The phenomenon of the light-painted image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Athos. Athos Icons: Light Painted
Saint Athos is revered in the Orthodox Tradition as the earthly inheritance of the Mother of God. According to legend, the Most Pure Virgin herself took the Holy Mountain under Her special protection.
In the year 667, the pious monk, the Monk Peter of Athos, saw in a thin dream the Theotokos, who said: “Mount Athos is My lot, from My Son and God given to Me, so that those who withdraw from the world and choose for themselves an ascetic life according to their own strength, My name is calling with faith and love from the heart, they spent their lives there without sorrow and for their charitable deeds they would receive eternal life. It is no coincidence that it was on Athos that many of the miraculous icons of the Mother of God shone forth…
The Iversky Monastery is the home of the icon of the patroness of the Holy Mountain of the Most Holy Theotokos of Iberia - the Goalkeeper (Portaitissa).
The first news about it dates back to the 9th century - the times of iconoclasm, when, by order of the heretical authorities, holy icons were destroyed and desecrated in houses and churches. A certain pious widow, who lived not far from Nicaea, kept in her cherished image of the Mother of God. It opened soon. The armed soldiers who came wanted to take away the icon, one of them hit the shrine with a spear, and blood flowed from the face of the Most Pure One. Having prayed to the Lady with tears, the woman went to the sea and lowered the icon into the water; the image of standing moved along the waves.
Two centuries later, the monks of the Greek Iberian monastery on Mount Athos saw an icon in the sea, supported by a pillar of fire. The Monk Gabriel the Holy Mountaineer, having received instructions from the Mother of God in a dream, walked across the water and brought the icon to the katholikon, but in the morning it was found over the gates of the monastery. Tradition says that this happened several times. The Most Holy Theotokos, appearing to St. Gabriel, explained that it was not the monks who should guard the icon, but that it was the guardian of the monastery. After that, the icon was placed over the gates of the monastery and received the name "Goalkeeper", and on behalf of the monastery - the Iversky Monastery - it received the name Iverskaya.
According to legend, the appearance of the icon took place on March 31, on Tuesday of Easter week (according to other sources, April 27). In the Iversky Monastery, a celebration in her honor takes place on Tuesday of Bright Week; the brethren with a procession go to the seashore, where the elder Gabriel received the icon.
ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD "TRICHERUSSA"
In Russian tradition, this icon is called "Three Hands". The icon is located in the Hilendar Monastery on Mount Athos.
The image was a personal icon of St. John of Damascus. During the period of iconoclasm, the saint, defending icons, wrote letters to the iconoclast emperor Leon III Isauro. The same, in order to justify himself, slandered him before the Saracen prince, who ordered that the saint's hand be cut off. St. John, with a cut-off brush, came to the icon of the Mother of God, which he had at home, and asked to be healed. The brush miraculously grew together and St. John, in memory of this miracle, attached a silver brush to the icon. In this form, the icon remains to this day.
The image remained in the monastery in the name of Saint Sava until the 13th century, when it was presented to another Saint Sava, Archbishop of Serbia. When the Agarians invaded Serbia, the Orthodox, wishing to preserve the icon, placed it on a donkey and let it go without a guide. With precious luggage, he himself reached the Holy Mount Athos and stopped at the gates of the Hilendar Monastery. Local monks accepted the icon as a great gift, and they began to annually make a religious procession to the place where the donkey stopped.
One day the old abbot reposed in the Hilendar Monastery. The election of a new one caused dissension among the brethren. And then the Mother of God, appearing to one recluse, announced that from now on she herself would be abbess of the monastery. As a sign of this, the “Three Hands” that had hitherto stood in the altar of the monastery cathedral was miraculously transported through the air to the middle of the temple, to the abbot’s place. Since then, the Hilendarsky Monastery has been managed by a monk-viceroy, who during the services stands at the hegumen’s place, where the image of the “Three-Handed” - the Abbess of this monastery is kept. The monks receive a blessing from Her, venerating the icon, as if from the abbot.
ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD "WORTH TO EAT"
The shrine is located in the Assumption Church of the administrative center of Mount Athos - Karei.
According to legend, in the 10th century, in a cave not far from Karei, an old priest-monk with a novice labored. One day, towards Sunday, June 11, 982, the elder went to the monastery for an all-night vigil, while the novice remained at home. Late at night, an unknown monk knocked on the cell. The novice bowed to the stranger, gave him water to drink from the road, and offered to rest in his cell. Together with the guest, they began to sing psalms and prayers. However, while singing the words “Most Honorable Cherub”, the mysterious guest unexpectedly noticed that in their places they sing this song in a different way: adding before the “Most Honorable” the words “It is worthy to eat, as it is truly Blessed Theotokos, the Blessed and Immaculate, and the Mother of our God ". And when the monk began to sing these words, the icon of the Mother of God “Merciful”, standing in the cell, suddenly shone with a mysterious light, and the novice suddenly felt special joy and sobbed with tenderness. He asked the guest to write down the marvelous words, and he traced them with his finger on a stone slab, which softened like wax under his hand. After that, the guest, who called himself the humble Gabriel, suddenly disappeared. The icon continued to shine with a mysterious light. The novice waited for the elder, told him about the mysterious stranger and showed him a stone slab with the words of a prayer. The spiritually experienced elder immediately realized that the Archangel Gabriel, sent to earth, had come to the cell to proclaim to Christians a wondrous song in the name of the Mother of God. Since then, the angelic song “It is worthy to eat ...” has been sung during every Divine Liturgy throughout the world — wherever there is at least one Orthodox throne or at least one Orthodox Christian lives.
ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD "GERONTISSA"
In Russian tradition, this icon is called "Staritsa". The shrine is kept in the monastery of Patnokrator. One of the most revered on Mount Athos.
According to ancient legend, the first miracle from this icon occurred during the construction of the future monastery, which began about five hundred meters from the modern buildings. One night, both the icon and all the tools of the builders disappeared, and in the morning they were found at the site of the current location of the monastery. This was repeated several times, and then people realized that the Most Holy Lady Herself was choosing a place for building Her monastery.
In different years, many miracles were revealed from the icon of Gerontissa. The elder-abbot of the monastery, having received a revelation of his imminent departure, wished before his death to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and humbly asked the serving priest to hasten with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. However, he did not heed the elder's request. Then, from the miraculous image in the altar, a formidable voice was heard, commanding the priest to immediately fulfill the desire of the hegumen. He communed the dying man, and he immediately peacefully withdrew to the Lord. It was after this miracle that the icon, as a patron of eldership, received the name “Gerontissa”.
