More than once miraculously saved the Russian army from inevitable defeats. In 1395, Tamerlane with hordes of Tatars entered the Russian land and approached Moscow. The number of his troops at times exceeded the Russian squads, their strength and experience were incomparable. The only hope remained in chance and God's help. Then the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich sent to Vladimir for a miraculous icon. For ten days the journey with the Vladimir Icon continued from Vladimir to Moscow, people knelt on the sides of the road with the prayer “Mother of God, save the Russian land.”In Moscow, the icon was greeted on August 26: “the whole city went out against the icon to meet it” ... At the hour of the meeting of the icon, Tamerlane was sleeping in a tent. The legend says that at that moment he saw in a dream a high mountain, from which saints with golden wands descended to him. Above them in the air in the radiance of bright rays stood the “radiant Wife”. Countless darknesses of angels with swords surrounded her. In the morning Tamerlane called the wise men. “You can’t cope with them, Tamerlane, this is the Mother of God, the intercessor of the Russians,” the fortune tellers said to the invincible khan. “And Tamerlane fled, persecuted by the power of the Blessed Virgin”…
Grateful for their liberation, the Russians built the Sretensky Monastery at the meeting place of the icon. After 235 years in Vladimir, the icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir moved to Moscow and was installed in the cathedral built in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.And a century has not passed, as in 1480 the Khan of the Golden Horde Akhmet moved to Moscow. He had already reached the river Ugra. Grand Duke of Moscow John III was waiting for the khan on the other side of the river. The chroniclers write that unexpectedly and without any reason, an animal, inexplicable fear attacked the Tatars. He paralyzed both the physical strength and the will of the Tatars. Khan Akhmet was unable to cope with the demoralized army and was forced to retreat ... In memory of this event, until 1917 in Moscow, annually on June 23, a religious procession was held with the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God from the Assumption Cathedral to the Sretensky Monastery.
Russian princes and tsars prayed before this icon when going on campaigns. When electing Moscow metropolitans, andlater the patriarchs, the lots of the elected were placed in the shroud of this icon. Before her, the most distinguished people of Moscow took an oath of allegiance to their sovereigns.
In 1547, there was a strong fire in the Moscow Kremlin. The miraculous icon was about to be taken out: several of the strongest and most courageous men were sent to remove it and take it to a safe place outside the Kremlin. But no forces could move the shrine from its place. According to eyewitnesses, at that moment in the sky above the Assumption Cathedral there appeared a vision of a “radiant Wife who overshadowed the temple”… Soon the fire subsided. Among the ashes stood the Assumption Cathedral, untouched by fire.
Since then, the Holy Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God has always been in the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral. Before her, kings were anointed to the kingdom and high hierarchs were elected. In Soviet times, the icon was placed in the Tretyakov Gallery, fortunately, it was not lost like many Orthodox shrines during the years of persecution of the Church.
In September 1999, one of the main Orthodox shrines in Russia - the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God - was transferred to the church of St. Nicholas at the Tretyakov Gallery. There it is still stored under bulletproof glass, and special devices maintain a special regime of temperature and humidity ...
... A simple nun prayed with tears next to the holy fathers. Then, as if coming to her senses, she rushed to the people, telling about what she saw and heard that night. The rumor spread throughout the Kremlin and the suburbs, people fled to the cathedral to spend long hours in a fervent prayer standing in front of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God ...
What happened next is described by the chroniclers dryly and sparingly, because there is no explanation for what happened, no versions and “earthly” assumptions. Combined Tatar troops, many times superior in strength and number, retreated. The chroniclers say that on the morning of May 21 (June 3), 1521, the Tatars saw “countless Russian troops” on the other side of the Oka and with horror informed the Khan about it. Khan did not believe and sent the most loyal people to intelligence to make sure. The messengers really saw a multitude of troops and said: “King, why are you delaying? Let's run faster, an immense number of troops from Moscow are coming at us. The cruel, powerful Mahmet Giray retreated. The shocked Muscovites praised the Mother of God and served thanksgiving prayers in front of her miraculous Vladimir icon.
Three times a year, a feast is held in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in gratitude for the threefold deliverance of our fatherland from enemies with Her help: June 3 is new. st./May 21 st., July 6 new. Art. / June 23 Art. Art., September 8 new. Art./August 26 Art. Art. But there are many more miracles associated with this icon and worthy of celebration.
