Celebration in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God. Happy Feast of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God! The emergence of the Pochaev Lavra
On August 5, Orthodox believers celebrate the Day of the Pochaev Icon Mother of God. This icon is one of the most revered shrines of the Orthodox Church.
August 5: Day of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God
Story Pochaev Icon
The miraculous icon has been located within the walls of the Dormition Pochaev Lavra in the Ternopil region for more than 400 years.
The celebration is timed to coincide with the deliverance of the Assumption Pochaev Lavra from the Turkish siege of 1675.
According to legend, the icon was presented to the Pochaev Lavra by noblewoman Anna Goiskaya. But a few years later, her descendant Andrzej Firlej took the image. After 20 years, the icon returned to the temple. According to legend, Andrzej’s wife became possessed and, in order to cure her, they decided to return the sacred image back to the church.
Miracles associated with the Pochaev Icon
According to legend, in the summer of 1675, Tatar troops surrounded the Pochaev Lavra and wanted to capture it. Hegumen Joseph of Dobromir ordered all church servants to pray to the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Job of Pochaevsky so that intercessors would protect the temple from the invasion of the Turks.
And on the morning of August 5, the Most Pure Mother of God herself suddenly appeared above the temple with heavenly angels.
The Tatar troops began to shoot at the face of the Mother of God, but the arrows were returned and hit those who fired them. In horror, the troops began to run away, and those who were captured subsequently took Christian faith and remained to serve in the Lavra forever.
Another legend says that in 1664 a blind boy was brought to the temple. They washed him with water from the footprint of the Virgin Mary, and the boy began to see. But the next day he died. His grandmother continued to pray at the face of the Mother of God and then three days later the boy came to life.
In 1950, nun Varvara, whose legs were paralyzed, was healed in the monastery. Leaning against the icon, the woman let go of the crutches that still stand there today.
Traditions on the Day of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God
The Pochaev Lavra traditionally holds solemn liturgies. And then the image of the Mother of God, which is located above the church gates, descends from the iconostasis.
Many Orthodox churches hold festive liturgies and even religious processions.
On this day it is customary to pray to the Holy Mother of God:
- about the health of loved ones
- blessings for new achievements
- about protection from adversity.
Believers believe that it is on this holiday that the Mother of God fulfills the deepest desires and cleanses a person of bad energy.
Many Christian shrines scattered all over the world. The lion's share of them consists of all kinds of images of the Mother of God. Each of these icons helps in certain situations, heals from certain physical or mental ailments. Large quantity Holy paintings, which depict the Most Pure Virgin with the Child of God in her arms, are miraculous. This is also considered to be the case. The day of its celebration was established by the Church on August 5.
Historical background
Tradition says that the place where the Pochaev Lavra is located today was at one time illuminated by God. In 1340, two monks settled on Pochaevskaya Mountain. One of them, having prayed, went to the top, and was suddenly struck by a vision: the Mother of God stood on a stone, engulfed in fire. The monk was not at a loss and called his brother so that he too could see the miracle. There was also a third witness to the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary: the shepherd John Bosoy. The three observers glorified the Lord. The Most Pure One disappeared, but the stone where she stood retained forever the imprint of the woman’s right foot.
As for the history of the religious celebration, it is closely connected with important event past, namely with the deliverance of the Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra from the Turkish siege, which lasted from July 20 to July 23, 1675.
The Zbarazh War was going on. At that time, the Polish king Jan Sobieski (1674-1696) was in power. In one of summer days Tatar regiments led by Khan Nurredin chose the Pochaev monastery as their victim. Enemies surrounded the Lavra from all sides. Since the monastery fence was unreliable, as well as the walls of the building, built of stone, the monks were well aware that they could not avoid a direct attack from foreigners. There was no point in resisting physically either. The servants of the Lord could repel their enemies only by turning to the Queen of Heaven for help. That's what they did. The initiator of this action was Hegumen Joseph Dobromirsky. With the whole world, the inhabitants of the monastery walls prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Job of Pochaev. Together with the monks, the flock prayed fervently. The hostages did not leave the icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev and the shrine with the relics of the saint already mentioned above for several days and nights.
The morning of July 23rd arrived. The abbot ordered the brethren to sing an akathist Holy Virgin Mary before her image. When the monks said the phrase " Chosen Voivode", the Queen of Heaven herself suddenly appeared above the temple with angels holding naked swords in their hands. Next to the Mother of God was the Monk Job of Pochaev. He bowed to the Virgin Mary and prayed for the protection of the Lavra. The Mother of God bloomed a “white-shining omophorion” over the monastery.
