Initial story

To the south of St. Petersburg is the small town of Pushkin, which until 1918 was called Tsarskoe Selo, and the brightest pages of its history are associated with this name. Until the 16th century, these lands belonged to Veliky Novgorod, then the Swedes began to own them. On the site of the future imperial residences there was a Sarskaya manor, or in Finnish Saari-mojs, which means “elevated or upper manor.” The name is quite true: the area is located much higher than St. Petersburg.

In 1710, Peter I donated the manor, along with the surrounding lands, to his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna. For the empress, they first built a wooden two-story palace, which housed a “campaign, or cross” church, and in 1717 they began to build a stone palace. Even earlier, in 1714, next to the palace, “on the northern side of the so-called Big Birches, a few fathoms east of the present Znamenskaya Church,” as M.I. writes. Pylyaev, the first church in honor of the Assumption was built for the population of the manor Holy Mother of God. The same Pylyaev notes that “...under Peter I, up to 200 families of Russian peasants, mainly various artisans and coachmen, were settled in the vicinity of the village; but the population of the village itself consisted only of the church clergy, guard soldiers and court servants.”

Since 1725, the village began to bear the name Tsarskoye, although you can find documents in which it is also called Blagoveshchensky. This second name is associated with the construction of a new temple.

The population of the village gradually grew, and already in 1717 the highest order was given to rebuild the cramped Assumption Church. In 1724, a new church was erected - the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was wooden on a stone foundation. Its solemn consecration on August 6 of the same year was attended by two archimandrites and several priests, court singers sang, and the celebration was accompanied by cannon fire. The Annunciation Church did not stand for long; it burned down from a lightning strike on June 24, 1728.

Znamenskaya Church

Catherine I bequeathed Tsarskoe Selo to her daughter Princess Elizabeth. Elizaveta Petrovna loved this residence. “In her young years,” writes Pylyaev, “the crown princess... listened to matins, mass and vespers in church every day, read spiritual books at home, and sometimes went out into the field to enjoy falconry.” Her love for Tsarsky was enormous. As soon as she ascended the throne, she instructed the architect Mikhail Zemtsov to draw up a project for enlarging and rebuilding the old Catherine Palace. Architect I.Ya. was invited to build a new church on the site of the old one, which burned down when Elizabeth was crown princess. Form. Construction of the temple took place from 1734 to 1747.

To this day, the church has retained the features of the early, “Petrine” Baroque. Its western facade is decorated with a small four-column portico with a balcony. The low dome and openwork bell tower with a spire give the church lightness and grace.

The consecration of the temple took place very solemnly. An ancient family icon of the House of Romanov was delivered from St. Petersburg in a religious procession, in which the Holy Synod, the entire court, and the Empress herself participated. The Empress walked the whole way and even helped carry her.

The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” of Tsarskoye Selo

Little is known about the history of this image before the 17th century. It was most likely given as a gift by Athanasius Patelarius, Patriarch of Constantinople, to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Peter I transferred the image to St. Petersburg and valued it no less than the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The image of the “Sign” was inherited by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, who especially revered it. On the night before the coup that brought her to the throne, the princess prayed fervently before him.

The decree on the accession of Elizabeth Petrovna to the throne was promulgated on November 27, 1741 - the day of the celebration of the icon “The Sign”.

Elizaveta Petrovna had a special reverence for the shrine and, wanting to express her respect to it, having completed the construction of the church in Tsarskoe Selo, she ordered it to be called Znamenskaya.

The icon was placed in the iconostasis on top of the image of the Last Supper, above the royal doors. Elizabeth decorated it with a golden robe and stones, and ordered icons of the righteous saints Zacharias and Elizabeth, Saint Alexis, the man of God, and the Apostle Peter to be written in the margins. Later, in 1859, the faces of St. Nicholas and the Martyr Alexandra were added to the margins - in memory of Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna.

In 1745, the iconostasis from the Trinity Cathedral on the Petrograd side was delivered to the church.

Over the years, the modest manor has turned into a brilliant country residence of Russian autocrats, one of the most beautiful palace and park ensembles in Europe. The Znamenskaya Church was a precious decoration of this place. Both Empress Elizaveta Petrovna and the wife of her nephew, the future Empress Catherine II, often prayed in it and donated a lot to it.

Almost all of 1761, the last year of her reign, Elizabeth Petrovna spent in Tsarskoe Selo. Every day she walked from the palace to the parish Church of the Sign. On September 8, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, during the service she felt ill, went outside and fell unconscious on the grass. She was brought to consciousness and carried to the palace. The empress lost her tongue; she could not speak for several days. In December, Elizaveta Petrovna died.

Her great-grandson, Emperor Alexander I, gave the wing of the palace closest to the church to a new higher educational institution - the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, in which the offspring of the best Russian noble families were to be educated. The lyceum enrolled 30 students and opened in 1811.

It is known that lyceum students went on holidays and Sundays to the Church of the Sign (on weekdays they visited the palace Church of the Resurrection).

Some Pushkin scholars believe that it is about the Tsarskoye Selo icon “The Sign” that is spoken of in the poem by A.S. Pushkin in 1830 “At the beginning of my life I remember school...” - the deepest of all his poetic memories of the Lyceum.

The rector of the court church in Tsarskoe Selo, Master John Tsviev, wrote about the icon in 1865: “Many claim, and we ourselves have noticed, that the face of the Mother of God at one time makes different impressions on those praying: sometimes it seems bright and touching, then suddenly it “darks” and assumes a stern air even though you are standing in the same place. The image is characterized by “angelic kindness in the eyes and at the same time, as it were, severity, simplicity of forms and at the same time their beauty and grace.”

The icon "The Sign" was above the royal doors until 1831. Only once it was removed and taken out of the church - on May 12, 1820. That day, a fire broke out in the Tsarskoye Selo Palace, threatening neighboring buildings and the church. They say that when the icon was taken out of the temple and turned towards the place of the fire, Emperor Alexander I exclaimed out loud:

Mother of God, save my house!

Instantly, the wind that was directing the flames towards the church and neighboring buildings, as if obeying an invisible force, changed, and the fire quickly died out.

In 1831, cholera raged throughout almost all of Russia, and St. Petersburg was not spared. Residents of Tsarskoye Selo gathered at the icon of the Sign, carried it to the middle of the temple and served a solemn prayer service in front of it. Then the icon was carried around the entire city with singing and prayers. Cholera passed Tsarskoe Selo. In memory of this good deed of the Mother of God, the residents asked for the highest permission to move the icon from the iconostasis to the inside of the church - it was placed on the right side. An annual religious procession was also established on July 5th.

In 1848, another cholera epidemic swept through Russia, but Tsarskoe Selo again escaped this disaster. In gratitude, in 1849 the icon was covered with a precious embroidered chasuble with many diamonds, pearls, turquoise, amethysts, sapphires, emeralds and opals. The stones that did not fit on the robe were used to create a precious crown. The robe was embroidered by a pious maiden, a resident of Tsarskoe Selo, Maria Davydova, to whom the Mother of God appeared in a dream and showed her exactly what and how to do. It happened that Davydova did not have enough suitable stones, and then donors unexpectedly appeared with the necessary jewelry. The largest stone on the frame was a large heart-shaped topaz, on the edges of which the dates 1831 and 1848 were carved - the years of the miraculous deliverance of Tsarskoe Selo from cholera. At the bottom of the icon, on a heart-shaped gold plate, were engraved the words: “For salvation from the epidemic, accept, O Merciful Lady, Patroness of the city of Tsarskoye Selo, these pearls, like tears of gratitude, watering Your most pure robe, from Your zealous servants, and henceforth have mercy on us.”

The precious robe was lost during the nationalization of church values ​​in the first years after the revolution.

One cannot pass over in silence another event in which the saving power of the holy icon was manifested and the deep faith of the reigning family in the miraculousness of this shrine was reflected. On June 16, 1863, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, a strong fire began in the Tsarskoye Selo Palace, which was first noticed by Emperor Alexander II. Despite all the measures taken, the flames quickly spread, destroying everything along the way that could serve as food for it. Having burned part of the palace, the fire almost instantly engulfed the domes and crosses of the palace cathedral and penetrated inside it. Then Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna wished to remove the miraculous icon from the Znamenskaya Church. The crowned owners came out to meet the icon and kissed it, the icon was carried around the burning palace, and the fire stopped almost instantly.

Tsar's architect

The Church of the Sign was restored and rebuilt several times. Under Catherine, a balcony was added to the western side and four porches were built; in 1784, the church was surrounded by iron bars with stone pillars, and warm wooden chapels were built. Before the revolution, the temple was restored by the architect Silvio Danini.