(August 26 O.S.) On this day, we celebrate the resurrection of the commendable meeting of the miraculous icon, Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos of Vladimir from the invasion of the godless Hagarians, the filthy Tsar Temiraksak (Pl.). Before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Vladimir, they pray for deliverance from the invasion of foreigners, for instruction in the Orthodox faith, for preservation from heresies and schisms, for the pacification of the warring, for the preservation of Russia.
According to church tradition, the icon was painted by the Evangelist Luke in the 1st century AD on the board of the table, which was in the house of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. The icon came to Constantinople from Jerusalem in the 5th century under Emperor Theodosius. This icon is attributed to the evangelist not in the sense that it was painted by his hand; none of the icons painted by him have come down to us. The authorship of the holy evangelist Luke here must be understood in the sense that this icon is a list of icons painted once by the evangelist
Theodosius II Greek Θεοδόσιος Β', Bust of Theodosius from the Louvre. Byzantine emperor 408 - 450
The icon came to Russia from Byzantium at the beginning of the 12th century (around 1131) as a gift to the holy Prince Mstislav from the Patriarch of Constantinople, Luke Chrysoverg. The icon was delivered by the Greek Metropolitan Michael, who arrived in Kyiv from Constantinople in 1130. At first, the Vladimir icon was located in the convent of the Theotokos in Vyshgorod, not far from Kyiv, hence its Ukrainian name - the Vyshgorod icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. The son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, brought the icon to Vladimir in 1155 (by which it received its current name, where it was kept in the Assumption Cathedral.) By order of Prince Andrei, the icon was decorated with an expensive salary. After the assassination of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1176, Prince Yaropolk Rostislavich removed the expensive headdress from the icon, and it ended up at Gleb Ryazansky's. Only after the victory of Prince Mikhail, Andrei's younger brother, over Yaropolk did Gleb return the icon and the headdress to Vladimir. During the capture of Vladimir by the Tatars in 1237, the Assumption Cathedral was plundered, and the salary was torn off from the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Power Book reports on the restoration of the Assumption Cathedral and the renewal of the icon by Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich.
During the invasion of Tamerlane under Vasily I in 1395, the revered icon was transferred to Moscow to protect the city from the conqueror.
The celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos takes place several times a year. Each of the days of the celebration is associated with the deliverance of the Russian people from enslavement by foreigners through prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos:
September 8 according to the new style (August 26 according to the church calendar) - in memory of the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of Tamerlane in 1395.
June 3 (May 21) - in memory of the salvation of Moscow from the Crimean Khan Makhmet Giray in 1521.
The most solemn celebration takes place on September 8 (according to the new style), established in honor of the meeting of the Vladimir Icon when it was transferred from Vladimir to Moscow.
The history of the meeting in Moscow of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos
The Feast of the Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which falls on September 8, points to a specific date - 1395. The word "sretenie" means "meeting". And indeed, in that year in Moscow there was a meeting of the holy image of the Most Holy Theotokos by Muscovites. Later, on the site of the meeting, the Sretensky Monastery was erected. This monastery gave its name to Sretenka Street.
In 1395, the terrible conqueror Khan Tamerlane (Temir-Aksak) with hordes of Tatars entered the Russian land and reached the limits of Ryazan, took the city of Yelets and, heading towards Moscow, approached the banks of the Don.
Timur / Tamerlane Chagat. تیمور, Great Emir of the Timurid Empire April 9, 1336 - February 18, 1405 15th century miniature
Grand Duke Vasily I Dimitrievich, the eldest son of Dmitry Donskoy, went out with an army to Kolomna and stopped on the banks of the Oka. The number of Tamerlane's troops at times exceeded the Russian squads, their strength and experience were incomparable. The only hope remained in chance and God's help.
He prayed to the hierarchs of Moscow and St. Sergius for the deliverance of the Fatherland and wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow, St. Cyprian, so that the coming Dormition Fast would be devoted to fervent prayers for mercy and repentance.
Clergy were sent to Vladimir, where the glorified miraculous icon was located. After the liturgy and prayer service on the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, the clergy received the icon and carried it to Moscow with a procession of the cross. For ten days the journey with the Vladimir Icon continued from Vladimir to Moscow. Countless people on both sides of the road, on their knees, prayed: “Blessed Mother of God, save the Russian land!” In Moscow, the icon was greeted on August 26 (September 8, according to the new style) “the whole city went out against the icon to meet it” ... .
