Excursion to the Sretensky Monastery. Cathedral of the Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted Evangelist Luke on the board from the table at which the Savior dined with the Most Pure Mother and the righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, seeing this image, said: “From now on, all generations will bless Me. May the grace of the One born of Me and Mine be with this icon.”
In 1131, the icon was sent to Rus' from Constantinople to the holy prince Mstislav and was placed in the Maiden Monastery of Vyshgorod, near Kyiv, where she immediately became famous for her many miracles.
Son Yuri Dolgoruky saint Andrey Bogolyubsky in 1155 he brought the icon to Vladimir and installed it in the Assumption Cathedral, hence the name Vladimir icon. By order of Andrei, the icon was decorated with an expensive frame. After the murder of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1176, Prince Yaropolk Rostislavich removed the expensive clothing from the icon, and it ended up with Gleb Ryazansky. Only after the victory of the prince Mikhail, younger brother Andrey, over Yaropolk, Gleb returned the icon and frame to Vladimir. When Vladimir was captured by the Tatars in 1237, the Assumption Cathedral was plundered, and the frame of the icon of the Mother of God was torn off. Subsequently, it is known about the restoration of the Assumption Cathedral and the renewal of the icon by the prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich.
The further history of the holy image is entirely connected with Moscow, where it was first brought in 1395 during the invasion of the Khan Tamerlane. The conqueror with an army invaded the borders of Ryazan, captured and ruined it and headed his way to Moscow, devastating and destroying everything around. While the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich gathered troops and sent them to Kolomna, in Moscow itself Metropolitan Cyprian blessed the population for fasting and prayerful repentance. On mutual advice, Vasily Dmitrievich and Metropolitan Cyprian decided to resort to spiritual weapons and transfer the miraculous icon of the Most Pure Mother of God from Vladimir to Moscow.
For more than ten days they carried the icon in their hands from Vladimir to Moscow. People knelt on both sides of the path and prayed to the Holy Image: “Mother of God, save the Russian land!”
The meeting place (or “presentation”) of the icon in Moscow is immortalized by the Sretensky Monastery, which was erected in honor of this event, and the street was named Sretenka.
Tamerlane had a dream that Christian saints descended from the top of a high mountain, holding rods of gold in their hands, and a Majestic Woman appeared above them and told him to leave Rus' alone. Tamerlane woke up in alarm and sent for dream interpreters, who explained to the khan that the radiant Woman was the image of the Mother of God, the protector of all Christians. Having stopped his campaign, Tamerlane left Rus'.
In memory of the miraculous deliverance of Rus' from the invasion of Tamerlane, on the day of the meeting in Moscow of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God on August 26 / September 8, the solemn church holiday of the Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was established.
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In 1480, the icon was installed in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, on the left side of the Royal Doors of the iconostasis. A Greek chasuble on an icon made of pure gold with precious stones. In Vladimir there remains an exact list of the icon, written by the venerable Andrey Rublev.
In 1918, the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin was closed, the icon was removed from the cathedral for restoration, and in 1926 it was transferred to the State Historical Museum. In 1930 it was transferred to the State Tretyakov Gallery. Since September 1999 it has been in the Church-Museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi at the Tretyakov Gallery.
Iconography
The icon of the Vladimir Mother of God belongs to the “Caressing” type, also known as “Eleusa” - “Merciful”, “Tenderness”, “Glycophilus” - “Sweet Kiss”. This is the most touching of all types of iconography of the Virgin Mary, revealing the intimate side of the Virgin Mary’s communication with Her Son. The image of the Mother of God caressing the Child, his deep humanity turned out to be especially close to Russian painting.
Leonid Bulanov, Chairman of the Cyprus Branch of the IOPS
September 8 is an ever-memorable day for the Church and our Fatherland due to a great historical event.
At the end of the fourteenth century, in the depths of Asia, one brave military leader named Tamerlane managed to unite numerous Tatar tribes under his control into one huge horde. To conquer all kingdoms with this horde.
Indeed, none of the then former states could resist the pressure of wild immigrants from the Asian steppes.
