About the Icon

The Appearance of the Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God in the City of Kazan: On 1 October 1552, on the feast day of the Pokrov-Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God, at night, tsar Ivan IV in heading the Russian forces made ready for a decisive assault against the Tatar city of Kazan, and suddenly he heard the peeling of the Moscow bells. The tsar realized that this was a sign of the mercy of God: that through the prayers of the mighty commander-in-chief, the Lord deigned that the Kazan people should be converted to Him.

The surrender of Kazan on the feast of the Pokrov-Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God completed a course of events, initiated way back centuries earlier in the year 1164 by holy Prince Andrei Bogoliubsky (+ 1174, Comm. 4 July), against the Moslem Volga Bulgars. With the taking of Kazan, the Volga – the chief waterway route of the land, became finally a Russian river. And from Tatar servitude were liberated 60,000 Russian people. The enlightenment of the Tatars with the light of the Gospel truth was started. There were the first martyrs – Saints Peter and Stephen (Comm. 24 March). The newly established Kazan diocese entered into the complexion of the Russian Church and was soon illustrious in its own archbishops: Sainted Gurii (+ 1563, Comm. 5 December) and Sainted German (+ 1567, Comm. 6 November).

But the advance of Orthodoxy was especially enabled amongst the Volga Mahometans by the appearance, on 8 July 1579, of the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God in the city of Kazan. Preaching the Gospel had been a difficult matter in this conquered kingdom amongst the incorrigible pagans. The Most Holy Mother of God, Mediatrix of preachers of the Word of God, Who even during Her earthly life shared in the evangelic work of the holy Apostles, – in looking down upon the efforts of the Russian missionaries, She did not hesitate to send them Heavenly help, manifest through Her wonderworking Icon.

On 28 June 1579 there occurred a terrible fire which had started around the church of Sainted Nikolai of Tula. This fire destroyed part of the city and turned to ashes half of the Kazan Kremlin. The city, however, began to quickly rise up from its ruins. Together with others who had been burned out, and not far from where the fire had started, – was built the house of the musketeer Daniil Onuchin. The Mother of God appeared in a dream to his nine year old daughter Matrona and commanded her to find Her icon, hidden in the ground by secret confessors of Orthodoxy way back still in the time of Moslem rule. But to the words of a mere girl they paid no attention. Thrice the Mother of God appeared and pointed out the spot, where the wonderworking icon had been concealed. Finally, Matrona with her mother began to dig in the indicated place and they found the sacred icon. To this place of the miraculous discovery there came archbishop Jeremii at the head of his clergy and transported the holy image into a church of Saint Nicholas situated nearby. From there, after a moleben, amidst a church procession they transferred it to the Annunciation cathedral – the first Orthodox temple in the city of Kazan, erected by tsar Ivan the Terrible. During the time of the procession, there occurred the healing of two blind men – Iosif and Nikita.

A copy of the Icon, which had appeared at Kazan, together with an account of the circumstances of its discovery and descriptions of the miracles was dispatched in 1579 to Moscow. Tsar Ivan the Terrible gave orders to build at the place of its appearance a temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, to install therein the holy icon, and to found there also a women's monastery. Matrona and her mother, instrumental in finding the sacred icon, accepted monastic tonsure at this monastery.

At the Nikol'sk (Nicholas) church, where the first moleben had been made before the Kazan Icon, was serving at this time as priest the future Sainted Ermogen, Patriarch of Moscow (+ 1612, Comm. 17 February). Fifteen years later, in 1594, now as Metropolitan of Kazan, he compiled a report of the holy events to which he had been an eyewitness and participant: "Account and Miracles of the Most Pure Mother of God from Her Venerable and Gloriously Manifest Image at Kazan". In this account are descriptions with great factual precision regarding many an instance of healing, from the wonderworking Icon through the prayers of believers. Here are just few of the miracles of the Kazan Icon:

Protection from invasion

When Russia was occupied by the Poles, one of the imprisoned Russian soldiers managed to send a letter in secret to Novgorod. In that letter he asked to write to metropolitan Efrem, that he should write and send a charter to the boyars and the Cossack cohorts, ordering them to stand up bravely for their faith and help those people who was in need.

The people of Novgorod responded to that appeal. Duke Dmitry Michailovich Pozharsky became the leader of the militia. The Cossack warriors who joined militia took the copy of the wonder-working icon of the Mother of God of Kazan. That was the moment when The Mother of God took them under Her protection.

