In 1524, in memory of this event, Grand Duke Vasily III founded the Mother of God-Smolensky Monastery, which we know more as Novodevichy Convent . The monastery was consecrated and began to operate in 1525. From this period, the all-Russian glorification of the icon began, officially established by the Church.

Novodevichy Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery on Devichye Pole in Moscow

However, the Muscovites were not left without a shrine - two copies of the miraculous icon remained in Moscow. One was placed in the Annunciation Cathedral, and the other - "measure in measure" - in 1524 in the Novodevichy Convent, founded in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia. In 1602, an exact list was written from the miraculous icon (in 1666, together with the ancient icon, a new list was taken to Moscow for renewal), which was placed in the tower of the Smolensk fortress wall, above the Dnieper Gates, under a specially arranged tent. Later, in 1727, a wooden church was built there, and in 1802 a stone one.

The miraculous image of Smolensk again showed its intercession during the Patriotic War of 1812 . On August 5, 1812, when the Russian troops left Smolensk, the icon was taken to Moscow, and on the eve of the Battle of Borodino, this image was carried around the camp to strengthen and encourage the soldiers to a great feat.

Prayer before the Battle of Borodino

On August 26, on the day of the battle in Borodino, three images of the Virgin - the ancient image of the Hodegetria of Smolensk, along with the Iberian and Vladimir icons of the Mother of God, were surrounded in a procession around the capital, and then sent to the sick and wounded soldiers in the Lefortovo Palace, so that they could bow to the shrines, thank before them the Mother of God for intercession and ask for recovery.Before leaving Moscow, the icon was transported to Yaroslavl.

After the victory over the enemy, on November 5, 1812, by order of Kutuzov, the Hodegetria icon, along with the glorified list, was returned to Smolensk to the native Assumption Cathedral.

In 1929, the Assumption Cathedral was closed, but, like many other temples and churches of that period, it was not subject to desecration and ruin. Intelligence, which can be considered reliable, about the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God - the prototype of other, subsequent lists break off in 1941, after the capture of Smolensk by German troops. Then, in early August 1941, the headquarters of the German command received a message that the list of the icon, attributed according to historical data to the brush of the Evangelist Luke, is in its original place, in good condition, the icon is considered miraculous and its location is a place of worship and pilgrimage. Nothing more is known about that icon.

Now, in place of the missing icon, there is a copy of the middle of the 16th century, which is not inferior to its predecessor in the number of miracles and in popular veneration, but Hodegetria is still waiting for the apostolic letter in Smolensk, they still believe that the time will come, and she will reveal herself from some a hiding place where miraculously preserved all these years, as it once was.

Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria Smolenskaya Over the Gate, a list from the famous Smolensk Icon. Once it hung over the gates of the Smolensk Kremlin, now it is kept in the cathedral on the site of the Smolensk icon lost in 1941.

Lists with icons

There are many revered lists of the miraculous Smolensk Hodegetria. Many lists from that original, but lost icon became miraculous (more than 30 in total) - Igretskaya Pesochinskaya, Yugskaya, Sergievskaya in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Kostroma, Kirillo-Belozerskaya, Svyatogorskaya, Solovetskaya and others .. All these images at different times and showed their miraculous properties to varying degrees.

Iconography

The meaning of the icon

The Holy Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria is one of the main shrines of the Russian Church (along with Vladimir and Kazan).

An amazing historical material is connected with the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, which, through the paths of her wanderings through the western Russian lands, marks all the most important events in the history of Russia up to the last century. It can be said that not a single event where the intercession of the One depicted on it was required could do without Her intervention. Hodegetria the Guide indicated and protected our west from the predatory interests of neighboring states, which sought to establish their influence in the Russian state both by military and political means. But even the retreats, which were accompanied by the transfer of the miraculous shrine from its main inheritance - the Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk, were only a strategic necessity, and in no way an agreement with the presence and rule of foreigners and the prevailing Latin faith on our land. Cathedral prayers before her Smolensk, Muscovites brought their wonderful results - sooner or later the enemy was expelled, and Smolenskaya Hodegetria returned home to Smolensk.