The Danini family comes from Mantua, in Northern Italy. Silvio, the son of the great singer and virtuoso, poet and writer Ambrogio Danini, was born in Kharkov in 1867. In 1892, he graduated from the Academy of Arts with the title of “class artist of the 1st degree.” Soon he was invited as an assistant to the famous architect Alexander Krasovsky, who was instructed to rebuild the northwestern wing of the Winter Palace for the future Emperor Nicholas II. This first order and its successful implementation paved the way for Danini to a brilliant career. It came into the personal possession of Emperor Nicholas II. He was instructed to rebuild the Church of the Sign, located not far from the Catherine Palace.

In Tsarskoye Selo, Danini built a lot more: palaces, schools, mansions, churches, power plants, hospitals, shelters ... His buildings are characterized by a combination of neo-romanticism and modernism with motifs of medieval architecture.

Silvio Danini died in Leningrad on January 11, 1942, during the siege. His descendants now serve in one of the churches in St. Petersburg.

History of the temple in XX century

Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, the Znamenskaya Church remained the only one operating in the city of Pushkin, even during the occupation, divine services took place in it. Before the retreat, the Nazis stole most of the icons and church utensils from the church, but, fortunately, the church as a whole was not damaged; the iconostasis was even preserved inside, though without icons.

In August 1942, the church ceased to be active. Empty, looted, it was used either as a warehouse or as restoration workshops.

The Nazis took out the Znamenskaya icon along with other museum valuables of the Catherine Palace. But the miraculous image returned to Russia and since 1946 has been in the church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian of St. Petersburg theological schools. In the Znamensky Church of Pushkin there is now a copy of the miraculous icon.

In 1960–1962 the church was restored. During the restoration, archival materials, plans and surviving drawings of the architect V.I. were used. Neelova. The original architectural appearance of the temple was recreated, all later additions were removed, the bell tower spire and dome were given their original shape. Until the 1990s, the church housed the office of the workshop of the Restorer association, which was under the jurisdiction of the Catherine Palace Museum.

In 1991, the temple building was returned to the believers, and on December 10, 1991, on the day of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign,” the church was opened for worship. The church is assigned to St. Sophia Cathedral in Pushkin.

An engineering survey in 1992 showed that the building was in disrepair. There were terrible cracks in the walls up to 20 cm wide. The church literally stood on the ground, and it was necessary to strengthen the foundation, saving the building from the destructive dampness. The interior decoration was damaged, the dome was damaged, the stoves, parquet floors, and iconostasis were lost.

Today, the restoration of the old Tsarskoe Selo church has been completed. The restoration was carried out with public funds. The building is on the balance sheet of KGIOP, which monitored the precise restoration of all details of decoration and decoration. The roof was repaired, the spire and the weather vane on the spire were again gilded. For the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, a porcelain iconostasis was recreated. Now there are many new icons in the temple. Recently, the icon of the royal martyrs has been greatly revered here. In 2003, the renovated temple shone again, as in the times of Pushkin and Karamzin, and today bell ringing Church of the Sign every hour announces the revived Tsarskoye Selo shrine.

During its centuries-old history, the Tsarskoye Selo Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” has undergone a lot. It was presented as a gift to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by Saint Athanasius of Constantinople himself during his visit to Rus'. Nothing is known for sure about the time and place of its writing, but the iconographic style indicates its ancient Byzantine origin.

Immediately, the Tsarskoe Selo icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “The Sign” began to be considered not only one of the Moscow shrines, but also the family shrine of the royal house of the Romanovs. When the capital was moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, by order of Peter I it was also transported to the new capital, and in 1747 they even built a special church for it - Znamenskaya in Tsarskoe Selo, after which the icon received an additional name.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was especially fond of the icon - it was in front of her that she fervently prayed on the night before the palace coup, which elevated her to the royal throne.

The “Sign” icon remained in the church of its name throughout the reign of the Romanov dynasty, but after the revolution, already in the mid-1930s, it was seized and transferred to the State Fund. Then her traces are lost. Instead of the original, one of the lists of the icon, dating back to the beginning of the 19th century, was handed over to the church. During the Great Patriotic War, the Germans took it out, and found the icon only after they were expelled, accidentally finding it in a convoy abandoned in Riga. In 1946, the Tsarskoye Selo icon was transferred to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, in whose church it remains to this day.

Miracles revealed by the Tsarskoye Selo icon

It was not without reason that this icon was revered as miraculous. There are many known cases when she averted misfortunes. This happened during the fire of 1812 that occurred in the Catherine Palace, next to which the Church of the Sign was located. Fearing that the church would also be engulfed in fire, they began to take out the icon, and then Emperor Alexander I turned to it with a prayer: “Mother of God, save my house!” At the same instant, the wind blew in the other direction, and the fire was quickly extinguished.

Another miracle associated with stopping the fire occurred in 1863, when the Tsarskoye Selo Palace and its temple were engulfed in a rapidly spreading fire. The imperial couple hurried to take out the miraculous icon on their own. After they kissed her, they began to carry her around the palace engulfed in flames, and the flames immediately subsided.

Prayers were held in front of the Tsarskoe Selo Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” when Russia was engulfed in national disasters, including epidemics. So, Tsarskoe Selo was practically unaffected by the plague of 1771. When in 1831 the capital and almost the entire country were struck by a cholera epidemic, a solemn prayer service was served in Tsarskoe Selo in front of the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”, followed by a religious procession that made a full circle around Tsarskoe Selo, and cholera passed it by.

Description of the icon

The icon depicts the Mother of God with her head overshadowed by cherubs and her hands raised in a protective gesture. In the center of the image of the Mother of God is Jesus the boy; in his left hand he holds a scroll, and in his right hand he blesses.

Subsequently, images of the Apostle Peter, Saint Zechariah, Alexis, the man of God, and the holy righteous Elizabeth also began to appear on the lists of the icon.

The face of the Mother of God wonderfully combines severity with mercy, greatness with humility. It was noticed that those praying perceive Him differently: it seems to them that the expression of the Mother of God’s face changes from bright, tender, to more stern and vice versa. Perhaps this is due to the content of their prayer - the Mother of God shows Her mercy to everyone, but everyone himself understands the severity of his sins and sees them reflected on the Divine face.

The miraculous Tsarskoye Selo icon “The Sign” was always richly decorated

Empress Elizabeth placed a frame of gold on it, and the chasuble with which it was covered in 1849 was incomparable in beauty and precious decoration. The history of this robe is also one of the miracles revealed by the icon. To Maria Davydova, a poor but pious girl, this robe was revealed in a dream by the Mother of God herself, and the dream was repeated twice. The girl told about him, and gradually the rumor reached the empress, who approved the design of the robe shown in the dream. Mary had absolutely no means to adequately decorate the robe, but she immediately began to receive gold and precious stones from numerous donors, which clearly demonstrated God’s care. An incredibly beautiful robe adorned the icon, and in 1853 a chromolithographic image of it was published to show it to all the people.

What do they pray for in front of the Tsarskoye Selo Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”

The “Sign” icon has shown and continues to show many miracles not only during fires and epidemics, but also during shipwrecks, as well as in the healing of serious illnesses, including infertility; in the organization of everyday affairs and in protection from unjust judgment.

Prayer before the icon of the Mother of God “Tsarskoye Selo” (The Sign)

O Most Holy Virgin, Mother of the Lord of the Highest Powers, Queen of heaven and earth, Almighty Intercessor of our city and country! Receive thanksgiving and glory from us, unworthy Thy servants, and lift up our prayers to the Throne of God Thy Son, that He may show us a sign of His mercy and add His grace to those who honor Thy All-Honorable Name and worship Thy miraculous image with faith and love. For we are not worthy of being shown mercy by Him, unless You propitiate Him for us, O Lady: all that is possible for You from Him is possible. For this reason, we resort to You, as to our undoubted and immediate Intercessor. Hear us praying to You, cover us with Your Almighty Protection, and ask from the Lord Almighty for the Russian Orthodox Power peace, health, salvation and good haste in everything: our shepherd is zeal and vigil for souls, the city ruler is wisdom and strength, the judges are truthful and impartial, a mentor reason and humility, love and harmony for a spouse, obedience for children, patience for those who are offended, fear of God for those who are offended, complacency for those who grieve, blessing for those who rejoice, health for those in pain, intercession for those who are admonished, but we all have the spirit of faith and piety, the spirit of mercy and meekness, the spirit of purity and truth. to her, the Queen Offering! Have mercy on Thy weak people: gather those who are scattered along the paths of the world, guide those who have gone astray to the right path, strengthen old age, educate youth with chastity, raise infants, and look upon us all with the care of Thy Motherly mercy: raise us up from the depths of sin and enlighten the eyes of our hearts to the vision of salvation. Be merciful to us here and there, in the land of earthly arrival and at the Last Judgment of Your Son: those who died in faith and repentance from this life, our fathers and brethren, may live with the angels in eternal life and with all the saints. You are ecu, Lady, the Glory of the heavenly and the Hope of the earthly, You, according to God, are our Hope and Intercessor of all those who flow to You with faith. We therefore pray to You, and to You, as the Almighty Helper, we commit ourselves and each other, and our whole life according to Christ God, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen

The iconography of the Mother of God icons, in which the Infant God is depicted directly on the bosom (on the chest) of the Mother of God, represented from the waist up (a version of the “Great Panagia”). The iconography is based on a prophecy about the incarnation of the Savior (“... The Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel” (Is 7.14)); the name is associated with the miraculous icon of the Mother of God (see section “The Sign” Novgorod Icon of the Mother of God), through which in 1169/70 Vel. The intercession of the Most Holy One was revealed to Novgorod. Mother of God (Festal Menaion - RNL. Soph. No. 369). From the end XV century the name “Sign of the Most Pure One” is found in Novgorod sources in relation to this icon and its repetitions, i.e. it becomes the name of an iconographic type, another name of which is “Our Lady of the Incarnation”.