In the XI century, during the attack of the Saracens on the monastery, the following happened: one of them wanted to split the icon into pieces in order to blasphemously light his pipe, but at the same moment he lost his sight. Then the barbarians threw the image into the well, where it remained for more than 80 years. Before his death, the Saracen, blinded by his insolence, repented and commanded his household members to visit Saint Athos again and show the monks the place where the icon is located. The shrine was found and placed with honor in the cathedral church of the monastery.
ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD "SERIOUSLY ATTENDANT"
The icon was painted on the Holy Mount Athos and is kept in the monastery of Dohiar, in which its grace-filled power was first revealed.
Tradition relates the time of its writing to the tenth century, to the time of the life of the abbot of the monastery of St. Neophyte. In 1664, the refectory Nile, passing at night into the refectory with a lit torch, heard from the image of the Virgin, hanging over the door, a voice urging him not to go here again and not to smoke the icon. The monk thought that this was a joke of some brother, ignored the sign and continued to go to the refectory with a smoking torch. Suddenly he is blind. In bitter repentance, Nil prayed before the icon of the Mother of God, begging for forgiveness. And again I heard a wonderful voice, announcing forgiveness and the return of sight and ordering to announce to all the brethren: “From now on, this icon of My will be called the Quick Listener, because I will show mercy and fulfillment of petitions to everyone who flows to her.”
Soon the miraculous icon became known throughout Athos. Numerous crowds of monks and pilgrims flocked to worship the shrine.
Many miracles and healings were performed through the icon. Many sufferers have been delivered from possession and demon-possession.
The Holy Virgin helped to avoid shipwreck and captivity. The Most Holy Theotokos has fulfilled and is now fulfilling Her promise - she shows first aid and consolation to all who flow to Her with faith.
There are twenty lamps near the icon. Six of them are inextinguishable, they were donated by Christians in memory of miraculous healings. Oil is also added by the suffering, who received deliverance from ailments thanks to the help of the Mother of God. And in 1783, a silver-gilded riza was placed on the icon. It was made by Russian philanthropists.
In Rus', the lists from the miraculous Athos icon "Quick to Hear" have always enjoyed great love and reverence. Many of them became famous for miracles. Cases of healing from epilepsy and demonic possession were especially noted.
ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD "SWEET KISSING"
Sweet Kiss (Glykofilussa), miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is named so because the Mother of God is depicted on it kissing the baby Christ, belongs, according to legend, to one of the 70 icons painted by the Evangelist Luke. Located in the Philotheevsky Monastery on Athos.
The icon became famous during the iconoclasm. It belonged to the pious woman Victoria, the wife of a certain Simeon Patricius. Victoria, with a danger to her life, honored and kept it in her room. The husband demanded that she burn the icon, but the woman chose to put it into the sea. The icon appeared on the shore in front of the Filofeyevsky Monastery. The abbot and the brethren carried her into the cathedral church. From then until now, on Easter Monday, a religious procession has been made from the monastery to the place where the icon appeared.
The following story is connected with this miraculous icon. During the German occupation of Greece, the stocks of wheat in the monastery of St. Philotheus were running out, and the fathers decided to stop receiving visitors. One pious elder Savva was saddened by this and began to beg the council of the elders of the monastery not to do this, because by doing so they would grieve Christ and the monastery would lose its blessing. He was obeyed. However, after some time, when the stocks of bread were practically exhausted, the old man began to be pestered with reproaches. Savva answered them: “Do not lose hope in Glycofilus. Knead the remaining twenty-five okads, bake bread from them and distribute it to the brethren and laity, and God, as a Good Father, will take care of all of us.” After some time, a ship moored at the pier of the monastery, and the captain offered to exchange the wheat he was carrying for firewood. The monks, seeing the obvious Providence of the Mother of God, Who, as a Good Mother, took care of Her children, glorified God and the Mother of God. Miracles are still being performed from this icon.
ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD "THE Tsaritsa"
The miraculous icon "The Tsaritsa" (Pantanassa) is located in the katholikon of the Vatopedi monastery
The image was painted in the 17th century and was the blessing of the famous Elder Joseph Hesychast on Athos to his disciples. The story of the elder about this icon has been preserved. In the 17th century, a strange young man appeared in front of the icon of the Mother of God "The Tsaritsa". He stood mumbling something indistinctly. And suddenly the face of the Virgin flashed like lightning, and some invisible force threw the young man to the ground. As soon as he came to his senses, he immediately went to confess to his fathers with tears in his eyes that he lived far from God, practiced magic and came to the monastery to test his strength on the holy icons. The miraculous intervention of the Virgin convinced the young man to change his life and become pious. He was healed of a mental illness and after that he remained on Athos. So this icon for the first time showed its miraculous power on a man possessed by demons.
Later, they began to notice that this icon also has a beneficial effect on patients with various malignant tumors. In the 17th century, she was first written off by a Greek monk and gradually became known throughout the world as a healer of cancer. The very name of the icon - All-Mother, All-Mistress - speaks of its special, all-encompassing power. Having first revealed her miraculous power against magical spells (and sorcery, fascination with magic and other occult "sciences" spread throughout the Christian world like a cancerous tumor), the All-Tsaritsa has the grace to heal the most terrible of the diseases of modern mankind.
ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD "MAMMAL"
The icon of the Mother of God "The Milk-Giver" is located in the Hilendar Monastery on Mount Athos. The image depicts the Blessed Virgin breastfeeding the Divine Infant
Initially, the image was in the Lavra of the Monk Savva the Sanctified near Jerusalem. The holy founder of the Lavra, at his death, predicted to the brethren that the pilgrim Savva from Serbia would visit the Lavra, and ordered that the miraculous icon be given to him as a blessing. This is what happened in the thirteenth century. Saint Savva of Serbia brought the icon to the Hilendar Monastery on Mount Athos and placed it on the right side of the iconostasis, in the church at the Karey cell, later called Typikarnitsa, since the rule of Saint Savva was kept there.
The theological meaning of the holy image is very deep: “The Mother nourishes the Son, just as She nourishes our souls, just as God feeds us with “pure verbal milk of the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2), so that, growing, we move from milk food to solid (Heb. 5:12)
The icon of the Mother of God "Mamming" depicts the sun and the moon with the corresponding inscriptions. The image is sometimes found in a mirror image and with other symbolism. There are several miraculous lists, about each of which written and oral traditions have been preserved. So, in Russia, the image acquired in 1650 in the village of Krestogorsk near Minsk became famous. In the middle of the XIX century. - in 1848 - another list of the icon "Mamminger", brought to Russia by the schemamonk of the Ilyinsky Skete on Athos, Ignatius, became famous. He was sent to Russia to collect donations and was blessed on his journey with this icon. In Kharkov, the first miracle was revealed from her - the carpenter, who was adjusting the icon case without proper reverence, lost his hands. Prayers of repentance at the brought image brought him healing, and this first miracle was followed by many others: in Yelets, Zadonsk, Tula, Moscow ...
ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD OF VATOPEDI "JOY" OR "COMFORT"
The image of the Mother of God "Joy" ("Paramythia") is located in the Vatopedi Monastery.
It got its name from the fact that in 390, near the island of Imbros, opposite the Holy Mountain, the young prince Arcadius, the son of Emperor Theodosius the Great, fell into the sea from the ship, and by the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God was transferred to the shore safe and sound. Here in the morning they found him sleeping in a deep, calm sleep under a thick bush, not far from the destroyed Cathedral of the Annunciation. From this event came the name “vatoped” (“young bush”). Emperor Theodosius, in gratitude for the miraculous deliverance of his son, erected a new temple instead of the destroyed monastery, where the altar was located in the very place where the saved young man was found.
The history of this image is connected with the events that took place on January 21, 807. A gang of robbers who decided to rob the Vatopedi Monastery, having landed on the shore in the dark, took refuge in the vicinity of the monastery, intending to wait for the opening of the gates of the monastery. While the robbers were waiting for the gates to open, Matins ended and the brethren began to disperse to their cells for temporary rest. Only one abbot of the monastery remained in the church. Suddenly, from the icon of the Mother of God standing nearby, he heard a female voice warning of the danger that threatened the monastery. The abbot fixed his gaze on the icon and saw that the faces of the Mother of God and the Divine Infant had changed. The Vatopedi icon was similar to the Hodegetria, on which the Infant of God is always depicted with a blessing hand. And now the abbot sees how Jesus raised His hand, blocking the lips of the Mother of God, with the words: “No, My Mother, do not tell them this: let them be punished for their sins.” But the Mother of God, evading His hand, twice uttered the same words: “Do not open the gates of the monastery today, but climb the monastery walls and drive away the robbers.” The astonished abbot immediately gathered the brethren. Everyone was amazed at the change in the outline of the icon. After a prayer of thanks before the holy image, the inspired monks climbed the monastery walls and successfully repulsed the attack of the robbers.
Since that time, the miraculous icon has been called "Joy", or "Consolation". The outlines of the icon remained the same as during the warning said to the abbot: the Mother of God evaded the outstretched right hand of Jesus Christ.
The icon was decorated with a silver-gilt riza and placed in a church built on the choirs of the cathedral. In this place, the icon remains to this day. In memory of the miracle in the Church of the Mother of God "Otrada", monks are tonsured and the thanksgiving prayer service of the Mother of God is performed in front of the miraculous icon.
It is unlikely that there will be at least one person in the world who has not heard of the Virgin Mary. From the first days after her dormition and to this day, the Blessed Virgin Mary helps Christians. According to Holy Scripture, the Mother of God, appearing to the apostles on the third day after Her Assumption, said to them: "Rejoice, I will be with you all the days."
It is noted that the appearances of the Virgin most often coincide with some future catastrophes, wars and other large-scale disasters.
The Virgin Mary seems to warn people of danger. Most often, She appears in the form of a light female silhouette, as if woven from a haze. According to church writings, Jesus, crucified on the cross, entrusted His Mother to the care of John the Theologian, his beloved disciple, and all mankind to the Most Holy Theotokos.
There is an opinion that the Mother of God does not appear to everyone, but only to those who deeply believe and listen to her advice. Of course, this Divine miracle, like all other miracles, is subject to criticism and disbelief by skeptics. But be that as it may, there are cases when Divine help contributed to the salvation of people.
In Latin America, the most revered shrine is the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary of Guadelupe. She is considered the patroness of both Americas and is called: "Our Senora Guadalupe." It all started in December 1531, when the 17-year-old Indian Juan Diego, going to morning mass past the Tepeyac hill, heard someone singing from above.
Climbing up the hill, the young man saw a young woman who looked more like his compatriots than a Spaniard. The woman was as if inside a shining cloud. She introduced herself as the Mother of God. For four days in a row, the Mother of God appeared to Juan Diego, turning to the young man with a request that a church be built on this hill, where everyone could honor her Son, Jesus Christ.
However, the priests decided that the young man was just fantasizing, because the Indians, as the Spaniards then believed, had no soul, which means that the Mother of God could not appear to them either.
Then the Virgin Mary told the Indian to gather flowers on a rocky hill. The young man meekly obeyed, even though he knew very well that nothing grows there. And suddenly he saw a rose bush growing right on the stone. “Here is My sign,” said the Virgin Mary. “Take these roses, wrap them in your cloak, and take them to the bishop. This time he will believe you."
When Juan Diego unfolded his cloak in front of the bishop, all those present fell to their knees: the image of the Blessed Virgin was imprinted on the fabric of the cloak. After that, six million Indians converted to Christianity. This is how the baptism of Latin America took place.
"I AM THE IMMACULATE BIRTH"
The small city of Lourdes, located in southwestern France, became widely known in 1858 thanks to the 14-year-old girl Bernadette Soubirous. It was she who was honored to be a witness to as many as 18 (!) Apparitions of the Virgin Mary. In the cold February of 1858, Bernadette and other children were gathering branches for kindling in the grove.
To get to the deposits of branches, they had to wade through the stream. When Bernadette came to the other side, she heard a noise similar to the sound of the wind, and near the grotto that opened up to her eyes, she saw a lady in a white dress, at whose feet yellow roses were scattered. Surprisingly, no one else saw anything.
This time, the girl did not dare to talk to a stranger, she decided that this was the ghost of a recently deceased villager. Despite her fear, she was drawn to the grotto, and she came there again and again. Now the girl understood that the Virgin Mary appeared before her, asking her to pray for sinners. In one of her appearances, the Mother of God gave Bernadette an assignment: “Go to the priests and say: I want a chapel to be built here.”
But the priests took the stories for empty fiction, and the girl was completely crazy. Only her confessor asked to know the name of the woman. And the Mother of God answered: "I am the Immaculate Conception." When the girl told him these words, the priest was amazed to the core.
Bernadette could not have known that shortly before the events described, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos. And the ministers themselves used the expression "Sinless Conception" before that. And this meant that the girl really communicates with the Virgin Mary.
The Mother of God also showed Bernadette the miraculous spring, to which millions of people subsequently began to flock. In the first year alone, five officially certified healings took place at this source. Bernadette later became a nun under the name Maria Bernarda and died at the age of 35. Already in 1933 she was canonized in the Catholic Church.
Before recognizing her as a saint, representatives of the Catholic Church opened the grave three times. Witnesses of the exhumation were not only priests, but also doctors, as well as other respected members of society. And every time they were all convinced: the body of Bernadette Soubirous was not touched by decomposition. A temple was built on the site of the apparition of the Virgin, and Lourdes is now visited by about five million pilgrims every year.