Believers have received and continue to receive abundant grace-filled help from her. The Mother of God, through Her holy image, intercedes and strengthens us, guiding us to salvation, and we cry out to Her: "You are faithful people - the All-good Hodegetria, You are the Smolensk Praise and all the Russian lands - affirmation! Rejoice, Hodegetria, salvation for Christians!"

celebration

The celebration of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God takes place three times a year - July 28/August 10 , established in 1525, when the miraculous image was transferred from the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin to the Mother of God-Smolensk (Novodevichy) Monastery, founded by Vasily III in gratitude to the Mother of God for the return of Smolensk to Russia during the Russian-Lithuanian war. The festival was established in memory of the arrival of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God in Russia in 1046.

The second time the celebration takes place November 5/18 in honor of Russia's victory in the Patriotic War of 1812.

Yin Kontakion, tone 6
Not imams of other help, not imams of other hope, unless You, the Lady: You help us, we hope in You and we boast in You: Your servants, let us not be ashamed.

Prayer
Oh, the Most Wonderful and Exceeding all creatures, the Queen of the Mother of God, the Heavenly King of Christ our God, Mother, the Most Pure Hodegetria Mary! Hear us sinners and unworthy at this hour, praying and falling down to Your Most Pure Image with tears and tenderly saying: lead us from the ditch of passions, O Gracious Lady, deliver us from all sorrow and sorrow, protect us from all misfortunes and evil slander, and from the unrighteous and fierce slander of the enemy. May you, O our Blessed Mother, save Thy people from all evil and supply and save with all good deeds; unless you have another Representative in troubles and situations, and warm intercessors for us sinners, not imams. Pray, O Most Holy Lady, Thy Son Christ our God, that he may honor us with the Kingdom of Heaven; For this reason, we always praise Thee, as the Creator of our salvation, and we exalt the holy and magnificent name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the Trinity of the glorified and worshiped God, forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer two
To whom shall I cry, Lady? To whom shall I resort in my sorrow, if not to Thee, Lady Lady Mother of God, Queen of Heaven? Who will receive my weeping and my sighing, if not You, O Immaculate One, the Hope of Christians and the Refuge of sinners? Incline, O Most Pure Lady, Thy ears to my prayer, Mother of my God, do not despise me, demanding Thy help, hear my groaning and the cry of my heart, O Lady Mother of God Queen. And give me spiritual joy, strengthen me, impatient, despondent and negligent to Your praise. Reason and teach me how to pray to You, and do not depart from me, Mother of my God, for my murmuring and impatience, but be a cover and intercession in my life and lead me to a quiet haven of blissful peace, and so- number me among Your chosen flock, and there make me worthy to sing and glorify Thee forever. Amen.

Documentary film "Searchers. HODEGETRIA'S TRACE" (2014)

Assumption Cathedral is one of the most impressive buildings in Smolensk. It was here that the famous icon of the Smolensk Mother of God, the ancient Hodegetria, was kept from the day the temple was built. She, according to legend, more than once saved the city and was considered miraculous, disappeared during the Second World War. There are quite a few versions regarding the fate of Hodegetria. Many researchers are inclined to believe that the legendary image still exists, which means it makes sense to look for it!

The Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the Hodegetria iconographic type. The name can be translated from Greek as "Guide".

This is one of the most common images in Byzantine and Russian art.

Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God: compositional features

The composition of the Hodegetria iconography is as follows: the Mother of God and the Infant Christ are depicted almost frontally, their faces facing the praying person do not touch. The head of the Mother of God may be slightly tilted towards the Son, the hand is raised in a prayer gesture at chest level. The Divine Infant sits in the arms of the Mother; He blesses with his right hand, with his left he holds a scroll, less often a book. The Mother of God is most often represented in a half-length image, but there are also full-length and shoulder options, for example, the Kazan icon. The baby can be located both to the right and to the left of the Virgin, more often He is depicted sitting on the left hand of the Blessed Virgin.

