Where is the Valaam icon of the Mother of God located? About the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God

The history of the discovery is recorded in the “Tale of the discovery of the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, called Local Valaam” and is associated with the miracle of healing of a peasant woman from Tver lips from rheumatism. Korchevsky u. village Zorino N.A. Andreeva, who lived in St. Petersburg, in the Brusnitsyn almshouse. The Mother of God appeared to Andreeva in a dream and ordered her to go to the Valaam Monastery, where she would receive healing from Her icon. Arriving in Valaam, Andreeva found the icon and, returning to St. Petersburg, felt significant relief. On her second visit to the Valaam Monastery in the summer of 1896, Andreeva did not see the icon that had previously hung in the Assumption Church on a column on the left side. Sacristan of the Monastery Fr. Paphnutius did not find the image and decided that the icon was sent to St. Petersburg, to the Valaam Chapel on Vasilievsky Island, but the icon was not there either. Arriving in Valaam in 1897, on the day of remembrance of the Venerables Sergius and Herman, Andreeva in a subtle dream saw the location of the icon, pointed to it, and V. and. was found. Before the image was lit unquenchable lamp and served water blessing prayer, Andreeva received healing. With the phenomenon of V. and. bind spiritual testimony

On March 31, 2017, on the eve of Saturday of the 5th week of Great Lent - the Feast of Praise of the Mother of God (Saturday Akathist), His Grace Bishop Pankratiy of Trinity, abbot of the Valaam Monastery, and the brethren of the monastery performed matins with the reading of the Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos in front of the revered image of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God .

The discovery of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God is one of the most miraculous late discoveries of the Orthodox Christian shrines, which happened quite recently, if we count times by historical standards. This year the monastery will celebrate the 120th anniversary of the discovery of the icon.

In 1997, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', the celebration of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God was established on the first Sunday after the day of remembrance of the holy apostles Peter and Paul.

The Akathist to the Mother of God, initially as the only one of its kind, was called simply “Akathist”, and only centuries later, when other similar chants appeared, the name “Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos” or “ Great Akathist" Thus, the word “Akathist” itself has already turned from a designation of a specific text into a designation of a genre.

The beauty of the service was enhanced by the fact that part of the Akathist to the Mother of God was sung by the fraternal choir and was interspersed with the reading of the “Great Akathist” in front of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God.
At the end of the service, the clergy and pilgrims bowed to the revered icon of the Mother of God.

The Valaam Icon of the Mother of God does not resemble any of the previously glorified icons of the Mother of God. According to typology, it is most often attributed to the Byzantine image of “Nicopeia” - “Victorious”. In the scarlet maforia - the color of royalty, covering the blue himation, on one hand, which is under the maforia, She holds the Baby, with the other, open, in the arm, she supports Him in front. The Lord Himself is in a white himation, His right hand is raised in a gesture of blessing, His left holds an orb with a cross. The Queen of Heaven is not wearing shoes, under Her bare feet there is a cloud and all of Her, as if emerging from a golden warm haze, sunny and soothing.

The fact that this icon was and remains the intercessor of our Fatherland is told by three visions that, during a service in the temple, visited the elder of the Valaam Monastery, Hieroschemamonk Michael, practically our contemporary - he passed away in 1962. He had visions before the start of the Great Patriotic War.

In his first vision, the elder saw the Mother of God in the Valaam image, John the Baptist, Nicholas the Wonderworker and other saints who tearfully prayed before Him so that He would not abandon Rus' in the impending disaster. The Lord answered that in Russia such is the abomination of spiritual desolation, spiritual decline, and so many other vices that these iniquities exceed the measure of even God’s Great Patience. But the Mother of God and all the saints continued to pray to Him with tears, and the Lord said that He would not leave Russia.

Time passed, and soon the elder had a second vision, similar to the previous one: Mother Intercessor in the Valaam image and Saint John the Baptist again stood before His throne and prayed with tears for the salvation of Russia, and He again answered that He would not leave our Fatherland.

And in the third vision, the Mother of God alone, in the same image of Valaam, prays to Her Son at His Throne for the salvation of Russia and with tears begs Him to remember how she knelt before His earthly Crucifixion. And now Mother Intercessor was again ready to kneel before her Son, but the Savior stopped Her and said that He knows how much She loves Russia, and therefore for the sake of Her Mother’s tears He will not leave our country.

These revelations are a miracle of miracles, which once again confirm the special intercession of the Most Pure One, Her patronage of our country, and again testify that Valaam is another Her abode, another Athos, on the territory of Russia, which, however, left the borders for some time our country. This exodus of Her Proto-Image in the face of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God from the borders of what was then Russia is also a miracle of high spiritual significance.