FATIMA MIRACLE
Perhaps the most significant and famous series of appearances of the Mother of God began in May 1917 in the Portuguese city of Fatima.
First, the Virgin Mary appeared to three children: Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, who were playing in the field near the house. She asked if they were ready to become the chosen ones of the Lord in order to atone for the insults and blasphemy inflicted on the Mother of God. They enthusiastically agreed.
Leaving, she instructed the children to pray daily for peace and the salvation of sinners and ordered them to come to the meeting place on the thirteenth day of each month. The children told their parents about everything, and they, in turn, told their neighbors. And already on the 13th day of the next month, about 60 people accompanied the children.
It must be said that no one saw the Mother of God appearing, except for these three guys, nevertheless, every month there were more and more people on the field.
Pilgrims began to flock to Fatima from all over the world. Two days before October 13, all roads leading to the city were clogged with wagons and footmen. Waiting for the appearance of the Virgin Mary, people, and there were about 70 thousand of them, slept on the ground, despite the cold October rain that had been pouring for three days.
Everyone was soaked to the skin. At noon, all those present knelt down, despite the mud and puddles. Lucia, seeing the Mother of God, exclaimed: “Here she is!”, And everyone saw how the children were enveloped in a light white cloud. It rose up three times and again fell on the children.
Then eyewitnesses said that the rain suddenly stopped, the sun came out, but its appearance was strange: a disk surrounded by a radiant crown, which could be looked at without squinting.
In front of everyone’s eyes, the sun first began to spin like a huge fiery wheel, scattering multi-colored bright flashes in all directions, then it seemed to separate from the sky and began to spiral down, radiating heat. This dance of the sun lasted at least ten minutes and was visible for many kilometers from Fatima.
When it was all over, people were surprised to find that their clothes were suddenly dry. This was the last appearance of the Mother of God to children.
The Virgin Mary left them three predictions, the last of which was revealed just recently. The first and second were made public by permission of Pope Pius XII in 1942. One spoke of a coming war that would take millions of lives (probably referring to World War II). The second prophecy concerned Russia, which should devote its heart to the Virgin Mary so that peace and tranquility would replace the chaos in the country.
But the third message for a long time remained a secret with seven seals. Only in 2000 did Pope John Paul II lift the veil: it concerned an attempt on his life. Indeed, in 1981, a Turkish terrorist shot at John Paul II.
But that's not all: presumably, the third epistle also contains information about the further tragic fate of the Catholic Church. It seems that church hierarchs prefer to hide it so as not to cause unrest among believers.
ON THE ROADS OF WAR
Immediately after the invasion of the Nazi troops on the territory of the USSR, Patriarch Alexander III of Antioch took seclusion and secluded himself in a dungeon in which the icon of the Mother of God was kept. Without food, water or sleep, he prayed for help for Russia.
Three days later, the Virgin Mary appeared to him and said: “Temples, monasteries, theological academies and seminaries should be opened throughout the country. Priests must be returned from the fronts and released from prisons. They must begin to serve. Leningrad cannot be surrendered! Let them take out the miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God and encircle it with a procession around the city, then not a single enemy will set foot on its holy land. Before the Kazan icon, a prayer service must also be performed in Moscow, then it must arrive in Stalingrad. The Kazan icon should go with the troops to the borders of Russia.
Surprisingly, Stalin heeded these words. He promised Metropolitans Alexy and Sergiy all assistance. The icon of the Kazan Mother of God was taken out of the Vladimir Cathedral, it was carried in procession around Leningrad, and the city survived.
According to some information, the plane, controlled by Stalin's personal pilot, also flew around the defended Moscow with the miraculous image of Kazan on board. Few people know that the Battle of Stalingrad began with a prayer service. Then the icon stood among our troops on the right bank of the Volga, and the Germans could not cross the river, no matter how hard they tried.
PHENOMENON IN CHERNOBYL
Nikolai Yakushin, rector of St. Ilyinskaya Church, says: “On a rainy spring evening in the sky over Chernobyl, many citizens saw in an unusual radiance a female silhouette descending from rain clouds. For a certain time, the rain completely subsided and there was an unusual silence. Witnesses of the apparition realized with fear that something particularly important was happening, concerning the city itself.
From the obscure silhouette, an image gradually became clearly visible, similar to the image of the Virgin in the form of Oranta.
The townspeople saw in the hands of the Virgin a bunch of dry grass, which she dropped, the grass fell and scattered over the wet ground. In May, when everything everywhere begins to turn green, bloom and bloom, dried grass is almost never found.
And here on the ground in large numbers were dry stalks of grass, called Chernobyl. At one time, the radiance moved to St. Elijah's Church, and the Holy Virgin blessed God's temple with both hands. The vision went away as suddenly as it appeared.”
Then the appearance of the Virgin Mary was interpreted in its own way: supposedly the Mother of God blessed the temple, and dry grass, most likely, meant a lean year. Only 20 years later, the meaning of the miraculous appearance of the Virgin became clear. She warned of imminent danger, because a bunch of dry grass, called Chernobyl, or wormwood, was not accidentally dropped by her on the city of the same name.
“The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a lamp, and fell on a third of the rivers and on the fountains of water. The name of this star is “wormwood”, and a third of the waters became wormwood, and many of the people died from the waters, because they became bitter” (Revelation of St. John the Theologian 8:10-11).
The life of St. Andrew describes a vision that opened up to him: he was shown the beauties of paradise, but, not seeing the Mother of God anywhere, he asked his mysterious companion: “Where is She?” In response, he heard: "She walks the earth and collects the tears of those who cry." This is how the Blessed Virgin Mary walks to this hour and will always walk the earth, collecting the tears of the afflicted.
One of the soldiers who participated in the storming of Koenigsberg in 1944 said: “When the front commander arrived, priests with the icon of the Mother of God were with him. After serving a prayer service, they calmly went towards the front line. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the shooting from the German side stopped, and our troops began an assault.
The unbelievable happened: the Germans died by the thousands and surrendered by the thousands! The captured Germans then unanimously said: “Before the start of the Russian assault, the Madonna appeared in the sky, which was visible to the entire German army. At this time, absolutely everyone's weapons failed - they could not fire a single shot.
Everyone remembers the tragedy in Budennovsk in 1995, when Basayev's gang seized the staff and patients of the central city hospital. In those terrible days, local residents several times saw in the sky the image of a grieving woman dressed in dark clothes and standing at a cross formed by clouds.
The apparitions of the Virgin Mary took place both before the attack itself and after the militants left the city. Many are still convinced that some of the terrorists were demoralized by Her appearance and that this was the decisive moment for the release of the hostages.