Like locusts, the Tatars, led by the ferocious Tamerlane, crushed everything that came their way.
Thousands of thriving cities in Asia were turned to ashes by them. Populous states became deserts.
Tamerlane, called the scourge of God by his contemporaries, moved closer and closer to Europe. And, first of all, he turned his predatory gaze to our Fatherland.
In 1395, he entered Russia to conquer the Moscow state. Everyone was horrified when they heard about the invasion of a merciless and indestructible enemy. Tamerlane had already reached the banks of the Don and marked his path with blood and devastation of Russian cities and villages.
The Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich set out with his army to meet the enemy. And he stopped on the banks of the Oka River near Kolomna.
But the pious prince did not rely on his own strength, but only expected salvation from the Lord. He remained with his army in unceasing prayer. The pious prince commanded everyone to pray to ward off the invasion of the terrible enemy.
Throughout the Moscow state, especially in the capital city of Moscow, people were in churches from morning to evening. They performed prayers for the prince and his army.
Especially the fast that came before the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God was devoted to the strictest abstinence, the most fervent prayers and repentance, in order to appease the wrath of God.
In the midst of the approaching disaster, our ancestors could not forget the ancient mercies of God, which were shown to our Fatherland many times - through the intercession of the Mother of God, the Protector of the Christian race.
At that time, within the Moscow state, in the city of Vladimir there was a miraculous icon of the Mother of God. Written, according to legend, by the Evangelist Luke. An icon glorified by many miraculous signs.
By the will of the Grand Duke and Metropolitan of Moscow Cyprian, for protection from the threatening disaster and to console the grieving citizens of the capital city, the miraculous icon was brought from Vladimir to Moscow.
In front of the walls of the city, where the Sretensky Monastery now stands, on a place at that time called Kuchkovo Pole, the miraculous icon was greeted by the clergy and all citizens.
Everyone prayed with tears and fell to their knees, without ceasing to cry:
- Mother of God! save the Russian land. And this diligent nationwide prayer of the citizens of Moscow was not in vain.
On the very day that this significant meeting of the miraculous Icon of Vladimir took place in Moscow, Tamerlane, for no apparent reason, having already reached the goal of his distant campaign, to the considerable amazement of his generals and troops, who were hoping for great loot from the plunder of the capital, ordered his hordes to immediately retreat.
The chronicler explains that the invincible conqueror was forced to hastily retreat due to a menacing vision of the Mother of God.
In the form of a wondrous Woman, surrounded by crowds of lightning-fast warriors, the Mother of God blocked Tamerlane’s path.
Our pious ancestors quite clearly recognized in this event the direct manifestation of God’s sovereign providence. Through the prayers and intercession of the Mother of God, the Lord showed His saving power to protect the Orthodox faith in our Fatherland. Just at that moment when the Fatherland was on the verge of destruction.
For centuries, this ancient manifestation of God's mercy was vividly preserved in the memory of our people. Memory, revived annually by the church celebration of the procession from the Kremlin to the Sretensky Monastery, built in memory of the current event.
During the godless Soviet times, religious processions were considered a crime. But even after the revival of spiritual life in Russia, only once in 1995 was such a religious procession carried out. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the pouring rain. Then the miraculous icon was brought to the monastery. A unique video recording of this wonderful event has been preserved.
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is awaiting its return to its rightful place in the altar of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. And the revival of the annual religious processions from the Kremlin to the Sretensky Monastery.
Quite recently, it seemed, festive services were held in the Prechistensky Cathedral, led by Archbishop Innocent of Vilna and Lithuania, dedicated to the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Where all the believers, together with the clergy, prayed to the Mother of God, the intercessor of the Christian race.
And, today, September 8, according to the Church calendar, the Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated, the festival was established in memory of the salvation of Moscow from the invasion of Tamerlane in 1395. It was on the Feast of the Dormition that the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God appeared in a dream to Tamerlane and ordered him to leave the Russian land.
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, according to Church Tradition and the faith of our glorious ancestors, was written 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. May the grace of the One born of Me and Mine be with this icon.”