Not only the brethren and laity saw the heavenly vision, but also the Tatar enemies. The latter, thinking that there was a ghost in front of them, fell into complete confusion and began to shoot arrows at the Mother of God and the Monk Job of Pochaev. However, these arrows did not reach their target and, returning back, wounded their senders. The Tatars were seized with panic and horror. They rushed to run, not making out the road, not understanding where they were and where they were, killing each other. The defenders of the monastery took advantage of this state of their enemies and organized a pursuit of the enemy. As a result, many of the Tatars were caught and captured, and subsequently converted of their own free will to the Christian faith. Such foreigners remained in the monastery forever.
Miracles icons
After 46 years, a new disaster befell Pochaev: the city was occupied by the Uniates. And even during this difficult time for the monastery, especially many miracles flowed from the icon of the Mother of God, kept within the walls of the monastery: the chronicle recorded 539 such facts of help to people from above.
In general, throughout the entire period of existence of the holy image, the Most Pure Virgin regularly showed through it her concern for people. Another thing is that until 1664, the miracles that took place were not recorded anywhere by anyone. The image became miraculous after a certain pious noblewoman Anna Goyskaya received the blessing of the said person with the icon of the Mother of God for providing hospitality to the Greek Metropolitan Neophytos, who was traveling in Rus'. Then the image was placed in the chapel of a noble estate, where it remained for a long time. The servants told Anna more than once that the icon was glowing. Then Goyskaya herself saw the Most Pure Virgin in a dream. Soon after this, she witnessed the radiance of the image in reality. Anna realized that the icon had a special grace, and lit a lamp in front of it. Then, through prayers at the holy image, miracles began to happen. Anna Goyskaya informed the monks about them when her own brother received healing from the Mother of God. They served a prayer service and within procession moved the icon to Pochaevskaya Mountain. There, in the cave where the monks lived, it remained for storage for centuries.
What is described took place in 1597. In honor of the miraculous icon, the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God was erected on Pochaevskaya Mountain. Later, a monastery grew nearby, the maintenance of which was carried out with funds donated by Anna Goyskaya. Then the icon received its name “Pochaevskaya”, which has remained with it to this day.
A curious miracle occurred in the second half of the 18th century. Uniate Count Nikolai Pototsky accused his coachman of not restraining the enraged horses, which overturned the carriage. Enraged, the nobleman pulled out a pistol with the aim of killing the servant. The coachman in despair turned to the Pochaevskaya mountain and exclaimed: “Mother of God, revealed in the Pochaevskaya icon, save me!” After these words, Pototsky fired, but the weapon misfired. The same thing happened the second and third time. The matter ended with the coachman remaining alive, and his owner went to the Lavra to miraculous image Mother of God, gave all his property at the disposal of the monastery and dedicated himself to the Most Pure Virgin. With donations made by Potocki, the monks erected a fraternal building and the Assumption Cathedral.
In 1832 Pochaev icon The Mother of God returned to the bosom of Orthodoxy. This event was marked by another miracle: at the moment of worshiping the shrine, the blind girl Anna Akimchukova received healing. The baby, together with her elderly grandmother, came to the Pochaev Icon 200 miles from Kremenets-Podolsk. After the extraordinary events that took place in memory of the miraculous icon, the Archbishop of Volyn, Holy Archimandrite of the Lavra, Innocent, established a weekly reading of the cathedral akathist before the holy image. A little later, during the period of control of the Lavra by Archimandrite Agafangel, Archbishop of Volyn, a special chapel appeared in the choir of the Holy Trinity Church.
The Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God is still kept in the Pochaev Monastery. The monastery is located on the territory of Western Ukraine, in the Ternopil region, the city of Pochaev. The holy image belongs to the iconographic type of Tenderness. The Virgin Mary is depicted on it from the waist up. She holds the Divine Infant on her right hand. On the left hand of the Virgin Mary there is a cloth with which she covers the back and legs of Jesus Christ. Right hand The Son of God blesses, the left one rests on the shoulder of the Mother of God. The icon has inscriptions made on Greek. In addition, the image contains miniature images of saints, namely the Venerable Martyr Abraham, the First Martyr Stephen, the Prophet Elijah, the Great Martyrs Catherine, Paraskeva and Irina, and Saint Mina.
The Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God is one of the most revered shrines of the Russian Church. She's known to everyone Slavic world: She is revered in Russia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria and other places. Along with the Orthodox, Christians of other confessions also come to venerate the miraculous image of the Most Holy Theotokos. In the Pochaev Lavra, the ancient stronghold of Orthodoxy, miraculous icon stays for about 400 years. (Information about the transfer of the icon to the Pochaev monastery was posted on September 8). The miracles that flow from the holy icon are numerous and are attested in monastery books by the records of believers who prayed for deliverance from incurable illnesses, liberation from captivity and admonishment of sinners.