The meaning of the icon

Also, for Valaam and for all of Russia, the discovery of the Valaam icon has another unique meaning - this is the appearance to us of Her intercession before the Lord for Rus'. Even during the First World War, the Valaam elders had visions that they documented. In one of them, the Most Pure One, such as on the Valaam icon, appeared weeping before God and praying to Him to save the Russian land from the enemy and grant our people victory.

And if we pray in front of the Valaam icon for the acquisition of love and faith and for the healing of souls and bodies, then, loving our Fatherland, no matter what it may become in these strange, difficult days for our spirituality, we can and should pray for Russia today. It will grow into the one in which our children’s children will live.

PRAYER

(Prayer before the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Valaam)

To the Most Holy Lady, Lady Theotokos, our country's Intercessor, the monastery of Valaam, beauty and glory. Looking at Your most pure face, revealed in the miraculous icon, we pray to You: protect this monastery from all evil, which the venerable Sergius and Herman founded, protect and preserve peace among the brethren, protect its builders, benefactors and beautifiers with Your Protection. O Our All-Honorable Mother, Mother Superior of all Orthodox monasteries and monastic life, Patroness, remain constant from this monastery, Your true heritage, and cover us with Your omnipotent prayers and protect us, who struggle here, from all troubles and needs, help us in our statutes. reverend father preserve us unshakably, deliver us from the falls of sin, give us a spirit of contrition and humility, instruct us in fulfilling monastic vows and all the commandments of God. Accept our humble prayer, warm us with the breath of Thy love and never depart from us, so that faith in us sinners may not become scarce, and may we be worthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, in which we will glorify You, our All-Singing Mother, and glorify Your Son and our God with His beginningless Father and His Most Holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

OTHER PRAYER

O Most Holy and Most Blessed Lady Theotokos, Queen of heaven and earth, Patroness of the monastery of Valaam! We fall down and bow to You before Your miraculous icon, and as You mercifully regarded the prayer of Your sick servant and granted her healing, so now accept our fervent prayer offered to You. Save and preserve, O All-Merciful One, our Fatherland and all the Orthodox people living in it and running to You with love, from the invasion of foreigners, from famine and pestilence, and from all evil; direct our paths, may truth and peace, joy and love shine in the lands of Russia, preserve the Orthodox faith in it until the end of time. Look with Your merciful eye at the monastery of Valaam and accomplish in the Lord the salvation of all who strive in faith and hope in it. Pray to Your Son and our God, may He deliver us all from all troubles, sorrows and illnesses, may He instruct us to fulfill His commandments, may He deliver us from eternal torment, and may He grant us through Your intercession to dwell in the heavenly abodes and glorify there Holy Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

TROPARION

Troparion, tone 4:

Today the Valaam monastery is brightly decorated, and all the faithful in the Russian lands are spiritually triumphant, glorifying Your miraculous icon, Lady, to which we now flow with love and say: O Most Pure Virgin Theotokos, pray to Your Son, Christ our God, that He will deliver this monastery and all the cities and towns of our country, from all the slander of the enemy, our souls will be saved by the Merciful.

Troparion, tone 4:

Let us now diligently come to the Mother of God as a priest and to Her miraculous icon and cry out to Her: O Most Wonderful Lady Theotokos, show us intercession and help quickly, protect our land with peace, hasten to deliver us from all troubles according to Your great mercy.

Kontakion, tone 8:

To the chosen Voivode, our Lady Theotokos, we offer songs of praise, glorifying Her miraculous icon, which appeared on the island of Valaam. You, who have an invincible Power, deliver the Russian country from all troubles and sorrows and make a prayer for all the people singing to You: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.

Every year, on the first Sunday following the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Russian Orthodox Church honors the icon of the Mother of God, found a little more than a century ago among the harsh rocks of the island of Valaam. What made the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God famous, what does it help with, and where is it located now? Let's talk about this in the article.

Sick servant of God Natalya

The circumstances under which the icon of the Valaam Mother of God was found are very surprising, and this story extends over two decades. It began with the fact that in 1878, a resident of St. Petersburg, Natalya Andreevna Andreeva, a devout and pious person who came from peasant background, caught a cold.

In St. Petersburg, with its damp Baltic climate, this is quite common, but for Natalya Andreevna, the cold ended in complications - her legs began to hurt and swell, so that the sufferer could barely move. This went on for almost ten years.