In 1131, the icon was sent to Rus' from Constantinople to Saint Mstislav 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 Assumption Cathedral, which he erected. From that time on, the icon received the name Vladimir. In 1395, the icon was brought to Moscow for the first time. Thus, with the blessing of the Mother of God, the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus' were sealed.
In 1395, the terrible conqueror Khan Tamerlane reached the borders of Ryazan, took the city of Yelets and, heading towards Moscow, approached the banks of the Don. Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich went out with an army to Kolomna and stopped on the banks of the Oka. He prayed to the saints of Moscow and St. Sergius for the deliverance of the Fatherland and wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow, St. Cyprian, so that the upcoming Dormition Fast would be devoted to fervent prayers for pardon and repentance. The clergy were sent to Vladimir, where the famous miraculous icon was located. After the liturgy and prayer service on the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the clergy accepted 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 residents of Moscow greeted the icon on Kuchkovo Field, Tamerlane was dozing in his tent. Suddenly he saw in a dream a great mountain, from the top of which saints with golden rods were coming towards him, and above them a majestic Woman appeared in a radiant radiance. 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 Woman is the Mother of God, the great Protector of Christians. Then Tamerlane gave the order to the regiments to go back. In memory of the miraculous deliverance of the Russian land from Tamerlane, the Sretensky Monastery was built on Kuchkovo Field, where the icon was greeted by Muscovites.
Thus, the intercession of the Mother of God saved Rus' from the invasion of Tamerlane, and thereby showed that whoever approaches the Mother of God with piety and prayer will fulfill Her words: “Rejoice, I will be with you all the days,” once spoken to the apostles on the third day , after His glorious Dormition.
And, as if as a pledge of Her invisible presence, She gave the Orthodox human race many tens, hundreds and thousands of Her holy, celibate and miraculous icons. Through them, She conveys Her Motherly mercy to everyone who with faith, reverence and love falls before these holy icons, consoles, encourages, heals, helps to bear the cross of life to everyone seeking heavenly reinforcement on their earthly path.
Troparion, tone 4
Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God
Today the most glorious city of Moscow brightly flaunts, / as if we have received the dawn of the sun, O Lady, / Your miraculous icon, / to which we now flow and pray. We cry to you: / oh, wonderful Lady Theotokos! / Pray from You to the incarnate Christ our God, / that he may deliver this city, / and all Christian cities and countries unharmed from all the slander of the enemy, / and save our souls, as he is the Merciful.
Kontakion, tone 8
To the chosen victorious Voivode, having been delivered from the evil ones by the coming of Your venerable image, to the Lady Theotokos we brightly celebrate the celebration of Your meeting and usually call You: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.
), there was an invasion of the Russian land by the Agarian king (Mongol conqueror) Tamerlane; this Tamerlane, rising from the east with a great army, conquered many countries and finally approached the borders of the Russian country. Approaching the borders of the Ryazan region, Tamerlane took the city of Yelets, captured the prince of Yelets and killed many Christians; for he was a hater and formidable persecutor of Christians. Tamerlane boasted of devastating the entire Russian land and eradicating the Christian faith; this devastator headed his way towards the city of Moscow, intending to destroy it.
When Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich heard about this, he gathered his soldiers and headed towards the city of Kolomna. Setting out from here, he stopped on the banks of the Oka River and took up arms against the enemy here; Tamerlane stood in one place for fifteen days. When the Grand Duke (and all the Christian soldiers) learned about the great power of the wicked tsar, who came to Russia with a large army, and also heard about his evil intention, he, together with the soldiers, raised his hands to heaven and prayed with tears to the Lord and to the Most Pure Mother God, asking for deliverance from that godless Hagarene: the Grand Duke called for help on the saints of God, the holy hierarchs Peter and Alexy, St. Sergius and other Russian miracle workers.