At the very hour when the inhabitants of Moscow met the icon on the Kuchkov field (now Sretenka street), Tamerlane was dozing in his tent. Suddenly he saw in a dream a great mountain, from the top of which saints with golden wands were walking towards him, and above them in a radiant radiance the Majestic Wife appeared. She ordered him to leave the borders of Russia.
Waking up in awe, Tamerlane called the wise men. “You can’t cope with them, Tamerlane, this is the Mother of God, the intercessor of the Russians,” the fortune tellers said to the invincible khan. “And Tamerlane fled, persecuted by the power of the Blessed Virgin”…
In memory of the miraculous deliverance of the Russian land from Tamerlane, on the Kuchkov field, where the icon was met, the Sretensky Monastery was built, and on August 26, an all-Russian celebration was established in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.
After this event, the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, after 235 years in Vladimir, remained in Moscow forever. She was placed in the cathedral built in honor of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. Before her, tsars were anointed to the kingdom and the most important events of Russian church history took place: the election and installation of St. Jonah - Primate of the Autocephalous Russian Church (1448), St. Job - the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1589)
And a century has not passed, as in 1480 the Khan of the Golden Horde Akhmet moved to Moscow. He had already reached the river Ugra. Grand Duke of Moscow John III was waiting for the khan on the other side of the river. The chroniclers write that unexpectedly and without any reason, an animal, inexplicable fear attacked the Tatars. He paralyzed both the physical strength and the will of the Tatars. Khan Ahmed was unable to cope with the demoralized army and was forced to retreat ...
In 1547, there was a strong fire in the Moscow Kremlin. The miraculous icon was about to be taken out: several of the strongest and most courageous men were sent to remove it and take it to a safe place outside the Kremlin. But no forces could move the shrine from its place. According to eyewitnesses, at that moment in the sky above the Cathedral of the Assumption appeared a vision of “the luminous Wife, overshadowing the temple”… Soon the fire subsided. Among the ashes stood the Assumption Cathedral, untouched by fire.
In Soviet times, the icon was placed in the Tretyakov Gallery, fortunately, it was not lost like many Orthodox shrines during the years of persecution of the Church.
In September 1999, one of the main Orthodox shrines in Russia - the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Vladimir - was transferred by the Russian Orthodox Church to the church of St. Nicholas at the Tretyakov Gallery.
There it is still stored under bulletproof glass, and special devices maintain a special regime of temperature and humidity ...
Iconographically, the Vladimir Icon belongs to the Eleusa (Tenderness) type. The baby leaned his cheek against the mother's cheek. The icon conveys the full tenderness of the communication between the Mother and the Child. Mary foresees the suffering of the Son in His earthly journey.
A distinctive feature of the Vladimir icon from other icons of the Tenderness type: the left leg of the Christ Child is bent in such a way that the sole of the foot, the “heel”, is visible.
The back depicts Etimasia (the Throne prepared) and instruments of passion, dated very roughly to the beginning of the 15th century.
Throne prepared (gr. etimasia) - the theological concept of the throne, prepared for the second coming of Jesus Christ, who is coming to judge the living and the dead.
The Vladimir icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is an all-Russian shrine, the main and most revered of all Russian icons. There are also many lists of the Vladimir Icon, a significant number of which are also revered as miraculous.
The city of Moscow and the miraculous image of the Mother of God of Vladimir are inseparably and forever merged. How many times She saved the white stone from enemies! This image connected the apostolic times and Byzantium, Kievan and Vladimir Rus, and then Moscow - the Third Rome, "and there will not be a fourth." This is how the Muscovite State was providentially formed, incorporating a mystical connection with ancient empires, historical experience, and traditions of other Orthodox lands and peoples. The miraculous image of Vladimirskaya has become a symbol of unity and continuity. It is difficult to describe this amazing icon in words, because all of them seem empty in front of the gaze that looks at us. Everything is in this look: life and death, and resurrection, eternity, immortality.
According to ancient legend, the holy evangelist, doctor and artist Luke painted three icons of the Mother of God. Looking at them, the Most Pure One said: “Let the Grace of the One Born of Me and Mine be with the holy icons.” One of these icons is known to us under the name Vladimirskaya.