Since the doctors she contacted were unable to provide significant help, Andreeva, on the advice of her relative, decided to make a pilgrimage to the well-known Orthodox world Valaam Monastery. There, on the islands of harsh Lake Ladoga, in holy churches and secret monastic hermitages, the grace of God eternally abided, generously poured out on everyone who opened the doors of their hearts to it.

Marvelous night vision

On the night before departure, and it was in June 1887, Natalya Andreevna was visited by an extraordinary vision. In a subtle dream, she saw a woman dressed in a robe of crimson velvet, holding a baby in her arms and surrounded by a wondrous radiance. Encouraging the sick woman with her smile, the young mother ordered her to definitely visit the monastery, promising her help and intercession.

After these words, the woman disappeared without revealing her name to the astonished pilgrim. Excited by what she saw, Natalya Andreevna did not even dare to think that that night she was honored with the appearance of the Queen of Heaven herself. But a wonderful vision gave her strength, and the next morning the sick woman went to the pier.

First trip to the monastery

The first time she set foot on the shore of the island was on the day of the feast of the discovery of the relics of the local saints, the monks Herman and Sergius. On this occasion, all the churches were crowded with pilgrims, and only at the very end of her stay on the island, Natalya Andreevna managed to make her way into the Assumption Church, where, to her amazement, she recognized the guest from her night vision in the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, who had promised her help and intercession. This was the icon of the Valaam Mother of God, which by that time had not yet been glorified by miracles.

However, as soon as she had time to venerate the image, a ship’s whistle sounded in the distance, calling pilgrims to the pier, and on this first visit, Andreeva did not even have time to serve a prayer service to the Mother of God. But nevertheless, upon returning home, she felt an inexplicable lightness in her legs, the sensation of which was caused by the cessation of pain. From that time on, she quickly recovered and was able to walk without crutches.

Re-visiting the island

Another ten years passed, during which the disease did not return, and the grateful Natalya Andreevna wished to go again to the island where the icon of the Valaam Mother of God was kept, through which Holy Virgin showed her a miracle of healing. Once again, like the first time, she got ready for the road and went to the familiar pier.

However, disappointment awaited her on the island - the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God disappeared without a trace from the Assumption Church. Moreover, none of the inhabitants of the monastery could not only say where she could have gone, but many even assured that such an image did not exist at all. Even the omniscient Father Sacristan threw up his hands in bewilderment, but suggested that if such an icon existed, then, most likely, it was sent to St. Petersburg, where by that time a monastery courtyard had opened.

Searches in the city on the Neva

Returning to St. Petersburg, Andreeva first hurried to the Narva side, where the courtyard of the Valaam Monastery was located. However, to her great disappointment, the treasured image was not there either. The icon of the Valaam Mother of God disappeared as completely as the night vision that once visited the servant of God Natalia.

But some inner voice never ceased to inspire her that the wondrous image that had once saved her from suffering really existed and that she was destined to find it. Filled with faith in her such a wonderful destiny, Natalya Andreevna went to the island for the third time.

Second prophetic vision

Relying in her labors on the help of the Valaam saints, she began by serving a prayer service in front of their relics. On the very first night spent in the monastery hotel, Andreeva saw a wonderful dream, which the next morning she hastened to tell to Father Paphnutius, who was already familiar to her - the same sacristan whom she addressed on her last visit.

She dreamed that, wandering around the monastery and never ceasing to pray to the Mother of God, she approached old church Nicholas the Wonderworker, long ago abolished and closed due to extreme disrepair. And there, standing on the porch, the servant of God Natalya suddenly clearly heard a voice from heaven addressed to her: “You will soon find me. I'm here".

Before the sounds of the voice had died down, the church door was suddenly opened by an old man in a blue kamilavka who appeared from nowhere, whom Andreeva immediately recognized St. Sergius Valaam, before whose image I prayed that day. He pointed her inside, where in the depths of the temple, among the old church utensils, stood in the corner the icon of the Valaam Mother of God.

The meaning of the dream was quite obvious - the Queen of Heaven herself showed her the place where her miraculous image. But before performing the holy deed, Natalya Andreevna considered it her duty to first take communion and gain strength in the holy gifts. She fasted for three days and prepared herself for the communion of the holy gifts, and the night before in a dream she saw Father Paphnutius leaving the church, in whose hands was that very image.

Finding a holy image

Having received communion at the early Liturgy of the Holy Gifts and barely leaving the church, Andreeva saw in front of her a crowd of pilgrims, in front of which Father Paphnutius solemnly walked, carrying before him the image of the Most Holy Theotokos. The scene was undoubtedly a continuation of her dream today. Having caught up with Andreeva, the priest, in a voice breaking with excitement, uttered only one word: “She?” There was no doubt, this was the same icon of the Valaam Mother of God that had so miraculously healed her ten years ago.