The celebration in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God on July 23 was established in memory of the deliverance of the Assumption Pochaev Lavra from the Turkish siege on July 20-23, 1675.
In the summer of 1675, during the Zbarazh War with the Turks, during the reign of the Polish king Jan Sobieski (1674-1696), regiments consisting of Tatars, led by Khan Nurredin, approached the Pochaev monastery through Vishnevets, surrounding it on three sides. The weak monastery fence, like several stone buildings of the monastery, did not provide any protection for the besieged. Hegumen Joseph of Dobromir convinced the brethren and laity to turn to heavenly intercessors: the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Job of Pochaev (October 28). The monks and laity prayed fervently, falling before the miraculous image of the Mother of God and the shrine containing the relics of St. Job. On the morning of July 23, at sunrise, the Tatars held their final advice about storming the monastery, and the abbot ordered the singing of an akathist to the Mother of God. With the first words to the “Charred Voivode,” the Most Pure Mother of God herself suddenly appeared above the temple, “blowing a white-shining omophorion,” with heavenly angels holding drawn swords. The Monk Job was near the Mother of God, bowing to Her and praying for the protection of the monastery. The Tatars mistook the heavenly army for a ghost, and in confusion began to shoot at Holy Mother of God and the Monk Job, but the arrows returned and wounded those who fired them. Horror gripped the enemy. In a panicked flight, without distinguishing their own, they killed each other. The defenders of the monastery gave chase and captured many. Some prisoners subsequently accepted the Christian faith and remained in the monastery forever.
In 1721, Pochaev was occupied by the Uniates. However, even during this difficult time for the Lavra, the monastery chronicle recorded 539 miracles from the famous Orthodox shrine. During the reign of the Uniates, in the second half of the 18th century, for example, the Uniate count Nikolai Pototsky became a benefactor of the Pochaev Lavra due to the following miraculous circumstance. Blaming his coachman for the mad horses overturning the carriage, the count took out a pistol to kill him. The coachman, turning to the Pochaevskaya mountain, raised his hands up and exclaimed: “Mother of God, revealed in the Pochaevskaya icon, save me!” Pototsky tried several times to fire the pistol, which never failed him, but the weapon misfired. The coachman remained alive. Pototsky immediately went to the miraculous icon and decided to devote himself and all his property to building the monastery. The Assumption Cathedral and the fraternal building were built with his funds.
The return of Pochaev to the fold of Orthodoxy in 1832 was marked miraculous healing the blind girl Anna Akimchukova, who came to worship the shrines with her seventy-year-old grandmother 200 miles from Kremenets-Podolsk. In memory of these events, the Archbishop of Volyn, Holy Archimandrite of the Lavra Innocent (1832-1840), established a weekly reading of the cathedral akathist on Saturdays in front of the miraculous icon. During the administration of the Lavra, Holy Archimandrite Agafangel, Archbishop of Volyn (1866-1876), a special chapel was built in the choir of the Holy Trinity Church in memory of the victory over the Tatars, consecrated on July 23, 1875.
Absolutely every religion has its own attributes, symbols and signs. Well, since there are quite a lot of different religions, it is understandable that the number of religious attributes in the world is extremely large. What is noteworthy is that some attributes are present in several religions at once. For example, rosary beads are common not only among Muslims, as many mistakenly believe, but also among adherents of other religions, including Christianity.
Of course, the rosary is far from the most important attribute of the Christian faith. Moreover, it is common only among Catholics. Well, the main symbol of the Christian religion is the crucifix. This is exactly what is found in every church and temple, but also among most Christians.
Another truly common symbol of Christianity are icons. They are also present in the homes of many Christians. In addition, they decorate the walls of most temples and churches around the world.
Some icons are especially popular. People come to them from all over the world to pray. Moreover, these icons are transported around cities so that people who do not have the opportunity to get to their permanent location can touch them.
Among the most famous, popular and revered icons in Christianity is the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God. At the same time, she is revered both in the Orthodox and in catholic church, which you don’t see very often. Moreover, a special holiday was established in honor of this icon. This only confirms its importance for Christians.
History of the holiday
Despite the fact that almost all Christians know about the existence of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, not every person realizes that a separate holiday is celebrated in her honor. Moreover, not all Christians know the history of this holiday. However, it is imperative to familiarize yourself with it in order to understand why the Church reveres this icon so much.
Today the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God is one of the most revered in Orthodox world. Many Christians know about its existence. This is especially true for adherents of Orthodoxy. That's why greatest number Admirers of this icon live in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia, Bulgaria and other countries where Orthodoxy predominates. It is here that the Day of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated most festively and widely. Although Catholics also know about the existence of this holiday.
