Over the two thousand years of the existence of Christianity, many revered images have accumulated. Pray before them everywhere - from Argentina to Kamchatka, asking God and especially His Mother for help in business, healing from illnesses and saving the soul.
We will tell you about the 10 most miraculous icons of the world, both Orthodox and Catholic. They are arranged in alphabetical order.
10. Czestochowa Icon of the Mother of God, Poland
This is one of the oldest and most revered icons of Poland, although the nickname among the people is somewhat sinister. She is called the “Black Madonna,” because of the old age the colors of the sacred image became very dark. According to legend, it was written by the evangelist Luke.
Over the many years of its existence, the icon has seen a lot and even suffered - in the 15th century, during the Hussite uprising, one of them inflicted several blows on the icon with a sword, which are still noticeable. It is believed that it was the presence of this icon that helped the monastery defend itself against the superior forces of the Swedes in the 17th century. Forty days, 70 monks and 180 volunteers defended the holy place from a Swedish unit of 4,000 people. After the siege, King Casimir crowned the icon - this is how Catholics “reward” especially revered images that have confirmed their reputation as miraculous.
Since then, the Czestochowa Icon of the Mother of God has been considered the patroness and protector of Poland, and the pious Poles seek to make a pilgrimage to her at least once in their life.
9. Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, Ukraine
Like many revered shrines of the Belarusian and Ukrainian lands, the Pochaev icon changed its “religion” several times. Initially, it was "Orthodox", then, after the transition of the monastery in which it was stored, into the hands of the Uniates (these are the Catholics of the Byzantine rite) became "Catholic".
But both those and those recognized her miraculous status, and only half a century after the icon was converted to Catholicism, the pope crowned her. In general, during its “Catholic” years (from 1721 to 1832), the icon became famous for its 539 documented miracles.
The most famous miracle attributed to the prayers in front of this icon is the deliverance of the monastery from the Turks, who had already besieged the monastery and intended to rob it completely. However, through the prayers of the Monk Job of Pochaev, the Virgin Mary appeared before them. Frightened Turks began to shoot at her, but the arrows, of course, fell down and hit them. In horror, the enemy fled.
Now the Pochaev icon is still, like many centuries ago, located in the main cathedral of the eponymous laurel in Ukraine.
8. Osenovitsa, an icon of the Virgin from the Rila Monastery, Bulgaria
This icon in itself is an extraordinary sight. A very small image of the Virgin, decorated with a silver halo, is located in the center of the trellised field. And in each cell are the relics of one of the revered Orthodox saints. Such a mixture of sacred images with a reliquary is very rare in Orthodoxy.
Osenovitskaya icon - one of the national shrines of Bulgaria; according to legend, it was presented to the monks of the Rila Monastery by the Byzantine emperor in the distant XII century. Since then, the folk path of solace seekers at the heavenly Intercessor has not overgrown with her.
And our contemporary, Archimandrite Clement of Rilski, a former abbot of the monastery for a long time, kept a record of miracles performed in front of the icon, and officially documented, with the signatures of witnesses. Like many centuries ago, there is an icon in the main cathedral of the Rila Monastery.
7. Zaraisk image of St. Nicholas, Russia
Saint Nicholas is one of the most beloved and revered Orthodox saints. There are a great many of his images, and we will tell you about the most miraculous of them - “Nicole Zaraisk”.
This image has been worshiped in Zaraysk since ancient times: Russian tsars, grand dukes, nobles and peasants went to pray to him. For "Nikola Zaraisky" a whole cathedral was specially built in which the icon was for a long time until it was taken to Moscow "for restoration" in the middle of the last century.
Since then, the miraculous image has remained in the museum of Andrei Rublev. He managed to return to his native city only once - during the celebration of the 850th anniversary of the city.
6. The image of St. Luke of Crimea, Russia
This saint is practically our contemporary. He died only in 1961 and was canonized only 30 years after his death. Luka Voyno-Yasenetsky all his life worked as a doctor, surgeon, wrote several books. During his life, he treated people and did not leave this business after death.
It is best, of course, to make a pilgrimage to his relics, which lie in the cathedral in Simferopol, but if there is no way to go to Crimea, then there is another option. One of the miraculous icons of the saint with a particle of relics is located in the Moscow Assumption Church in Putinki.
5. Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Russia
This is the same icon in honor of which the state holiday on November 4 was introduced. She appeared in the 16th century to the girl Matrona after a gigantic fire that burned to the base of almost half of medieval Kazan.
And on the ashes of a ten-year-old girl found the image of the Virgin, completely unaffected by the fire. Its miraculous gain could not but affect people's minds, and the icon began to be considered special. It was to her that the patriarch Germogen blessed the militia of Minin and Pozharsky. It is believed that the defeat of Polish troops, many times larger than the militia, the Russians owe the intercession of the Virgin.
True, the fate of the icon was sad. At the beginning of the 20th century, she was stolen from the temple, and the thief sold the salary, and burned the icon itself. However, many of its lists (copies) have been preserved, many of which, in turn, are considered miraculous - for example, Tobolsk and Tambov. There are lists in the capitals - St. Petersburg and Moscow.
4. Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, Athos, Greece
This is one of the oldest and most revered shrines of the Orthodox world, the first mention of which dates back to the 9th century. During the rebellion of the iconoclasts, the owner of the icon, in order to save her from reproach, having prayed, lowered the image onto the waves of the sea and pushed it off the coast.
After almost two centuries, the monks of Mount Athos Iversky Monastery saw a pillar of fire in the sea - so the sacred image announced its arrival. The abbot of the monastery brought the icon with honor to the temple, but she had her own opinion about the place where she would like to be. The next morning, the monks were surprised to find the icon hanging above the gates of the monastery. This was repeated several times, until, finally, the Mother of God appeared to the abbess in a dream and said that the monks would no longer tempt her with unauthorized movements of the icon.
For many centuries, the image became famous for miracles, so much so that even Turkish soldiers who loved to rob monasteries on Mount Athos did not dare to remove her richly decorated salary. Currently, only men can see one of the most wonderful icons in the world, since women are not allowed to enter Mount Athos.
3. Guadalupe image of the Virgin Mary, Mexico
This is the most revered icon of Latin America. It is believed that it is not written by the hand of man. Another distinctive detail of the image - the Mother of God there is depicted swarthy, looking like a young beautiful Indian woman.
The appearance of this image is associated with a miracle revealed in the 16th century to a peasant of Spanish-Indian origin. In the middle of winter, Virgin Mary appeared on a hill on the hill, while the hill itself was covered with blossoming roses. The amazed peasant typed roses in his cloak, and when he later showed them to the bishop, everyone fell to their knees, seeing the image of the Virgin Mary on the cloak.
The miracle that occurred caused the mass transitions of the Aztecs to Christianity. A cloak with the image of the Virgin was exhibited for worship for almost five hundred years, but to its safety it is amazing. The doctrine still has not come to a single conclusion on how exactly the drawing was applied to the fabric.
Each year, about 14 million people make pilgrimages to the shrine, which is located in Mexico City.
2. Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Russia
From distant Mexico we will be transported to the capital of Russia - Moscow. It is there, in the St. Nicholas Church in Tolmachi, that one of the most famous icons in the world is located - the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. This is one of the most beautiful images of the Virgin, written no later than the 12th century in Byzantium and sent to Russia as a gift to the Kiev prince Mstislav.
Since then, she served as the patroness and protector of the Russian land, saving Moscow from plunder by Tamerlane. Fortunately, despite the antiquity, the icon is available for worship of believers. For her, according to the latest science, a special emblem was created that maintains a microclimate safe for ancient painting.
1. Budislav icon of the Mother of God, Belarus
In the Catholic churches of Belarus there are many ancient prayed icons that have performed many miracles. Some of them come from the Orthodox tradition, and the other, like the Budislav icon of the Mother of God, was brought from Rome itself.
She stayed on the Belarusian land for a very short time, but after half a century she became famous for numerous miracles, and so much so that a book was written about her (“The Zodiac on Earth”). It tells about more than 40 cases of miraculous healing of people praying to the Budislav icon.
True, Catholics recognized her merits much later than the Orthodox (she was crowned only at the end of the 20th century). There is a revered image in the Church of the Assumption, in the village of Budislav, Minsk region.
