Явление чудотворной иконы Пресвятой Богородицы, нарицаемой Тихвинской

In the summer from the creation of the world 6891, and from the incarnation of God the Word in 1382, during the reign of Grand Duke Dimitri Ioannovich 4138, under the Most Holy Metropolitan of All Rus' Pimen 4139 and under the Novgorod Archbishop Alexy, the most honorable icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in Rus', with an image inscribed on her left hand baby, our eternal Lord Jesus Christ. This phenomenon occurred under the following circumstances. Within Veliky Novgorod, a short distance from the Varangian Sea 4140, on the waters of the great Lake Nevo 4141 fishermen were fishing. And while fishing, a radiant beam from the sky suddenly shone upon them... Looking up, they saw a wondrous miracle: an icon of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, shining like the sun, walked through the air over the waters, carried by invisible hands. The fishermen, seeing such a wonderful phenomenon, were at first horrified, and then filled with joy. Leaving their work, they fixed their eyes on the wondrous miracle they saw, wanting to see where the holy icon was going and where it would stop. But God did not deign to fulfill this desire of theirs, and the holy icon soon disappeared from their eyes and became invisible. After that, the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared within the same Novgorod boundaries, in the village of Vymochenitsa, on the Oyat River 4142, a hundred miles 4143 from Tikhvin 4144. Here she appeared before the local inhabitants, standing in the air and shining with an indescribable light. Seeing such an extraordinary phenomenon, the inhabitants of that village gathered together and, horrified, marveled at the miracle they saw; then they began to fervently pray to the Most Pure Mother of God. Then the wonderful icon of the Lady of Heaven descended from the heights of the air to people on earth. With great joy, the inhabitants of Vymočenitsa accepted the icon of the Queen of Heaven and immediately, with zeal, created a chapel in her honor, in which they placed the image sent down to them; Subsequently, on the site of this chapel, a church was created in memory of the glorious Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here, in the village of Vymochenitsa, the icon remained for some time, giving healing to many sick people who flowed to it with faith. But after a little time she was taken from there by an invisible hand and, carried through the air, appeared in the town of Kozhela, near a river called Pasha 4145, twenty miles from Tikhvin - she appeared in exactly the same way as in the village mentioned above. Seeing her shining with a wonderful light, the inhabitants of that town flocked all, filled with surprise and horror, and fervently prayed to the Most Pure One, so that She would grant them mercy and send down Her icon to them. And their prayer was fulfilled. The icon descended from above to the ground, and local residents, in turn, created a chapel in its honor, on the site of which a church was subsequently built in memory of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. But even in this place the Most Pure One did not deign to remain for her icon for a long time: after some time, it was again taken from there invisibly and visited several more places with its grace-filled appearance. In all these places, marked and sanctified by the presence of the miraculous image, through the zeal of the believers, first chapels were created, and subsequently churches of God. So miraculously the holy icon moved from place to place, like a light cloud carried through the air, until it finally stopped near the city of Tikhvin on the Tikhvinka River 4146. This last phenomenon took place in exactly the same way as the first. The venerable icon, like a cloud, rushed through the air and then stood, miraculously remaining in the air. Such was the miraculous and supernatural procession of the icon of the Mother of God! Many people from the city of Tikhvin and surrounding villages, attracted by that great miracle, flocked to the place of the phenomenon; priests with crosses and icons also came with them. They prayed for a long time before the wonderful icon, singing psalms and sacred hymns; then together with the people they began to cry: - Come to us, Queen, come to us, Lady, look upon us, your unworthy servants, bestow upon us the bounty of your love for mankind, visit us from above and enlighten those darkened by sins with your radiant coming. When they prayed so earnestly and shed many tears, the holy icon descended from heaven into their hands and was received by them with reverence and joy. Having diligently kissed the icon and made many prayers in front of it, the residents of the surrounding villages immediately began to cut down trees for the chapel. That same day they put together three crowns to frame the chapel and placed them around the icon. When night came, the gathered people went home, leaving several people near the miraculous icon so that they would remain vigilant in prayer all night. Those left behind actually prayed all night, but by morning, tired from the night vigil, they dozed off. And while they were sleeping, a wonderful miracle happened. The miraculous icon, together with the foundation of the chapel, was transferred, as if by the wave of God, from its place to another. Together with her, all the logs prepared for building the chapel were transferred to another place; and not only the logs, but even the chips - all, even the smallest, were carried by an invisible hand - so that none of the guards saw or heard this. When they woke up, they did not find in the same place either the image of the Most Pure Mother of God, nor the foundation of the chapel, nor the trees for it, and they were filled with great sadness and horror. The next morning, the surrounding residents gathered again to venerate the most venerable icon of the Mother of God and to create a chapel in honor of it. But not finding anything in the place where they left the image and began to build the chapel, they were horrified and began to ask those who had spent the night near the icon: They told how they spent the whole night in prayer, how in the morning they did not fall asleep for long, and how, when they woke up, they found neither an icon, nor trees, nor even wood chips, taken to God knows where. Then everyone was filled with great sadness, grieving that they had lost such valuable spiritual wealth. With weeping and sobbing, extending prayers to God, they began to cry out like this: - O Lord, Lover of Mankind! Send down to us again Your Divine gift, which you philanthropically and gloriously sent to the Russian country; do not hide from us this priceless treasure, with which we hope to enrich our spiritual poverty. O Lady, Merciful Mother! Where have You gone from us, Your unworthy children? Yesterday, with Your coming to us, You filled our hearts with much joy, and now, with Your departure, You plunged us into endless sadness, giving us over to tears and sobs. But appear to us again, our light, and transform our sorrow into joy. Having made such a prayer, they dispersed in different directions along that mountain and throughout the surrounding oak grove, looking first at the air, then at the ground, and trying to find the icon. And their diligent searches were not in vain. Soon they saw a wonderful light coming from the east, on the other side of the Tikhvinka River, from a swampy forest desert, located almost two stages away from the mountain. Seeing the light, the people immediately rushed towards it and found there an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, along with the foundation of the chapel and all the logs and chips from them. The log house built on the mountain remained completely intact, as it had