When the Poles were driven out Tsar Michail Fedorovich set two feasts in honor of the Mother of God of Kazan. The first one is on July 8 (July 21) – the day when the icon was found, and the second one in October 22 (November 4) – the day when the State of Moscow cleared its territory from the enemy.

The healing of the blind infant

One day a sad woman entered the church. She had a little child who was blind and could see absolutely nothing. She was holding him and praying in front of the wonder working image of the Mother of God of Kazan and prayed that her child could see the light.

Suddenly the child begun to touch his mother’s face with his hands. All the people who were there saw that. Then the archbishop asked to bring the child an apple. When the child tried to catch it, they understood that he could see now, and so that they all started to praise the Lord and the Mother of God.

The blind monk

There was a blind monk called Joseph in the Troetsky monastery in Kazan. When he found out about the wonder working icon of Kazan he came to the cathedral church of the Mother of God and had a moleben served in front of the icon. But that did not help him, so he returned home in sad and depressed mood.

At home he decided to rest for a while. When he nodded, he saw the image of the Mother of God and heard the voice, which ordered him to go back, to serve a molebenthere and to wash his face with a pall. Thus, She said, the monk would be cured. When Joseph did so, he was able to see again.

The healing of the weak one

Isaac, the son of widow Iulita, was suffering from paralysis almost for three years. His body was so weak that he could not even put his legs on the floor. When he found out about the wonder-working icon he asked his mother to pray in front of it. He could not go with her, and that is why he was praying to the Mother of God at home. He asked the Holy Theotokos that he could see the icon with his own eyes.

At one point Isaac felt a relief and with the help of the Mother of God he managed to stand up. He took two sticks and went to the monastery to see the wonder-working icon. When the mother saw him, she was shocked and could not believe her eyes. When she got over it, she realized what a marvelous miracle had happened by the will of the Mother of God. She fell on the floor in front of the image and began to glorify the Lord and the Mother of God.

The woman with illness in her legs

The wife of the boyar’s son Ivashka suffered from a strange disease, which no one could cure. Her legs hurt so much that she could not even move them. When she heard of the wonder-working icon the Mother of God of Kazan, she asked to bring her to it.

When the woman saw the icon she began to pray wholeheartedly, asking the Mother of God to have mercy and cure her legs. Right in the middle of the service, she was cured and could go home on her own without any help. She was full of joy and glorified the Mother of God for that miracle.

The curing of amentia

In the city of Laishev there was a man called Kozma who suffered from amentia. One day his relatives offered him to visit the Kazan Monastery and ask the Mother of God to cure his disease. When Kozma recovered a bit he began to pray to the Mother of God to be healed. Thus, by God’s will and grace of the Mother of God he was cured. He served a moleben and then recovered completely. On his way home he was glorifying the Lord and the Mother of God with all his heart.

Casting out the evil spirit

John, who was a priest in the St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Church, and his wife Domna lived in the city of Sviyazhisk. There was a neighbor who once, being tempted by devil made Domna so drunk that she got insane. She got wild and disgraced herself and her husband. Those who saw this were frightened while some mocked him.

At that moment John was away from the city, but soon relatives told him what had happened with his wife. By that moment she had given herself up to despair and fallen ill from shame and fear. Then the evil spirit possessed her and worsened her illness. More than 10 times a day she became mad – she behaved as a wild animal, grinded the teeth and frothed at the mouth. Her sufferings lasted for 35 weeks.

John prayed to God and the Mother of God for his wife’s healing all day, and asked the Saints for help as well. He brought his wife to Kazan to the wonder-working Icon, but Domna did not recover. Then, on February 11, 1583, Mary, the mother superior of the convent, was told in her sleep that they should bring Domna to the Icon when the demon was torturing her.

Next time when the demon started to torture Domna, she was brought to the Icon of the Mother of God and the demon was cast out and she recovered at once. Giving thanks and praising God and the Mother of God, she returned home with her husband.

Healing of a dying soldier

One of hospital nurses told this story during her service in World War II. A wounded soldier Nikifor Rudin who had got an bullet lodged into his stomach spent quite a long time in the hospital. He was brought to the hospital in critical condition. The temperature of his body was as high as 40°C and higher and the soldier suffered from terrible pain where the wound was.