At the same time, the Grand Duke asked his spiritual father, His Eminence Metropolitan Cyprian, to declare a fast with prayer for the people; The Grand Duke also asked the Metropolitan to take the miraculous icon of the Mother of God from the city of Vladimir and bring this icon to Moscow to protect the Russian capital city. Saint Cyprian of God had previously thought of bringing the mentioned honorable icon of the Mother of God to Moscow; when he received a command from the prince, then he zealously thanked God for putting the same thought into the heart of the great prince; His Holiness the Metropolitan took his unanimity with the Grand Duke as a sign of God’s favor and permission for the miraculous icon of the Mother of God to be brought to Moscow.
Soon after this, the Metropolitan sent deliberate men of spiritual rank to Vladimir in order to take an honest icon of the Mother of God there; Having gathered the entire spiritual rank and a multitude of people, His Holiness Metropolitan conciliarly offered a prayer for victory over the enemies and commanded everyone to fast with prayer, but he himself did not leave the church, performing services day and night and praying with tears for the Grand Duke, for his soldiers and for everyone Orthodox Christians.
When the venerable icon, taken in the city of Vladimir, was approaching the city of Moscow, on the fifteenth day of the month of August, on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Right Reverend Metropolitan came out to meet it with other spiritual ranks and with a multitude of people. Seeing that holy icon, everyone fell to the ground and worshiped it as the Most Pure Mother of God who had come to them, and received it with great joy; looking at this icon, everyone shed tears with tenderness and prayed to the Mother of God for deliverance from the invasion of the Hagarians.
The general fervent prayer was not in vain: on the same day on which the venerable icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was brought to Moscow, the wicked King of Hagaryan Tamerlane was horrified, having been frightened by a terrible vision in a dream, and ran back with his entire army, although no one could see him. pursued.
The vision he had was this: he saw in front of him a high mountain, from the top of which the saints were coming towards him, carrying golden staffs in their hands and threatening him; above these saints Tamerlane saw an extraordinary light in the air; He also saw a certain Queen, standing among those saints in unspeakable glory, dressed in a scarlet robe and shining with lightning rays brighter than the sun. Around this Queen there were countless armed warriors who served Her and seemed to be preparing for war. The Queen's hands were stretched out to the sky - She seemed to be praying. It seemed to Tamerlane that this Queen was threatening him, commanding him to move away from the borders of the Russian land and, as if ordering Her army to rush towards him.
Tamerlane was horrified by this terrible vision; getting up from his bed, he shouted in fear:
“Woe is me, for I saw a terrible sight!”
And the unfortunate man trembled, shaking and groaning, and seemed to be in a frenzy.
After some time, Tamerlane came to his senses, called his princes and military leaders and told them everything he saw, shaking with fear.
They, having listened to Tamerlane’s story and seeing that he was shaking with fear, were also horrified and, perplexed, asked each other:
- What will happen now?
Some said:
– The Queen seen is the Mother of the Christian God, the Lord Jesus Christ; undoubtedly, She intends to protect Christians, for She is their Helper and Intercessor.
Tamerlan said:
– If Christians have such a Helper, then we have armed ourselves against them in vain; we labor in vain; for if She sends only one of those who stand before Her, then She will defeat us all, so that we will not find a place where we could escape.
Thus, that wicked king with all his Hagaryan army returned back, fleeing in shame, for it seemed to the Hagarians that many regiments of warriors from the Russian land were pursuing them; Having come from this into fear and trembling, the Hagarites crushed each other, threw down their weapons and left their prey, as well as everything taken captive.
Thus, Orthodox Christians were granted victory over their enemies without a fight and defeat without shedding blood, through the prayers of the Most Holy Virgin Mary.
This invasion of Tamerlane together with the Hagarians and his miraculous expulsion from the Russian land took place in 6903 from the creation of the world (); from that time on, in the reigning city of Moscow, a holiday was established in honor of the meeting of the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called Vladimir (), in unforgettable and grateful memory of the miraculous deliverance from the Hagarians, granted through the intercession of the Mother of God. May honor, glory and worship always be sent from us to the Mother of God, together with the Christ God born from Her, now and to endless ages. Amen.