been placed earlier, but the holy icon was in the log house on the eastern side of it, hanging in the air, since it was not attached to the wall. Seeing this, those who found the icon fell to it, shedding tears of joy and glorifying God and His Most Pure Mother. “Glory to Thee, Christ God,” they exclaimed, “Glory to Thee, Most Pure Mother of God, that Thou hast not abandoned us, Thy servants!” We pray to You, do not leave us completely, but always remain with us, saving and preserving the verbal flock of Your Son. Having prayed, all the people completed the construction of the chapel, and then, having chosen the most worthy men, sent them to the great Novgorod to the Most Reverend Archbishop Alexy and to the city governor of Novgorod, with the news of the glorious appearance of the icon, which, carried by Angels through the air, came to them from nowhere. Having heard the story about the great miracle that happened in Tikhvin, the archbishop and the city governor were surprised and, filled with spiritual joy, glorified God and His Most Pure Mother. They immediately notified the Grand Duke of Moscow Dimitri Ioannovich about the miraculous event, filling him with spiritual joy. Then the Right Reverend Alexy ordained several presbyters and deacons for Tikhvin and sent them away, along with the men who came to him, giving them the antimension and his blessing for the creation and consecration of the church on the river. Tikhvinka, in the name of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Having come to Tikhvinka and praying before the miraculous icon, they zealously began building the church. The feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary was approaching when they completed the construction of the church. Intending to consecrate the church on this holiday, they sent a sexton to the surrounding villages, twenty or more miles away, to announce to Christians about the day of the consecration of the church and warn them to prepare themselves with fasting and prayer for the upcoming celebration. That sexton, named George, was a man of righteous life, reverent and well-pleasing. When, on the day of the forefeast of the Dormition, he was returning back to the church and was already three miles away from it, in the forest desert, he felt an extraordinary fragrance, as if from a lot of incense and aromatic substances; for the grace of the Holy Spirit sweetened the place where the Most Pure Virgin Mary Herself was to appear. George was surprised and began to wonder where such an extraordinary fragrance was coming from in the remote, deserted desert. Suddenly he saw the Most Pure Mother of God, sitting on a fallen pine tree, and holding in Her right hand a scarlet staff, on which She seemed to be resting. Before her stood a bright man, dressed in light vestments and reminiscent of St. Nicholas of Myra in appearance. Seeing this wonderful phenomenon, the sexton was overcome with fear and horror and fell to the ground as if dead. Then the saint standing before the Mother of God approached, touched him and said: George rose with trepidation and joy, knelt down and, folding his hands on his chest, contemplated the wondrous vision. And so the Most Pure Virgin, sitting on a pine tree, said to him: - George! Go to my church and tell the priests and all the people not to put the iron cross they want to put on it; let them put a wooden one in its place: such is my will. The sexton, gathering his courage, said in fear to the Most Pure One: - My Lady and Lady! They won't believe me! But the saint standing before the Mother of God said to him: “If they don’t believe you, then a sign will be given to reassure them.” After such words, the Most Pure One and the saint standing before her became invisible. Then the sexton was finally convinced that he had received a miraculous vision of the Most Pure Mother of God and the great Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. Immediately falling to the ground, he gave thanks to God, who had deigned him to behold such a glorious phenomenon. Arriving at the church, the sexton told the priests and all the people what he had seen and heard, but they did not believe him and ordered the workers to put an iron cross on the church. But when one of the workers, at the command of the priests, took the cross and, climbing onto the roof of the church, began to erect it, suddenly a great storm and strong wind arose. With a gust of wind, the man with the iron cross was picked up as if by hands and placed on the ground, without the slightest harm to him, as if he had not fallen from a height, but had descended to the ground himself. Seeing this terrible miracle, the priests and all the people who were there were very frightened and, believing the words of the sexton, they glorified God and His Most Pure Mother, and also pleased St. Nicholas. Then, having immediately built a wooden cross, they placed it over the church, and with great joy and jubilation celebrated the consecration of the church and together commemorated the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. The icon of the Most Pure Mother of God then performed many miracles, and healings were given to those possessed by various diseases. This happened not only during the celebrated celebration, but also after it. After the consecration of the church on the river. Tikhvinka, all the people went to the place where George received a miraculous vision. Having prayed, they founded a chapel here in the name of St. Nicholas, and from the fallen pine tree on which the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to George, they made a cross and placed it in the chapel for public worship and veneration. Many miracles subsequently took place in this chapel, as well as in the above-mentioned church in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Seven years passed after that, and as a result of the negligence of church ministers, by God's permission, a fire occurred in the Tikhvin Church of the Mother of God from an unextinguished candle. The entire church turned into ashes, but the miraculous icon of the Most Pure One remained unharmed: by the invisible power of God it was taken out of the fire and found itself not far from that place, at a distance of half a field, 4147 standing in a juniper tree. At the same time, a fire broke out in the chapel located in the desert, which was also engulfed in flames and burned down; but the cross, made of a fallen pine and standing in the chapel, was also carried out invisibly from the fire and was found a short distance from the chapel, standing in a thicket of juniper. On the site of the burnt church, they created another, also wooden, and then built a new chapel in the desert, in the same place; After this, they placed a holy icon of the Most Pure One in the church, and a pine cross in the chapel. But after five years, the church caught fire again at night and burned to the ground, but the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, like a burning bush 4148, was found among the ashes intact and not at all damaged. The chapel in the desert also burned down, no one knows how, but the miraculous cross that stood in it also remained unharmed. Everyone marveled at such extraordinary miracles and glorified God and His Most Pure Mother. Then, with zeal, they hastened for the third time to create a church, on the site of the two that had burned down, again wooden, but more extensive and majestic compared to the first two. This newly created church existed for more than a hundred years until the reign of the pious Prince of All Russia, Vasily Ioannovich 4149. Moved by great jealousy and love for the Most Pure Virgin Mary, Grand Duke Vasily ordered to build a stone church on Tikhvinka instead of a wooden one. With the money he sent, a stone porch was soon built, and when the builders began to whitewash