From day to day Nikifor’s condition got even worse and it was decided to operate on him. Before the operation, an all-night vigil with the wonder-working Icon was served in the hospital and Nikifor who believed in God asked the nurse to light a candle and pray for him heartily. The nurse did as he asked and onthat night a real miracle happened. The pus of Nikifor’s wounds began to exude. The temperature fell, pain calmed down, and the soldier started to recover significantly. Soon, after a simple operation was executed, Nikifor recovered completely.

Source: http://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/calendar/los/July/08-01.htm

If we are careless or unaware of an image’s sanctity, then the image does not suddenly become unholy or “just a picture”: instead we end up profaning the image of a holy one, whether a Saint, an angel, or Jesus Christ Himself.

This post offers some advice on avoiding such “accidental iconoclasm”.

Holy images in ordinary places

Usually it is relatively easy to pay proper respect to icons of Christ and His Saints when they are particular places: in churches, on icon stands, or our own prayer corners at home. Such places predispose us to a prayerful attitude, so we will look upon a picture of Christ, and will naturally pray to Him. Yet icons can be placed elsewhere, away from places set aside for prayer or worship. It is common for pious Orthodox Christians to place icons throughout their house: in the living room, the kitchen, and by the side of the door. One reason behind this is so that in all aspects of our lives we are reminded of God and the Saints. However, what happens when, despite the icons’ presence, we forget the Holy Ones and behave as though their image is not with us? An illustrative story of the Icon of the Mother of God “She Who is Quick to Hear”:

[The icon was] hung in a niche on the outside of the walls of what used to be an Athonite monastery refectory. Before the icon was a passageway, through which the fathers generally passed on their way to the Refectory. The steward also passed that way in the performance of his duties, not only by day, but also by night. Sometimes, in the night, he would pass before this icon while carrying a burning torch. Once, in 1664,this steward, Nilos, while passing by as usual, with the torch giving off soot, heard a voice coming from the icon, which said, “In the future, do not come here with a lighted torch and do not blacken my Image with soot.” At first, Nilos was afraid of these words; but then, telling himself that one or another of the brothers had spoken to him, he wentback quickly to his cell, passing on as before. A voice came to him a second time from the icon, saying, “Monk, unworthy of this name! Will you go on much longer carelessly and shamelessly blackening my Image?” At these words, the Steward went blind, and then only did he understand whose words these were; and, sincerely confessing his sin, he deemed himself worthy of such punishment for his inattention to the words of the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos. The brothers of the Monastery learned what had happened, and consequently they placed a sanctuary lamp before the icon, and had it censed every night, while praying diligently that Nilos might receive back his sight. One day, while he was praying and weeping before the holy icon, he heard a voice: “Nilos! Your prayer has been heard. I forgive you and shall give back sight to your eyes…. for which reason My icon shall be called “She Who Is Quick To Hear;” for I shall speedily show mercy and fulfill the petitions of all who hasten to it.” Following these joyful words, Nilos received back his sight.

The “punishment” of the steward was clearly given in order for the healing to take place, and for the glorification of God who continues to work miracles through this holy image. Nevertheless, it is a cautionary reminder of the importance of honoring images of Christ and the Saints, even though they might not be in an “ordinary” or “by-the-way” place.

In what way should we honour icons hung in corridors, kitchens, utility rooms etc? St John the Wonderworker of San Francisco did indeed venerate all the icons he could see upon entering a house, even doing so before addressing the occupants! This displays a proper understanding of holy images, as their prototype – Christ and His Saints – are indeed worthy of attention before anything else. Nevertheless, in the example of the “She Who is Quick to Hear” icon, punishment came because of neglect that was damaging the image of Mary and Jesus, rather than because the steward failed to bow and kiss the icon each time he passed. Therefore it is enough to say that being aware of the holy images around us, wherever we may be, is enough – as awareness of the icon leads to awareness of the Saints, and a right heart, should, come from this.

Care of paper icons

Early on as an Orthodox Christian, I was under the false notion that printed icons were not “as good” as icons painted onto wood. This was because I felt that holy images that had been produced after hours and hours of painstaking care, using the “proper” materials, were somehow holier than images that are printed en masse. This is false, of course. The ascetic care taken by an iconographer is a greater labour of love on her part, and when producing “new” images such care ensures the image is a true one, but otherwise the way in which an icon is produced does not effect its holiness: the “content” of the image does.