Until 450, this image of the Lady remained in Jerusalem, and then was transferred to Constantinople. In the first half of the 12th century, the Patriarch of Constantinople Luke Chrysover sent the icon (together with another image of the Theotokos, known as "Pirogochchaya") as a gift to the Grand Duke Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, who placed the icon in the Vyshgorod nunnery near Kyiv, in the area that once belonged to the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles great Princess Olga. In 1155, Vyshgorod became the inheritance of Prince Andrei, the son of Yuri Dolgoruky.
Deciding to move to his native Suzdal land, Prince Andrei, without the knowledge of his father, took the icon with him. On the way, he constantly served prayers before her. The inhabitants of Vladimir-on-Klyazma met their prince with zeal and joy; from there the prince went further, to the city of Rostov. However, having driven no more than ten versts from Vladimir, the horses stood on the banks of the Klyazma and, despite urgings, did not want to go further. Harnessed fresh, but they did not go. Struck, Prince Andrei fell before the icon and tearfully began to pray. And then the Mother of God appeared to him with a scroll in her hand and ordered to leave Her image in the city of Vladimir, and on the site of this Her appearance to build a monastery in honor of Her Nativity.
The prince placed the icon in Vladimir, and from that time - from 1160 - it received the name Vladimirskaya.
In 1164, this icon accompanied Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky on a campaign against the Volga Bulgars. Before the battle, the prince confessed and took communion; falling before the image of the Mother of God, he exclaimed: “Everyone trust in Thee, the Lady, she will not perish!” The whole army, following their prince, kissed the miraculous with tears and, crying out for the intercession of the Most Pure, moved into battle. The wicked were defeated.
After the victory on the battlefield, a prayer service was performed before the holy icon. During it, in full view of the entire Russian army, a miracle was revealed: from the image and from the Life-Giving Cross, a wondrous light dawned, illuminating the whole area.
And at the other end of the Christian world, but exactly on the same day and hour, the Byzantine emperor Manuel saw the light from the Cross of the Lord and, supported by this sign, defeated his enemies, the Saracens. Following the intercourse of Prince Andrei with the Emperor of the Second Rome, on August 1, the feast of the Origin (wearing) of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, popularly known as the First Savior, was established.
Many other miracles were revealed from the miraculous image.
In 1395, Tamerlane approached Moscow with hordes of Tatars. The Christian people had only hope for God's help. And then the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich ordered to bring the icon from Vladimir to Moscow. The path of the Lady from the banks of the Klyazma lasted ten days. On both sides of the road, kneeling people stood and, holding out their hands to the icon, cried out: “Mother of God, save the Russian land!” A solemn meeting awaited in the white-stone Vladimir Icon: a procession with all the city clergy, the family of the Grand Duke, boyars and ordinary Muscovites went to the city walls on Kuchkovo Field, met and saw off the miraculous to the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.
It was August 26th. “The whole city went out against the icon to meet it,” the chronicler testifies. Metropolitan, Grand Duke, “husbands and wives, youths and virgins, children and babies, orphans and widows, from young to old, from crosses and icons, from psalms and with spiritual songs, more than speak all with tears, even if you cannot find a person, not weeping with incessant sighs and sobbing.
And the Mother of God heeded the prayer of those who trusted in Her. At the very hour of meeting the miraculous on the banks of the Moscow River, Tamerlane had a dreamy vision in his tent: saints with golden staffs were descending from a high mountain, and above them, in indescribable grandeur, in the radiance of bright rays, the Radiant Wife soared; countless hosts of Angels with fiery swords surrounded Her... Tamerlane woke up, trembling with horror. The Tatar wise men, elders and fortune tellers called by him, explained that the Wife he saw in a dream is the Intercessor of the Orthodox, the Mother of God, and that Her power is irresistible. And then the Iron Lame ordered his hordes to turn back.
Both Tatars and Russians were amazed by this event. The chronicler concluded: “And Tamerlane fled, persecuted by the power of the Blessed Virgin!”
Grateful Muscovites built Sretensky Monastery on the meeting place of the miraculous on August 26, 1395: “May people not forget the deeds of God.” Thus, after a 242-year stay on the banks of the Klyazma, the icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir moved to Moscow and was placed in the Kremlin Cathedral in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed One. Moscow owes its grace-filled power for deliverance from the raids of Khan Edigei in 1408, the Nogai prince Mazovsha in 1451, his father, Khan Sedi-Akhmet in 1459.