it, then the building, by the inscrutable fate of God, fell and covered the builders, twenty in number, with stones. The priests and those watching the workers, as well as all the people, began to greatly mourn the builders who were covered with stones; for they thought that they were all stoned to death. With sadness and crying, they began to throw stones, wanting to uncover the bodies of the murdered. But after three days of work, scattering all the stones, they found everyone alive and without any damage. So they were observed, by the mercy of God and the intercession of the Most Pure Mother of God. Great joy filled the hearts of all those present at this wondrous miracle and everyone gave thanks to Christ God and His Most Pure Mother. Then they began work again and soon built a beautiful porch for the church. When the construction of the new church was completed, the Right Reverend Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod, arrived to consecrate it, at the request of the Grand Duke, who, having consecrated the church, honorably brought into it the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. After some time, Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich also arrived at Tikhvinka. Drawn by love for the Most Holy Virgin Mary, he wanted to see and kiss the miraculous icon of the Most Pure One, as well as pray before it and see the newly created church. At that time, the Archbishop of the Great Novgorod was His Eminence Macarius, who by the will of God was later elevated to the throne of the Moscow Metropolis 4150. He accompanied the Grand Duke on this journey and, together with him, arrived at Tikhvinka. Here they prayed with zeal before the icon of the Most Pure One, performing many services and prayers, and then they left - the archbishop to Novgorod, and the Grand Duke to Moscow. At the suggestion of Vasily Ioannovich, his son, Ivan Vasilyevich 4151, ascended the Grand Duke's throne in Moscow, and was the first to receive a royal wedding. Like his father, he had great zeal for the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos on Tikhvinka, and like the once noble Prince Vasily Ioannovich, he came there to worship. Seeing that the church here was run by lay priests and deacons, and that there were numerous villages around it, Tsar John Vasilyevich found this obscene and decided to found a monastic monastery here. After consulting with the Metropolitan of Moscow Macarius, the Novgorod Archbishop Pimen, as well as with his princes and boyars, he ordered all the surrounding villages and the clergy located at the church to be transferred to another place, far removed from the church, and for the monks to settle at the church and begin building a monastery. And so, after a little time, with the royal support, a monastery was built on Tikhvinka, all made of stone and surrounded by stone walls. At the same time, a hostel was established in it, as in other great and glorious monasteries. The first abbot of the newly created monastery was Kirill; under him, many monks, attracted by miracles from the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, began to leave their deserted dwellings and come to the Tikhvin monastery. One of the first to come here, even during the establishment of the monastery, was the monk Abraham, who had previously labored in the Sergius Monastery located on Velikiye Luki and about five hundred miles away from the Tikhvin monastery. He, as he himself said, had been ill for a long time and had already begun to prepare for death. Then his mentor Martyrius, a godly husband, having heard a lot about the miraculous Tikhvin icon of the Most Pure Mother of God, about the abundant healings given through it to the sick, advised Abraham to make a vow to the Most Pure One to go to Tikhvinka and pray there before Her miraculous icon. The sick man immediately made such a promise, and instantly received healing from his serious illness; Having thus returned from the gates of death, he immediately rose from his sick bed completely healthy, rejoicing and glorifying God. His mentor Martyrius also rejoiced, seeing the quick healing of his student and marveling at the wondrous miracle of the Mother of God. At the same time, he advised Abraham not to postpone his intention and to immediately go to Tikhvinka in order to fulfill his vow to the Most Pure One. Abraham immediately set off and, having reached the Tikhvin monastery, reverently fulfilled his promise. With joyful tears, he fell to the venerable icon of the Mother of God, kissed her with his lips and worshiped her with all his heart. Having offered thanks to the Most Pure One, he told everyone present the mercy of the Queen of Heaven shown over him. At this time, Archbishop Pimen of Novgorod was on the river. Tikhvinka, observing the work on building the monastery; rumors of Abraham's miraculous healing reached him. The saint was filled with joy and glorified the Lord and the Most Pure Virgin Mary who gave birth to Him. He did not want to let Abraham go back to his mentor Martyria, but handed him the church keys so that, in gratitude for the ineffable mercy of the Mother of God to him, he would be the first to come to her church and the last to leave, opening it before the beginning of the services and closing it at the end of them. Meanwhile, Elder Martyrius, having released Abraham, began to grieve that he himself did not go with him to venerate the image of the Most Pure One, and finally decided to go to Tikhvinka as soon as his disciple returned. After waiting for him for a long time, the elder began to worry about him, and then he saw such a vision in a dream. In the direction where Tikhvin was located, a large pillar of fire rose before the eyes of Martyrius, on the top of which was an image of the Most Holy Theotokos, shining like the sun and similar in appearance to that which was in the Tikhvin monastery. Then Martyrius had a strong desire to kiss this image. In this mood he woke up, and at the same time he began to desire even more strongly to see and kiss the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is near Tikhvin. Immediately getting ready to set off, he left everything and hastily went to Tikhvin. Having reached the monastery and seeing the image of the Most Pure One, Martyrius reverently fell to it, shedding many tears of joy. At the same time, he saw his disciple completely healthy and after that he did not want to return to his monastery, but remained in the Tikhvin monastery so that he could daily contemplate the wonderful image of the Most Pure Virgin Mary. But after some time, Martyrius, by the will of God, was moved to another deserted place forty miles from Tikhvin, where the mentioned Abraham once saw a cross in the sky, made up of stars and illuminating the entire area. Moving there, blessed Martyrius took with him a copy of the miraculous icon of the most pure and remained here in silence, working for God day and night; He invariably carried the copy of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God with him wherever he happened to go. And then one day he had to be in the city of Tver, in which, by order of the blessed Tsar and Grand Duke John Vasilyevich, the Kazan Tsar Simeon 4152 then lived. During the stay of Elder Martyrius in this city, Simeon’s son, John, who had been ill for a long time, died. Then the Monk Martyrius placed on the dead man the icon of the Mother of God he was carrying with him, and the dead man immediately rose from the dead. Simeon was filled with great joy and gave praise to the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother. Then, wanting to thank Blessed Martyrius, he created his stone church in the desert and built a monastery with it. But we will now turn to the Tikhvin monastery and the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos that appeared on Tikhvinka