The appearance of Father Paphnutius with an icon in his hands in front of Natalya Andreevna is explained as follows. Hearing her story about what he saw in a dream, he also interpreted it as a sign from above and, having received a blessing from the abbot, went to old church, whose doors have not been unlocked for many years. In it, he found a shrine standing in the corner, among icons darkened by time with barely visible faces of saints, as well as broken lecterns and other church utensils that had served their time.

Glorification of the miraculous icon

The miraculous image was placed in the main monastery cathedral and a solemn prayer service with blessing of water was served in front of it on the same day, during which many new healings occurred. The prayer to the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, offered with faith and hope, was always heard.

Detailed notes were made about all the miracles, and so that no one would subsequently have doubts about their authenticity, each page was certified by the signatures of numerous witnesses. When Abbot Gabriel headed the monastery in 1901, he placed in the lower part of the icon the greatest shrine- a piece of the robe of the Mother of God.

Soon after the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God gained fame for its miracles and thousands of pilgrims flocked to it, it was possible to establish the name of the master who painted it. He turned out to be Hieromonk Alypiy (Konstantinov), who had once labored in the monastery.

He completed the image of the Virgin Mary in 1887, shortly before his death, just at the time when Natalya Andreevna caught a cold. How surprisingly these two events turned out to be connected - in the silence of the monastery the artist painted an icon, and in St. Petersburg at that time a woman fell ill, whose illness ultimately served to glorify her.

Iconography of the Valaam miraculous image

Let us dwell in more detail on what the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God is, a photo of which is presented in the article. According to art historians, it belongs to the type of Mother of God images originating from Byzantium and called “Panagia”, which means “All-Holy”. Also, this icon, in its compositional structure, can be classified as a different, but similar type, “Nicopeia” - “Victorious”.

She is related to them by the image of the Virgin Mary, standing at full height and holding a baby in front of her, blessing the viewer with a gesture right hand. However, the power in his left hand is not of Byzantine origin. This detail of the composition is typical for Western European icons of “Christ the Savior of the World.”

The icon of the Valaam Mother of God has interesting detail, which is unique in Orthodox iconography: the Queen of Heaven is depicted with bare feet, they are visible from under the hem of her robe. Nothing like this is found in other icons of the Mother of God in the Eastern Church.

Departure to a foreign land

Until 1940, the island of Valaam belonged to Finland, and among other shrines there was the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God. The celebration of the day of its discovery, once crowded with pilgrims coming from St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, after the revolution began to be celebrated only by the inhabitants of the monastery and those few of its admirers who immigrated to the West after the October revolution.

When, at the end of the Finnish War, Ladoga with all its islands was annexed to the Soviet Union, the inhabitants of the monastery, leaving their habitable place, moved into the depths of Finland, where they founded a monastery, called “New Valaam”. They tried to take with them everything that was possible. First of all, of course, they took the shrines most dear to them, among which were crosses, icons, church books and vestments.

This is how the miraculous image, which once healed Natalya Andreevna and many other pilgrims, ended up in Finland. The troparion to the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, written shortly after its discovery, now began to sound in a foreign land, and every year more and more Orthodox Finns began to come to her in order to pray through her to ask for the intercession of the Queen of Heaven. It remains there to this day, installed in the main church of the monastery - the Transfiguration Cathedral (photo at the end of the article) and is rightfully considered the main monastery shrine.

The subsequent fate of the island of Valaam and its monastery

And on the island abandoned by the monks throughout almost the entire Soviet period religious life was not renewed. For a long time there was a home for war and labor invalids, where unfortunate cripples were brought from the mainland, sometimes forcibly. Only in the sixties this marvelous corner of northern nature was open to tourists, and ten years later the premises former monastery and the monasteries that belonged to him received the status of a museum-reserve. Then their restoration began.

The revival of the monastery began in September 1989, when by decision of the government of Karelia its territory and all the buildings located on it were transferred for use to the Leningrad diocese. The Day of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, celebrated, as already mentioned, on the first Sunday after the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, was officially established in 2002 by decree of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'.

Among other buildings, the building of the very same, once abolished St. Nicholas Church, in which it was found, has also been preserved. miraculous icon. After major repairs and proper restoration, the Temple of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God was created in it. It contains a list made from the original, which remained forever in Finland.

Valaam Icon of the Mother of God: what does it help with?