In 1480, the Khan of the Horde Akhmat moved to Moscow and reached the Ugra River in Kaluga. Grand Duke of Moscow John III was waiting on the other side of the river. Suddenly such a strong and unreasonable fear attacked the Tatars that Akhmat did not dare to go to the Russian army and turned back to the steppe. In memory of this event, a religious procession from the Assumption Cathedral to the Sretensky Monastery began to take place in Moscow every year. And the Ugra River has since been known as the Belt of the Virgin.
In 1521, the Kazan Khan Makhmet Giray led the Kazan and Nogai Tatars to Moscow. Metropolitan Varlaam and all the people fervently prayed before the face of Vladimirskaya. Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich barely had time to gather an army to meet the Tatars at a distant frontier, on the Oka River. Restraining their onslaught, he slowly retreated to Moscow.
On the very night of the siege, the nun of the Kremlin's Ascension Monastery saw the saints coming out through the locked doors of the Assumption Cathedral, carrying the miraculous Vladimirskaya in their hands. These were the holy metropolitans of Moscow Peter and Alexy, who lived two centuries earlier. And the nun also saw how, at the Spasskaya Tower, the Monk Varlaam of Khutynsky and Sergius of Radonezh met the procession of the hierarchs - and fell on their faces before the icon, praying to the Most Pure One not to leave the Assumption Cathedral and the people of Moscow. And then the Intercessor returned through the locked doors.
The nun hastened to tell the townspeople about the vision. Muscovites gathered in the temple and began to pray fervently. And the Tatars again dreamed of "a great army, shining with armor," and they fled from the walls of the city.
So more than once our Fatherland was saved by the prayer of the people before the miraculous image of Vladimir. In memory of these deliverances, the celebration of the Vladimir Icon was established: May 21 - in memory of the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of the Crimean Khan Mahmet Giray in 1521; June 23 - in memory of the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of Khan Akhmat in 1480; August 26 - in memory of the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of Tamerlane in 1395.
A special edition of the Vladimir icon is called the “Tree of the Moscow State”. The first such icon was painted at the end of Ancient Russia, in 1668, by the royal icon painter Simon (Pimen) Ushakov for the Trinity Church in Nikitniki in Kitay-Gorod. It depicts Saints Peter and Alexy, watering a lush tree growing from behind the Kremlin wall; on the branches are medallions with a host of Russian saints, and in the center is an oval image of Vladimirskaya. As in the icon “Praise of the Mother of God” the biblical prophets are written with unfolded scrolls, on which the words of the akathist are inscribed, so on this image the heavenly patrons of Russia glorify and praise the Most Pure, praying for Her intercession for the Russian state.
Troparion, tone 4
Today, the most glorious city of Moscow flaunts lightly, as if we perceived the dawn of the sun, the Lady, Your miraculous icon, to which we now flow and pray to You, we cry out to the mother: O Wonderful Lady, the Mother of God, praying from You to the incarnate Christ our God, may he save this city and all Christian cities and countries are unharmed from all the slander of the enemy, and our souls will be saved, like Mercy.
Prayer
O All-Merciful Lady Theotokos, Heavenly Queen, Omnipotent Intercessor, our shameless Hope! Thanks to Thee for all the great blessings, in the generations of the Russian people from You who were, before Your most pure image, we pray to Thee: save this city (or: this whole; or: this holy abode) and your forthcoming servants and all the Russian land from gladness, destruction , land of shaking, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreigners and internecine warfare. Save and save, Madam, the Great Lord and our father (name of the rivers), His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and our Lord (name of the rivers), His Grace Bishop (or: Archbishop; or: Metropolitan) (title), and all the Most Reverend Metropolitans , archbishops and Orthodox bishops. Give them good governance of the Russian Church, keep the faithful sheep of Christ indestructible. Remember, Lady, and the entire priestly and monastic rank, warm their hearts with zeal for Bose and, worthy of your title, strengthen each and every one. Save, Lady, and have mercy on all Thy servants and grant us the path of the earthly field to pass without blemish. Establish us in the faith of Christ and in zeal for the Orthodox Church, put into our hearts the spirit of the fear of God, the spirit of piety, the spirit of humility, give us patience in adversity, abstinence in prosperity, love for our neighbors, forgiveness for the enemy, prosperity in good deeds. Deliver us from every temptation and from petrified insensitivity, on the terrible day of judgment, vouchsafe us with Your intercession to stand at the right hand of Your Son, Christ our God, He deserves all glory, honor and worship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.