to tell about its other miracles. From the time of the appearance of the venerable icon on Tikhvinka until the creation of the monastery, 177 years passed, during which the church was under the control of lay priests. Many miracles flowed from the holy icon at that time, many healings were given from it to everyone who flowed to it with faith, but none of the contemporaries recorded those miracles for the edification of subsequent generations; and thus we are deprived of the opportunity to know anything about these miracles. But even when the monastery was built, not many of the miracles that occurred from the icon were recorded, partly from simplicity, partly from negligence - and it is not much that has come down to us that we collect, like the remaining ears of corn after the harvest, or the few bunches left accidentally after the harvest of grapes. One man named Theophilus, who was blind for four years and six months, prayed before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, received healing and became sighted. This was in 1581. In the same year, one youth named Charalampius, possessed by a demon, being brought to the image of the Most Pure One, was freed from the unclean spirit. Zechariah the blind man, who had not seen the light for five years, received healing as soon as he was brought to the holy icon. One man named Clement, who lived in the reigning city of Moscow, had a wife named Paraskeva fall ill. For a whole year she had been lying in bed and could not get out of it; from severe pain throughout her body, her eyes went blind, and her mind became darkened. Her husband tried all the remedies for the sick woman, and already despaired of his wife’s recovery. But then he heard that in Tikhvin there was a miraculous icon of the Most Pure Mother of God, from which healing flowed to all who resorted to it with faith. Filled with hope, he began to convince his wife to make a vow to the Most Pure Mother of God that she would go to venerate Her Tikhvin Icon. She obeyed her husband and made such a vow. And as soon as she uttered the words of the vow, she immediately rose from her sick bed, as if awakening from sleep, and was healed of her severe illness. At the same time, all the members of her body became stronger and became healthy, but her sight was not restored to her eyes. Then the husband and the healed wife immediately went to Tikhvin, jointly fulfilling the vow given to the Most Pure One. Having reached the Tikhvin monastery on the first Saturday of Great Lent, they went straight from the path to the church to the icon of the Most Pure One and prayed before the holy icon, singing a prayer service. During the Sunday all-night vigil, when they continued to stand and pray in the church, a new miracle happened over the wife: by the grace of the Most Pure One she received insight and thus became completely healthy. All those in the church, seeing such a miracle, glorified the Gods and His Most Pure Mother with tears of tenderness. And the healed woman and her husband, after many thanksgiving prayers before the holy icon, returned with joy to their place of residence. This was in 1583. In 1586, a blind man named George was brought to the Tikhvin image of the Most Pure Mother of God. When, on the Feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, he prayed before the miraculous icon, he began to see with his right eye. And without outside help he went to his house, glorifying Christ God and His Most Pure Mother for the gift of healing to his one eye. After several days, they brought a man named Andrew to the monastery to the miraculous image of the Lady; he was relaxed, and at the same time deaf and dumb, and remained in such ailments for fifteen years. When a prayer was made before the icon of the Most Pure One for his healing, he immediately received perfect health: his ability to hear was restored, his dumbness was resolved, and all his members received strength and strength, so that he stood on his feet like a completely healthy person. A similar miracle happened over a certain woman Mavra, who lived on the Ustye River 4153. She was blind and did not see the light at all for seventeen years. Having been brought to the miraculous image of the Most Pure One, she immediately received insight. This was in 1587. In the same year, on March 4, they brought to the Tikhvin monastery from the great Novgorod one youth named George, who for six years was possessed by an unclean spirit and suffered grievously from it. When he was brought to the image of the Most Pure One, the gloomy spirit, unable to bear the light of grace flowing from the miraculous image, retreated from the sick man, disappearing like darkness before the sun, and the youth became completely healthy. One widow, named Juliana, became so ill with her eyes that she became blind and did not see the light of God for two years. Having heard about the miraculous icon of the Most Pure One, which is near Tikhvin, and about the indescribable healings given to people through it, Juliana was inflamed with fiery faith in the Most Pure One and made a vow to go to Her icon to venerate. And at that same hour, the Heavenly Lady gave insight to her eyes, in her house. Immediately, wanting to quickly give thanks to the Most Pure One, she, being sighted, went without outside help to the Tikhvin monastery of the Most Pure One and, having fulfilled her promise here, announced to everyone about the mercy of God shown over her. This was in 1589. Almost at the same time, one lame man named Akindinus, who had been completely unable to walk for two years, since his legs were twisted, crawled on his knees to the miraculous icon of the Most Pure Mother of God, and as soon as he prayed before Her, his legs immediately straightened and became healthy; in front of everyone, he stood up and began to walk, thanking Christ God and His Most Pure Mother. In the same year, on August 10, a blind young man named Jonah, brought to the holy monastery from the great Novgorod, received his sight from the image of the Most Holy Theotokos. Another young man, named Maxim, possessed by an unclean spirit when his parents took him to venerate the image of the Most Pure One, while on the way received heavenly help from the Most Blessed Mother of God: by the power of God the unclean spirit was driven out of him, and he, coming to the Tikhvin monastery, told everyone about the miracle performed on him. Then everyone gave thanks to God and the Most Pure Mother of God. This happened in 1591. A woman named Elena, who was completely blind for two years and six months, so that she did not see the light, received her sight before the miraculous image of the Most Pure One on one of the Sundays, at the liturgy, while singing: “It is worthy to eat...”