The very glorification of the Valaam icon, through which many miracles were revealed, began with the healing of a suffering St. Petersburg woman, which was described in detail above. This began the tradition of praying in front of this image Holy Mother of God about getting rid of illnesses and giving health. There are many examples of how the Grace of God was generously poured out on those who prayed and they received what they asked for. Most of these cases are recorded in monastery books and confirmed by the signatures of witnesses. It’s hard to even imagine how many the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God brought the desired healing.

What do they pray for even before this wondrous image? Of course, we cannot reduce the idea of ​​help sent by the Queen of Heaven only to the healing of human flesh, no matter how important this is for us. Her mercy is limitless, and, appearing before the Lord, she intercedes for the fulfillment of all prayers coming from pure heart and strengthened by faith. The Mother of God will not leave without her participation those who, before her honest image, ask for peace to reign in the family, for a successful resolution of pregnancy, for admonishing children and guiding them on the true path.

miraculous image, named after the place of its appearance in Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam > man. Mont-re in 1897

The history of the discovery is recorded in the “Tale of the discovery of the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, called Local Valaam” and is associated with the miracle of healing of a peasant woman from Tver lips from rheumatism. Korchevsky u. village Zorino N.A. Andreeva, who lived in St. Petersburg, in the Brusnitsyn almshouse. The Mother of God appeared to Andreeva in a dream and ordered her to go to the Valaam Monastery, where she would receive healing from Her icon. Arriving in Valaam, Andreeva found the icon and, returning to St. Petersburg, felt significant relief. On her second visit to the Valaam Monastery in the summer of 1896, Andreeva did not see the icon that had previously hung in the Assumption Church on the column on the left side. Sacristan of the Monastery Fr. Paphnutius did not find the image and decided that the icon was sent to St. Petersburg, to the Valaam Chapel on Vasilievsky Island, but the icon was not there either. Arriving in Valaam in 1897, on the day of remembrance of the Venerables Sergius and Herman, Andreeva in a subtle dream saw the location of the icon, pointed to it, and V. and. was found. Before the icon, an unquenchable lamp was lit and a water-blessing prayer service was served, and Andreeva received healing. With the phenomenon of V. and. bind the spiritual testimony of the Mother of God about Her Protection to Valaam as the North. Athos.

The icon was painted in 1878 by the Valaam priest. Alypiy (Konstantinov), who had an artistic education and was named a monk in honor of the Venerable Kiev-Pechersk icon painter. The Mother of God in the icon is depicted full-length, standing on a golden cloud, in front of her She holds the Infant Christ with both hands (she supports Him from below with her left hand, in front with her right). She is dressed in a red maforium and a dark blue chiton, which does not hide Her bare feet. The Divine Infant is depicted frontally in a yellow tunic, with his right hand raised high, blessing, and in his left - an orb crowned with a cross. The artistic style of the icon combines the academic painting style and the icon painting tradition of Mount Athos. XIX century In the lower part of the icon is the abbot. Gabriel placed a piece of the robe of the Mother of God.

During his visit to Valaam, in June 1914, at the “royal place” near V. and. prayed led book Nikolai Nikolaevich. Later, a handwritten copy of the Legend was made for him (AFVM. 1915. No. 23. L. 6-16) and in the icon-painting workshop of Valaam a list of V. I. was made, sent to St. Petersburg through the confessor Vel. Prince Hieroschim. Ephraim (Khrobostov). After Russia entered the first world war led book Nikolai Nikolaevich in Dec. 1914 donated a thousand rubles to the monastery “so that this capital would remain inviolable, and the interest from it would be used for the eternal lighting of the lamp before the image of the Most Holy Theotokos of Valaam” (AFVM. 1915. No. 23. L. 2-5).

V. and. stayed on Valaam, which was transferred to Finland in 1917, until 1940, when, after the annexation of Ladoga to the USSR, the monks, forced to leave Valaam Island, transferred the image to the New Valaam monastery, in the Transfiguration Cathedral of which (behind the left kliros) V. i. is currently time.

One of the last miracles from V. and. recorded from the words of the rector of the Finnish Valaam Monastery, Archimandrite. Sergius: in 1996, the Greek son received healing. priest Elijah, who asked for the prayers of the brethren from V. and.

The celebration of the icon by the Finnish Orthodox Church takes place on August 20. Archbishop Paul (Olmari) wrote the troparion to V. and. The kontakion for the icon, with the blessing of the rector of the Finnish Valaam Monastery, was compiled in Finnish. Orthodox poetess Valentina (Tuula) Pennonen, being blind, spiritually saw the image of the Mother of God.

