The Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God is one of the most revered images of the Mother of God throughout Russia. Praying at this miraculous icon, the blind saw their sight; following her call, great warriors won great victories; Kutuzov blessed his troops with it during the war of 1812, and the number of revered lists from it is incalculable …
The prototype of the icon: the evangelist Luke, the blessing of the Mother of God and further history
According to legend, the prototype of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, from which all the revered lists were made, was written by the Evangelist Luke during the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that is, before 45 AD.
When the Evangelist Luke humbly presented this and two other images to the gaze of the Mother of God, She said: "The grace of Him who is born of Me and My mercy be with these icons."
And so it happened. The image, which later received - at about the beginning of the XII century - the name of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, became miraculous.
The further fate of the icon was no less interesting: before getting to Smolensk - and in general to Russia - the icon managed to visit Jerusalem and perform its first miracle - about it a little lower - in the Blachernae Church of Constantinople.
In Russia, the icon appeared during the time of the Kiev prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, who married the daughter of the Greek emperor Constantine Monomakh, Anna. It was with this icon that the Emperor Constantine blessed his daughter - and with it Anna Konstantinovna blessed her son - Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh.
Promotional video:
The photo above shows the prototype (!) Of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God lost after 1941 in the Smolensk Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin. The photograph was taken in 1912 by the pioneer of color photography, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky (1863 - 1944).
The first miracle. Hodegetria
The first miracle associated with the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God happened at a time when the image painted by the Evangelist Luke was still kept in the Blakherna Church of Constantinople and, of course, was not called the Smolensk Icon.
According to legend, once the Mother of God appeared to two blind men and ordered them to go and worship this icon in the Blachernae Church. The blind did not dare to disobey the Blessed Virgin and did everything as they were told. On the same day, both blind people received their sight, and since then the miraculous image began to be called Hodegetria, which translated from Greek means "Guide".
Detail: in the photo above - a modern church on the site of the legendary Blachernae Cathedral, destroyed by fire in 1434.
The appearance of the icon in Russia. The first miracle in Smolensk and forced "relocation" from the city
So, in Russia the icon appeared during the time of the Kiev prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich.
It is known that the wedding of Vsevolod Yaroslavich and the daughter of Emperor Constantine Monomakh Anna took place in 1046, which means that the icon appeared in Kiev at the same time - it was with it that Emperor Constantine blessed his daughter.
Half a century later, in 1097, the son of Vsevolod Yaroslavich and Anna Konstantinovna Vladimir Monomakh became the prince of Smolensk, and in 1101, on his order, the Assumption Cathedral was erected in the city - the icon was placed there. From that moment on, the image of the brush of the Evangelist Luke began to be called the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God.
In Russia the voice of the icon sounded for the first time in 1238. According to legend, the image of the Mother of God appealed to the Russian soldier Mercury with the command to protect the city from the detachments of Khan Batu who approached Smolensk. A brave warrior, under cover of night, made his way to the enemy camp and killed many enemies, among whom was the strongest warrior of the detachment. Mercury himself could not return from battle alive and was glorified in the face of saints.
The icon was kept for 300 years in the Assumption Cathedral of Smolensk, and only at the beginning of the 15th century it left its place for the first time - the city was captured by Lithuanian troops, and it was decided to transport the miraculous icon to the Moscow Annunciation Cathedral. The icon returned to Smolensk in 1455, and the next time left the city after a century and a half - in 1609, during the Russian-Polish war.
During the war of 1812, the icon was also transported from Smolensk to Moscow. On the day of the Battle of Borodino, it, along with two other revered icons of the Mother of God - Iverskaya and Vladimirskaya - was carried around the White City and the Kremlin. Also, on the personal order of Kutuzov, the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God was carried around all the ranks of the troops.
Disappearance of the icon
The prototype of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God disappeared from the Assumption Cathedral immediately after the capture of the city by Nazi troops. In 1943 the city was liberated, but the icon was never found and its further fate is unknown. Today, the Assumption Cathedral of Smolensk contains a list of the miraculous icon, made in the 16th century. Apparently, the artist Postnik Rostovets was the author of this work.
Among other famous lists of the miraculous image is an icon by Dionysius, painted in 1482 (pictured).
Iconographic features of the image
It is likely that the prototype of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God is a copy from an earlier Blakherna icon, also attributed to the brush of the Evangelist Luke and considered the first image in the world belonging to the Hodegetria type - "Pointing the Way", "Guide".
For icons of this type, a half-length image of the Mother of God is characteristic, holding the baby-Christ on one hand and pointing at Him with the other hand. The center of the composition is Christ, and the Most Holy Virgin, pointing to Him, carries the main meaning of this image - speaks of the appearance of the "heavenly king and judge" in the world.
Prayer to the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God:
Oh, the Most Splendid and Superior of all creatures to the Queen of the Mother of God, the Heavenly King of Christ, our God, Mother, Blessed Odigitrie Mary!
Hear us sinful and unworthy, at this hour praying to You with sighing and tears before Your Most Pure image, falling down, and sweetly saying: lead us out of the moat of passions, Good Odigitria, save us from the breath of sorrow and sorrow, protect and from all misfortunes evil slander and from the unrighteous slander of the enemy.
May you, O Graceful Mother of ours, not just save Your people from all evil, but also provide and save with every good deed, unless You are another intercessor in troubles and circumstances and a warm intercessor for us sinners to Your Son, Christ our God, not imams …
Beg him, Lady, to save us and to grant the Heavenly Kingdom, may we glorify Thy salvation and in the future, as the culprit of our salvation, and exalt the All-Holy and Magnificent Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the Trinity, glorified and worshiped for ages God … Amen.