. In 1593, another woman, named Maria, also received her sight, and was brought to the miraculous image of the Most Holy Mother on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. In the same way, a certain man named Clement, who was engaged in making various things from silver, who fell ill with his eyes and lost his sight, received healing after prayers before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Another blind man, named Philip, who had not seen the light for 5 years, being brought to the Tikhvin monastery on the week of Orthodoxy, standing and praying here before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, regained his sight completely and began to see everything clearly. This happened in 1596 during the liturgy, during the transfer of honorable gifts from the altar to the holy throne. In the same year, a certain man named Kirill came from Moscow, blind in one eye, and while praying before the icon of the Most Pure One he received his sight. This is what he said about himself at the same time. Having fallen ill with a serious illness and constantly suffering from headaches, he became blind in two eyes, did not see the light for six months and had absolutely no relief from his illness, although his loved ones showed a lot of various concerns about him. He had already begun to completely despair of receiving healing, when suddenly his wife saw a vision in a dream, during which she heard the following words: - Let your husband go to Tikhvin to the miraculous image of the Most Pure Mother of God. There he will find healing for himself. If he does not go, he will suffer even greater suffering. Rising from sleep, the wife immediately told her husband about the vision. He immediately began to earnestly pray to the Most Pure Mother of God and at the same time made a vow to the Queen of Heaven, the pure Mother of God, to go to Tikhvin to venerate Her icon; Then he received relief from his illness: he began to see the light with his eyes and even became completely healthy. But postponing the fulfillment of his promise from day to day, he gradually forgot about it, and thus did not fulfill his promise. For this neglect God's punishment again befell him: for after some time the illness returned to him, and he became blind in both eyes for the second time. Then, remembering his unfulfilled promise and recognizing his sin, the sick man began to cry, sob and repent, and again turned with prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, assuring Her that he would fulfill his earlier vow. By the mercy of the Most Blessed Queen of Heaven, he received healing a second time, but at the same time he received sight only in one eye, and the other remained blind. Without delaying the fulfillment of his vow for a long time, he immediately went to Tikhvin, and seeing there the icon of the Most Pure One with one eye, after praying in front of it, he received his sight in the other eye. In the month of December, on the 9th day of the same year, 1596, 23 people came to the monastery, whose leaders were two: Gregory and Mikhail. Having performed a prayer of thanks before the miraculous icon of the Most Pure Mother of God, they told the following about themselves. They were far away in the Northern Ocean catching sea animals. When they landed at a deserted place, they were detained there for a very long time by rough seas. Their food supplies became scarce, and, amid the torments of hunger, they were all already close to death due to long-term lack of eating. And so each of them, in anticipation of death, began to pray to God, asking for forgiveness of their sins. At the same time, they remembered the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos on Tikhvinka, and began to fervently pray to it. In the night that followed, one of them, who had dozed off a little in the midst of prayer, appeared to the ambulance, the Most Holy Virgin Mary, and commanded him to tell all his comrades to eat some grass growing there until the convenient time came for them to sail by sea to their homes. He told about the vision to everyone who was with him, and when they ate from the herb he indicated, they found in it a fair taste and satiety, like from bread. And that grass was to them as manna had once been to the Israelites in the desert, and they ate it for twenty days, until the disturbance ceased. After a little time, a woman named Elena came to Tikhvin and told the following about herself. For three years she was blind, but one day, prompted by faith in the Most Pure One, she ordered to be led to the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, and when she was on the way, she suddenly received her sight, reached the monastery without outside help, here they offered grateful veneration to the Mother of God before Her miraculous icon. In the same way, one man named Mamant, coming from the Belozersky borders 4154, said that he had been blind for a long time, but as soon as he made a vow to go to Tikhvin and venerate the miraculous image of the Most Pure One, he immediately regained his sight completely. This was in 1597. Another man, named Diomede, came from the same country and in the same year to the monastery of the Most Pure One and also told about himself that he had been paralyzed for a whole year, but then, remembering the Tikhvin miraculous icon of the Most Pure One, he began to mentally pray to it and made a vow to himself to go to worship the Most Pure Image: he immediately became healthy and, without any delay, fulfilled his promise. In the same year, a certain Pimen, possessed by a fierce demon, was sent by his relatives to Tikhvin, bound in chains - and when they were still halfway there, he received healing by the mercy of the Most Pure One: the demon left him, and he arrived completely healthy and reverently bowed to his Healer. It was December 9th. One man, named Kodrat, began to suffer from headaches, became blind in his eyes, and did not see the light for a whole year and a half; Having heard about the miraculous icon of the Mother of God located near Tikhvin, he prayed fervently and vowed to go to her to worship. And as soon as he uttered the words of the vow, he instantly received insight. But having postponed the journey until another time, he soon completely forgot about his promise and did not go to give thanks to his Healer - the Most Pure Virgin Theotokos. After 10 years had passed since he regained his sight, he became blind again in the same way as before. But, despite this, he did not remember his promise until he received admonition in a dream vision. For in a dream he saw a certain man saying to him: - Go to Tikhvin to venerate the image of the Most Pure One; If you don’t go and don’t fulfill your promise, you won’t receive the epiphany of your eyes. Rising from sleep, he remembered his promise and realized his sin; He immediately went to the Tikhvin monastery of the Mother of God, accompanied by a guide. When he was brought to the miraculous image of the Most Pure One and prayed before it with all his heart, he instantly received healing through the mercy of the Most Holy Theotokos. To a certain man named John, who had been seriously ill for a long time and was already approaching death, Saint Nicholas of Christ appeared in a dream vision and said to him: – If you want to get health, make a vow to the Most Holy Theotokos to go and venerate Her miraculous image, which is on Tikhvinka. That man, having awakened, immediately began to pray with tears to the Most Pure One and made a vow to Her to worship Her image - at that same moment he became completely healthy and went to the monastery, fulfilling his promise. This was in 1596. In the same year, a blind woman named Maria, who had not seen the light for ten years, was brought to the monastery; Having prayed before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, she received insight. Another woman, named Evdokia, who lived within Lake Onega 4155, being demon-possessed and weakened and also having a dry hand, as soon as she promised to go to the image of the Most Pure One to worship, she was immediately healed in her house from demon-possession and relaxation: the unclean spirit left her, and the members, previously weakened, received strength and health; only her hand remained unhealed, so that she would not forget about her promise. When she came to the Tikhvin monastery and prayed to the Mother of God before Her image, then her hand became healthy. This was in 1603. A lame and blind man, named John, made a vow to go to worship the image of the Most Pure One and received healing in his home: he received sight in his eyes and his legs were straightened; then he came to the Tikhvin monastery to give thanks to the Most Pure One on March 1606. In the same way, many other people, obsessed with various ailments, as soon as they made a promise to go to worship the miraculous image of the Most Holy Theotokos located on the Tikhvinka River, they