FICTION OR REALITY?
Until now, there is no consensus about the appearances of the Virgin. People react differently to such rumors. Those fortunate enough to witness this miracle indignantly reject the suggestion of a hoax. Skeptics shrug.
I must say that scientists have not yet been able to unravel this mystery. Some of them explain this by reasons more familiar to the modern world. For example, the French-American scientist Jacques Vallee is sure that aliens are actually involved in the Fatima miracle.
“The famous visions at Fatima are a vivid historical example of the religious coloring of encounters with UFOs. The factual side of events is well enough known, but I am ready to bet that the true essence of what happened in 1917 near this small Portuguese town is known to few.
Fewer still, I believe, are aware that the series of sightings of the being thought to be the Virgin Mary began two years earlier with a series of classic UFO sightings,” Valle wrote in Parallel World.
The Russian scientist V. Mezentsev explains that the dance of the sun, which on October 13, 1917, together with the children, was observed by 70 thousand pilgrims who came to Fatima, was an optical illusion, a play of light. Be that as it may, the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized the Fatima miracle and many other phenomena of the Virgin.
Today, when the world now and then shudders from catastrophes, tragedies, confrontations, intolerance and wars, perhaps one should not break spears in senseless disputes, but simply heed these warnings and hear the main call of the Most Holy Theotokos: “People, stop your madness!”
And then the world will become more good and less sorrow.
The Athos church calendar for 2007 of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery is dedicated to an amazing event that took place more than a hundred years ago - August 21 / September 3, 1903. One of the monastery manuscripts tells that on that day, during the distribution of alms to the wretched monks at the Great Monastery Gates, monk Gabriel took a photograph and when he developed it, in a black and white photograph, to his greatest surprise, he saw the image of the Mother of God, humbly receiving the blessed loaf of bread.The confessor of the monastery Father Macarius (Makienko) says: “Our archives contain written recollections that shortly before this event, some of the ascetics saw the Wonderful Woman among the monks in reality. They wanted to show Her to the gatekeeper, but no one saw Her on the very day of photographing Her. This event opened another page in the sacred annals of not only our monastery, but the annals of the entire Holy Mount Athos. You can say this: this is a new chapter in the memorable history of the innumerable blessings of the Mother of God to the entire human race. "
In the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, a new icon appeared, dedicated to this appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos, - "The Image of the Mother of God, Painted with Light" (see Photocopy). A service dedicated to the miraculous appearance of the light-written and self-depicted image of the Most Holy Theotokos has also been prepared. It is also published in the calendar on pages 189 - 241.
This service is our grateful offering to the Mother of God for the misunderstood manifestation of Her mercy. We believe, continues Father Macarius, that all those who sincerely love the Most Holy Theotokos as the Mother of God will gladly accept this new celebration in their hearts and memory. We also believe that through the prayers and grace of the Blessed Virgin, this newly-appeared miracle will serve as many ailing doubts to strengthen faith.
Father Macarius also wrote in the Church Slavonic language "The Word on the day of the celebration of the light-written image of the Mother of God" (placed in the calendar on pages 242 - 262).
At the end of each month of the voluminous calendar, the patronal feasts ("panigira") of the monasteries and sketes located on Mount Athos are listed. In the month of August (September 21/3), a new Svyatogorsk panigir dedicated to the icon of the Mother of God of Light painted in the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery was marked. According to Father Philosopher, a resident of the monastery, a panagir in honor of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Light-painted was widely published for the first time; The patronal feast in memory of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God will be celebrated this year for the second time.
2. "This mountain," said the Queen, "let it be my lot..."
“Our most merciful Lady Our Lady repeatedly repeated to Her ascetics the joyful promise of Her Lot,” wrote Hieromonk Panteleimon (Sapozhnikov). - To the founder and head of the common monastic life on Athos, the Monk Athanasius, She said: "I will be an Iconomiss for you from now on, having care for you." Then, through the Monk Gabriel (Georgian), having been honored to receive a miraculous icon at sea, the Most Blessed Lady ordered to announce: “Rtsy a monk: I have not come to be kept from you, but most of all, let me be your Keeper, not only in the present, but also in the future. because the monks will live in this mountain with the fear of God and reverence, and they will not neglect the strength of virtue, but they will have boldness and hope in the goodness of My Son and Master, as if I asked and gave Me this gift. Two centuries before this (1664), the Intercessor of the monks and the whole Christian race, by the gift of sight to the monk Nil who prayed about it, deigned in Her Lot to be called the Quick Listener (i.e., the quick follower of those praying to Her), and She uttered the following touching words full of motherly love and great mercy to all: “Let the monks and all Orthodox Christians turn to Me in need, and I will not leave anyone; I will intercede with all who reverently resort to Me, and the prayers of all will be fulfilled by the Son and My God, for the sake of My intercession for them before Him "(See: On the Miracles of the Mother of God. - In the book: Athos Church Calendar, 2003, p. 177).
By the providence of God, Holy Mount Athos is assigned a special role in the history of the salvation of mankind, and the flow of pilgrims from all continents does not dry up here. Here, in the Allotment of the Most Holy Theotokos, under Her protection, for more than a thousand years, prayers have been unceasingly lifted up to God. According to legend, the Mother of God herself indicated a place for the monastic feat to the first Athos saint, the Monk Peter: “There is no other more convenient place for the free service of God than Mount Athos. living here with faith and reverence and keeping the commandments of the Son and of my God, His mercy to the end of the age."
The persecution of Christians brought the first hermits to the inaccessible places of Athos. The number of those suffering to serve God in the rank of angels in this earthly lot of the Mother of God multiplied every year. The monastic brotherhood of Mount Athos remains under the blessed protection of the Mother of God, and the Most Pure Virgin herself is called the Abbess of all the Athos.
Once St. Philaret, Archbishop of Chernigov, knowing about the blessings of the Lady to the inhabitants of Her Lot, and as if foreseeing with his perspicacious eyes the future event, sang a hymn to the earthly Destiny of the Mother of God:
This mountain, - the Queen said, -
Let it be my lot.
From here my right hand will stretch
The eternal roof over the place of sim.
I won't forget this place
Always intercessor to him,
I will apply for it
Forever to my Son.
The Holy Fathers, who have been honored with spiritual eyes to see our land, testify that it is connected with the sky by solitary pillars of light. One of such places, constantly radiating this invisible radiance, is Holy Mount Athos.
