Icon of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Spring”: troparion and prayer. Icon of the life-giving spring
Days of veneration - every year on Friday Holy Week (Easter week).
Everyone who is sick physically prays, and through their prayers they receive healing from the most serious illnesses. Prayers in front of this image also heal from the passions that often overwhelm the human soul, depriving us vitality and from mental illness. They pray to correct moral vices that lead to the spiritual death of a person.
Not far from the Golden Gate in the famous city of Constantinople in the 5th century there was a grove dedicated to Holy Mother of God. In this grove there was a spring to which many miracles are attributed. Over time, the water became covered with mud, and bushes grew in its place.
The history of the icon is very interesting. One day the warrior Leo Marcellus, who soon became emperor, met a blind man here. He was a helpless traveler who had lost his way. The lion took the man and helped him find a path, then sat him down in the shade so that he could rest from the difficult road, and he went in search of water. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a voice appeared, telling the man that there was no need to look far for water, because it was close. Surprised by this phenomenon, Leo began to look for water, but could not find it. I was disappointed, the man was already there, when the voice sounded again. This time he received more detailed instructions on what and how to do. Lev heard that he should put mud on the blind man’s eyes, and give him water from a spring to drink. A voice told him that soon a man would build a temple here in his honor, and many believers, coming here with prayers, would be able to get rid of their ailments. Leo fulfilled everything commanded, after which the blind man was instantly healed, and he found his way to Constantinople on his own, while glorifying the Mother of God. This miracle happened back in the days when Marcian was emperor (391-457).
Emperor Marcian was succeeded by Leo Marcellus (457-473). On his order, the source was cleaned and enclosed in a stone circle, over which a church was soon erected in honor of the Virgin Mary. Since the grace of the Mother of God appeared in the source, working miracles, Emperor Leo ordered the spring to be called the “Life-Giving Spring.”
Another miracle happened, but this time to Emperor Justinian the Great (527-565). He was a deeply religious man and suffered from water sickness. Once, when midnight covered his land, an unknown voice appeared. He said that in order to be healed, the king needed to drink water from a sacred spring. The man did not know where that source was, and fell into despondency because of it. Then the Mother of God appeared to him, telling the king to get up and go to the source, which would restore him to his former health. The patient could not leave the words of the Lady unnoticed, and recovery was not long in coming. The emperor was so grateful for his healing that, near the temple erected by Leo, he built a new one, under which, after some time, a populous monastery was created.
In the 15th century, the walls of the Temple of the Life-Giving Spring were destroyed by Muslims. A guard, who was a Turk, was stationed at the entrance to the ruins. He did not allow anyone to approach the fallen temple. Gradually, the strict rules were relaxed, and Christians were allowed to build a church on that site. However, an unfortunate fate awaited this shrine; in 1821, the church was destroyed, and the miracle-working spring was filled up. Christians could not leave everything like that, they cleared the source and continued to draw water from it. One day, among the rubble, people found a half-rotten sheet, which contained information about 10 miracles performed from the Life-Giving Spring, which occurred in the period from 1824 to 1829. When Sultan Mahmud became the ruler of these lands, the Orthodox received more freedom and could not use it. The temple was built again over the Life-Giving Spring. In 1835, the church was consecrated by Patriarch Constantine. There was a hospital and an almshouse near the temple.
On April 4 of each year, as well as on Friday of Bright Week, it is customary to celebrate the renewal of the Constantinople church in honor of the Life-Giving Spring. The charter of the Orthodox Church states that on this day the rite of blessing of water should be performed with an Easter religious procession.
The Mother of God, together with the Child of God, is represented in the icon above a huge bowl, which stands in a reservoir. People suffering from terrible physical and mental illnesses came to this reservoir. They all want to drink life-giving water and receive healing.
Located in the Temple in the name of the prophet of God Elijah (EXCELLENCE OF THE LORD'S CROSS) in Cherkizovo, Moscow
The taste of water is experienced when one is thirsty. We all know the joy of the first sips - we would drink and drink. But remember, at Pushkin? “We are tormented by spiritual thirst...” What is spiritual thirst and how can we quench it?