Mosaic icon. 1st half of the 13th century National Gallery, Palermo, Italy

Idea for Hodegetria

The defining theological idea of this image is the coming into the world of the Son of God, the incarnation of God for the salvation of mankind. The Fragile Infant is the Heavenly King and the Coming Judge. Gesture right hand The Mother of God can be interpreted not only as a prayer, expressing Her personal prayer to God. With this gesture, the Mother of God, as it were, points the believers to the One to whom their thoughts and prayers should be directed.

N.P. Kondakov, who studied the iconography of the Virgin, believed that the image of Hodegetria was one of the most ancient. It developed in Palestine or Egypt even before the VI century. Since the 6th century, it has been widely distributed throughout the Orthodox East and Byzantium.

Mosaic icon. Byzantium. 13th century Monastery of St. Catherine, Sinai, Egypt

According to Church Tradition, the first such icon of the Virgin and Child was painted by the apostle and evangelist Luke. In the middle of the 5th century, this image, along with other shrines, was brought from the Holy Land to Constantinople by Empress Eudokia, wife of Emperor Theodosius the Younger. Some sources report that the icon was placed in the temple convent Odigon but on Holy Week the icon was transferred from the monastery to the imperial palace. Near the monastery there was a spring that healed the blind. The nuns took care of those who came to the spring. The area was called "place of guides" or "place of leaders", and the monastery became known as Odigon - "Guide", "Guide". According to the name of the monastery, the main shrine - the icon of the Mother of God - became known as Hodegetria. Originally given as a topographical name, it was also endowed with a deep meaning: the Mother of God is the guide of believers, instructing the true even though protecting from the enemy. The icon was one of the most revered shrines of Constantinople, it was considered the palladium of the city. During the attack of enemies, the image was raised to the city walls.

Empress Evdokia. Marble icon with inlay. From the church of Lipsa monastery. 10th century Archaeological Museum, Istanbul

Researchers believe that it was with the icon of the Odigon monastery that a procession was made on Tuesdays throughout Constantinople. During this prayer procession, a miracle regularly occurred, which was described by the Russian pilgrim Stefan of Novgorod, who visited the capital of Byzantium in 1348 or 1349. A heavy large icon was carried across the square by only one person. “That icon is taken out every Tuesday. This spectacle is amazing: then all the people come together, and people come from other cities. This icon is very large, skillfully bound, and the singers walking in front of it sing beautifully, and all the people cry out: “Lord, have mercy!” … It's a marvelous sight: seven or eight people will put an icon on the shoulders of one person, and he, by the will of God, walks as if not burdened by anything,” says Stefan. Numerous miracles and healings took place before the icon.

Mother of God Hodegetria. Byzantium. 1st quarter of the 15th century

According to one version of the legend, the icon painted by the Apostle Luke and brought from the Holy Land ended up in the Blachernae Church, where there was also a healing spring and where other shrines were kept: a robe and part of the belt of the Virgin. It is possible that one of the lists made from the original icon by the apostle was placed in the Blachernae church. It is known that several lists were made from the original image, which became famous for miracles. In any case, in the Blachernae Church there was a particularly revered icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria.

Blachernae icon. Wax mastic. XIII - XIV centuries. Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

Numerous lists of the miraculous image of the Mother of God Hodegetria were sent to all parts of the empire and beyond. From Byzantium, the iconographic type of Hodegetria comes to Russia, where, according to the place of creation, residence or miraculous acquisition, such icons received the names: Toropetskaya, Smolenskaya, Tikhvinskaya, Iverskaya, Sedmiezernaya, Kazanskaya.

Mother of God Hodegetria. Pskov. The end of the XIII - the beginning of the XIV century. GTG, Moscow

History of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God “Hodegetria”

The icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, called "Smolensk", arrived in Russia in the middle of the XI century. In 1046, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh blessed his daughter Anna with this icon to marry Prince Vsevolod, son of Yaroslav the Wise. After the death of Vsevolod, his son, Vladimir Monomakh, transferred the icon to Smolensk, where the temple of the Dormition of the Theotokos was founded, in which the shrine was subsequently placed.