Troparion, tone 4:
Today the most glorious city of Moscow is shining brightly, as if we have received the dawn of the sun, O Lady, Your miraculous icon, to which we now flow and pray to You we cry out: O most wonderful Lady Theotokos, pray from You to the incarnate Christ our God, that He may deliver this city, and all cities and Christian countries are unharmed from all the slander of the enemy, and He will save our souls, for He is merciful.
Kontakion, tone 8:
To the chosen victorious governor, having been delivered from the evil ones by the coming of Your venerable image, Lady Theotokos, we brightly celebrate the celebration of Your meeting, and we usually call to You: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.
1) Vasily (II) Dmitrievich reigned from 1389 to 1425.
2) Cyprian ruled the Moscow metropolitanate from 1380 to 1385; then again from 1390 to 1406.
3) In 1395 A.D.
4) 85 years after the described event, a second celebration of the Vladimir Icon was established, on June 23, in gratitude for deliverance from the invasion of the Horde Khan Akhmat in 1480. “Let the frivolous not boast of the fear of their weapons,” Russian chroniclers said in explanation of this miracle. “No, not weapons, not human wisdom, but the Lord Himself saved Russia today.” In 1521, the Mongols again moved to Russia under the leadership of Makhmet-Girey. Through the intercession of the Mother of God, this time Moscow was saved from its enemies. This event is commemorated by St. Church on May 21. In 1812, during the invasion of the French, the miraculous Vladimir icon, together with the Iverskaya and Smolensk icons, was taken to Murom on September 1 by the Right Reverend Archbishop Augustine and, after the liberation of Moscow from enemies, was returned again to the capital on October 20. The miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is now in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral (a more detailed account of this icon can be read in the book “Glory to the Mother of God” published by the Moscow Synodal Printing House, M. 1907, pp. 380–385).
26.08.1395 (8.09). - Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God
Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in the history of Russia
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is the greatest shrine of our Church and our people. It was written by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior dined with the Most Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, seeing this image, said: “From now on, all generations will bless Me. May the grace of the One born of Me and Mine be with this icon.” The image is a little more than one meter high, about 70 cm wide. It has a gold frame, ancient Greek workmanship, strewn with precious stones, of a high price; 12 Lord's holidays are minted on its margins.
In 1131, the icon was sent to Rus' from the holy prince Mstislav (†1132, commemorated April 15) and was placed in the Maiden Monastery of Vyshgorod, an ancient appanage city. The son brought the icon to Vladimir in 1155 and placed it in the famous Assumption Cathedral that he erected. From that time on, the icon received the name Vladimirskaya. In 1395 the icon was first brought to. Thus, with the blessing of the Mother of God, the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus' were sealed - through Kyiv, Vladimir and Moscow.
The celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs several times a year (May 21, June 23, August 26). The most solemn celebration takes place on August 26, established in honor of the meeting of the Vladimir icon when it was transferred from Vladimir to Moscow for intercession against the invasion of Tamerlane (Timur).
In 1395, the ferocious Khan Tamerlane entered Russia, horrifying the people. Having ravaged the Ryazan land and heading towards Moscow, he approached the banks of the Don. He went out with his army to Kolomna and stopped on the banks of the Oka. He also prayed for the deliverance of the Fatherland and wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow, St. Cyprian, so that the upcoming Dormition Fast would be devoted to fervent prayers for pardon and repentance.
Muscovites, frightened by rumors about the countless forces of Tamerlane, prayed earnestly for deliverance from the invasion of foreigners and fasted; The Metropolitan almost never left the church. The Grand Duke, not relying on his own strength, asked to send St. Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. After the liturgy and prayer service in Vladimir, the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the clergy accepted 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!”
Chroniclers testified that at the very hour when the residents of Moscow met the icon on Kuchkovo Field, Tamerlane was dozing in his tent. Suddenly he saw in a dream a great mountain, from the top of which saints with golden rods were coming towards him, and above them the Majestic Woman appeared in a radiant radiance. 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 Woman is the Mother of God, the great Protector of Christians. Then Tamerlane gave the order to his regiments to go back. In memory of the miraculous deliverance of the Russian land from Tamerlane, the Sretensky Monastery was built on Kuchkovo Field, where the icon was met, and on August 26, an all-Russian celebration was established in honor of the meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Subsequently, the Vladimir Icon more than once demonstrated its intercession to the Russian people in various disasters and wars. The miraculous icon proved to be the savior of the capital both in 1408 () and in 1451, when Tsarevich Mazovsha approached Moscow with a huge army of the Nogai Khan. The Tatars had already set fire to the suburbs of Moscow and were happy that they would have many prisoners and gold.