"Agiasma" is a Greek word. It is translated as “shrine”. This is what holy water is called in the Orthodox Church. There is a special type of parishioner, very common. They visit God's temple once a year for Epiphany - to stock up on holy water. With big ones plastic canisters, with bottles of Pepsi they stand up for distribution and strictly watch so that they are not allowed to jump in line. Bent under the weight of their burden, which, as we know, does not last, the parishioners, satisfied with the day not lived in vain, return to their homes, pour water into bottles, jars, pans, and economically look at the stock - enough for a year. Until the next Epiphany distribution.
Forgive my ironic tone. I allowed it not because I condemn these people. Thank God they go at least once a year. But the great agiasma - Epiphany water- requires a special, reverent attitude towards oneself.
But holy water is not only that which is blessed by priests in a special manner. Many Orthodox saints had the special power to bring holy springs out of the ground through their prayers to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother. History has preserved for us not only the names of these saints, but also the sources themselves, in which grace and healing power have not diminished to this day. Let's remember one such event, ancient, because we are talking about the fifth century.
A wonderful plane tree grove adorned the holy gates of the great Constantinople. There was a spring in the grove, the water of which was unusually tasty, cool and healing. As time passed, the spring was overgrown with bushes, green mud covered the water, and it became almost invisible to the human eye. Once the noble warrior Leo Marcellus passed by, and towards him a blind man - old, exhausted, helplessly feeling the road with his staff, stretching out his hands, asking for a drink. Leo Marcellus was a kind man. He took the blind man by the hand and led him into the coolness under the shade of wide plane tree leaves.
“Sit here,” he said, “and I’ll go and find you some water.” Let's go. Yes, I had only taken a few steps when I heard female voice: “Don’t look far for water, it is here, next to you.”
Has stopped. What kind of things are these - there is no one, but a voice... He turns his head around, surprised. And the voice again: “Tsar! There is a spring under the canopy of the grove. Find him, fetch water, give drink to the thirsty. And put the mud that has covered the spring over the eyes of the unfortunate man. And build a temple on this place. He will have great glory...
Leo Markell's surprise gave way to trepidation. He understood that the Queen of Heaven was blessing him for a good deed. But why did She call him, a warrior, king? I did everything as ordered. And he took some water and put mud on the eyes of the blind man. The miracle was not slow: the blind man received his sight, went to Constantinople in jubilation, thanking the Mother of God.
And Marcellus soon became emperor. Now he’s a king! - became a common way to address him. And the king ordered to cleanse the spring, release its pure streams, and build a temple nearby. At the same time, an icon was painted, which has since ancient times been called the “Life-Giving Spring.” The icon depicts a tall, large bowl. The Mother of God hovers above the chalice, holding the Eternal Child in her hands. Blessing Right Hand of the Child. A hundred years later, another temple was built on this site - luxurious, elegant, and with it - a monastery. Very soon people came here with prayers for healing. They received it by faith. Healings in the plane tree grove occurred constantly, and the fame of the life-giving spring reached the most remote corners.
Since ancient times, the icon “Life-Giving Spring” has been known in Rus'. Her memory is celebrated on a special day - Friday of Bright Week (Easter Week). And this once again proves how revered she is among the Russian people. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, a copy of the “Life-Giving Spring” icon was brought to the Sarov Hermitage. The Great Elder Seraphim greatly revered the icon and sent many to pray to it. There is an icon of the “Life-Giving Spring” in Moscow, in Tsaritsyno, Dmitry Kantemir, advisor to Peter the Great, built a temple, and his son Kantemir Antioch, a famous Russian poet, rebuilt and updated it. For more than two hundred years, services in the Life-Giving Spring Church did not stop. It was closed just before the war. Yes, if only they had closed it, otherwise they would have looted it. There was a lot going on here: the transformer station was humming, the printing presses were whirring, the shavings were rustling in the carpentry shop. Today the temple has been returned to Orthodox Christians, and services have resumed there.
Of course, any source produced in a holy place or through the prayers of the saints of God can be called life-giving. “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate water from water,” we read in the Bible. And the Gospel of John tells about the pool at the Sheep Gate, where from time to time an Angel went and disturbed the water. Christ Himself entered the sacred waters of the Jordan and received baptism from His Forerunner John. Since then, the Jordanian waters have carried special grace and strength. Now that pilgrimages to the Holy Land have become commonplace, so too have the words: “I swam in the Jordan” become commonplace.