Since the people of Russia were baptized, the Mother of God has been considered the patroness of our country. And this is not unfounded, since our compatriots received miraculous help from the icons of the Most Holy Theotokos in the most difficult situations, when not only the freedom of an entire nation, but also the lives of a mass of people were put at stake. One of these revered images is the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. On September 8, the Church decided to celebrate the holiday dedicated to it.
General information
If you believe the ancient church tradition, the icon of the Virgin Mary, honored at the beginning of the autumn of each year, has a long history. According to this version, the author of the holy image is the Evangelist Luke. He painted the face of the Mother of God on an ordinary wooden board - part of the table at which the Mother of God, Jesus and righteous Joseph ate food. Seeing her own image on the board, the Virgin Mary blessed the latter, saying these words: “From now on, all generations will bless Me. The Grace of the One Born of Me and Mine will be with this icon.”
For a long time this icon stayed in the main city of Israel - Jerusalem. After I found myself in Constantinople - the Byzantine capital. In the 12th century, the Patriarch of Constantinople presented the holy image to the holy Prince Mstislav, who sat on the throne of Kiev. So the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God ended up in Russia. She was placed in the Maiden Convent, which was located in Vyshgorod.
Two decades passed before the miraculous icon found itself in Vladimir. By the way, this event happened thanks to the holy Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. The image of the Mother of God took a place of honor in the Assumption Cathedral of the city. Hence the name of the holy image of the Virgin Mary: it literally has a topographical character.
Scholars do not believe church tradition regarding the true age of the miraculous icon. As a result of research, the holy image was dated to the 12th century AD. It turns out that the Vladimir icon belongs to the period of the Komnenos' revival in Byzantine art, in particular, painting. This is indicated by the coincidence of some of the painted elements present on the image of the Mother of God with those used by the artists of this pictorial era. From the point of view of art, the icon of the Virgin Mary we are considering can be safely called a model of the Byzantine school of painting. The one who wrote it was a master of his craft, since he managed to convey the feelings and emotions of the Most Pure One so accurately that it is impossible to remain indifferent, looking at the holy canvas and the woman depicted on it.
However, in favor of church tradition, some facts also come forward, however, they are very controversial. For example, there is information that the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was in the city of Jerusalem until the middle of the 5th century AD. How is it not a proof of the truth of the opinion of the church on the issue of the present age of an Orthodox relic?
history of the holiday
The Feast of the Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which falls on September 8, points to a specific date - 1395. The word "sretenie" means "meeting". And indeed, in that year in Moscow there was a meeting of the holy image of the Virgin Mary by Muscovites. Later, on the site of the meeting, the Sretensky Monastery was erected. This monastery gave its name to Sretenka Street.
Under what circumstances did the holy image of the Most Pure appear in the capital, and, moreover, why was it met by a multitude of people? History provides an explanation. In the year 1395 already mentioned above, Khan Tamerlane approached Moscow with hordes of his warriors. His goal was to capture the capital city. The Christian people realized that the enemies were stronger, at least in quantitative terms, therefore they relied solely on the help of heaven. The Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich took the initiative in this regard. He ordered to bring to Moscow the holy image of the Mother of God, which had already been stored in Vladimir by that time. The path of the miraculous icon of the Intercessor was very long - it was 10 days. On both sides of the road that the Empress crossed, there were a lot of people. Everyone held out their hands to the icon, crying: “Mother of God, save the Russian land!” In Moscow, the holy image of the Virgin Mary was awaited by a magnificent reception. On this occasion, a solemn religious procession was organized, which was attended by representatives of the city clergy, boyars, the Grand Duke with his family and, of course, ordinary citizens. The meeting of the icon took place on the city walls overlooking Kuchkovo Field, after which the people escorted the holy image to the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.
The event described above took place on August 26, 1395. The Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was accompanied by great weeping of those present, incessant prayers and lamentations. All this, undoubtedly, came from the heart, because, firstly, the Russian people at that time were distinguished by high fear of God, and secondly, the fear of the invasion of Tamerlane's hordes was too strong. And it is not surprising that the Mother of God heeded the sincere requests for help and intercession coming from such a huge number of people.
At the time of the meeting of the miraculous icon on the banks of the Moscow River, the khan and his soldiers had a subtle vision in which the enemies of Russia saw how saints descend from a high mountain, in their hands are golden staffs, and a woman hovers above them, surrounded by the radiance of bright rays of light and host of Angels with fiery swords. Interestingly, this vision appeared not only to the Tatars, but also to the Russian people. Both those and others were incredibly surprised, and the latter also came to indescribable horror. As a result, Tamerlane with his tent fled without looking back.
At the end of these events, the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God remained in Moscow forever. She was placed in the Kremlin Cathedral in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Later, more than once, the Virgin Mary defended the capital city from enemies. So, in 1408, through her holy image, she saved the capital from the raids of Khan Edigey, in 1451 - from the attack of Mazovsha, the Nogai prince, in 1459 - from the encroachments on the Russian land of Khan Sedi-Akhmet. In 1480, a popular prayer in front of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God forced Khan Akhmet to change his intention to try to conquer Moscow, and in 1521 the same thing happened to the Kazan Khan Makhmet Giray. Paying tribute to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the Church established three whole holidays honoring the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: in addition to the date of September 8 (August 26, O.S.), which commemorates the salvation of the capital city from Khan Tamerlane in 1395, Orthodox Christians also celebrate the holiday of 21 May - the defense of Moscow from the invasion of the Crimean Khan Makhmet Giray in 1521 and June 23 - the memory of the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of Khan Akhmat in 1480.
The festival was established in memory of the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of Tamerlane in 1395.
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior ate with the Most Pure Mother and righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, seeing this image, said: “From now on, all generations will bless Me. The Grace of the One Born of Me and Mine will be with this icon.”
Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God
In 1131, the icon was sent to Russia from Constantinople to the holy Prince Mstislav (+ 1132, Comm. 15 April) and was placed in the Maiden Monastery of Vyshgorod, the ancient appanage city of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga.
The son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Saint Andrei Bogolyubsky, brought the icon to Vladimir in 1155 and placed it in the famous Cathedral of the Dormition he had erected. Since that time, the icon has received the name of Vladimirskaya. In 1395 the icon was first brought to Moscow. Thus, with the blessing of the Mother of God, the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Russia were fastened - through Kyiv, Vladimir and Moscow.
Icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir. Sacristy of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra
The Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated several times a year (May 21, June 23, August 26). The most solemn celebration takes place on August 26, established in the honor of meeting the Vladimir Icon during its transfer from Vladimir to Moscow. In 1395, the terrible conqueror Khan Tamerlane (Temir-Aksak) reached the limits of Ryazan, took the city of Yelets and, heading towards Moscow, approached the banks of the Don. Grand Duke Vasily Dimitrievich went out with an army to Kolomna and stopped on the banks of the Oka. He prayed to the hierarchs of Moscow and St. Sergius for the deliverance of the Fatherland and wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow, St. Cyprian (Comm. 16 September), so that the coming Dormition Fast would be dedicated to fervent prayers for mercy and repentance. Clergy were sent to Vladimir, where the glorified miraculous icon was located. After the liturgy and prayer service on the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, the clergy received the icon and carried it to Moscow with a procession of the cross. Countless people on both sides of the road, on their knees, prayed: "Mother of God, save the Russian land!" At the very hour when the inhabitants of Moscow met the icon on the Kuchkov field, Tamerlane was dozing in his tent. Suddenly he saw in a dream a great mountain, from the top of which saints with golden wands were walking towards him, and above them in a radiant radiance the Majestic Wife appeared. She ordered him to leave the borders of Russia. Waking up in awe, Tamerlane asked about the meaning of the vision. Those who knew answered that the radiant Wife is the Mother of God, the great Protector of Christians. Then Tamerlane ordered the regiments to go back. In memory of the miraculous deliverance of the Russian land from Tamerlane, on the Kuchkov field, where the icon was met, the Sretensky Monastery was built, and on August 26, an all-Russian celebration was established in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The most important events of Russian church history took place before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: the election and installation of St. ). On the day of the celebration in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, His Holiness Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and All Russia was enthroned on May 21/June 3, 1971.