As if to demonstrate this, in modern times God has granted that a number of printed icons be revealed as wonder-working. Paper icons, particularly prints mounted on thin pieces of wood, are produced in vast quantities, allowing anyone to have their own holy image for a relatively small cost. Among the printed icons revealed to be miracle working (usually myrrh-streaming) are the Iveron Icon from Hawaii, an icon of St Nicholas the Wonderworker, and one of his namesake, the Royal-Martyr Nicholas II.

A print icon bought specifically to be placed in a church or icon-corner will generally be kept with care. However, if recent miracles confirm the sanctity of mass-produced mounted print icons, then what of icons printed in books, Orthodox greetings cards (something which is increasingly popular), or even church bulletins? The pious custom of all corners of the Orthodox church appears to be that printed icons should be treated with respect. Not wanting to sound like a stuck-record, but the holiness of the image is derived from its prototype, not the material it is printed on, nor its intended use.

In the case of books, which increasingly have icons printed on the front, then care should be taken so as the images are not neglected as the Mother of God’s image was by the torch-bearing steward. This means not using them as doorstop, or as a coaster for our cup of tea etc. Indeed, such respect should be shown to all holy books (e.g. writings of the Holy Fathers; not just the Bible) regardless of their front cover, as the content of the book is holy and worthy of respect. Where it is difficult to keep the front cover in good condition, then the whole book can be covered in paper (wrapping paper, wall-paper, brown paper…) as exercise books at school used to be covered; and for the same reason: to protect them.

As for images printed on disposable items, such as leaflets or periodicals, the holy images can be cut out before the rest is thrown away or recycled. The images can be kept, of course, and used for veneration themselves. However, they can also be disposed of, which lead on to…

Disposal of holy images

Most icons will reach a point when they are beyond restoration and need disposing of. This has long been something the Church has had to deal with, as has the disposal of other sacramental items like vestments (which are also often decorated with icons), and so there are canons regarding the correct disposal of them.

Sacramental items that are combustible, which includes icons painted on wood, are burned, and the ashes buried in an out of the way place. Non-combustible items, which would include glass icons found in parts of Romania, are broken up (they may be already broken which is why they need disposing of) and then the pieces either buried or thrown into moving water, to be carried away. However, it is the spirit of the law that should be remembered, rather than strict adherence: the intent in these canons is to prevent an image of Christ or His Saints being trampled, dirtied, or in other ways defaced. Hence icons are generally burned so the image is gone, and the ashes buried where they are not trampled; the materials, not in themselves holy, then return to the earth.

Disposing of paper icons is done in the same way: burned, then buried. This is also true of holy images printed onto flyers or other ephemera, where there is no intention of keeping them.

***

The above is not intended to make any believers beholden to rules and regulations regarding icons. The actual intention can be summed up the words of St John of Krondstadt:

The icons of the Lord, of His mother and the saints also possess the power of God for believers and may accomplish miracles upon them. Why? Because, by God’s grace the Lord, the Holy Virgin and the saints are present in them. They are nearer to us than the images. This is true, as experience often confirms this.

The holy icons remind us of the intimate closeness of those represented in them. Therefore seeing all images of the holy as Icons, regardless of where they are or what they’re made from, means we are more often reminded of the presence of Christ and His Saints in our midst. Our respect for holy images benefits us more than it benefits them, or those represented in them.

Source: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/how-not-to-be-an-accidental-iconoclast/

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”–Psalm 133:1

While there are many wonderful and holy pastors who labor in Christ’s vineyard, many others seem to experience problems of a peculiar nature. One way to identify the source of these problems to call it the lack of mentoring or apprenticeship. The situation is really quite simple: a newly-ordained priest gets assigned a rector and the only priest of a parish, which may be either in a remote location or the only Orthodox parish in a city. The dean may be too far and too busy to visit very often, the bishop may come once a year, other priests may visit only occasionally and not for the explicit purpose of offering any mentoring or advice. Thus, the newly-ordained priest is left to his own devices (and vices). Moreover, a priest is the leader of his community, and even older parishioners hesitate to play a mentoring role, and it would certainly not be their place to offer pastoring advice. Very few priests seem to be lucky enough to have real mentors who are actively involved in their lives and guide them in their spiritual and professional growth. There are some factors which could potentially mitigate the negative effects of the lack of mentoring of young or newly-ordained priests.