Many family albums now contain photographs of pilgrims in long white shirts entering the waters of the Jordan... So inaccessible and so familiar. Is it good? It’s probably good that, having saved up money and issued a foreign passport, we strive to join the great Christian shrines. Just don’t allow your own heart to become ordinary, just forbid it from beating as usual.
Our Russia is also generous with its life-giving springs. Saints and great ascetics built springs through their prayers, decorating with them, like sparkling gems, the modest and discreet Russian landscape. Sergius of Radonezh alone exhausted two springs during his life.
One right on Makovets, on the site of the future Trinity-Sergius Lavra, when the brethren grumbled - they say, father, it’s too far for us to go for water. That place is now lost. True, from time to time young, full of enthusiasm, seminarians begin to pace the ground around the seminary - to look for where... But if the ancient Chernets knew about their zealous descendants, they would have left a piece of birch bark with a map of where to look. They didn't think. But already in the middle of the 17th century, a spring began to flow as a consolation to the brethren during the renovation of the Assumption Cathedral. There was a blind monk in the monastery. His name was Paphnutius. I drank some water and regained my sight. Others began to scoop up handfuls. And others felt a surge of physical and spiritual strength. Now on the site of that spring there is a painted over-chapel.
To this day, that spring quenches the thirst of the suffering. There is a queue for him from morning to evening. Leave the Lavra and not get holy water? No good. Some even claim: this spring of Sergius is the same one that Sergius himself begged for the brethren. No matter how tempting it is to believe, this is another source. Although it is also life-giving, I say this with all responsibility, because often after a trip to the Lavra I bring home this amazing water.
But fifteen kilometers from Sergiev Posad, not far from the village of Malinniki, there is a Sergiev spring. It was he who was tormented by the Wonderworker of Radonezh himself. One day, sensing a murmur among the brethren and not wanting to give it a go, Sergius left the monastery and headed through the forests towards Kirzhach. On the way, he stopped just here and prayed for a long time. Sergius's prayer was heard, and silver sparkled in the deep forest clean water spring. 600 years have passed, but the spring is alive, and not only alive, but has become a twenty-meter waterfall, under the strong stream of which it is not so easy to stay on your feet.
At the very top of the waterfall there is a small log chapel with icons on four sides and lamps above them. Akathists are sung here, candles are constantly burning here. From here, along three wooden gutters, a strong stream of water rushes down to the small river Wondige. A little lower down there is a log bathhouse.
All year round they go and go to the spring for healing. Even in severe frosts, frail old women stand under its chilling streams with the prayer: “Reverend Father Sergius, pray to God for us.” They say you have to wash yourself three times. Many sick people run away from such unprecedented insolence. In the cold! Under icy water! Of course, only the most believers allow themselves to come to Malinniki in winter. And those who are stronger in body, more resilient, and more mistrustful, are waiting for the summer. And in the summer!.. It’s with sadness that I come here in the summer. The green field around the source turns into an impregnable bridgehead. A big folk festival. In swimsuits, swimming trunks, family shorts and just underwear, “pilgrims” rush to the grace of the holy spring. Pushing, falling on slippery wooden steps, scratching bare bellies into blood.
The spectacle of summer Malinniki is not beautiful. Having rinsed off, the pilgrims lay out a self-assembled tablecloth with a bottle in the center in the cold, and the music is turned on. Sometimes someone’s intelligible voice will sound: “We found a place... There’s a holy spring here!” But over the music and toasts, will you really hear?
Agiasma is a shrine. The life-giving spring is the place of our spiritual healing. There should be prayer here, there should be silence here. Spiritual thirst is not quenched hastily or in large sips over the edge of a three-liter jar. There is a spiritual culture that is important for each of us, and this culture has its own laws. There were a lot of “Life-Giving Spring” icons in Rus' precisely because the need to quench spiritual thirst lived and lives in our people. People tired of sorrows prayed before her, those who suddenly lost faith, listened to the enemy’s slander, but were afraid, very afraid of life without God, prayed before her. The Virgin Mary, hovering above the chalice, hugging the Child, gazes intently into the eyes of those praying. She knows our doubts, fatigue, fear. But She also knows well what we doubt: life without faith is a dry spring, a ditch covered with mud. There is no future in such a life.