According to legend, when the hordes of Batu Khan approached Smolensk in 1239, the city was saved from devastation through the intercession of the Mother of God. A warrior named Mercury, praying in front of the icon, received an instruction from the Mother of God to fight the enemy standing at the walls. The Mongols saw that Mercury was assisted in battle by lightning-fast men and a radiant Wife. Terrified, throwing down their weapons, the enemies fled, pursued by an unknown force. Mercury was martyred in battle and was canonized by the Church as a saint.

Mother of God Hodegetria. Byzantium. Mid 15th century Private collection.

At the end of the 14th or beginning of the 15th century, the icon of Our Lady Hodegetria was brought from Smolensk, captured by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to Moscow, where, as a particularly revered shrine, it was placed in the Cathedral of the Annunciation, on the right side of the royal gates. There are three versions of the circumstances under which the icon ended up in Moscow. One of options The transfer of the icon is associated with dynastic marriage. Perhaps this icon was given by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt to his daughter Sophia, the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich, when she was in Smolensk in 1398 to meet her father and received from him many icons in Greek writing. According to another version, the last of the Smolensk princes, Yuri Svyatoslavovich, who was expelled in 1404 by Vitovt, arrived in Moscow and brought with him the Hodegetria icon along with other icons. The third version, set out in the Russian Vremyanik, says that a certain Yurga, pan Svilkoldovich, when he left Svidrigail, the Lithuanian prince, to the great Moscow prince Vasily Vasilyevich, plundered Smolensk on the road, along with other things, took the Hodegetria icon and brought it as a gift to the Moscow grand duke.

In 1456 Bishop Misail of Smolensk arrived in Moscow, accompanied by the governor of the city and noble citizens. The Smolensk people asked the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark to return the icon to Smolensk. The prince, seeing in this step a pledge of the future reunification of Smolensk with Moscow, decided to return the shrine. From the icon they made an exact, "measure in measure" list, which remained in Moscow, in the Annunciation Cathedral. The icon was taken out of the Kremlin in a procession, went to the Maiden's Field, which is at the entrance to the Old Smolensk Road, and after the prayer service, the icon was released to Smolensk. On the icon-list, the scroll in the hand of the Child is depicted in a vertical position. Researchers suggest that this feature was also on the sample - the Smolensk icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, sent from Constantinople.

List of the Smolensk icon Hodegetria. Moscow. 1456 Recorded in the 19th century. Armory, Moscow Kremlin Museums

In 1514, the troops of the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III Ivanovich Smolensk is recaptured from Lithuania. To commemorate this event, in 1523 the prince founded the Novodevichy Convent not far from the place where the Muscovites said goodbye to the icon. On July 28, 1525, the copy of the icon that had been kept in the Annunciation Cathedral was solemnly transferred from the Kremlin to the monastery church, consecrated in the name of the Smolensk icon of Hodegetria. In 1927, this icon, thanks to its rich gold setting of the time of Boris Godunov and a pearl riza, was transferred to the Armory.

In 1602, in Smolensk, an exact list was written from the miraculous icon, which was placed in the tower of the Smolensk fortress wall, above the Dnieper Gates, under a specially arranged tent. Later, in 1727, a church was built there. In 1666, the ancient Smolensk icon was returned to Moscow for the second time: Archbishop Varsonofy of Smolensk brought it here to restore the painting, which had darkened with time.

In 1812, during the French invasion, the icon was taken from Smolensk by Bishop Iriney (Falkovsky) and delivered to Moscow, where residents could pray before it in the Assumption Cathedral. On the day of the Battle of Borodino, August 26, Muscovites with the Smolensk, Iveron and Vladimir icons walked around the White City, Kitai-Gorod and the Kremlin walls. Before the occupation of Moscow by the French, the Smolensk icon was sent to Yaroslavl, where it remained until the very end of the Patriotic War, and then returned to Smolensk. The icon, which was located until 1941 in the Assumption Cathedral of Smolensk, was revered as the original, brought from Constantinople. IN During the Great Patriotic War, the ancient icon disappeared without a trace.