Athos reigns my longed
Above the sea with a pillar of fire,
To the humble monks of the desert
Home for all ages,
Many generations of Christian ascetics labor here in continuous labor, fasting and nightly prayerful vigil. Since the time of the Byzantine emperors, Athos has been a separate independent monastic state, completely autonomous in its internal life, ruled by the Holy Kinot, consisting of representatives of twenty main monasteries. By God's providence, the Holy Mountain became a haven and a hotbed of monastic life not only for the Greeks, but also for the Slavs, laboring in the monasteries of the Holy Great Martyrs Panteleimon, George and the Hilandar Monastery of the Theotokos.
In the dead of night, the Holy Mountain with its twenty monasteries, many sketes and callivas is engulfed in the flames of prayers that drive away the darkness. The image of Athos is forever imprinted in our minds as a kind of amazing place on the globe, where both the marble top of the Holy Mountain and the Orthodox crosses on the monastery domes and bell towers touch the very Heaven. And in the early morning, a pink-yellow haze or a light fog rises from the shimmering surface of the Aegean Sea. At this hour, they gently envelop the green mountains of Athos and the white monastery buildings. Turning pink with the first rays, the bell tower of the cathedrals and the gilded crosses of different heights of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery seem to grow before your eyes. They swim together with pink seagulls in the mother-of-pearl sky towards the rising sun, and then, gradually decreasing, melt and completely disappear in the heavenly heights.
The transcendent brother monks of Athos, who have peace in their souls, clarity in their minds, and humility and love in their hearts, after a long night service and a short sleep that follows, they begin their daily work, fulfilling the obediences assigned to them. Leaving the world forever, they dedicate their lives on Athos only to prayer, worship and work. Their heart, will and desire are one, and the silence of their mouths is the key to their Athogorsk life.
Every day in the morning, a white bird from Ouranoupoli sails to the monastery pier with a ferry with pilgrims on board. The dazzling blue sky contrasts with the orange-yellow flowers of lemons and oranges, the air is filled with the subtle aromas of Athos plants.
Athonite monks, welcoming guests, treat them, according to the old custom, with crystal clear water, a glass of brandy and Turkish delight. On the table - tea from mountain herbs and slices of monastery bread, smelling of apples. Another rule is strictly observed: talking with guests is good, but silently praying for them, reproaching and humbling yourself, is even better, because it is spiritually beneficial and saving for pilgrims and the owners of the monastery.
And then you understand why other pilgrims not only stop for a few days on the Holy Mountain, but also, by the will of God, stay here forever.
3. "And She shows Her face there"
The Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, with its domes and domes shining in the sun, gilded balls and crosses of different heights among palm trees and cypresses, creates a solemnly upbeat mood among pilgrims arriving on the Holy Mountain. From the monastery pier, one can get to the territory of the Monastery itself only through the Great Monastery Gates, arranged in the thickness of the southern wall. The main entrance, called the "porta" according to the Athos tradition, is framed by a domed canopy resting on two marble columns. Above the arch of the entrance itself, in a niche, there is a majestic image of the heavenly patron of the Russian monastery, St. great martyr and healer Panteleimon, whose whole-bearing relics are in the main cathedral on the monastery square. On the left, on the wall at the Great Gate, there is a large labradorite stone slab with black and white silhouettes of the Virgin, monks and wanderers. The memorial plate in Russian and Greek tells about the wondrous miracle of the appearance of the Mother of God, which took place at this place exactly one hundred years ago - August 21 / September 3, 1903. The image itself on the stone slab is an enlarged copy of an old photograph that depicts the miracle of the appearance of the Most Holy Image of the Most Holy Theotokos, as one of the old monks said, "as a consolation and confirmation of His Providence for us sinners."
A hundred years ago, monastery manuscripts, now carefully stored in the library, tell that the St. Panteleimon Monastery, which accepted donations from Russia, generously shared alms with needy brethren. Every week, from the two southern Russian ports of Odessa and Taganrog, where the Athos farmsteads of the St. Panteleimon Monastery were located, large and small ships came to the Athos pier with food and vital materials. They were intended for 3,000 inhabitants of the St. Panteleimon Monastery and 4,000 Russian-speaking brothers who labored in various sketes, metochs (agricultural lands of the monastery. - Author's note), cells (a separate building of several rooms. - Author's note) and kalivs (monastic house without temple. - Author's note.) Holy Mountain.
The monastic archives testify that in the period from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, Russian monks distributed alms weekly at the port. At the Great Gate, a crowd of poor Siromach monks (a hermit-wanderer who does not have a permanent refuge and pilgrimage from monastery to monastery, from cell to cell. - Author's note) and pious wanderers gathered. There is evidence that about 600 - 800 people received bread cakes - chereks - from the hands of the monks. On the appointed days for alms to the monastery gates began to come doing nothing, getting drunk and obeying no one. On August 14 of the same year, from Karyes, a kind of capital of the monastic "republic" and the center of self-government of Athos, where the Holy Assembly, or Kinot, usually sits in the building of the Protata, a letter arrived at the monastery, in which Kinot expressed dissatisfaction with the "useless" and "harmful" in his opinion, alms. The Supreme Sacred Administration of the Holy Mountain, in its official letter, demanded that the Hierarchy of St. Panteleimon Monastery cancel the hitherto practiced distribution of alms and find a more acceptable and non-tempting form of help, which, by the way, was carried out over time. The message, in particular, said: “Alms given in the gospel are only pleasing and kind to God when they are given in the mind - to people who are worthy of alms and who need it. and they count, and for the sake of this they live here, then such giving of alms becomes a cause of harm. Thus, Kinot brought to the leadership of the monastery his decision "to stop for the future the alms distributed in such a useless way."
On August 21, 1903, exactly one week after receiving the letter from Kinot, the monks of the Russian monastery decided for the last time to observe the tradition and distribute alms, and only then read the contents of the letter from Kinot to those present. At this time, as usual, hundreds of needy and wandering people had already gathered at the main port in anticipation of alms. During the distribution of the chereks, Hieromonk Gabriel unexpectedly decided to take a photograph as a keepsake.
When this black-and-white, for those times, photograph was shown, then, to the greatest surprise of all, it showed ... the image of the Mother of God, who humbly received blessed alms along with other petitioners. Looking at the unusual picture, the monks immediately remembered the story of the monk Sevastyan, who heard from the porters that "a hermit saw a woman several times when distributing the vouchers." Some of the ascetics, who also saw in reality the Marvelous Virgin among the wretched monks and beggars, wanted to tell the gatekeeper about this, but no one saw Her on the very day of photographing. One of the Athonite poets wrote the following verses about the miracle that happened:
Received a picture without cheating.
He struck the saints:
Without any lies or haze
He portrayed the Mother of God.
Queen in a long robe
unspeakable beauty,
In a wonderfully blissful radiance
Full of love and purity.
Ukrukh humbly received
Behind her are the Athos poor,
By this miracle she taught the brethren
Do not reject Her hands.