Let's remember the Samaritan woman from the Gospel of John who came to the well to draw water. Christ asks for a drink, and she is perplexed: “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, but the well is deep.” And Christ tells the Samaritan woman about another water, the one who drinks it “will never thirst.” She asks: “Sir, give me this water,” not yet understanding what she is talking about. Christ speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well. There was just a well, but after meeting the Savior it became a life-giving source. She was just a Samaritan woman, a sinful woman, but she became a preacher God's word. In 1966, she was thrown into a well by a torturer. Her name was Fotina (Svetlana). From Gospel times to ours, the need for living water has not disappeared. On the contrary, having lived through God-fighting times, we endure this thirst especially painfully. We don't even always understand what it is.
Restlessness of the soul, restlessness, causeless languor. We look away from the holy life-giving source to quench our thirst. We are looking for who and where. And we don’t find it. And we are angry at life, at its fetters that hold back our impatient gallop. In front of the “Life-Giving Spring” icon, maybe we can come to our senses? Maybe we will be given clarity of mind and a simple thought will visit us: “I am looking in the wrong place, I am quenching my thirst in the wrong place.”
Now it’s somehow calmed down, but just recently we were running like crazy to blue screens with heavy, like weights, cans of water to charge. Another TV swindler was staring at us and our banks. We rolled our eyes at the TV swindler. This staring game was like a disease. Almost an epidemic. In a rare house there was no one who wanted to improve his health for nothing. Then we drank charged water until we were exhausted; when we caught our breath, we drank again. Let's catch our breath - again. Full stomachs, bladders, swelling under the eyes... But we’re not fools, we’re educated, we’ve lived and seen everything. The Lord, in the words of the Epiphany hymn, “grants purification through water to the human race,” but we did not resist the abuse of water. Sin. And the priest, when we come to confession, will ask: “Did you go to psychics? Did you drink the water charged on TV?” He will impose penance. And he will be right. We ourselves have sinned, we ourselves will correct it. And for help and consolation, let’s go to the “Life-Giving Spring” icon. And then we’ll choose time and visit one of the many holy springs - be it Sergiev in Malinniki, or Pafnutev in Optina Pustyn, or Serafimov in Diveevo. And let us wash away in their life-giving waters everything that hinders us and confuses us. The flesh will burn with a healthy heat, the head will clear, the soul will hide in anticipation of the extraordinary. Let the wait not be in vain. May the soul be granted amazing strength from the life-giving source. The Samaritan woman really wanted living water and asked the Lord for it. She didn’t know what kind of water she was, but she asked for it. But we, sinners, know, and do not ask...
Natalia Sukhinina
Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Spring”
In the 5th century in Constantinople, near the so-called “Golden Gate”, there was a grove dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. There was a spring in the grove, glorified for miracles for a long time. Gradually, this place was overgrown with bushes, and the water was covered with mud.
One day the warrior Leo Marcellus, the future emperor, met in this place a blind man, a helpless traveler who had lost his way. The lion helped him out onto the path and sit down in the shade to rest, while he himself went in search of water to refresh the blind man. Suddenly he heard a voice: “Lion! Don’t look far for water, it’s close here.” Surprised by the mysterious voice, he began to look for water, but did not find it. When he stopped in sadness and thoughtfulness, the same voice was heard a second time: “King Lion! Go under the shade of this grove, draw the water that you find there, and give it to the thirsty person, and put the mud that you find in the source on his eyes. Then you will know who I am, who sanctifies this place. I will help you soon build a temple here in My name, and everyone who comes here with faith and calls on My name will receive the fulfillment of their prayers and complete healing from ailments.” When Leo fulfilled everything he was commanded, the blind man immediately received his sight and, without a guide, went to Constantinople, glorifying the Mother of God. This miracle happened under Emperor Marcian (391-457).
Emperor Marcian was succeeded by Leo Marcellus (457-473). He remembered the appearance and prediction of the Mother of God, ordered the source to be cleaned and enclosed in a stone circle, over which a temple was built in honor Holy Mother of God. Emperor Leo called this spring the “Life-Giving Spring,” since the miraculous grace of the Mother of God was manifested in it.
Emperor Justinian the Great (527-565) was a man deeply committed to the Orthodox faith. He suffered from water sickness for a long time. One day at midnight he heard a voice: “You cannot regain your health unless you drink from My fountain.” The king did not know what source the voice was talking about, and became despondent. Then the Mother of God appeared to him in the afternoon and said: “Get up, king, go to My source, drink water from it and you will be healthy as before.” The patient fulfilled the will of the Lady and soon recovered. The grateful emperor erected a new magnificent temple near the temple built by Leo, at which a populous monastery was subsequently created.