In Russia there remains a revered copy of the icon (135´ 82 cm), created by the Valaam monks in 1900. It was located in the chapel of the Valaam Monastery on Vasilyevsky Island, then, apparently before its closure in 1932, it was transferred to the church. in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God at the Smolensk cemetery. The image was especially revered by the parishioners of the temple; cases of healing were recorded. July 9, 1992 Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II with clergy of the St. Petersburg diocese and the Valaam brethren V. and. was solemnly transferred to the Valaam courtyard in St. Petersburg. In the same year, on July 11, for the feast of St. Sergius and Herman, the icon was temporarily transported to Valaam, and then returned to the courtyard. On July 10, 1996, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II, the image was transferred from St. Petersburg to the Valaam Monastery. On July 13, 1997, in connection with the 100th anniversary of the phenomenon of V. and. by decree of the Patriarch, the celebration of the icon was established; until 2003, it was performed on the day of the discovery of V. i. - on the 1st Sunday after the day of remembrance of St. Sergius and Herman, the Valaam wonderworkers, and the day of remembrance of the apostles Peter and Paul (June 29); in the present time - July 1/14. On July 10, 2002, the Patriarch consecrated in honor of V. and. Nikolskaya c. (was abolished in 1853). Service V. and. on Church Slavonic language compiled in 2003 by skhigum. Seraphim (Baradel). V. i. - one of the main shrines of the Valaam monastery - is located in the c. Saints Sergius and Herman of Valaam. Prayers are served in front of the icon, healings occur (the monastery keeps a record of miracles occurring from V. and.). With the money of one of the monastery’s benefactors, in gratitude for recovery from a serious illness, a c. In the name of V. and., a gilded carved iconostasis was built and an exact copy of V. and.

There are known lists of V. and., different from the icon of Hierom. Alipia in certain details. July 14, 1992 orthodox. The Valaam Society (Finland) donated to the Valaam Monastery a list of V. I., made in 1992 by the icon painter S. Pavlov. In 1995, this list, with the blessing of the rector of the Valaam Monastery, Archimandrite. Pankratiya (Zherdeva) was transferred to the Moscow courtyard of the monastery, where in the present day. time is in the icon case to the left of the central aisle c. in the name of Saints Sergius and Herman of Valaam.

In the Kazan Church of the Valaam Metochion in St. Petersburg, between the main altar and the right St. Nicholas chapel, there is a list of V. and., with images of St. Sergius and Herman in stamps, written in 1997 by Yulia Bogolyubova.

In May 1974, during the visit of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and All Rus' to Finland, he was presented with V. and. (currently location unknown), written specifically for the arrival of the Finnish High Hierarch. icon painter Peter Sasaki, a Japanese by nationality who converted to Orthodoxy.

Arch.: AFVM. Ea:153. No. 24 for 1920; Ea:132. No. 23 for 1915

Hierodeiac. Onufry (Makhanov), E. V. Shevchenko

Every year, on the first Sunday following the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the Russian Orthodox Church honors the icon of the Mother of God, found a little over a century ago among the harsh rocks of the island of Valaam. What did Valaam become famous for, what does it help with and where is it now? Let's talk about this in the article.

Sick servant of God Natalya

The circumstances under which the icon of the Valaam Mother of God was found are very surprising, and this story extends over two decades. It began with the fact that in 1878, a resident of St. Petersburg, Natalya Andreevna Andreeva, a devout and pious person who came from peasant background, caught a cold.

In St. Petersburg, with its damp Baltic climate, this is quite common, but for Natalya Andreevna, the cold ended in complications - her legs began to hurt and swell, so that the sufferer could barely move. This went on for almost ten years.

Since the doctors she contacted were unable to provide significant help, Andreeva, on the advice of her relative, decided to make a pilgrimage to the Valaam Monastery, known throughout the Orthodox world. There, on the islands of harsh Lake Ladoga, in holy churches and secret monastic hermitages, the grace of God eternally abided, generously poured out on everyone who opened the doors of their hearts to it.

Marvelous night vision

On the night before departure, and it was in June 1887, Natalya Andreevna was visited by an extraordinary vision. In a subtle dream, she saw a woman dressed in a robe of crimson velvet, holding a baby in her arms and surrounded by a wondrous radiance. Encouraging the sick woman with her smile, the young mother ordered her to definitely visit the monastery, promising her help and intercession.

After these words, the woman disappeared without revealing her name to the astonished pilgrim. Excited by what she saw, Natalya Andreevna did not even dare to think that that night she was honored with the appearance of the Queen of Heaven herself. But a wonderful vision gave her strength, and the next morning the sick woman went to the pier.