She promised before
Athos to observe for a century.
The mountain has not yet become impoverished.
Grace has not failed.
The Theotokos invariably provided for those who labored in Her earthly lot. At the behest of the Queen of Heaven, the monastery continued to meet the needs of the poor brethren: after fraternal meals, meals were arranged in the monastery for the poor, and the cellarer gave them food from the warehouse.
The monastic manuscripts testify that the Mother of God often appeared to the Athonites even today, which is confirmed by oral and written traditions.
Once I asked the monastery confessor Father Macarius to tell something about other phenomena of the Mother of God known to him or the brethren in our time. Smiling, he replied:
Monks don't talk about it unnecessarily...
And then, noticing my embarrassment and probably not wanting to sadden the pilgrim, Father Macarius continued:
We have had such a pious custom in the monastery for a long time: when the brethren notice or hear that the earthly days of such and such a brother are already numbered, they gather at his cell and ask about his life in the monastery, about the mistakes made and about correcting them. About what, in addition to the general cell rule, he also had his own prayer rule, how he struggled to acquire grace-filled prayer, how he overcame despondency and longing for the Motherland, especially in his first years of life on Athos. And the elders edify those who are thirsty for salvation with their soul-beneficial instructions and examples, and warn them against secret demonic wiles. For the benefit of the brethren, they tell about the instructions and admonitions they received from the holy saints of God or the venerable elders, about God's help and about the apparitions of the Mother of God they experienced ...
With God's help, I managed to write down two stories about the apparitions of the Mother of God in the Russian monastery on Athos. It happened like this... Once, at the monastery gates, where a miracle happened more than a hundred years ago, I discussed with several pilgrims whether the Mother of God is still looking after the ascetics of Her Terrestrial Destiny in our days; does she appear to them in a dream or in reality, does she comfort and in what way instructs them? Thinking about this aloud, we did not notice the elderly monk who came up to us. Noticing our idleness, he looked at us sternly, and then hurriedly headed towards the monastery cemetery. Feeling my awkwardness and even guilt, I rushed to catch up with him, not only to apologize, but also to ask him about the miracle of the appearance of the Mother of God. Then he looked at me intently and asked:
Tell me, hasn't God promised those who love Him to be with them "always until the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20)? Doesn't His Most Pure and Most Blessed Mother, like Her Son, provide for all people who call on Her for help and glorify Her to the best of their ability? Remember, already in the tenth century, in Constantinople, Saint Andrew, a fool for Christ, who saw the heavenly abodes, was not able to see the longed-for Intercessor of the human race there? "The Mother of God came down to earth to help those who call Her," the celestials answered him.
Have you ever personally managed to see the Blessed Virgin on the Holy Mountain? I asked timidly.
Yes, he replied. - Once, on New Year's Eve, after the All-Night Vigil, I saw in a dream a great multitude of monks ascending to the capital of Athos, and in front of this monastic regiment majestically, with a bouquet of lilies in her hands, the Mother of God marched. I did not see Her face, but, following Her, I marveled at Her unearthly lightness: She lightly touched the ground, and everything in front parted before Her. Another time, not so long ago, on the eve of the Patronal Feast of the monastery, having made the cell rule, I dozed off with grief that the feast would be coming very soon, and in my obedience very much was not yet ready. In my slumber I see, and it was as if in reality, as if I were somewhere behind the monastery from the side of the sea, and along the upper road, guests were drawn in a string to our monastery. From everything I saw, I began to grieve even more, they say, the holiday is already beginning, but I have not yet properly prepared for it. Suddenly I notice how, hastily overtaking others, in black monastic clothes and with a basket in her hand, a Woman resembling the Mother of God, exactly the same as She is depicted in a wonderful photograph, is approaching the monastery. With joy I exclaimed: "Mother of God!" Stopping at my call, She looked at me, as if asking: "What do you need?" At that time I did not find the words to say to Her, for I was incredibly glad that I recognized the Mother of God in the walking Woman. She hurriedly turned towards the hurrying guests and soon found herself in a stream of people already entering the monastery. At that moment the monastery bell was struck for the beginning of the morning service, and my heart rejoiced with extraordinary joy. During the feast, I hoped once again, already in reality, to see Our Heavenly Athonite Abbess, but, due to my sins, I was not worthy. I was convinced, however, that She really was present at the eulogy, as our Patronal Feast is called. Day and night, during the holiday itself, I walked everywhere around the monastery and was surprised at how smoothly it passed. I felt that Someone miraculously organizes the holiday itself, although no verbal instructions were heard. All the brethren worked according to the call of their conscience, especially in the kitchen-refectory obedience, which I worried about...
My interlocutor was silent for a while, took a deep breath and, looking into the sea distance, continued:
There seems to be nothing miraculous in my story. It’s just that the Mother of God, in Her greatest humility, came at a difficult moment to help our brethren worthily spend the Patronal Feast and console the guests. She is the Mistress of this Holy Place.
During my stay in the Monastery, I somehow noticed an elderly monk in one of the corners of the monastery courtyard, hastily shifting and sorting through some things. I moved closer and expressed my desire to help him. This was Hieromonk Jacob, who had lived for about two decades in the monastery skete of Xylourgou, called by the Greeks "the skete of the Mother of God" because of the main cathedral in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Father Jacob was leaving for Khromitz's metoch, and he gladly accepted my offer to help him. And so, having taken on our things, we left the monastery and, passing by the famous place of the apparition of the Mother of God, I asked Father Jacob if he had heard from the brothers who labored here about the miracle of this phenomenon and how he himself relates to it?
Known business. All this happened here. And the elders talked about it more than once. Yes, and I myself received a gift from the Mother of God, confessed Father Jacob.
Having crossed ourselves and bowed in that place, we began to slowly descend from the monastery to the sea pier. Father Jacob further related the following:
When I lived alone in the skete of Xylourga, I made it a rule for myself during the morning service on the 9th song to go to the cathedral church and there, with censing, sing in front of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Most Honest". One night, after swaying the whole church, I sat down in the stasidia and fell asleep imperceptibly. In a dream I see how the Mother of God sits on the episcopal chair in a majestic cathedral and many people stand in a long line in front of Her. Everyone has an offering in their hands, as if they want to congratulate the Mother of God. I was the last one in line. Looking at the others, I was seized by a feeling of embarrassment both for myself and for the fact that I was standing empty-handed, that is, without a gift. "What will I bring as a gift to the Queen and Lady?" This thought particularly bothered me. When my turn finally approached, I said with tears: “Mother of God, I don’t have anything with me so that I can give You. sang... Having finished singing, I looked at Her, and She, in a benevolent radiance, handed me a coin in Her hand with the words: “How well you sing! Take a coin for this." I woke up, and in my hands I had Her gift ...