In the 15th century, the famous temple of the “Life-Giving Spring” was destroyed by Muslims. A Turkish guard was assigned to the ruins of the temple, who did not allow anyone to approach this place. Gradually, the severity of the ban softened, and Christians built a small church there. But it was also destroyed in 1821, and the source was filled up. The Christians again cleared the ruins, opened the spring and continued to draw water from it. Subsequently, in one window, among the rubble, a sheet half-rotten from time and dampness was found with a record of ten miracles from the Life-Giving Spring that occurred from 1824 to 1829. Under Sultan Mahmud, the Orthodox received some freedom in performing divine services. They used it to build a temple over the Life-Giving Spring for the third time. In 1835, with great triumph, Patriarch Constantine, concelebrating with 20 bishops and large quantities the temple was consecrated by pilgrims; A hospital and almshouse were set up at the temple.
One Thessalian experienced from his youth desire visit the Life-Giving Spring. Finally, he managed to set off, but on the way he became seriously ill. Feeling the approach of death, the Thessalian took word from his companions that they would not bury him, but would take his body to the Life-Giving Spring, there they poured three vessels of life-giving water on it and only after that buried it. His wish was fulfilled, and life returned to the Thessalian at the Life-Giving Spring. He accepted monasticism and spent his time in piety last days life.
The appearance of the Mother of God to Leo Marcellus took place on April 4, 450. On this day, as well as every year on Friday of Bright Week, the Orthodox Church celebrates the renovation of the Constantinople temple in honor of the Life-Giving Spring. According to the charter, on this day the rite of blessing of water is performed with an Easter religious procession.
The Most Holy Theotokos with the Infant God is depicted in the icon above a large stone bowl standing in a reservoir. Near a reservoir filled with life-giving water, those suffering from bodily ailments, passions and mental infirmities are depicted. They all drink this life-giving water and receive various healings.
Troparion to the Icon of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Spring”
Let us, people, draw healing for our souls and bodies through prayer, the River that precedes everything - the Most Pure Queen Theotokos, pouring out wonderful water for us and washing away black hearts, cleansing sinful scabs, and sanctifying the souls of the faithful with Divine grace.
The surviving icons, images of which can be seen in existing religious churches, have a long ancient history. One of these is the Icon of the Life-Giving Source. It is known throughout the world as a shrine that could heal great amount sick people. That is why, as a sign of gratitude, believers regularly venerate this sacred image not only with prayers, but also with the creation of various spiritual works in honor of it. These include poems, songs and precise lists of the icon of the Mother of God of the Life-Giving Spring.
Story
According to legend, during Byzantine Empire, which was the main ancestor Orthodox faith, there was a grove near its capital. After the stay of the Holy Virgin Mary in it, the wonderful expanses of wondrous nature became holy. Next to the growing trees, right from the ground of the grove, a spring flowed, which, according to rumors, possessed healing properties. And one day, approximately in 450 AD, a traveler named Leo passed by the described blessed places. Arriving in an extremely deserted place, he involuntarily glanced at a man who could not find a way out in the middle of densely growing vegetation. Coming closer, Leo Marcellus immediately realized that the man he saw was blind. Deciding to help him, the traveler sat the disabled man down and went to fetch water. And during the journey, he suddenly heard the voice of the Mother of God, indicating the place of the holy spring. Having reached it, Leo Markell took water and brought it to the guest he met. And as soon as the blind man drank the water that was delivered to him, he immediately began to see.
As a result, the man who had regained his sight, as a sign of respect, fell to his knees with the words of prayer, thanks to the Virgin Mary, who helped Leo discover a natural source with miraculous properties.
After this incident, Leo Marcellus, who later became emperor, ordered the construction of a temple Holy Virgin, and the source, after thorough purification, should be called Life-Giving.
Subsequently, after of this event, in the center of the temple, they installed the Life-Giving Spring icon, which was painted by talented master icon painters.
Images of icons
In the icon, according to a special artistic design, you can see the Mother of God sitting in a huge gilded font. In her hands she holds her little son, Jesus Christ. Just below the bowl, the same Life-Giving Spring is clearly illustrated, lined with exquisite tiles around the edges.