The image of the Virgin Mary with Christ Emmanuel in a medallion first appeared on the seals of the Emperor. Mauritius (582-602). The same full-length image of the Mother of God is on a fresco from the Bauit monastery (chapel of the monks (XXVIII), VI-VII centuries, Coptic Museum, Cairo), in the monastery of St. Jeremiah in Saqqara (VI century), in Sir. manuscript (Paris. syr. 341. Fol. 118), on a fresco in the lunette of the crypt of the Ostrian catacombs near the tomb of St. Agnes in Rome (late IV-V centuries).

In the post-iconoclastic period, images of the Mother of God praying with raised hands, standing tall or waist-high, were sometimes accompanied by the inscription: “Blachernitissa.” Icons of other iconographic types are also named, the origin of which is associated with the temple at Blachernae, built in K-pol in the 5th century. imp. Pulcheria (for example, the image of the Mother of God and Child of the “Tenderness” type, 12th century, monastery of the Great Martyr Catherine in Sinai). Imp. Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, in his treatise “On the Ceremonies of the Byzantine Court” (10th century), mentioned that there were several in Blachernae. miraculous icons of the Mother of God, with which various miracles and customs are associated. From the 8th century There were weekly night services in honor of the icon of the Mother of God, during which on the night from Friday to Saturday there was a miracle with a veil. The description of this miracle says that “Mary carries the Child with both hands of prayer.” What was near the imp is also described. baths, a marble relief image of the Mother of God with raised hands, from which St. flows. water (Const. Porphyr. De cerem. 2.12). Numerous repetitions of the relief icon with holes in the palms of the 11th-13th centuries have been preserved. Images of the Mother of God with the Child in a medallion in front of the chest are found on the seals of the emperors John Tzimiskes (969-976), Michael VII Ducas (1071-1078), Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118) and later - during the time of the Komnenos, on the silver coin of Constantine IX Monomachos (1042-1055) with the legend Η ΒΛΑΚΕΡΝΙΤΙΣΑ.

An image with a half-figure of the Mother of God is present on the gold seal of Leo VI (886-912). According to the description of St. Photius, Patriarch of K-Poland, it was on the mosaic of the apse of the church of the Nea Moni monastery on the island of Chios (1042-1056). The full-length image of “Blachernitissa” is found on the frescoes of the apse c. Our Lady of Trikomo, Cyprus (early 12th century), apse c. Transfiguration of the Savior on Nereditsa (1199), on the icon of the Mother of God with the prophet. Moses and Patriarch Euthymius (XIII century, monastery of the Martyr Catherine on Sinai), on the icon “Yaroslavl Oranta” (XIII century, Tretyakov Gallery).

Another name for the image of the Mother of God with the Child in front of her breast is “Platitera” (“Broadening the Heavens”). This epithet is associated with the liturgy of St. Basil the Great, in which a verse is sung that the womb of the Mother of God is more spacious than the heavens. Half-figures of Our Lady Platythera are found on seals and coins of the Emperor. Nikephoros Phocas (963-969), in the painting of the apses of the churches of the Nativity of Christ in Bethlehem (1169), the Virgin Mary of Evergetis in the Studenica monastery, Serbia (1208-1209), the Virgin Mary of Leviski in Prizren, Serbia (20s of the 13th century. ), on the mosaic of the outer narthex of the Hora monastery (Kakhrie-jami) in K-pol (1316-1321). Marble images of this iconography were widespread, repeating the relief above the phial in the temple at Blachernae (12th-century relief from the Church of Santa Maria Mater Domini in Venice).

Blachernae (associated with Blachernae) images of the Mother of God - Oranta without the Child, but with holes for water in her hands; holding a medallion in front of her chest; Orants with the image of the Child in a medallion are also called the “Great Panagia” (patena from the Xiropotamus Monastery on Athos, “Yaroslavl Oranta”). In Rus', the type of “Blachernitissa” with raised arms and a medallion in front of the chest received names from miraculous icons: Abalakskaya, Kursk-Korennaya, Mirozhskaya, Novgorodskaya, Seraphim-Ponetaevskaya, Tsarskoye Selo, etc.

Lit.: Kondakov. Iconography of the Mother of God. 1915. T. 2. P. 193-196; Smirnova E. S. Novgorod icon “Our Lady of the Sign”: Certain questions of the Mother of God iconography of the 12th century. // DRI: Balkans. Rus. St. Petersburg, 1995. pp. 288-310.

“The Sign” Novgorod Icon of the Mother of God

(celebration November 27), miraculous image of gray. XII century; with its help the protection of Vel is associated. Novgorod in 1169/70 from the troops led. book Andrei Bogolyubsky, who, wanting to punish the Novgorodians who collected illegal tribute from the princely Dvina land, sent his squads to the city.

The icon gained all-Russian fame in the 14th century, when the Legend of the Miracle was written, which was included in the Novgorod and Moscow chronicles (Tikhomirov. 1872; Frolow. 1949). This icon was in c. Savior on Ilyin st. behind the throne. On the 3rd night of the siege of the city, Archbishop of Novgorod. John, praying in front of the icon of the Savior, heard a voice coming from the image: “Go to the Church of the Holy Savior on Ilya Street, and take the icon of the Holy Mother of God, and take it to the prison opposite the adversary.” The icon was taken to the city fortifications, “and now there is a monastery of the Holy Mother of God on Tithes.” The arrows fired by the Suzdal residents, “like the rain has multiplied,” hit the icon, which turned its face to the city, and “tears” flowed from the “wounds” received. The attackers were covered in darkness, seized with “awe and horror,” and they began to beat each other. In memory of the miraculous victory, Archbishop. John 27 Nov. a holiday was established. Until the beginning 40s XV century Pachomius the Serb compiled the “Memory of the Sign”, the church “Service for the Sign” and the “Word of Praise for the Sign”. Later, the Legend was included in the Life of St. John of Novgorod (SKKDR. Issue 2. Part 2. S. 347-351). In 1356, the icon was transferred to a stone church specially built for it in 1354. in honor of the Sign of the Most Holy. Mother of God, in the 17th century. a large stone cathedral was erected in honor of the icon. In 1999, the miraculous image, which was kept in the NGOMZ during the Soviet period, was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church and placed in the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Vel. Novgorod - on the salt in front of the iconostasis to the left of the royal doors in a glass icon case.

The icon (size 59×52.7 cm), double-sided, mounted on a pole, is portable. On the front side there is a waist-length depiction of the Mother of God with raised arms, and on Her chest there is a medallion with the image of Christ Emmanuel. On the margins of the icon are life-size figures of Saints George, James of Persia, Peter of Athos and Onuphrius (Macarius of Egypt?). On the reverse side, 2 saints are presented in prayer before the Savior, blessing with both hands, depicted in the segment. In the late record on the icon there were inscriptions with the names of ap. Petra and MC. Natalia. The ancient inscriptions have not survived, but an analysis of the iconography suggests that these are images of the righteous Joachim and Anna. In the 16th century the icon was renewed, possibly personally by the archbishop. Macarius (later Metropolitan of Moscow). From the original painting ancient image on the front side there are fragments of the blue maforia and the dress of the Mother of God, as well as fragments of the medallion surrounding the image of the Infant God. The images on the reverse side are from the original painting.

One of the earliest copies of the Novgorod icon is an icon from the 12th century. with a martyr on the back (Tretyakov Gallery, Museum-Apartment of P. D. Korin). Numerous lists date back to the 16th century. (State Tretyakov Gallery, TsAK MDA). A half-length image of Oranta with a medallion is found on the seals of the Kiev metropolitans Nikephoros I (1104-1121) and Michael (1131-1147), the Novgorod bishops (Yanin V.L. Actual seals of Dr. Rus'. M., 1970. Vol. 1). In the XV-XVI centuries. images of the “Sign” were often placed on icons of selected saints.

Lit.: Tikhomirov P. I., priest. The legend of the Novgorod miracle. St. icon of the Sign of the Mother of God. Novgorod, 18722; Villager E. Mother of God. P. 730; Kondakov. Iconography of the Mother of God. 1915. T. 2. S. 193-196; Frolow A. Le «Znamenie» de Novgorod // RES. 1949. Vol. 24. P. 67-81; Vol. 25. P. 45-72; Smirnova E. S., Laurina V. K., Gordienko E. A. Painting Vel. Novgorod in the 15th century M., 1982; Smirnova E. S. Novgorod icon “Our Lady of the Sign”: Certain questions of the Mother of God iconography of the 12th century. // DRI: Balkans. Rus. SPb., 1995. S. 288-310.