immediately received healing. “We know,” says the Tikhvin chronicler, “that from this holy image wonderful miracles never ceased to happen and always poured out with faith to those who came, like living water from a spring. So many blind people received their sight, the possessed were freed from demonic torment, the deaf were comforted by the gift of hearing, the paralytic were strengthened in their veins, the dumb received permission from the bonds that bind the tongue, the sick with their feet jumped up like deer; Those who suffered from headaches were healed. Even in distant countries, those obsessed with various ailments, as soon as they made vows before the wonderful icon, were not deprived of immediate help from it. In a word, everyone, according to their needs, received a quick benefit, as soon as they flowed with faith under the roof of the Mother of God. During the reign of the pious Tsar and Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich Shuisky 4156, due to our sins, there was great confusion in the Russian land, partly from internal strife, partly from attacks by external enemies. Russian blood was flowing everywhere. The reigning city of Moscow was in the hands of foreign people of other faiths, and Veliky Novgorod with its entire region was owned by the Varangians 4157. At this time, the Tikhvin monastery was under the rule of the Varangians and suffered many oppressions from them. But now, by the mercy of God and the all-powerful help of the Heavenly King, scattered Russian troops, gathering into one militia, took away the reigning city of Moscow from the Gentiles, and the pious Tsar and Grand Duke Mikhail Feodorovich reigned in it 4158. He sent his troops to the boundaries of the great Novgorod against the Varangians, and here, at the Ustya River, a battle took place between the Russian troops and the advanced regiments of the Varangians. The Varangian warriors were defeated and fled; The tsarist troops overtook them on the Tikhvinka River and killed some of them and captured them. Hearing about such a defeat of the Varangian warriors, the Varangian governor, who was sitting in Veliky Novgorod and had numerous Varangian regiments in it, was filled with great anger and rage. Wanting to take revenge on the Russians for this defeat, he sent his regiments, who were in Novgorod, to the Tikhvin monastery in order to completely devastate and ruin it, along with all the surrounding villages. Hearing about this, the surrounding residents flocked with their wives and children to the canopy of the monastery and, together with the monks and a few royal warriors, took refuge behind its strong stone walls, shutting themselves up there from the Varangians. At the same time, they all hoped not so much for the fortress of the walls, but for the help and intercession of the Invincible Wall and the Protection of all those who put their trust in Her - the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Varangians did not have to wait long; approaching the walls of the monastery, they surrounded it on all sides and began to attack it. Those who had shut themselves up in the monastery experienced great fear, and while some were on the walls and fought with the Varangians, others, having gathered together with the monks in the church, with tears fervently prayed to God and the Most Pure Mother of God before Her miraculous icon, performing an all-night vigil and asking the Most Pure One for help to Orthodox Christians. And this help was not slow to appear to them. That same night, one of the women, named Mary, dozed off while praying, and saw in a dream vision the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, who, appearing to her, said: - Tell everyone in the monastery; let them take my icon and walk with it along the walls around the monastery, and then they will see the mercy of God above them. Immediately awakening from sleep, the woman told everyone in the church about the vision. They were filled with joy and hope for help from above and, taking the miraculous image of the Most Pure One with prayer, they raised it to the monastery wall; performing the litia, they began to walk around the monastery and at the same time with tears they called out to the Most Pure Mother of God: – You see, Queen of Heaven, the troubles of Your servants; Deliver us from those who are our adversary and show Your power, so that all our enemies will understand that You, our Intercessor, are with us. At that same hour, great fear fell upon the enemies: they fell into confusion and all ran away from the monastery, although no one was chasing them. But after some time, the Varangians approached the monastery with even greater force and, besieging it, again waged a siege and made repeated attacks on the monastery. During the siege, there were many people of both sexes in the monastery: given the cramped living conditions and the living together of men and women, not everyone maintained the cleanliness appropriate for a holy place and flared up with passion, like hay from a fiery spark. Because of this, the monastery suffered the wrath of God, and the Lord left it without His help. Then the enemies surrounding the monastery, by God's permission, began to come in greater and greater strength, while the defenders of the monastery were exhausted from constant battles. Despair had already gripped everyone in the monastery, and they began to expect imminent death from the besiegers. With bitter sobs, everyone then flocked to the miraculous image of the Most Pure One and began to tenderly cry out before it: – You see, Most Pure Virgin Mary, our humility! With tears we flow to Your most pure image and humbly beg: do not abandon, Most Pure One, Your abode, which You Yourself laid the foundation here with the appearance of Your miraculous icon! You see, Lady, the fierce attack on us by our enemies. Do not leave us, Your servants, without intercession, for we do not expect help from anywhere except from You alone. At this time, the minister of the Solovetsky Monastery, Martinian, a pious and God-fearing man, was in the monastery. The Most Pure One appeared to him in a vision, surrounded by saints - Nicholas the Wonderworker, Venerable Varlaam of Khutyn and Zosima of Solovetsky, and said: “My help retreated from this place due to the fact that many desecrated it with their unclean deeds. In horror, Martinian woke up from sleep and with tears told about his vision to those in charge of the monastery. Having heard the story of the Solovetsky minister, the leaders immediately sought out all the people who had desecrated the monastery by falling into the power of unclean lust, and expelled them; then they cleaned the church porch and began to propitiate God and the Most Holy Theotokos with many fervent prayers, shedding copious tears and asking the Most Pure One for forgiveness and intercession, so as not to be betrayed into the hands of their enemies. And the philanthropic Lord, at the intercession of His Most Pure Mother, changed His righteous anger to mercy towards the perishing, and from that time on, the besieged began to grow stronger and come into strength, and their enemies began to weaken. Finally, having gathered their strength and hoping for the help of the Most Pure One, the besieged unexpectedly came out from behind the wall of the monastery and, rushing towards the enemies, courageously entered into battle with them. Divine help, through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, assisted them, and the Lord granted them victory over their enemies, for although there were not many of them, they put many thousands of enemies to flight and captured some of them. However, even after that the Varangians did not leave the holy monastery alone. Wanting to repay their shame, they, having gathered even greater strength, again approached the monastery: having