Few people know, but on the first icons of the Mother of God there was no Life-Giving Spring, a reservoir of water or a fountain flowing from a bowl. However, in later compositions, this important element was added.
How does the “Life-Giving Source” icon help?
The Life-Giving Source itself is the embodiment of the beginning of the life source. Personifying the image of the Mother of God, he is able to heal sick human souls.
The meaning of the Icon of the Life-Giving Source is extremely great.
It helps believers overcome many troubles and difficulties that can sometimes happen in everyday life.
This should include first of all:
- ridding people of strong addictions, which include smoking, alcohol and all kinds of highly addictive drugs.
- assistance in eliminating spiritual inner experiences. During prayer, a person’s stressful state is normalized, bringing his nerves and mood to complete control
- provides assistance in maintaining a sinless existence;
- healing from all diseases.
Prayer to the icon “Life-Giving Source”
While pronouncing sacred prayer words, people ask to cleanse their souls of any nasty evil spirits that cause health problems, as well as to replenish their internal reserves of strength.
The text of the prayer is as follows:
O Most Holy Virgin, All-Merciful Lady Theotokos! Your life-giving source, healing gifts for the health of our souls and bodies and for the salvation of the world, has given to us; Also, give thanks to the being, we earnestly pray to Thee, Most Holy Queen, pray to Thy Son and our God to grant us forgiveness of sins and to every grieving and embittered soul mercy and consolation, and freedom from troubles, sorrows and illnesses. Grant, Lady, protection to this temple and to these people (and observance of this holy monastery), preservation of the city, deliverance and protection of our country from misfortunes, so that we may live a peaceful life here, and in the future we will be honored to see You, our Intercessor, in the glory of the Kingdom of the Son Yours and our God, to Him be glory and power with the Father and with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Every year Orthodox Church On Friday of Bright Week, celebrations are held in honor of the celebration of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Source". On this day in Orthodox churches The rite of blessing the water is performed. The history of the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Spring" dates back to the 5th century and is a reminder of the miracle of the Mother of God healing a blind man at a source located near Constantinople. Witness this amazing event was the warrior Leo Marcellus, who later became emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
When Leo passed by the spring, he saw a blind man. The warrior went to the spring in order to get some water for himself and give the blind man something to drink. Suddenly Marcellus heard a voice commanding him to scoop up water from the source and not only give the blind man something to drink, but also apply a wet bandage with water to the sick man’s eyes. It was the voice of the Mother of God. Leo Markel fulfilled the command and the blind man received his sight.
When Leo took office as head great empire, he erected a temple in honor of the Virgin Mary near the source. The House of God was called the "Life-Giving Fountain." After the Muslim conquest of Byzantium, the temple was destroyed. The House of God near the spring was restored only in the 19th century.
The very image of the “Life-Giving Spring” is a later “prototype” of the ancient icon of the Mother of God of the “Sign” type. The ancient Blachernae prototype depicted the Mother of God at the source. Holy water flowed from the hands of the Virgin Mary. Initially, the icon “Life-Giving Spring” did not depict a healing spring. Later, the iconography included a bowl of holy water, as well as a spring or fountain.
The earliest images of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Spring" include an image found in Crimea, attributed to historians to XIII century. From the middle of the 14th century, images of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Spring” with a cup and a healing spring located above it appeared. In the 15th century, an image of the “Life-Giving Source” type appeared on Mount Athos in the monastery of St. Paul. The Virgin and Child are depicted in a chalice.
In Rus', icons of the “Life-Giving Spring” type began to appear in the 16th century, when the custom of consecrating water sources at monasteries, dedicating them to the Most Holy Theotokos, came into practice.
It is also necessary to say about other names of the icon that are reflected in the Russian tradition. These include the names “Life-Giving Source”, “Source” and “Life-Receiving Source”.
Tip 2: Icon of the Mother of God “Unfading Color”: history and iconographic features of the image
The Most Holy Theotokos is especially loved and revered by the Russian people. One of the manifestations of love for the Mother of God has always been the painting of holy images of the Virgin Mary. On April 16th, the Orthodox Church celebrates special celebrations in honor of the celebration of the icon of the Mother of God "Unfading Flower".