First trip to the monastery

The first time she set foot on the shore of the island was on the day of the feast of the discovery of the relics of the local saints, the monks Herman and Sergius. On this occasion, all the churches were crowded with pilgrims, and only at the very end of her stay on the island, Natalya Andreevna managed to make her way into the Assumption Church, where, to her amazement, she recognized the guest from her night vision in the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, who had promised her help and intercession. This was the icon of the Valaam Mother of God, which by that time had not yet been glorified by miracles.

However, as soon as she had time to venerate the image, a ship’s whistle sounded in the distance, calling pilgrims to the pier, and on this first visit, Andreeva did not even have time to serve a prayer service to the Mother of God. But nevertheless, upon returning home, she felt an inexplicable lightness in her legs, the sensation of which was caused by the cessation of pain. From that time on, she quickly recovered and was able to walk without crutches.

Re-visiting the island

Another ten years passed, during which the disease did not return, and the grateful Natalya Andreevna wished to go again to the island where the icon of the Valaam Mother of God was kept, through which the Blessed Virgin showed her a miracle of healing. Once again, like the first time, she got ready for the road and went to the familiar pier.

However, disappointment awaited her on the island - Valaam disappeared without a trace. Moreover, none of the inhabitants of the monastery not only could not say where she could have gone, but many even assured that such an image did not exist at all. Even the omniscient Father Sacristan threw up his hands in bewilderment, but suggested that if such an icon existed, then, most likely, it was sent to St. Petersburg, where by that time a monastery courtyard had opened.

Searches in the city on the Neva

Returning to St. Petersburg, Andreeva first of all hurried to the Narva side, where the courtyard was located. However, to her great disappointment, the treasured image was not there either. The icon of the Valaam Mother of God disappeared as completely as the night vision that once visited the servant of God Natalia.

But some inner voice never ceased to inspire her that the wondrous image that had once saved her from suffering really existed and that she was destined to find it. Filled with faith in her such a wonderful destiny, Natalya Andreevna went to the island for the third time.

Second prophetic vision

Relying in her labors on the help of the Valaam saints, she began by serving a prayer service in front of their relics. On the very first night spent in the monastery hotel, Andreeva saw a wonderful dream, which the next morning she hastened to tell to Father Paphnutius, who was already familiar to her - the same sacristan whom she addressed on her last visit.

She dreamed that, wandering around the monastery and never ceasing to pray to the Mother of God, she approached the ancient church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which had long been abolished and closed due to extreme disrepair. And there, standing on the porch, the servant of God Natalya suddenly clearly heard a voice from heaven addressed to her: “You will soon find me. I'm here".

Before the sounds of the voice had died down, the church door was suddenly opened by an old man in a blue kamilavka, who appeared from nowhere, and Andreeva immediately recognized him as St. Sergius of Valaam, before whose image she had prayed that day. He pointed her inside, where in the depths of the temple, among the old ones, stood in the corner the icon of the Valaam Mother of God.

The meaning of the dream was quite obvious - the Queen of Heaven herself showed her the place where her miraculous image was located. But before performing the holy deed, Natalya Andreevna considered it her duty to first take communion and gain strength in the holy gifts. She fasted for three days and prepared herself for the communion of the holy gifts, and the night before in a dream she saw Father Paphnutius leaving the church, in whose hands was that very image.

Finding a holy image

Having received communion at the early Liturgy of the Holy Gifts and barely leaving the church, Andreeva saw in front of her a crowd of pilgrims, in front of which Father Paphnutius solemnly walked, carrying before him the image of the Most Holy Theotokos. The scene was undoubtedly a continuation of her dream today. Having caught up with Andreeva, the priest, in a voice breaking with excitement, uttered only one word: “She?” There was no doubt, this was the same icon of the Valaam Mother of God that had so miraculously healed her ten years ago.

The appearance of Father Paphnutius with an icon in his hands in front of Natalya Andreevna is explained as follows. Hearing her story about what he had seen in a dream, he also interpreted it as a sign from above and, having received a blessing from the abbot, went to the old church, the doors of which had not been unlocked for many years. In it, he found a shrine standing in the corner, among icons darkened by time with barely visible faces of saints, as well as broken lecterns and other church utensils that had served their time.

Glorification of the miraculous icon

The miraculous image was placed in the main monastery cathedral and a solemn prayer service with blessing of water was served in front of it on the same day, during which many new healings occurred. The prayer to the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, offered with faith and hope, was always heard.

Detailed notes were made about all the miracles, and so that no one would subsequently have doubts about their authenticity, each page was certified by the signatures of numerous witnesses. When Abbot Gabriel headed the monastery in 1901, he placed the greatest shrine - a piece of the robe of the Mother of God - into the lower part of the icon.

Soon after the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God gained fame for its miracles and thousands of pilgrims flocked to it, it was possible to establish the name of the master who painted it. He turned out to be Hieromonk Alypiy (Konstantinov), who had once labored in the monastery.

He completed the image of the Virgin Mary in 1887, shortly before his death, just at the time when Natalya Andreevna caught a cold. How amazingly these two events turned out to be connected - in the silence of the monastery the artist painted an icon, and in St. Petersburg at that time a woman fell ill, whose illness ultimately served to glorify her.

Iconography of the Valaam miraculous image

Let us dwell in more detail on what the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God is, a photo of which is presented in the article. According to art historians, it belongs to the type of Mother of God images originating from Byzantium and called “Panagia”, which means “All-Holy”. Also, this icon, in its compositional structure, can be classified as a different, but similar type, “Nicopeia” - “Victorious”.

It is related to them by the image of the Virgin Mary, standing at full height and holding a baby in front of her, blessing the viewer with a gesture of her right hand. However, the power in his left hand is not of Byzantine origin. This detail of the composition is typical for Western European icons of “Christ the Savior of the World.”

The icon of the Valaam Mother of God has a curious detail that is unique in Orthodox iconography: the Queen of Heaven is depicted with bare feet, they are visible from under the hem of her vestment. Nothing like this is found in other icons of the Mother of God in the Eastern Church.

Departure to a foreign land

Until 1940, the island of Valaam belonged to Finland, and among other shrines there was the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God. The celebration of the day of its discovery, once crowded with pilgrims coming from St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, after the revolution began to be celebrated only by the inhabitants of the monastery and those few of its admirers who immigrated to the West after the October revolution.

When, at the end of the Finnish War, Ladoga with all its islands was annexed to the Soviet Union, the inhabitants of the monastery, leaving their habitable place, moved into the depths of Finland, where they founded a monastery, called “New Valaam”. They tried to take with them everything that was possible. First of all, of course, they took the shrines most dear to them, among which were crosses, icons, church books and vestments.

This is how the miraculous image, which once healed Natalya Andreevna and many other pilgrims, ended up in Finland. The troparion to the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, written shortly after its discovery, now began to sound in a foreign land, and every year more and more Orthodox Finns began to come to her in order to pray through her to ask for the intercession of the Queen of Heaven. It remains there to this day, installed in the main church of the monastery - the Transfiguration Cathedral (photo at the end of the article) and is rightfully considered the main monastery shrine.

The subsequent fate of the island of Valaam and its monastery

And on the island abandoned by the monks, religious life did not resume throughout almost the entire Soviet period. For a long time there was a home for war and labor invalids, where unfortunate cripples were brought from the mainland, sometimes forcibly. Only in the sixties this marvelous corner of northern nature was open to tourists, and ten years later the premises of the former monastery and the hermitages that belonged to it received the status of a museum-reserve. Then their restoration began.

The revival of the monastery began in September 1989, when by decision of the government of Karelia its territory and all the buildings located on it were transferred for use to the Leningrad diocese. The Day of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, celebrated, as already mentioned, on the first Sunday after the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, was officially established in 2002 by decree of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'.

Among other buildings, the building of the same, once abolished St. Nicholas Church, in which the miraculous icon was found, has also been preserved. After major repairs and proper restoration, the Temple of the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God was created in it. It contains a list made from the original, which remained forever in Finland.

Valaam Icon of the Mother of God: what does it help with?

The very glorification of the Valaam icon, through which many miracles were revealed, began with the healing of a suffering St. Petersburg woman, which was described in detail above. This marked the beginning of the tradition of praying to the Most Holy Theotokos in front of this image for deliverance from illnesses and the gift of health. There are many examples of how the Grace of God was generously poured out on those who prayed and they received what they asked for. Most of these cases are recorded in monastery books and confirmed by the signatures of witnesses. It’s hard to even imagine how many the Valaam Icon of the Mother of God brought the desired healing.

What do they pray for even before this wondrous image? Of course, we cannot reduce the idea of ​​help sent by the Queen of Heaven only to the healing of human flesh, no matter how important this is for us. Her mercy is limitless, and, appearing before the Lord, she intercedes for the fulfillment of all prayers coming from a pure heart and strengthened by faith. The Mother of God will not leave without her participation those who, before her honest image, ask for peace to reign in the family, for a successful resolution of pregnancy, for admonishing children and guiding them on the true path.