surrounded the monastery, they often made furious attacks on its walls and began to dig underground ditches under the walls. Then the Most Pure One again appeared to the aforementioned Martinian in a night vision and said to him: “Tell the leaders to drive the pigs away from My house, for they have dug up everywhere around and have already undermined the threshold of the doors leading to the monastery.” The same appearance of the Most Pure One was also to another person who was in the monastery, named Gregory, and both of them - Martinian and Gregory - announced the words of the Mother of God to everyone present in the monastery. That same night, the Lord sent a terrible vision to the enemies: they saw many armed soldiers coming from Moscow, with many bright crusader banners. Thinking that these were the royal regiments coming to the aid of those who had shut themselves up in the monastery, the Varangians were horrified and wanted to flee. But, hoping through their digging to cause harm to the monastery and its walls, they delayed a little. Meanwhile, the besieged, strengthened by the vision of Martinian and Gregory, having prayed before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, left the monastery, armed as before, and rushed towards their enemies. Invisible help from above helped them now, as it had before: helping the Orthodox, the Lord threw the enemy regiments into confusion, and great fear and trembling fell upon them. In confusion, they fled and, mingling in horror, struck each other, driven not so much by a few visible warriors as by countless invisible warriors. Then the Orthodox soldiers, seeing their enemies fleeing, took on even greater boldness and drove them with renewed vigor, cutting them off like stalks, and taking some captive; The same enemies who were in the ditches were partly struck by the army that came out of the monastery with swords, and partly buried in the ground. When the battle ended, the captured Varangians said that on the previous night they saw a large army that came to the aid of the monastery, and that the same army later came out from behind the walls of the monastery and drove them with great force. Listening to this story of the Varangians, the Orthodox with tears gave thanks to God and the Most Pure Mother of God. This glorious victory happened on the very feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, in 1614. The next year, the Varangian governor, who was sitting in Veliky Novgorod, burning with rage against the Tikhvin monastery, where so many of his soldiers had died, again gathered a strong militia and, sending it to Tikhvin, ordered, without any pity, to destroy the monastery to the ground, cut the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos into pieces, and scatter Her church over stone. The news of his command reached the Tikhvin monastery. Everyone who was in it at that time came into great fear and wanted to take the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and flee with it to Moscow. But the miraculous icon remained motionless in its place, so that when the priests tried to lift it from its place with prayer singing, they could not do it. The miracle enlightened the faint-hearted, and they understood that the Most Pure Virgin Mary did not like their intention to leave the monastery. Having placed all their hope in the all-powerful help of the Queen of Heaven, everyone who was there locked themselves in the monastery and began to wait for the coming of the enemies. But the speedy Intercessor of the Orthodox and the Vigilant Guardian of Her monastery did not allow the Varangians to even reach the monastery and blocked their path with a wondrous vision. The Varangians imagined that a large and well-armed army was rapidly coming towards them, ready to enter into battle. Not hoping to resist such an invincible force, they, overcome with fear, fled, stampeding and trampling each other. From that time on, the Varangians no longer dared to approach the Tikhvin monastery 4159. So the Most Pure Virgin Mother of God with glory more than once defended Her monastery from enemies, and not only did She take Her monastery from their hands, but She soon liberated Veliky Novgorod with all its borders from the Varangian yoke and handed it over to the Orthodox Tsar of Russia. And through Her prayers, peace and silence came for the entire Russian kingdom. After the end of the above-described disasters, when the monastery, together with the entire Russian country, enjoyed the coming peace, it pleased God to visit it, protected from the attacks of the Varangians, by fire, in order to admonish and cleanse its inhabitants from all filth. This terrible visitation of God was miraculously predicted to the brethren of the monastery. It was like that. In Tikhvin there lived one beggar named Nikita, who, to please God, took upon himself the feat of foolishness. And so, not in a dream, but in reality, the Monk Macarius of Zheltovodsk appeared to him and said: “Go and tell the abbot and the brethren that they carefully observe abstinence, and especially not keep anything intoxicating in the monastery, since drunkenness is the cause of all evils.” Moreover, let them not allow into the monastery, except for church services, people who can cause temptation among the brethren, and especially women. Tell them also to fervently pray to God and the Most Pure Mother of God in order to ward off God’s terrible punishment by fire from the monastery. Then Nikita, who did not know the saint, asked him who he was. “I am Macarius of Zheltovodsk and I came here to the miraculous image of the Most Pure Mother of God. Having said this, he became invisible. Nikita went to the abbot and the brethren and told them about the vision that had happened to him. But they did not believe him and laughed at him as if he were a holy fool. Several days passed - and suddenly, for an insignificant reason, one cell caught fire, the flame quickly flared up and engulfed all the buildings, so that the entire monastery caught fire. The fire was so strong that not only the wooden buildings turned to ashes, but also many stone buildings crumbled from the fire. Then the monks knew that truly the Venerable Macarius of Zheltovodsk appeared to the holy fool Nikita and warned them through him against the wrath of God that threatened them. Having repented, they began to observe everything that the monk had said, and with zeal they prayed to the Most Pure One, asking Her for forgiveness of their sins. And by the mercy of the Queen of Heaven, after some time, the monastery was again splendidly restored, and stands unharmed to this day, prospering like a clan and glorified by the miracles performed by the miraculous icon of the Most Pure One. For even now those who come to the monastery with faith receive what they ask for before the icon and receive miraculous healings of their ailments 4160. We do not need to talk about all these miracles: they were recorded in the monastery of the Most Pure One for the glory of the Lord God and His Most Blessed Mother. There is no reliable news about where the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was brought to Tikhvin. In ancient handwritten books it is written that it came to Russia, by the will of God, from Greece, from Constantinople, during the reign of the Greek emperor John Palaiologos 4161, 70 years before the capture of Constantinople by the Turks 4162. This was evident from the following circumstances. At the time when the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos began to be glorified in Tikhvin with many and great miracles, it happened that some Novgorod merchants, pious men, were in the reigning city of Constantinople. Talking with them, His Holiness the Patriarch of Constantinople remembered the miraculous icon that they had, which disappeared somewhere and moved