The 17th century is considered to be the time when the image of the Mother of God of the “Unfading Color” type appeared. At the moment, there are two versions about where this holy icon was painted. According to one version, the author of the image is considered to be an Athonite monk, others suggest that the icon was painted in Constantinople.
The basis for creating the image “Unfading Flower” was the words from the akathist to the Mother of God, in which the Mother of God is compared to unfading and fragrant flowers. Cultural scientists suggest that the type of writing of the “Fading Color” icon was formed under the influence of Western iconography.
An integral part of all artistic images of the “Fadeless Color” icons is the presence of flowers. Options may vary. Flowers can be painted around the edges of the icon, or a flourishing rod is depicted, and sometimes the Mother of God and Child stands on a pedestal of flowers.
The clothes of the Mother of God and the Child Christ are most often royal, which indicates the special divine power of the Lord and the great position of his Most Pure Mother.
The icons "Unfading Color" depict various flowers. For example, lilies or roses. Snow-white symbolizes the special purity of the Queen of Heaven, and the rose is a universal symbol of the love inherent in the Mother of God as the main intercessor before God for people.
Celebrations in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Unfading Flower" are held twice a year: on April 16 and January 13.
Before the image of the Mother of God "Unfading Color" they pray for the preservation of spiritual purity and guidance on the path of spiritual improvement. This icon is especially revered among unmarried girls, since in Russian culture and Orthodox tradition It is customary to pray for a worthy groom in front of this holy image of the Mother of God.
In the 5th century, near Constantinople there was a grove dedicated, according to legend, to the Most Holy Theotokos. In this grove there was a spring, glorified for miracles for a long time, but gradually overgrown with bushes and mud. In 450, the warrior Leo Marcellus, the future emperor, having met a lost blind man in this place, helped him get out onto the path and settle in the shade. While looking for water for an exhausted traveler, he heard the voice of the Mother of God commanding him to find an overgrown spring and anoint the eyes of the blind man with mud. When Leo fulfilled the command, the blind man immediately received his sight. The Mother of God also predicted to Leo that he would become emperor, and seven years later this prediction came true.
Having become emperor, Leo Marcellus remembered the appearance and prediction of the Mother of God and ordered to cleanse the source, surround it with a stone circle and erect a temple on it in honor of the Mother of God. The Holy Key was called the “Life-Giving Spring” by the emperor, since the miraculous grace of the Mother of God was manifested in it. The icon painted for the new church was also named.
In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian the Great, after drinking water from a source and cured of a serious illness, built a new temple near the temple built by Emperor Leo, at which a populous monastery was created. In the 15th century, after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Life-Giving Spring temple was destroyed by Muslims. The small church that was subsequently built was also destroyed in 1821, and the source was filled up. Christians again dismantled the ruins, cleared the source and continued to draw life-giving water from it. After the Orthodox received some relaxation in performing divine services over the Life-Giving Spring, a temple was rebuilt, at which a hospital and an almshouse were set up.
The Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Life-Giving Spring” was deeply revered in Rus'. A temple was erected in the Sarov desert in honor of this icon. Those sick pilgrims whom Venerable Seraphim Sarovsky sent people to pray in front of the miraculous icon, and received healing from it.
On Friday of Bright Week after the Liturgy in Orthodox churches, a prayer service is usually held before the icon of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Spring.” With the water blessed at this prayer service, believers sprinkle their gardens and orchards, calling on the help of the Lord and His Most Pure Mother to provide the harvest.
Day of celebration: Friday of Holy Week.
More about the icon “Life-Giving Source”
“Life-Giving Source” is a miraculous icon of the Mother of God, located in the Constantinople monastery of Our Lady of Pigi (Source), executed on the wall using the mosaic technique in the 14th century. In the iconographic type “Life-Giving Source” (Zoodochos Pigi), which became widespread in the post-Byzantine period in Italo-Cretan painting, the Mother of God with the Child Christ is depicted from the waist up, sitting in a pool in the form of a large stone bowl, from which water pours through drain holes into the lower pool ; below are figures of people thirsting for healing. In Rus', icons of the “Life-Giving Source” appeared in the 17th century. In the 18th-19th centuries, especially revered icons of the “Life-Giving Source” were located in the Sarov Hermitage, in Tula, in the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow and in many other cities throughout Russia, including Solovetsky Monastery(written by order Solovetsky Archimandrite in Constantinople).
Celebration of the Life-Giving Source icon on Easter Friday.