It is not known for certain when this icon of the Mother of God was created. But it is known for sure that this icon appeared before 1559, when a lady from a noble family, Anna Goyskaya, received it as a gift. She got it from Metropolitan Neophytos, who passed by Pochaev this year. The significance of this icon is also explained by the fact that this metropolitan later became the patriarch of Constantinople.
The noblewoman, in turn, presented this icon of the Mother of God to the monks of the Dormition Pochaev Lavra, which at that time was already one of the largest temple complexes in Western Ukraine. However, the icon stayed here for a relatively short time. The fact is that the heirs of the noblewoman Anna Goyska, the Calvinist, Polish military and statesman, governor and captain of the royal Andrzej Firlej decided to take the image from the Lavra. It is worth noting that he did not ask for the icon to be returned to the heir, but robbed the monastery and took the image with him.
The icon was in Firlei’s house for only 20 years, after which he returned it to the Lavra. The fact is that the governor had no children. Therefore, Job of Pochaevsky advised Andrzej to return the icon to the Lavra so that the damage would be removed from his wife. Therefore, in 1644, the Castellan of Belz returned the icon to the monastery. But, it is worth noting, in the end he never had any offspring.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the Pochaev Monastery came into the possession of the Uniates. Together with the monastery, the icon also passed into their possession. While in the possession of the Uniates, the icon acquired a crown made of the purest gold. The corresponding decree on coronation was issued by Clement XIV.
After 100 years, the Pochaev Monastery again became Orthodox. Together with the monastery, which after the return became a monastery, in Orthodox Church the famous icon has returned. Since then she has been in the Pochaev Lavra.
The fact that this icon acquired its own holiday is not at all surprising. The fact is that believers consider this icon miraculous. Most of these miracles are associated with the period when the Pochaev Monastery was under the influence of the Uniates. For example, the return of the monastery under the wing of the Orthodox Church was marked by the healing of a little girl who was blind. In honor of this significant event We began to read the cathedral akathist weekly. What’s remarkable is that it is still read today.
Well, the holiday in honor of this icon was established in memory of the emergence of the Pochaev Monastery from the Turkish siege. According to legend, it was this icon of the Mother of God that helped withstand this siege, which lasted only three days.
Today, the Day of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated three times a year. They do this on March 31, July 23 and September 8.
How the holiday is celebrated in Russia
Since Orthodoxy predominates in our country, it is quite understandable that this holiday is celebrated on a special scale in our country. In many churches these days a festive service is held. Moreover, some people go to Pochaev to celebrate this holiday there.
How the holiday is celebrated around the world
Despite the fact that this icon is revered not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by Catholics, they practically do not celebrate the Day of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God. Although, it is worth noting that some Catholics these days come to Pochaev to pray in front of the miraculous icon.
Organizes a celebration in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, which is one of the most revered shrines of Orthodoxy. At the same time, Christians of the Catholic faith also come to venerate the miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God August 5: main miracles
For about 400 years, the miraculous icon has been in the Pochaev Lavra (a monastery in the Ternopil region). It is noted that the miracles flowing from this holy icon are numerous and are attested in monastic books by the records of Christians who pray for deliverance from incurable illnesses, liberation from captivity and the admonition of sinners.
The celebration in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God on August 5 was established in memory of the deliverance of the Assumption Pochaev Lavra from the Turkish siege of 1675.
During the Zbarazh War with the Turks, during the reign of the Polish king John Sobieski (1674-1696), regiments consisting of Tatars, led by Khan Nurredin, approached the Pochaev monastery through Vishnevets, surrounding it on three sides.
The weak monastery fence, like several stone buildings of the monastery, did not provide any protection for the besieged. Hegumen Joseph of Dobromir convinced the brethren and laity to turn to heavenly intercessors: the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Job of Pochaev. The monks and laity prayed for a long time and fell before the miraculous image of the Mother of God.
At sunrise, the Tatars held their final advice about storming the monastery, and the abbot ordered the singing of an akathist to the Mother of God. With the first words to the “Chosen Voivode,” the Most Pure Mother of God herself suddenly appeared above the temple with heavenly angels. The Monk Job was near the Mother of God, bowing to Her and praying for the protection of the Temple of the Lord.
At the same time, the Tatars thought that the heavenly army were ghosts and with fear began to shoot at the Most Holy Theotokos and the Monk Job, but the arrows returned to them. Then they panicked and killed each other and fled. The defenders of the monastery gave chase and captured many. Some prisoners subsequently accepted the Christian faith and remained to serve God in this monastery.
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