First, advanced age and Orthodox life experience may help deal with the lack of mentoring. In the U.S., however (and elsewhere, I presume), many priests are ordained too young–they are not yet fully formed as individuals, they can be impulsive, idealistic, see things in “black and white,” they have not yet had sufficient time to subdue their passions. Another category of candidates for ordination is zealous converts to Orthodoxy. They seem to be “on fire” for the faith, zealous for the Typicon and the canons, attend all services and read the Desert Fathers to their toddlers. Zeal, however, is not a good indicator of spiritual maturity. These converts may or may not be ready to teach others the Orthodox way of life mostly because they are not proficient at it themselves. The crux of the problem is, perhaps, in the lack of aspirants to the holy priesthood. Candidates are not always advanced to the holy orders based on their virtues, but rather on the lack of obvious vices or impediments coupled with the desperate need for more priests.

Second, fellowship with other clergy and sharing of experience may mitigate the lack of mentoring to some degree. Fellow priests are not senior mentors and cannot resolve all problems, but they can offer some advice and attempt to correct the most grievous problems if they notice them. In the U.S., however, there are too many parishes that are too far away from any other Orthodox communities. Some parishes are so remote that there are simply no other Orthodox priests around, and the bishop may visit once a year at best or even less frequently. Even in places where there may be other Orthodox churches, the frequency of clergy fellowship meetings may not exceed one per month, and level on which priests interact with each other may be only superficial–an occasional luncheon, a lenten Presanctified–not true and involved mentoring.

What happens in the absence of real mentoring is detrimental both to the spiritual life and formation of the priest and the life of his parish. In the absence of some system of checks and balances, the priest may be forced to “improvise”–both in his own spiritual journey and in the way he leads the parish. Any number of erroneous ideas, beliefs, practices, and “traditions” may creep in. Many years ago, I have been to parishes that had only been in existence for a few years, and yet they proudly told of their “local traditions” when asked why they served in a way that was different from the normative way in that diocese. And no, the parish had not been founded by a holy elder who brought with him ancient traditions from some famous monastery.

Isolated, unformed, unchecked priests may become their own local “patriarchs” and create their own peculiar brand of Orthodoxy–mostly because they have no other choice. And while I celebrate much diversity, the kind of diversity that stems from basic ignorance or lack of formation is, perhaps, to be avoided through purposeful mentoring of priests. In my opinion, no priest should ever begin his ministry as a rector. Rather, he should apprentice for a minimum of five years under a much more experienced older priest before getting his own parish.

Just as a lay person should not be a solitary practitioner of Orthodoxy lest he go astray, in the same way a priest should not be a solitary practitioner of pastoral ministry. The only ones that could get away with being far away from senior clergy are the ones who are mature as Christians, full of the Holy Spirit, and wise and experienced as pastors. For the rest of us, it is good to stick together, help each other, support each other, receive mentoring from those who are older and wiser, offer mentoring to those who are younger and less experienced, be evaluated by peers and receive feedback on our ministry.

It is a fact that in many cases in this country, the circumstances are such that less-than-perfect situations are what we have to work with. But I think that if these issues were brought up to the forefront of the Church’s consciousness and discussed frankly and openly, much could be done to improve this particular aspect of the life of the Church. In order to do that, the Church needs to re-evaluate its chronic condition of living in the mode of “damage control” and move toward purposeful proactive pastoral care for pastors. We are developing models and practices for pastoral care for our flock, and this is very good indeed. But we must not let our pastors “slip through the cracks.” We must recognize that priests are also humans, they are also Christ’s flock, they are also struggling to lead a Christian life, and they are also in need of pastoral care.

Parallel to pastoral care for parishioners, models and practices of pastoral care for pastors should be implemented and supported by the Church. Some of the healthy practices that come to mind are frequent (monthly?) visits and evaluations by the dean, frequent (monthly?) opportunities for confession and edifying fellowship with an older priest, frequent (weekly?) telephone check-ins from a dean or a bishop, regular (yearly?) spiritual retreats for pastors (organized and paid-for by the Church), sabbaticals every five to seven years, and many others. Of course, these are only random ideas, and a much more coherent approach toward this matter is desperately needed. But I firmly believe that the efforts necessary for this project would pay off many times over by keeping our priests and our parishes strong, stable and healthy.