away from the reigning city, and asked them: -Have they heard anything about such an icon? They told him the following, confirming their story with an oath of the truth of everything told: “One miraculous icon of the Mother of God,” they said, “came to Great Rus' by air, God knows where from,” and appeared there in various places, within Veliky Novgorod, at a distance of one hundred and eighty miles from it, moving from place to place; finally, she appeared with glory on the Tikhvin River, where she performed wondrous and indescribable miracles - there she remains in the church to this day. Having heard such a story and realizing that this icon that appeared on Tikhvinka was the same one that he was asking about, the patriarch began to sigh from the depths of his heart and ask in more detail about the Tikhvin icon. Then he himself told how the same icon once gloriously departed from the reigning city by sea, heading to where it was pleasing to God, and how, after some time, it returned to the reigning city again, how many miracles and benefits flowed from it to the faithful, and also through prayers before it, as a strong helper, victories and victories over enemies were given. “But now,” he said, “due to our pride, brotherly hatred and other untruths, she, of course, has left us again and will never return.” Having said all this with tenderness, the patriarch went with the Novgorod merchants to the church and showed them the place and the ark where the icon of the Most Pure Mother of God stood. The place was located, if you enter the church from the western doors, at the right pillar of the church; Here another icon was placed, but a smaller one, and an unquenchable lamp burned. Hearing and seeing this, the Novgorod men were greatly surprised and glorified the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother, who, through Her most pure image, performed many miracles in various countries. They talked for a long time about the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos with the patriarch and told each other about the miracles performed by the Mother of God: he - about those that were created in the Greek country, and they - about those that amazed the Russian land. And the Russian men rejoiced greatly when they heard the news they received regarding the miraculous icon of the Most Pure One. When they departed from Constantinople and reached the Russian land, then what they heard in Constantinople became known throughout all of Russia, and the questions of the Ecumenical Patriarch about the miraculous icon of the Mother of God and his story about the miracles that flowed from it, and his indication of the place where the icon stood while in Constantinople, were briefly recorded. From that time on, everyone was convinced that this holy image was no other, but one that had departed from Constantinople. Therefore, in the likeness of Constantinople, in the Tikhvin monastery a place was built for the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos at the first right pillar when entering the church from the western doors - here it still stands, performing many and inscrutable miracles. And since this miraculous icon of the Mother of God, which is on Tikhvin, is called by some both Hodigitria, and Roman or Lida, it would be appropriate to mention here that in Constantinople there were two icons, especially famous for miracles, of which one was called “Hodigitria” and the other - Roman, or Lida. So, “Hodegetria” is one icon, and the Roman one is another. We will briefly talk about these two icons here so that everyone has knowledge about them. Dimitri III Ioanovich reigned in Moscow with the title of Grand Duke from 1363 to 1389. Pimen ruled the Russian metropolis from 1382 to 1389 with a break (between 1385 and 1388) The Baltic Sea was then called the Varangian Sea. The name Varangian was borrowed from the ancient Varangians who inhabited the shores of what is now Sweden. Lake Nevo is now Ladoga. Oyat is the left southern tributary of the river. Svir, leaving Lake Onega and flowing into Ladoga from its eastern side. Field is a measure of distance. In ancient Russia, the field was equal to almost 656 current fathoms. Tikhvin is a city in the Novgorod province. Pasha is a river flowing into Lake Ladoga at the mouth of the Svir River. It flows through the St. Petersburg and Novgorod provinces in the middle between the Oyat and Tikhvin rivers. Tikhvinka is a tributary of the river. Syas, flowing into Lake Ladoga from the southeast side. Those. at a distance of 328 fathoms (656:2). Moses saw a bush (bush), burning but not combustible, on Mount Horeb before his calling as the leader of the Jewish people. She prefigured the Most Rev. The Virgin Mother of God, who even after the birth of her Son did not change her virginity. Vasily IV Ioannovich, father of Ivan the Terrible, reigned from 1505 to 1533. He occupied the Moscow metropolitan see from 1542 to 1564. Tsar John IV Vasilyevich, nicknamed the Terrible, who was crowned king for the first time and took the title of tsar, reigned from 1533 to 1584. Of course, Simeon Bekbulatovich, Kazan Khan, baptized Tatar. At one time (in 1574) Ivan the Terrible placed him on the royal throne in his place, although, of course, Simeon was considered a king only in name. After 4 years, he was exiled from Moscow and was given control of Tver and Torzhok. Mouth - r. Yaroslav. province, together with the river. Veksoy forms the upper reaches of the river. Kotorosti, the left tributary of the Volga, where it flows into Yaroslavl itself. The Belozersk country was located near White Lake, which is located in the northeast. corner of the current Novgorod province. There was a special principality here, which from the middle of the 14th century. belonged to the Moscow prince. Lake Onega is located within the current Olonets province in the northeast of Lake Ladoga. Vasily Shuisky, elected by the boyars after the overthrow of False Dmitry I, reigned from 1606 to 1610. The Swedes are called Varangians here. Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, elected to the Tsar's Zemsky Council from all of Rus', ascended the throne in 1613 and reigned until 1645. About a year after such a wonderful victory, royal ambassadors arrived at the Tikhvin Monastery to make peace with the Swedes. Having removed the copy from the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, the ambassadors set off for the 50th century. from the monastery to the village of Stolbovo, not far from the city of Ladoga, Swedish ambassadors also arrived there. Here, on February 10, 1617, the Peace of Stolbov was concluded, and the main guarantee of peace on the part of the Russians was the copy they brought from the miraculous Tikhvin icon. This list was subsequently transferred to Moscow and placed in the Assumption Cathedral, and then, due to the increased request of the Novgorodians who participated in the war against the Swedes, it was sent to Novgorod and placed in the St. Sophia Cathedral, where it is now located. The Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God is one of the most famous and revered icons of Her in Russia. Thousands of people flock to Tikhvin every year to venerate this miraculous image. Russian princes and tsars enriched the monastery with their contributions and themselves traveled to worship the icon. In both capitals, in many cities and monasteries, and even rural parish churches, there are lists of this icon glorified by miracles - In the Tikhvin monastery, a religious procession is held 24 times a year around the outskirts of the monastery with the miraculous icon. The cost of precious jewelry on the icon reaches up to 70 thousand rubles. Here, of course, is John V Palaiologos, who reigned from 1379 to 1391. The capture of Constantinople by the Turks took place in 1453. You might be interested in: