Our superstitious ancestors took Christianity very literally. Pancakes and butter were often placed in front of the icons - "they fed the god." During lovemaking, they turned images to the wall.
Red corner.
If the saint did not fulfill the request, then his face could suffer. "God for the little leg, but on the floor." Cases of beating icons were observed, in particular, by the German geographer Adam Olearius, who visited Muscovy in 1634. Some, especially psychotic Russians in anger could cut the image and even throw it into the fire. In fact, icons have replaced idols for our ancestors. Christians perceived them as animate beings. And the modern kissing of images in temples, in my opinion, is still a relic of paganism. We would beware of infections!
In the 17th century, Patriarch Nikon ordered to take away from Muscovites icons painted "in the manner of the French and Poles." They opened their eyes at the portraits of the saints and carried them through the streets. The fact is that the ROC has always focused on Byzantium. And in terms of drawing icons, and in the translation of sacred texts. But Russian artists eventually began to imitate their Catholic colleagues from Europe. This is how “wrong” icons appeared in the houses, which infuriated Nikon. He forbade painting in any other way than in the Greek manner. Later he set up a large funeral pyre for the "fakes".
Orthodox and Catholic.
By chance or not, but in the same year (1654) Muscovy was seized by a plague. Tens of thousands of people died, some say 700,000, but this is a clear exaggeration. And then the people remembered the blasphemy to Nikon, people even thought to let the patriarch "at the expense" for bringing pestilence on everyone. Well, yes nothing happened.
The peasants tried to stop the loss of livestock with the help of icons. For this, the image of St. Blasius was worn around the village, which replaced Veles among the Russians.
Promotional video:
The peasants tried to stop the loss of livestock with the help of icons. For this, the image of St. Blasius was worn around the village, which replaced Veles among the Russians.
Procession.
The rain was called with the help of the icon of the prophet Elijah, who "took over the baton" from the pagan Perun. A board depicting this saint was lowered into the water. St. Panteleimon "predicted" the patient's future. They poured water over the icon and looked: if part of the liquid remained on it, then the fate of the sick person would be sad. Also, water from the icons was given to a person as a medicine. If the patient was not helped, they still gave it to speed up his transition to another world.
At the bedside of a sick husband.
Interestingly, almost every Russian family kept their own icon in the church. And, as a rule, she prayed only to her, not recognizing "strangers." Even if the saint on the board was the same. When the Slavs were impatient to tell fortunes, they drew a pagan circle, put an icon “face down” in the center, and bread and salt on it.