A recently published textbook for universities reports that in 1451 Moscow “was not captured by a miracle.” True, by what miracle, he does not specify. And the chronicles describe how during the fire he made religious processions along the walls of the city, and Moscow soldiers and militia fought with the Tatars until night, expecting a new attack the next day. But in the morning there were no enemies under the walls. The chronicler says that they heard an extraordinary noise and “imagined that it was the Grand Duke coming at them with his army.” The Grand Duke himself, whose army was small and stood far away, after the departure of the Tatars, as legend says, wept before the Vladimir Icon... The Russian people also attributed this victory to the intercession of the Mother of God.
Included in the chronicle of miracles from the Vladimir icon. When he tore up the khan's basma and refused to pay tribute to the Horde, in 1480 the hordes of Khan Akhmat rushed to Moscow. Having reached the Ugra River (between the Tula and Kaluga regions), the khan's army concentrated in anticipation of a favorable moment for an attack. Russian troops lined up on the opposite bank of the Ugra. In the front rows, the soldiers held the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God.
There were isolated skirmishes, there was a small battle in the lower reaches, but the main parts of both troops - both Russian and Tatar - still occupied their positions on different banks. The parties waited long and tensely for the decisive battle; but none of the opponents wanted to attack first, crossing the river. The Russians moved away from the river a little, giving the Tatars the opportunity to begin crossing, but the Tatars also began to retreat. The Russian army stopped, but the Tatar army continued to move away. And suddenly the formidable Horde horsemen rushed away without looking back, panicking and as if trembling with fear, although no one attacked them, no one pursued them. Russian soldiers interpreted this event as a clear expression of the new patronage of the Lady of the Russian Heavenly Land. Grateful compatriots after standing on the Ugra called this place “the belt of the Mother of God.” “Let the frivolous not boast of the fear of their weapons,” the chronicler wrote. - No! It is not weapons and not human wisdom, but the Lord has now saved Russia.”
In 1521, the holy icon defended Moscow from the invasion of Muhammad-Girey.
After the revolution, the miraculous icon painted by St. by the Apostle Luke, was placed in, now it is in a temple specially opened for her on the territory of the gallery. On great patronal holidays, the shrine appears in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.
It is impossible not to note the reaction of the shrine to a recent historical event in the fall of 1993 -. These days, the Vladimir Icon was brought from the Tretyakov Gallery to the Epiphany Cathedral in the Kremlin. On the eve of the shooting of parliament, on October 3, Patriarch Alexy II, in the presence of Mayor Luzhkov and other Yeltsinists, participants in the coup, “knelt before the icon for the salvation of Russia.” As Alexy II later wrote about this in the preface to the book about the negotiations of the parties in this coup d’etat, “Orthodox Muscovites prayed in the Epiphany Patriarchal Cathedral in front of the great shrine of the Russian land - the miraculous Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. More than once in the history of Russia, through prayers before this icon, our country received from the Mother of God deliverance from war dangers and other great disasters. I am convinced that this time, despite the tragedy, Rus' was saved by the Most Pure Virgin” (“The Quiet Negotiations”, M., 1993). After the prayer service, a noticeable deterioration in the condition of the miraculous icon was discovered, and after the shooting of the parliament that resisted the “reforms” of Yeltsin-Gaidar-Chubais, the plunder and destruction of Russia began in full swing...
Kontakion of the Mother of God before the Icon of Her Vladimir
To the chosen victorious Voivode, having been delivered from the evil ones by the coming of Your honorable image, Lady Theotokos, we brightly celebrate the celebration of Your meeting and usually call You: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.