N. V. Kvlividze

“The Sign” Tsarskoye Selo Icon of the Mother of God

(celebration November 27), miraculous image, ancestral icon of the House of Romanov; known in Russia since April. 1653, when it was presented to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by the K-Polish Patriarch St. Athanasius III Patellarius; it is believed that she was last seen during the abdication of the sovereign.

According to legend, imp. Peter I, who transported the image from Moscow to St. Petersburg, blessed Princess Elizabeth with it, and in 1734 she commissioned the archit specially for this icon. I. Ya. Blank to develop a project for a stone temple in the imp. residence of Tsarskoe Selo, built by him in collaboration with M. G. Zemtsov and consecrated in May 1747. Dr. evidence of reverent veneration of the icon of imp. Elizaveta Petrovna has information that on the night before the coup, after which she ascended the throne (November 27, 1741), she prayed fervently in front of the icon.

The Holy Synod and the entire court took part in the celebration of the 3-day transfer of the icon from St. Petersburg to the new church in Tsarskoe Selo; the empress walked all the way and even helped to carry the image. Until 1831, the image was located above the royal doors of the iconostasis, above the image of the Last Supper. She was taken out of the temple only on May 12, 1812, during a fire that engulfed the palace and threatened Znamenskaya Church. In 1831, after Tsarskoye Selo was freed from cholera, which happened after a prayer service was held on July 5 in front of the “Sign” icon placed in the center of the church and a religious procession with it around the city, it was placed in front of the right choir of the Znamenskaya Church. At the same time, at the request of the townspeople, an annual religious procession was established: until 1917, on this day, after mass, the icon was taken to the palace square, where a kneeling prayer service was performed in front of it before the religious procession. In the 18th century Her 1st list was completed, which was also located in Tsarskoye Selo, including during fires and epidemics. Probably in front of this icon the imp. Alexandra Feodorovna prayed during the First World War, when the sovereign went to Headquarters. In 1942, from besieged Leningrad, having heroically crossed the front line, sisters Zoya and Vera Shamonin, daughters of the famous St. Petersburg archpriest, came to the occupiers of the city of Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoye Selo). Vladimir, the spiritual son of rights. John of Kronstadt. They asked to give them the church located in Znamenskaya. image (18th century list) and received it. Without returning to the besieged city, they went to Riga, where the icon remained until the end of the war. In 1946, Metropolitan. Leningrad and Novgorod Grigory (Chukov) transferred it to the church. ap. John the Theologian at SPbDA, where she currently resides. time. In Znamenskaya c. is its list of the XX century.

The icon became famous. miracles: deliverance from cholera, salvation from fires, drowning and other troubles, healings, help in sorrows and everyday adversities. In 1853, a chromolithographic image of the icon was published, and there are known cases of beneficial help from engraving images of it. In the beginning. In the summer of 1916, lithographic images of the icon were consecrated in Znamenskaya Church. and were sent to soldiers in the active army, who wore icons on their chests.

Since 1999, on Wednesdays, an akathist is read before the image. From the same time in St. Petersburg every year from December 10 to 13. General educational readings of the Sign are held, opened after the liturgy and prayer service in front of the icon “The Sign”.

There is no exact information about the time of painting of the icon (approx. 138×107 cm). Traditional iconography of "Z." supplemented at the request of the Emperor. Elizabeth Petrovna shortly after her accession to the throne with images in the margins of St. Peter, righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth, St. Alexy, man of God. On the list of the 18th century. to them by order of the emperor. Maria Alexandrovna were added (1859) images of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and MC. Alexandra in memory of the Emperor. Nicholas I and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna.

Upon the accession of the Emperor. Elizabeth made a chasuble for the icon from red gold (approx. 8.73 kg). In 1849, in gratitude for the deliverance of Tsarskoye Selo from the cholera epidemic that swept Russia in 1848, the icon was covered with an embroidered chasuble, with many diamonds, pearls, turquoise, amethysts, sapphires, emeralds, and opals, the basis of which was gold foil. The chasuble (111 × 89 cm), like a multi-colored mantle with wide sleeves, over which a wide omophorion bordering it descended from the shoulders, adorned the image of the Virgin Mary. The forehead of the Mother of God was decorated with a trim made of precious stones (according to the church inventory of 1860, 32 groups of jewelry were used). The same mantle and omophorion covered the image of the Infant God. Precious vestments were also made for the images of saints in the fields. Most and the best part of the jewelry (on the urn and breast decoration of the Mother of God, on the clothes of the Savior) was donated by Empresses Alexandra Feodorovna and Maria Alexandrovna, Vel. princesses Alexandra Iosifovna, Maria and Olga Nikolaevna. The chasuble was embroidered with her sisters by a pious maiden, a resident of Tsarskoye Selo, Maria Davydova, whose Mother of God appeared in a dream and indicated exactly what and how she should do, and when there were not enough suitable stones, donors unexpectedly appeared. The largest stone on the frame was a heart-shaped topaz (an offering from V.A. Pryanishnikova); the dates of the miraculous deliverance of Tsarskoye Selo from cholera - 1831 and 1848 - were carved on its faces. At the bottom, on a heart-shaped gold plate, skillfully made from small gold items donated by pilgrims (rings, brooches, chains, earrings), the words were engraved: “For salvation from the epidemic, accept, Merciful Lady, Patroness of the city of Tsarskoe Selo, these pearls, like tears of gratitude, watering Your most pure robe, from Your zealous servants, continue to have mercy on us”; Below is the signature: “This robe was embroidered by the maiden Maria Davydova and her sisters as a result of a dream.” From the remaining offerings, the Davydov sisters made a shroud for the icon, sewn on crimson velvet with precious stones, gold, silver, beads and roman. pearls The shroud is embroidered with a radiance, a Gospel, a vessel, 2 tablets, a censer, grape leaves, tassels, and ears of corn. Under hand Davydov at the same time, a “carpet of zeal” was made, covering the floor in the altar and reaching to the middle of the church. The chasuble was lost during the confiscation of church valuables in 1922. The one made in 1853 at the expense of the parishioners of the Znamenskaya Church did not survive either. icon case, as well as made through the efforts of the pious ladies-in-waiting of the imp. yard according to Fig. F. P. Solntsev bronze gilded candlestick, called the maid of honor.

Villager E. Mother of God. pp. 700-705; Sochagin A. Tsarskoe Selo in postcards. XIX - early XX century St. Petersburg, 2002; Dmitrieva N.K. Miracle of Tsarskoye Selo. icon B. M. “The Sign” // Cultural enlightenment. work (Meeting). M., 2005. No. 7. P. 28; No. 8. P. 18; Tsarskoye Selo Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”. St. Petersburg, 2007.

E.P.I.

“The Sign” Tavern Icon of the Mother of God

(celebration November 27), a miraculous image residing in the husband. mon-re in the name of the ap. John the Evangelist in Poshchupov, Ryazan region The monastery also contains a handwritten “Tale of the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, Her honorable and glorious Sign, called “revealed,” which in the city of Ryazan in the chapel at the Church of St. Simeon the Stylite was written according to the story of elderly people and modern events in the month of May 1851 G.". It contains information about the history of the icon and the signs revealed through it.

According to the “Narrative...”, a certain widow lived in Ryazan, obsessed with the disease of drunkenness. When she had spent everything she had, she took the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” from the house and took it to the tavern called “Red”, which was located near the church. St. Simeon the Stylite to exchange the image for wine. The innkeeper began to reproach the woman, saying that the icons with which parents bless their children should be kept with reverence and passed on from generation to generation. Nevertheless, the widow could not overcome the destructive passion, but promised to later buy the image. Taking the icon, the owner of the tavern placed it in the red corner. After several days, the woman, having repaid her debt, put the icon in her house in its original place. The next morning the icon disappeared. That same morning, the innkeeper, who got up to pray, saw the icon in his shrine and decided that in his absence the widow had brought the icon again. However, members of the household did not confirm his assumption. Soon a widow came to the perplexed innkeeper and told about the disappearance of the icon. After the innkeeper’s words: “You see, here She is, the Mother Queen of Heaven! Ask Her yourself how She became here” - the woman fell to her knees in front of the icon: “I see, Lady, that You do not deign to be with me, for the sake of my sin before You, but rather deign to stay here, where I, the accursed one, betrayed You . Nevertheless, in the remaining days of my life, do not completely deprive me of Your protection and mercy!” Through the prayers of the Most Rev. The widow of the Mother of God did not drink wine from that time until the end of her life.

