There is the Tradition of the Church, and there are folk traditions that somehow penetrate the church fence. For earthly church life, which bears the imprint of our imperfection, this is a familiar phenomenon.
Usually, the Church copes with these legends, rejects some of them, some churchgoers, since even fictitious events can carry an edifying meaning and thus reveal some higher truth. But some folk legends, contrary to church teaching, emerge from time to time, no matter what.
Icon Three-handed
In this case, we will talk about the "three-handed" version of the famous "Three-handed" icon of the Mother of God.
Having met such an image, an inexperienced viewer experiences a certain surprise.
After all, the icon of the Virgin has three hands! What does that mean? And here there are two options - to get into special literature or to invent your own version, more or less intricate, depending on your imagination. For example, I had to face a situation when people inclined to the occult and "wisdom of the East" immediately drew a parallel with the many-armed eastern deities. And this explanation sounds no more and no less ridiculous than "three hands symbolize the Holy Trinity."
But if we compare this image with the original kept in the Khilandar monastery at Athos, we will see a significant difference: the “third” hand is not written on the icon, but is made of metal and superimposed on the surface of the image.
Promotional video:
Three-handed, Khilandar monastery, Athos.
Icon of the Mother of God "Three-handed" and its meaning
Church tradition connects this patch with the life of the great Saint John of Damascus.
The Monk John of Damascus (Damascus), lived in the 7th-8th centuries in Syria conquered by the Arabs and was a Syrian by origin. His worldly name was Mansur ibn Serjun. He came from a fairly noble family and served in the tax administration of the Arab Caliphate (later tradition called him almost a vizier). Later, Mansur retired to a monastery and became known as a theologian and hymnographer. Tradition recorded in the 9th century conveys the following story.
Venerable John Damascene, an icon by Archimandrite Zinon.
The hagiographer says that, being the son of a high-ranking official, after his death, John of Damascus inherited his position at the caliph's court and even rose higher, becoming the first adviser to the caliph - albeit against his own will, since he inclined towards a solitary monastic life.
When the persecution of icons began in the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Leo III, John Damascene composed a letter against the heresy of the iconoclasts, which quickly spread throughout the Christian world.
The angry emperor Leo decided to slander John before the caliph. By his order, the court scribes wrote a letter on behalf of Damascene, forging his handwriting, in which he allegedly called on the emperor to attack Damascus, while a peace treaty was in force between the Caliphate and Byzantium. Leo III forwarded the false letter to the Caliph along with assurances of strict adherence to the peace treaty. The Caliph believed, was angry with his minister and ordered to cut off his hand, allegedly writing a "treacherous letter", and hang it in Damascus in the market for all to see.
The slandered John begged the Caliph to give him his hand. After his long prayer in front of the icon of the Virgin, his hand grew. Seeing such an undoubted miracle, the caliph recognized the integrity of Saint John and agreed to let him go to the monastery, which he tirelessly asked. In memory of this miraculous healing, John Damascene made a model of his hand from silver and, in gratitude, attached it to the icon, through which he was healed by the prayers of the Mother of God.
So the legend says. And the icon called "Three-handed", which is kept in the Khilandar Athos monastery, is considered to be the very one before which St. John prayed.
It can be said that both the tradition and the connection of Saint John with the Athos icon are not indisputable things. Historians and art critics have their own arguments here. For example, it can be noted that the Athos "Three-handed" does not in any way refer to the time of St. John. However, there is essentially no contradiction here.
Throughout Christian history, many miraculous healings by prayer have been recorded in front of this or that icon. And to this day, in different parts of the Christian world, there is a custom, as a sign of gratitude, to hang a miniature in the form of a healed organ from an icon. The custom, of course, is not indisputable, especially since exactly the same existed in ancient paganism. And yet, this explains a lot.
Lists of the miraculous Khilandar icon multiplied and spread. But copying did not always guarantee quality performance. And now, after some time, lists appeared on which the silver patch hand began to be depicted as alive. And then the not particularly thinking godmaz wrapped this hand in the Mother of God mophorium. And this variant has also spread thoughtlessly in many copies.
Three-handed, modern icon.
The Church tried to combat such a violation of the canon, the Synod issued decrees, but habit and superstition are difficult to eradicate. And even now, when so many books on Christian iconography have been published, thoughtless godmothers continue to replicate the meaningless third hand. But I am glad that against the background of these handicrafts there are also excellent examples of modern icon painting.
Three-handed, an icon from the Holy Trinity Iona Monastery. Kiev.
Author: DMITRY MARCHENKO