Having finished the story, Fr. Jacob shed a tear, and so did I: his story touched my heart so much. The horn of the cruise ship discharged a long pause. I helped bring the elderly man his things onto the ferry, and we hastily said goodbye...
The author of these lines also experienced special feelings and detachment from everything earthly and vain, listening to the stories of modern monks of the Russian monastery about the miraculous appearances of the Mother of God in our days.
4. Give strength to Your servants, Mother of the Holy One, and blessings to those who glorify and praising you
Athos monks call the Holy Mount Athos "a heliport, an earthly inheritance or lot of the Mother of God." His Grace Filaret, Archbishop of Chernigov, likening Mount Athos to an earthly paradise, wrote in 1876:
I know who owns you
To whom did you belong:
Keeps you, cherishes you
Queen of the Highlands.
This spirit-bearing Vladyka also sang the apparition of the Mother of God, captured in a wonderful photograph:
And there she shows her face,
He talks to his servants;
The very fate controls them
And he watches over their earthly life.
The monastic brotherhood of St. Panteleimon Monastery remains under the grace-filled protection of the Mother of God - the Abbess of all the Highlanders. The long night services in it, the instructive stories of its monks and the miracle of the appearance of the Mother of God at the Main Monastery Gate, which happened more than a hundred years ago and is captured in an extraordinary photograph, strengthen our faith in the incomprehensible Providence of God and the care of the Queen of heaven and earth for Her faithful servants. They heal our spiritual and bodily infirmities, inspire hope in the fulfillment of the promises of the Mother of God, evoke strong emotional and spiritual experiences in pilgrims, prayerfully influence their soul, raising it from the vain world to eternity.
Troparion to the Apparition of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Face of the Light Painted
We bow to Your Most Pure Face, Good, asking for intercession for us, Mother of God, by Will, you were pleased to appear among the brethren, but deliver them from sorrow, you gathered them. With that thankful cry to Ty: you fulfill the joys of all, Most Pure Virgin, entrusting themselves to Your Protection.Kontakion to the Appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Face of the Light Painted
Your inexpressible and merciful look to man, the purest Cherubim and the most glorious seraphim without comparison. And the Image of Your Light-manifested, and self-depicted, the evidence of appearing to Your inexpressible love and mercy, we honor that kissingly.http://www.sedmitza.ru/index.html?sid=77&did=46251&p_comment=belief&call_action=print1(sedmiza)
A crowd of poor Siromach monks and pious wanderers gathered at the great gates of the monastery. There is evidence that about 600-800 people received bread cakes - chereks - from the hands of monks. On the appointed days for alms to the monastery gates began to come doing nothing, getting drunk and obeying no one. On August 14, the monastery received a letter from Kinot, in which dissatisfaction was expressed regarding "useless" and "harmful", in his opinion, alms. The Higher Sacred Administration of the Holy Mountain demanded that the hierarchy of St. Panteleimon Monastery cancel the distribution of alms and find a more acceptable and non-tempting form of assistance. The message read, in part:
"The alms given in the gospel are only pleasing and kind to God when they are given in the mind - to people who are worthy of alms and who need it. But given to people who are unworthy of begging for alms and who count on this visit only, and for this they live here, then such giving of alms becomes the cause of harm.
Troparion to the Apparition of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Face of the Light Painted
We bow to Your Most Pure Face, Good, asking for intercession for us, Mother of God, by Will, you were pleased to appear among the brethren, but deliver them from sorrow, you gathered them. With that thankful cry to Ty: you fulfill the joys of all, Most Pure Virgin, entrusting themselves to Your Protection.
Kontakion to the Appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Face of the Light Painted
Thy inexpressible and merciful looking to man, Pure Cherubim and Most Glorious Seraphim without comparison. And the Image of Your Light-manifested, and self-depicted, the evidence of appearing to Your inexpressible love and mercy, we honor that kissingly. http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/3128565.html
An order came from the Holy Kinot: no more alms to be distributed
Exactly 112 years ago, on September 3 (August 21 according to the old style), 1903, an event unnoticed by the world took place in the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos. On this day, the brethren were to give alms for the last time at the monastery gates to the wretched Siromach monks (wandering around Athos “without a fixed place of residence”), pilgrims and wanderers. For the last time - because from the Holy Kinot (Svyatogorsk government) an order came: no more alms to distribute. It's inefficient. This corrupts the monks staggering from monastery to monastery, healthy and not yet old, but inclined to live at someone else’s expense, instead of working and doing obedience ... (Isn’t it a familiar situation? How many homeless people you meet - not on Athos, but in the Moscow metro, on the streets - and every time there is a moral problem: to give or not to give? Especially when it is obvious: a person will drink "alms", and your "help" will not bring anything but harm).
Monk Gabriel saw in the photograph the figure of a Woman humbly receiving a loaf of bread
But the fate of the Athos homeless and needy changed dramatically under the influence of one photograph. Monk Gabriel captured the distribution of alms that day. Having shown the negative, he, to his greatest surprise, saw in a black-and-white photograph the figure of a poorly dressed Woman, humbly receiving a blessed loaf of bread. The news quickly spread throughout the monastery, it was reported that one hermit also saw several times during the distribution of alms at the monastery gates the magnificent Wife. Needless to say, after that the ban on giving alms was forgotten.
The appearances of the Mother of God on the Holy Mountain are not rare events. Once or several times in life, in a dream or in reality, many Athos ascetics see Her. But when the Mother of God leaves a visible sign of her presence, this means a certain message: a warning, admonition, a manifestation of mercy. So it was with the famous Vatopedi icon of the Mother of God, and so it happened this time. An enlarged photograph of Monk Gabriel now hangs on the wall of the St. Panteleimon Monastery, a spring was brought to the place of the appearance, cases of relief in illnesses after taking water from it were recorded. Born from this story and a new, light-painted image of the Virgin. However, the negative of the photo was lost, and after numerous upheavals (including fires) experienced by the monastery in the 20th century, there was no hope of returning it.
Troparion to the Apparition of the Light-Written Face of the Most Holy Theotokos
We bow to Your Most Pure Face, Good, asking for intercession for us, Mother of God, by your will, you were pleased to appear among the brethren, but deliver them from sorrow, you gathered them. With that thankful cry to Ty: fulfilling joys for all, Most Pure Virgin, entrusting themselves to Your Protection.
Kontakion to the Appearance of the Light-written Face of the Most Holy Theotokos
Thy inexpressible and merciful to the man of looking, the most honest Cherubim and the most glorious seraphim without comparison. And Your image, the luminous and self-depicted evidence of Your unspeakable love and mercy, is honored by that kissing.