Rumors spread among the townspeople about the miraculous return of the icon to the tavern. Residents of Ryazan and visitors went there to venerate the image, in front of which the innkeeper lit a lamp, and the priest c. St. Simeon the Stylite performed prayer services. Pious people made offerings to maintain the unquenchable fire. Even those who came to the tavern for wine first worshiped the icon of the Mother of God and put money into a mug to buy oil for the lamp. The icon began to be called “The Revealed Tavern”. The image became famous. miracles that alleviated suffering in illness and comforted in sorrow. Soon they learned about her in many. cities and villages of Russia. Many pilgrims always came to the site of the miraculous image. After the tavern closed in mid. XIX century with the blessing of St. Gabriel (Gorodkova), archbishop. Ryazan and Zaraisky, the icon was publicly transferred to the church in a religious procession. St. Simeon the Stylite, where the all-night vigil was celebrated. In the morning after the liturgy, with prayer singing, she was brought into the chapel near this church, which, according to legend, was cut down on the occasion of the meeting of the Theodotian Icon of the Mother of God (1487) and rebuilt in stone in 1846. The Tavern Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” was placed for veneration in the open doors in the middle of the chapel on a lectern. From that time on, at the request of the parishioners, a celebration in honor of the icon was established according to the temple charter on November 27. and she received a modern Name. The day before, the icon was carried in a procession from the chapel to the all-night vigil in the church; in the morning after the liturgy, the image was returned to the chapel. The same procession was established on Monday of Bright Week.

In 1848, cholera struck the central provinces of Russia. In Ryazan, the epidemic was especially severe in June-July. The townspeople carried the icon to their homes with prayer singing, after which, with the exception of the residents of 2 houses, not a single person died. In the same year, after fervent prayer before the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign,” the drought that caused a fire in a pine forest on the left bank of the Oka, about 10 miles from the city, stopped.

12 Oct. In 1882, the chapel where the icon was located burned down from a candle falling on the icon, but the image was not damaged, “the icon case burned, part of the silver frame melted” (Dobrolyubov. 1884. p. 34). Until the restoration of the chapel, the icon remained in the church. St. Simeon the Stylite.

At the request of the pious Ryazan people, the icon was often brought to their homes to serve prayers. In front of her, merchants asked for a blessing on the eve of city fairs, newlyweds - help and patronage in the upcoming family life . Through the zeal of those praying, the icon was decorated with a golden robe with precious stones. Every Tuesday prayers with an akathist were held in the chapel. In the beginning. 20s XX century, when the chapel was closed, the icon was moved to the church. St. Simeon the Stylite. During the campaign to confiscate church valuables “in favor of the starving Volga region,” this “Sign” icon was preserved thanks to the nobleman Dmitry Serebryakov (or Serebryansky), who was a member of the commission. The young man told the members of the commission that he wanted to take the icon home to carefully remove the precious robe from it; when handing it over the next day, he said that the icon had crumbled from disrepair when the frame was removed. For some time the icon was hidden in the Serebryakovs’ house; after their departure from Ryazan, the former keeper of the shrine became the keeper. The family's servant is Alexandra Ivanovna. In con. 50s XX century Alexandra Ivanovna lived with Sofia Vasilievna Zlobina, she was initiated into the secret of the Serebryakovs and kept the icon in her house on the street. Gorky. An unquenchable lamp burned in front of the icon; in the darkened icon board, split into two parts (the crack ran along the face of the Mother of God), it was difficult to recognize one of the main shrines of Ryazan. Zlobina bequeathed this icon to Archimandrite. Abel (Makedonov; in the schema of Seraphim; † Dec. 6, 2006), who transferred it on Sept. 8. 1961 to the Boris and Gleb Cathedral of Ryazan, where he served at that time, and, placing it in the chapel in the name of St. Vasily of Ryazan to the throne, performed an akathist singing before her. The altar girl of the temple, monk, prayed with him. Augusta immediately recognized the shrine. This ex. a novice of the Assumption Olgov Monastery, after the closure of the monastery, served for some time as an altar girl in the church. St. Simeon the Stylite, after the closure of the temple (November 18, 1924), she kept the handwritten “Narration...”. Handing it over to Archim. Abel, she told that she had witnessed the miracle of healing of a blind girl. Every year since 1961, on the days of the celebration in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign,” the shrine was brought to the Boris and Gleb Cathedral for a solemn service. For the restoration of the icon, Archimandrite. Abel intended to invite A.I. Shibaev, who studied the art of painting icons with the blessing of the rights. John of Kronstadt. All R. 60s XX century The icon painter was 90 years old and became blind. Having learned about this, Archimandrite. Abel was ready to abandon the restoration of the icon, but after some time, on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy. The Mother of God received a letter from Yaroslavl from Shibaev, who reported the miraculous return of vision. On the same day, the icon was sent to him for restoration, and the archimandrite also asked that a copy of it be made. Upon completion of the work, at the request of the residents of Yaroslavl, the icon painter began writing another list and became blind again.

When the husband mon-ry in the name of St. John the Theologian in the village. Poshchupov was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church (1988) and Archimandrite. Abel was appointed his deputy (1989), the icon was transferred to the monastery and it became one of its main shrines. The icon was decorated with a golden embroidered riza. Currently time, the icon constantly resides in the Theological Cathedral of the mon-rya on the throne. Every Sunday at the end of the liturgy, she is taken out of the altar and placed on a lectern in the middle of the church, where a water-blessing prayer service is served before her. Since 1994, for 4 years, every Tuesday at the monastery courtyard in Ryazan (Koltsova St., 10) prayer services were held in front of the Tavern Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”. A list of icons was brought for worship. After the opening of the 2nd monastery courtyard (Nikolo-Yamsky Church) in Ryazan in 1998, the list made by Shibaev remains there. In 2004, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', this icon was included in the list of miraculous icons revered by the Russian Orthodox Church. Akathist, prayer, troparion, kontakion, magnification were composed. Under the care of Archimandrite Abel, the lists of icons are directed in many ways. churches of the Ryazan diocese.

10 Dec. In 2000, in Ryazan, in the name of the Holy Trinity, the gate temple was consecrated in honor of the Korchemnaya Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”. On Fridays, a prayer service with a canon is held at the Trinity Monastery for those suffering from wine drinking and drug addiction.

Icon, traditional for the image of the “Sign” the iconography is written on a board (38.9×28.9 cm) and represents a half-length image of the Mother of God with her hands raised in prayer; in the medallion Christ Emmanuel holds a scroll.

Source: GARO. F. R-4. Op. 1. D. 1748. St. 171. L. 464. Ryazan executive committee of the councils of the R.K. and Kr. Deputies. Extract from the protocol of the Presidium of Moscow. region Execute Committee No. 20 dated 18 Nov. 1924 on the closure of c. Simeon the Stylite for the purpose of using it as a grain warehouse; F. R-6. Op. 1. D. 390. L. 53 vol. Decision from 12.12. 29 on the provision of the building c. Simeon the Stylite under Okrarchiv; F. R-6. Op. 1. D. 492. L. 30 vol. Decision dated August 24, 31 on the transfer of the premises to the center. Simeon Stolpnik for the Soyuztrans garage; D. 547. L. 17-20. Resolution of the Presidium of RyazgorIK dated August 24. 1931 on the transfer of c. Simeon Stolpnik for the Soyuztrans garage; F. R-496. Op. 1. D. 52. St. 2. 1922 L. 10. Deciphered telegram: Especially revered icons subject to mandatory seizure; F. R-497. Op. 1. D. 13. 1922. L. 141, 145, 150-155. A brief report on the work carried out to seize the church. valuables in Ryazan; F. 1280. Op. 1. D. 520. Not numbered. June 30, 1883 List of miracles. icons that are available in the Ryazan diocese, which are worn for prayer before them in the district of parishes (data compiled at the Ryazan Diocese Congress of Deputies in 1883 according to the statements of the deputies); F. 627. Ryazan spiritual consistory. Op. 171. D. 4. St. 2165. 1912. The case is not numbered. Chapels in Ryazan and Ryazan district; F. 869. Op. 1. D. 1. L. 325-332. List of churches, bell towers, chapels, 1884-1886; D. 325. Not numbered. Description of miracles. images from churches and mon-rays of the Ryazan province.

Lit.: Dobrolyubov I., Rev. ist.-stat. description of churches and mon-rays of the Ryazan diocese, now existing and abolished. Zaraysk, 1884, vol. 1, pp. 33-35; Description of the church things remarkable in their antiquity, located in the churches of the Ryazan diocese // Ryazan diocese. vestn. 1887. No. 11. S. 263; C. Simeonovskaya: (About the miraculous icon of the “Sign” of the Mother of God, located in a stone chapel near the church of Simeon the Stylite) // Ibid. 1892. No. 4. S. 179-182; East. sketch of all the churches and mon-ray of Ryazan in their chronol. sequence from the founding of the city to the present day. time: Simeonovskaya c. // Ibid. 1906. No. 14. S. 413; Solodovnikov D. Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky: The past of Ryazan in ancient monuments. Ryazan, 1922, pp. 125-128; Icon of the Mother of God "The Sign-Korchemnaya": Narrative, Akathist, Prayer // Ryazan miracles. icons. Ryazan, 1996; Saints and righteous lands of Ryazan: X-XX centuries. Ryazan, 2000. S. 200-208; Seraphim (Petersburg), hierome, Pankova T. M. Life of St. Gabriel, Archbishop. Ryazan and Zaraisky. Ryazan, 2001. pp. 23-24; Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign-Korchemnaya”: Narration, akathist, prayer. Ryazan, 2002; Icon of the Most Holy Our Lady of the Sign-Korchemnaya // Ryazan Church. vestn. 2002. No. 12. P. 47-52; Agramakov N.N. Churches and monasteries in Ryazan: Ist. travel Ryazan, 2004. pp. 28-29; Sinelnikova T. P. Ryazan Church in the name of St. Simeon the Stylite // Ryazan Church. vestn. 2004. No. 5. P. 66-71; Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign-Korchemnaya”. Ryazan, 2005; St. John the Theological Monastery. M., 2007. P. 270-289; Dmitrieva N. Chudotv. icon B. M. “The Sign-Tavern” // Cultural enlightenment. work (Meeting). 2007. No. 3. P. 18-21; Meletia (Pankova), mon. A shrine entrusted by God // Ryazan: History, culture, Orthodoxy. Ryazan, 2007. pp. 33-34, 436.

Igum. Seraphim (Petersburg), mon. Meletia (Pankova)

“The Sign” icon of the Mother of God from the Chrysostom Monastery in Moscow

(celebrated March 3, November 27), a miraculous image, the main shrine of the monastery, lost after its closure and destruction in 1933. The icon became famous in the winter of 1847/48, when cholera was raging in Moscow. To a merchant living in Zamoskvorechye - a 60-year-old parishioner c. VMC. Catherine on Ordynka, Herodion Vorobyov, during his illness, dreamed that he was in the Chrysostom Monastery, where a monk and a novice were preparing to consecrate something. On the wall there was an image of the “Sign”, which the merchant hastened to venerate. The Divine Infant depicted on it smiled, and the Mother of God, pronouncing the name of the sick man, handed him a crystal vessel to give to the novice. When Herodion woke up, he felt relief. 17 Feb he came to Vespers at the Chrysostom Monastery, where he often prayed in his youth, and discovered an icon hanging above the entrance to the porch of the Trinity Church. At Vorobyov’s request, on March 3, the image was removed from the arch and brought into the temple. Before him, a prayer service was served with the blessing of water and the reading of an akathist to the Mother of God. The icon was placed on a lectern in the chapel of St. Innocent of Irkutsk. Vorobyov donated a silver gilded chasuble with precious stones to her and built an icon case for her. Since 1865, when the monastery church. in the name of St. John Chrysostom became warm, the icon was in the carved iconostasis of this temple, behind the left pillar. In Trinity Church a list was left in a silver-gilded robe (location unknown), made by order of a woman who received healing from the icon.

On the icon “in Greek writing, on a linden board” (approx. 53x44 cm), St. is depicted on the sides of Our Lady of the Sign. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Archbishop. John of Novgorod.

During the existence of the monastery, prayer services were served before the icon every day: after the early mass - in the Trinity Church, after the late mass - in the cathedral. On Fridays, during Vespers, an akathist to the Mother of God was read before the icon.

Lit.: Villager E. Mother of God. pp. 174, 741.

E.P.I.

“The Sign” Verkhnetagil Icon of the Mother of God

(celebration November 27), a miraculous image revered in the Urals. According to the prevailing con. XIX century According to legend, the icon was revealed in 1709 in the forest, on the site of which a village arose in 1716. Verkhnetagilsky Plant (now a city in the Sverdlovsk region).

Initially, the icon was located in one of the Ural monasteries, which was destroyed by barge haulers who killed the inhabitants. When the robbers were about to leave the monastery, a voice came from the icon commanding them to take the image with them. They did not dare to disobey and delivered the icon to the village. Nevyansk Plant, where it was located for some time. One of the village residents, Savva Medvedev, was falsely accused of theft. He fervently prayed to God for deliverance from the slander, and the icon “The Sign” appeared to him, from which a voice emanated: “If you promise to take me to your house, you will be delivered from the accusation brought against you in vain.” Savva bought the icon for 3 rubles, moved it to his house and was truly freed from suspicion. Soon he was transferred to live in the village. Verkhnetagil Plant and took the icon with him. In 1753, he transferred it to the Verkhne Tagil Znamenskaya Church. In 1861, the wooden church burned down, but the icon, the end part of which was burned, survived. Until Nov. In 1876, when the stone Znamensky Church was consecrated, it was located in the church set up in the factory office. in the name of the prophet Elijah. Currently for the time being she stays in Znamenskaya Church. at the left choir on a lectern under glass. Decorations are attached to the image - gifts from people who received healing from the icon.

The legend about the Verkhnetagil Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”, telling about its appearance and the miracles that came from it, was preserved in the manuscript of the beginning. XX century The manuscript in the 8th part of the sheet, written in a clear half-letter with one hand on paper without stamps and watermarks, is kept in the altar of the Verkhny Tagil Znamenskaya Church.

Until con. 20s XX century Every year during the summer religious processions with the icon were held at the Nevyansky, Verkh-Neyvinsky, Neyvorudyansky, Byngovsky and Shuralinsky factories. By the Decree of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II dated October 5. In 2001, a church-wide celebration of this icon was established (there is no special service).

The icon, painted on a board (70×53.8×2.5 cm), shows a half-length image of the Mother of God; on Her chest in a medallion there is a picture of Christ Emmanuel blessing with a rolled up scroll in his left hand. To the right of the face of the Mother of God is an image of a cherub, to the left is a seraphim. Until 1922, the icon had a silver gilded chasuble with precious stones, which was confiscated and disappeared.

Numerous lists were made of the miraculous image, among them Nevyansk and Byngovsky are especially revered. Until 1932, the Nevyansk list was in the Nevyansk Transfiguration Cathedral in the icon case behind the left choir, and was dressed in a silver chasuble. After the cathedral was closed, the icon was saved to this day. time stays in Voznesenskaya Church. Nevyansk behind the left choir. The Byngovsky list is in the church in the name of St. Nicholas in the village Byngi, Nevyansky district, Sverdlovsk region. Among other revered images are lists in the Assumption Church in the city of V. Pyshma and in the temple in the name of the Great Martyr. Panteleimon in Yekaterinburg.

Lit.: Spread of Christianity in the Perm province. // ZhMNP. 1857. Feb. Dept. 2. P. 267; Parishes and churches of the Ekaterinburg diocese. Ekaterinburg, 1902; About the actions of the mission and the clergy during the services of the Old Believers on the Merry Mountains // Yekaterinburg EV. 1913. No. 36. Dept. unofficial pp. 862-866; About trips and interviews of dioceses. missionary with the Old Believers // Ibid. No. 47. Dept. unofficial P. 1114; Ural icon: Picturesque, carved and cast icon XVIII - early. XX century Ekaterinburg, 1998; Shcherbinina O. Victorious by invisible force: The legend about the icon of the Sign of the Virgin Mary in V. Tagil // Rodina: Zhurn. 1998. No. 9. P. 104-105; Shrines of the Yekaterinburg diocese. Ekaterinburg, 2000. P. 105-106; Sulotsky A.I. Works: In 3 volumes. Tyumen, 2000. T. 1: About the church. antiquities of Siberia. P. 238; Lavrinov V., prot. Ekaterinburg diocese: Events, people, churches. Ekaterinburg, 2001; Sedin S., priest. The icon from V. Tagil is glorified throughout Russia // Orthodox Church. gas. Ekaterinburg, 2001. No. 33(174). S. 3; aka. Veneration of the icon of St. Our Lady of the Sign of Verkhnetagil // ZhMP. 2004. No. 5. P. 37-39; Mangilev P., prot. Verkhnetagil miraculous icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” // Vestn. Museum "Nevyansk Icon". Ekaterinburg, 2002. Issue. 1. pp. 131-140; aka. Miraculous and revered icons of the Mother of God in the Yekaterinburg diocese // “Rejoice, zealous Intercessor of the Christian race”: Materials of All Russia. Orthodox scientific-theological conf. Ekaterinburg, 2005. pp. 15-32.

Prot. Peter Mangilev

“The Sign” Pavlovskaya

icon of the Mother of God(celebrated November 27), a miraculous icon found in 1696 among the ruins of the Azov fortress after its conquest by Tsar Peter I, who transferred the icon to the fortress cathedral. After the return of Azov to the Turks (1711), the icon was transferred to the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Osered Fortress (later the city of Pavlovsk). The icon, lost after the October Revolution of 1917, was restored on March 17, 2002 according to the description and is located in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Pavlovsk (Voronezh region).

The image was “inscribed with strokes” (Poselyanin. p. 746) on the inside of a sea shell about 23 cm in size. Initially, the icon was inserted into a large wooden icon case depicting in 6 scenes the events of the conquest of the Azov fortress and the discovery of the icon. There was an inscription on it: “This image of the “Sign” of the Mother of Christ, inscribed with honor on pearl barley, when the Tatar city of Azov was taken from the Busurmans, was found on an earthen rampart and overlaid in gold, for it is unworthy to be sacred in an earthly pit, but let it shine in holy temple, which, in Her praise, was transformed from a mosque in honor of the Christian God to the destruction of Mahmet.”

In the 18th century a custom was established to carry the image around the homes of Pavlovsk residents to perform prayers before it. Every year on the 9th Friday of Easter, a religious procession was held with the icon to the Icy Well located 10 km from the city, a prayer service was held there for the Mother of God, after which a memorial service was served for the Emperor. Peter I. With the blessing of Metropolitan. Voronezh and Borisoglebsky Sergius (Fomin), this tradition was revived in 2004.

In the 20s XIX century The icon was placed in a large gilded ray-shaped icon case above the royal doors of the Transfiguration Cathedral of Pavlovsk. At the end of the service, she was lowered on cords for worship.

Lit.: Villager E. Mother of God. P. 746; http://pokrov.gatchina.ru/icon/z.htm [Electr. resource].

Among the many holy, miraculous icons glorified in Orthodox Russia. The Tsarskoye Selo Icon of the Sign of the Mother of God has gained great popularity in the last fifty years. This icon, located in Tsarskoye Selo, in the small court church, is remarkable in many respects - as a monument of ancient icon painting and as a source of many miracles of grace and healings.

The holy icon is written on a wooden board and represents a half-length image of the Most Holy Virgin - the Mother of God with her arms outstretched to the sky and with the Eternal Child Jesus sitting on her chest without any support. With his right hand He blesses the world as the eternal Bishop and Chief Shepherd, and in his left hand He holds a scroll, as a sign of the gracious law and saving teaching with which He enlightens the human race. The Mother of God herself, as it were, brings and dedicates to the Lord Almighty the blessed fruit of Her immaculate womb and with raised hands prays to the Creator, that He may accept this fruit as a sacrifice for the salvation of the whole world. In ancient times, especially in the East, the Nativity of Christ was depicted in this form; The name of the Sign was given to similar images here in Russia, and for the first time it was given to St. Novgorod. icon on the occasion of a miracle or sign that occurred from her in Novgorod in 1170.

It is very remarkable that on this icon the faces of the Mother of God and the Savior, despite their antiquity, are distinguished by their extraordinary clarity of outline, vividness of colors and shadows, tenderness of the brush and complete harmony both in particular and in general. The Tsarskoye Selo Icon of the Sign of the Mother of God belongs to the highest examples of ancient Byzantine art. It is also remarkable that the expression of the Mother of God’s face produces different impressions on those praying almost at the same time and in the same place: sometimes it seems bright and touching, sometimes it suddenly darkens and takes on a stern appearance.

Initially on St. The icon depicted only the faces of the Mother of God and the Eternal Child with two fire-shaped cherubs on both sides of the head of the Most Pure Virgin. Subsequently, by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, around the edges of St. The icons are depicted in the smallest sizes on the right side at the top - St. the Apostle Peter, in the middle - the righteous Zechariah, below - St. Nicholas; on the left side at the top - St. Alexy, the man of God, in the middle is the righteous Elizabeth. In 1859, with the permission of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, along the edges of St. The icons are depicted on the bottom right side - St. Nicholas, and on the bottom left side - St. Martyr Queen Alexandra. The Tsarskoye Selo miraculous icon is remarkable for its size, which surpasses almost all the holy icons of the Mother of God known in Russia; it is almost two arshins in length, and one and a half arshins in width.

The origin of the Tsarskoye Selo Icon of the Sign must be very ancient. For all their beauty and clarity, the faces of the Mother of God and the Eternal Child also bear tangible traces of antiquity; thin and rather significant cracks in the paint form on the faces and hands like a thin network. Similar traces of antiquity are even more obvious on the remaining parts of the icon, covered with a gold frame and an embroidered robe; in many places the paint and even the soil were completely destroyed.529

Tsarsko-sel-skaya icon “Knowledge” Bo-go-ma-te-ri stands in the right part of the small courtyard of Tsarsko-sel- Zna-menskaya church. In some fractional letters it comes from other well-known icons of “Zna-me-niya”. Despite the antiquity of the icon, it has an unusual clarity of outlines, the liveliness of colors and shadows. The holy face reveals the deep humility of the Most Holy Virgin, and the great Queens of Heaven, and sweet-ser-die, and stern-guest. They notice that the face of Bo-go-ro-di-tsy almost at the same time makes p-raying times first impressions: now it seems bright and tender, then suddenly it is dark and takes on a stern appearance, although If only you had stood in the same place. Iko-na is close to the highest examples of iko-no-pi-art and according to the nature of life si must be from-ne-se-na to the ancient-ne-vi-zan-ti-skim pro-iz-ve-de-ni-yam. She was surrounded by a golden salary, married to her by the name of Eli-za-Veta Petrovna, and in 1849 -covered with a dra-go-valuable robe with many stones from bri-li-an-tov, pearl-chu-ha, bi-ryu-za, ame-ti -stov, sap-fi-rov, iz-mru-dov and opal-lov. From the stones that did not fit on the ri-ze, there was a dra-go-valuable ko-ro-on in the crown. Stones are burning and on the okla-de, on the lower part of something-ro-go you-de-la-there is a large heart-about-different -groove. On its ribs you are-re-for-us over-pi-si of the years 1831 and 1848: these are the years from the addition of Tsar-sko-go Se-la from ho-le-ra. Below the icon on the heart-shaped golden to-the-cheek-ke you-re-for-us the following words: “For spa-se-nie from epi-de-mi pri-i-mi, mi-lo-ser-day Vla-dy-chi-tse, Po-cro-vi-tel-ni-tse gra-da Tsar-sko-go Se-la, these pearls, like tears of bla-go-dar-no-sti, oro-sha-yu-shchie Your most-pure ri-za, from your zealous servants of Yours and henceforth in our -luk us.”

The first history of icons is unknown. With the freshness of God-ma-te-ri and the Baby-day - in which one cannot help but see the special thought of God - parts of the icons, covered with a frame and a shi-robe, you bloomed to the point that you can’t make out the paint, and in some There’s really no color in many places. According to the essence, between the Tsar-sko-sel-ski-lives of the pre-da-da, the Tsar-sko-sel-skaya icon of the pre- -va-la earlier in Moscow.

In Moscow, she was brought to one of the right-glorious eastern pat-ri-ar-khovs, before often to the hundred-face of the kingdom of Russia.

In all likelihood, it was St. Afa-na-siy, pat-ri-arch Kon-stan-ti-no-pol-skiy, before-the-others on-ho-div-shay then in Moscow and use-zo-vav- He paid special attention to the royal court.

On the return route to Lub-nakh he died and remains incorrupt there, according to the custom of the Eastern churches, in the than in the same way.

Then, when transferring the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg, together with other saints, the Zna-menskaya icon -to be-la-pri-ve-ze-na in a new hundred-li-tsu, counting-ta-be-s-my-noy saint-you-her Ro-ma-no-vy. Tsa-rev-on Eli-za-ve-ta Pet-rov-on had a special b-go-go-ve-nie to this icon and on the night before re-re-in-ro-tom , brought her to the throne, prayed diligently in front of her.

Wishing to express your reverence to the sacred, connected with such a great co-mad for her, im-pe-ra-three -tsa, finishing the construction in her favorite Tsar-sky Se-le, a small church-vi-o-lo-palace, for-lo-women even earlier for the pre-wa-va-niya of the “Knowledge” icon, with a great celebration, re-carried into it the image of Bo-go-ma-te- ri. The Holy Se-nod and the entire courtyard took part in the procession of the cross. She walked all the time on foot and could even carry the icon. Iko-na-la-be-la-sta-le-na in iko-no-sta-se, on top of the image of the Tai-noy Ve-che-ri, above the royal ski-mi there are two-rya -mi. Im-pe-ra-tri-tsa Eli-za-ve-ta Pet-rov-on, as well as ple-myan-ni-tsa of her Eka-te-ri-na II, often a hundred mo-li- was in the Znamenskaya Church.

From 1747 to 1831, the icon of “Knowledge” stood above the royal gates. Only one day it was removed and you didn’t get there, exactly on May 12, 1812. On this day, there was a fire in the Znamensky Palace, threatening the neighboring buildings and the Znamensky Church. Ras-say-zy-va-yut that when-when iko-well did you-carry from the temple and about-ra-ti-whether to the place in heat, im-pe -ra-tor exclaimed out loud:

- Mother of God, save my house!

Instantly, but then the wind, blowing flames from the right onto the church and the neighboring building, seemed to my strength changed its direction and the fire quickly stopped.

In 1831, there was a ho-le-ra spread throughout almost all of Russia, a fierce rep-v-v-shay and in St. Petersburg. The inhabitants of the Tsar-sko-go Se-la flocked to the icon “Knowledge”, you carried it to the se-re-di-nu of the temple, and served -is there a solemn mo-le-ben in front of her? Then Iko-well carried around the whole city with singing and prayers, and the whole city with palaces remained inside the ring, describing this procession of the cross. Ho-le-ra so-ver-shen-no mi-no-va-la Tsar-skoye Se-lo. In the memory of this blah-de-ya-niya Bo-go-ma-te-ri live is-pro-si-whether you-with-tea-neck with-from-in le-nie on the transfer of icons from the icon-no-sta-sa into the inside of the church, as it now stands, and on the establishment of an annual but cross-walked in the same row in which he did it for the first time.

In 1848, again, a ho-le-ra took place throughout Russia, and in this same year, the Queen of Heaven was decorated in an unusual way -laid her icon with a wondrous robe.

In Tsar-skoye Se-le there lived a blessed de-vi-tsa Ma-Riya Yes-you-do-va, more than once you have tried it on yourself power from the miraculously created icon “Knowledge”. On the night of February 28, Da-you-do-va sees in a dream, as if standing in front of her in the air is a miraculously created icon of “Knowing” -me-nie”, and she draws a molded robe for this image and already finishes it. Yes, you decided to tell about your dream to your family and acquaintances, who all agreed with her. put your dream into use. The rumor about the dream reached your yard, and they named Alexander Fe-o-do-rov-at I thanked him for his inspiration from above. Arriving in Tsarskoye Selo, she went to the Zna-menskaya church to venerate the icon, which I osmat-ri little by little. -wa-la. Finding the colors in the fields you-color-shi-mi and being surprised at the preservation and freshness of the faces of Ma-te-ri Bo-zhi-ey and Before the Eternal Baby Day, she also wanted to find out whether the girl Da-you-do-va could embroider a robe and with -set up a ri-su-nok for her.

Yes, you almost didn’t know anything about ri-so-va-any; besides that, bu-duchi de-vush-koy poor, misunderstood-wa-la, from-where to get the funds for the use of the sacred -go-de-la, and flam-men-but pray-go-ma-ter-put her on. On the night of June 27, in the middle of sleep, Yes, you suddenly saw the Mother of God in front of you with such a face and in such a way see how she is depicted on the icon. On Bo-go-ma-te-ri there was a ri-za-beautiful pattern, on the shoulders there was an omo-for and on the head there was ubrus. When you came to your senses, you immediately wanted to get up to draw a pattern for the robe, but again you forgot and went to sleep. The vision was repeated, only even more vivid and clear, so that it was as if she were actually looking at the mirror of God. Pro-bu-wondered, she with the tears of blah-da-ri-la Vla-dy-chi-tsu and drew a pattern for the robe, as you see I saw him and how we see him now. Ri-su-nok was introduced to the go-su-da-ryna and approved by her.

Go-ve-ni-em Yes-you-go-to-go-to-your-work-and-go-to-work. Do you begin to step in a multitude of ways with gold and stones, and it’s impossible not to see clearly? but God's hands, save the hearts of the victims. The thing that has a lot of potential is that with the strong development of ho-le-ry in St. Petersburg, it mi-no-va-la so-ver-shen-but Tsar-skoye Se-lo, despite the continuous relations of its inhabitants with St. Petersburg.

When did it happen that Da-you-do-howl didn’t have enough time for some part of the garment under -nyev, the necessary treasures just appeared from unexpected victims. In 1849 there was a ve-li-ko-lep-but shi-taya and completely uniform ka-me-nya-mi ri-za-la windows, and in 1853 -lo-from-yes-but-chro-mo-li-to-gra-fi-che-sko-bra-zhe-nie icon.

In 1863, a fire broke out early in the morning in the Tsarsko-Selo palace and in its church. Despite all the measures taken, the flow of flame quickly moved forward, consuming everything along the way that could serve it pi-schey. Having burned part of the palace, the fire almost instantly engulfed the ku-po-la and crosses of the palace and penetrated inside it. Then, sir and im-per-three-tsa, you didn’t steal a wonderfully-created icon from the Zna-menskaya Church. As soon as the crowned hosts came out to meet the icon and clung to it, the icon began to -the circle of the roaring palace, as the heat stopped almost instantly.

Here are a few cases where a miracle was provided to people through the Tsarsko-Selo icon “Knowledge” of God -te-ri.

M. D. Vo-e-vod-sky, served at the Russian embassy in Athens, before leaving home from St. Petersburg in 1849 -I served before the Tsarsko-Selo-skaya icon prayer for the blessing of a radiant journey. One evening in Athens, in a remote place, they attacked him, demanding watches and money and threatening death. Not knowing how to defend himself, Vo-e-vodsky unexpectedly said to himself:

- I am Russian.

Completely, but just as unexpectedly, once again there was no peace, but what did he say:

- Are you russian! Your Ni-ko-lay (i.e. im-pe-ra-tor) is kind, go with God...

On the return route from Greece, the ship on which Vo-e-vodsky was sailing was exposed to a terrible storm in the Black Sea ; everyone would be confident in his downfall and his inevitable death. Meanwhile, the Vo-e-Vod-Cape-len-no turned to the Tsarsko-Selo-icon “Knowledge” of God Ma-te-ri and with faith he called upon the Heavenly Lord for help. At that very time, the water hit the ship with an unusually terrible force, and he completely unexpectedly -til-unharmed in a quiet and calm bay.

Zhe-na ba-ta-ray-no-go ko-man-di-ra Did-rix, after you got married, didn’t have one for 8 years -la de-tey. The spouses were very sad about this and often you knew your grief. Feeling such grief, one of the closest people gave them good advice: when-about-re-sti chro-mo -li-graphic-picture of the Tsarsko-Selo-icon and, having sanctified it, pray before it every day Tsa -Heavenly ri-tse about the resolution of one’s infertility. Su-pr-gi was quick to use the same co-ve-tom, when St. iko-well, did you stand in front of her with the unfathomable lam-pa-du and should you pray with faith to sweet-hearted Vlada -chi-tse about quenching your sadness. And what?.. Their faith and prayers, beyond their expectations, were soon justified: after 10 months, Did-rix was blessed -but once decided on a healthy and beautiful baby.

Poor widow, by last name Hu-dya-ko-va, for a position somewhere in Tsarskoe Selo that was assigned to her with a do-che-substantial pro-pi-ta-nie; but suddenly she was relieved of this position. Married so suddenly and unserved by her, without having any Having no means to exist, she sent her daughter to pray to the Queen of Heaven before St. Iconic “Knowledge”. Praying for the step, the inconsolable girl with tears in her eyes hurried through the court garden to misfortune. noah your ma-te-ri. But on the way she meets an unknown person (it was the Minister of War, Prince Chernyshev); the bitter tears of the poor girl touched him; he stopped the unfortunate woman, asked her about the reason for such grief and immediately consoled her with the promise that her mother would stay no, certainly in his duty, and this promise of the military ministry was actually justified.

E. I. Dudinskaya, who lived in St. Petersburg, Smo-lenskaya, had a son, a navy official. tse-ra, whose service follows from-to the Black Sea on the ship "In-ger-man-land" ". Before leaving him, she urgently came to Tsarskoye Selo to minister about his health and well-being. po-lu-chii mo-le-ben in front of the icon “Knowledge”. At the end of the prayer, E. Dudinskaya, standing in front of the image on the floor, exclaimed in tears:

- Queen of Heaven! I trust you, my son, and all my hope is in you; You will return it to me from the bottom of the sea!..

During the voyage, the aforementioned ship, as is known, was caught in a terrible storm and was wrecked , so that his entire crew was absorbed by the waves. Among other unfortunates, the son of E. Dudinskaya was thrown overboard by the waves. Feeling imminent death, he suddenly remembered the Tsarsko-Selo St. icon and with faith called on the Mother of God for help, mentally calling out to Her:

- Queen of Heaven! My mother asked you about me; Spare me for her.

After that, the sea wave hit him so hard that he lost his senses and memory. When he came to consciousness, he saw himself on the shore and was pleased with the blessing of dear Vlada -chi-tsu for your spa-se-nie.

As can be seen from previous cases, the help from the “Knowledge” icon came in a variety of ways. on: were there cures from illness, and resolution of infertility, and organization of life’s affairs, and salvation for -gi-bav-shih on land and in the waves of the sea. This is why those who know the history of this icon well have special faith in it.

Every year on July 5th there is a big celebration in Tsarskoe Selo: the icon “Knowledge” is displayed after lunch a huge parade ground in front of the palace, where the ko-le-but-bending prayer takes place, and then her meeting -sitting around the entire Tsar's Se-la.