Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God. Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God

Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God

Article from vol. V " Orthodox Encyclopedia»

Bogolyubskaya [Bogolyubovskaya] Icon of the Mother of God (holiday June 18 old style, (July 1), miraculous image of the 3rd quarter of the 12th century. Initially, the icon was in the cathedral in honor of the Nativity of the Mother of God of the Bogolyubsky monastery near Vladimir, after its destruction in 1 In the second half of the 18th century, it was placed in a cathedral with an altar of the same dedication, erected in 1751-1756 on the site of the ancient one. named after her. After the closing of the monastery in the 1920s, the icon was placed in the parish church in the name of Saints Joachim and Anna in Bogolyubovo, and later in the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir. to the Vladimir Regional Museum of Local Lore, and in 1992 it was transferred to the Assumption Cathedral of Knyaginin in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin of the monastery in Vladimir.

Iconography. Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God belongs to the iconographic type of Agiosoritissa, common in Byzantium. art of the 11th-12th centuries: The Mother of God is shown full-length with her hands raised in prayer, Her figure is turned to the right, her gaze is directed upwards to the blessing Jesus Christ, depicted in the heavenly segment. The scroll in the hand of the Mother of God, added later, brings the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God closer to the iconography of Our Lady Paraklisis (Intercessor). Some analogies of the Middle Ages. time (images on seals, an enamel plate on the Khakhul Icon of the Mother of God), an engraved image of the Mother of God on a Russian silver ark of the 15th century. (SPGIAHMZ)) suggest that the Mother of God was originally represented in prayer before the blessing right hand of Jesus Christ in the heavenly segment. On the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God, unlike other images of the praying Mother of God, compared with a separate image of Jesus Christ, the head of the Mother of God is most often lowered and her gaze is not fixed on Christ. Book images. Andrei Bogolyubsky on the icon, contrary to the opinion of N. N. Voronin (From the history of the Russian-Byzantine church struggle. P. 217), never existed.

The iconographic features and dimensions of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God indicate that it was an altarpiece in the Nativity Church, possibly paired with the lost full-length image of Jesus Christ. Most likely, these icons had the same size and were located at the east. pillars of the temple, being part of the decor of the altar barrier (a close-by-time example is the fresco images of Our Lady Paraklisis and the Lord Almighty on the pre-altar pillars in the cathedral of the Pskov Mirozh Monastery, c. 1140-1142).

Preservation, restoration and attribution. The icon is written on a board (185x105 cm) with wide margins. Following. repeated renovations, the original painting has survived very poorly. The image of the Deesis tier of 5 figures could appear when the icon was updated in con. 12th century after the ruin of Bogolyubov by the Ryazan Prince. Gleb. The appearance of the half-figure of Jesus Christ in the centerpiece and the scroll in the hand of the Mother of God, according to I. A. Sterligova, dates back to the turn of the 13th-14th centuries. and is connected with the initiative of Mr. Maxim, who moved from Kyiv to Vladimir. At the same time, a new silver setting could have appeared, replacing the original one, the presence of which is evidenced by the absence of a gold background on the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God. These data are consistent with chronicle news about richly decorated icons set by Prince. Andrei in the palace church of Bogolyubov. According to Sterligova, for the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God, a golden “crested” coruna with pearls and precious stones(end of the 12th - 1st third of the 13th century; GMMK) later included in the dress of the icon of the same name from the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Remains of a silver basma of the 16th century. on the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God, recorded in the photograph of the beginning. 20th century (published by N.P. Kondakov), can also be considered evidence of the veneration and renewal of the icon. In 1820, the inhabitants of Vladimir decorated the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God with a solid silver frame, which was in the 2nd half. 19th century was supplemented with a chased image of the Bogolyubsky Monastery in the lower right corner; the text on the scroll in the hands of the Mother of God on the salary of the 19th century. was the following: “Master, many-merciful, Son and My God, I pray Thee, may Divine grace be upon Thy people and the luminous ray of Thy glory, may it descend to the place I have chosen.” In the 60s. 19th century the icon was refurbished by the icon painter I. I. Shorokhov, in 1900 the image was “corrected” at the expense of A. A. Shishkina. During this period, a srachka was put on the icon under the salary, the holes for faces and hands were covered with mica. In August 1918, the icon was freed from the setting and the bulky icon case and partially opened by the restorers of the Commission for the Preservation and Restoration of Monuments of Ancient Painting in Russia, headed by G. O. Chirikov, under the supervision of A. I. Anisimov, V. T. Georgievskii and I. E. Grabar, who stated its poor preservation. Additional work to strengthen and clear the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God was carried out at the GTsKhRM (VKhNRTS) in 1946 (F. A. Modorov), 1956 (N. A. Baranov) and 1958-1976. under the hand N. N. Pomerantseva (restorers: Baranov, since 1963 - M. V. Romanova). As a result, the face of the Mother of God, part of Her clothes, the Deesis rank on the upper field, fragments of the original painting on the earth and fields were revealed. On the image of the scroll, a record of the 19th century was left. Despite numerous losses, inserts of late ground and painting, restoration tinting, the image of the face of the Mother of God indicates the proximity of the icon to the samples of the capital Byzantium. 12th century painting and suggests that its creator was the Greek. icon painter or Russian. master, well acquainted with the modern. him a Byzantine. art.

Written evidence and dating. The exact dating of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God is difficult, since in the most ancient written sources there is no information about her.

It is generally accepted that the miraculous image was created c. 1158, i.e. during the reign of Prince. Andrew in Vladimir (1155-1175). It is possible that the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God could have been created after 1177, when Prince. Gleb Ryazansky “much ... evil did the church of Bogolyubskoy and south be decorated with Andrey the good prince with icons and all sorts of patterns” (Laurentian Chronicle // PSRL. T. 1. Stb. 383). N. N. Voronin dated the Bogolyubsky palace ensemble to 1158-1165. (the news about the laying of Bogolyubov is given in the Novgorod Fourth Chronicle under 1158), it is most likely that the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God was painted by order of Prince. Andrew immediately after the construction of the temple in his country residence, in the 1150-1160s. or in the 3rd quarter. 12th century

There are no mentions of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God in the early edition of the “Tale of the Miracles of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God” and are first found in the life of the book. Andrei Bogolyubsky (beginning of the 18th century). The most detailed information about the icon is contained in the Chronicle of the Bogolyubsky Monastery (1767-1769), compiled by the abbot. Aristarchus. Despite the late origin of this source, the uniqueness and diversity of its evidence suggests that its compiler could use not preserved to this day. time documents or lit. works. In the "Chronicle" it is reported about the stop of the wagon with the Vladimir icon in the vicinity of Vladimir, about the commission of the book. Andrey prayed, during which the Mother of God appeared to him with a scroll in her right hand, commanding to put the icon not in Rostov, but in Vladimir and to found a temple and a monastery on the site of Her appearance. Soon the book Andrei laid the stone c. Christmas Holy Mother of God and ordered the icon painters to portray the Mother of God as She appeared to him. The prince placed the icon in a new temple, establishing a feast in honor of the icon on the day of the appearance of the Mother of God - June 18th. Monastery founded by Prince Andrei, began to be called Bogolyubsky in memory of the appearance of the Virgin. This name was also transferred to the miraculous icon (the “God-loving” version is probably a folk rethinking of the epithet “Bogolyubskaya”). According to the Chronicle of the Bogolyubsky Monastery, a Deesis of 5 figures on the upper field of the Bogolyubsky Icon of the Mother of God repeated the marching icons of Prince. Andrei Bogolyubsky, before whom he prayed in his tent. The origin of the legend may have been facilitated by the fact that the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God turned out to be the only surviving icon from the original decoration of the church of the former. the princely residence and after the transfer of the Vladimir icon to Moscow, the only local icon associated with the founder of the temple, Prince. Andrey.

According to a less common legend, known from the inscription on the engraving depicting the "Our Lady of Bogolyubskaya" 2nd floor. 18th century (Rovinsky. Folk Pictures. III. No. 1221. S. 486-491), the miraculous image belonged to the number of icons painted by the Evangelist Luke. The same tradition identifies the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God with the image of Our Lady Pirogoshcha in Kyiv.

Reverence. Some researchers, despite the lack of direct evidence, speak of a special veneration of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God in the 12th century. (N. N. Voronin, E. S. Medvedeva, M. V. Shchepkina), linking this icon with the formation in Russia of the feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. On the fate and veneration of the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God in the XIII-XIV centuries. little is known. Presumably by the XIV century. refers to the emergence of the revered icon of the Mother of God, known as the "Bogolyubskaya", which has been located since the 17th century. in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin (lost in 1812). This small image (ca. 44.5 × 26.7 cm) belonged to the household relics of the great princes and kings. The surviving details of the precious attire, partly related to the con. 14th century (crown), as well as the inventory of the temple allow us to judge the iconography of the lost icon. According to Sterligova, the icon was a copy from the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God (the Mother of God was presented in prayer; there were no images of the scroll, the Savior in the heavenly segment and the Deesis) and was associated with the family of the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod princes; could get to Moscow with Evdokia Dimitrievna, daughter of Prince. Dimitry Konstantinovich of Suzdal, his wife led. book. Dimitry Donskoy. At the same time, the creation of this icon could be connected with the theme of the intercession of the Mother of God for the human race and the customer of the icon, and not with the veneration of the icon from Bogolyubov.

Information found in the literature about the veneration of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow in the 15th-16th centuries, as a rule, is hypothetical. So, the icon, which was in the Kremlin's Sretensky Cathedral, then ended up in the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor, was usually associated with the era of led. book. Basil II, although the surviving image (GMMK) belongs to a later time. There is an assumption that it was the Bogolyubsk Icon of the Mother of God that was brought from Vladimir to Moscow in 1518 for renovation along with the icon of the Savior (sometimes identified with the image of “The Savior on the Throne with Metropolitan Cyprian”, XII - end of the XIV century .; under the record of 1700, GMMK). The chronicles report on the Vladimir origin of the brought icons, but nothing is said about their iconography. The first reliable evidence of veneration and indirect evidence of the miracle-working of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God (or its list) is the inscription “The Peace of the Holy Mother of God Bo[go]lyubskoe” on the golden ark of the 1st floor. 16th century (SPGIAHMZ) depicting the Mother of God, praying before the right hand of God, without a scroll in her hands. The same image is found on an earlier silver reliquary placed inside this ark. It is possible that the inscription arose as a result of the “identification” of a forgotten relic under the influence of an image on an old reliquary. Probably only in the 2nd half. 16th century or later, the first exact copies of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God "in measure and likeness" were created with the image of the Lord in the celestial segment and a scroll in the right hand of the Mother of God (an icon from the Sretensky Cathedral - now in the State Moscow Museum of Metallurgy; an icon from the collection of the GVSMZ).

According to a number of researchers (A. N. Grabar, M. A. Makhanko, N. A. Mayasova, A. G. Melnik, E. S. Ovchinnikova and others), the images of the Mother of God in prayers, with the upcoming ones (“Our Lady of the Prayer” or “Prayer for the People”), which have spread in Russian. art from the beginning 16th century and probably already known in the 15th century. (the oldest accurately dated examples date back to the 20-40s of the 16th century, for example, the shroud of Solomonia Saburova - 1525, SPGIAHMZ). On icons of this type, the Mother of God, as on the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God, faces Jesus Christ, depicted in the heavenly segment, in her left hand she holds a scroll with a prayer to the Lord for the salvation of the human race, Christ is presented with a scroll containing the answer to the prayer of the Mother of God. In front of the Mother of God are depicted praying saints (for example, Moscow Metropolitans Peter and Jonah, Princes Boris and Gleb, Saints Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky) at the head of the kneeling people or a locally revered saint, sometimes saints (for example, Saints Joseph of Volotsky, Kornily Komelsky, Trifon Vyatsky , host of Rostov saints). From monastic and cathedral inventories of the 16th-17th centuries. it is known that such icons were called “Our Lady of Prayer” or “Prayer for the people” and differed from the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God (the forthcoming, landscape background, a scroll in the left hand of the Mother of God, sometimes an image of a cloud under Her feet). Monuments of this type include small domestic and large temple icons, compositions in the hagiographic cycles of the Mother of God (for example, the stamp of the icon “The Nativity of the Mother of God, with the stamps of earthly life”, mid-16th century, Ustyuzhna Museum of Local Lore), as well as hanging shrouds .

From con. XVII - beginning. 18th century in the inventories there are references to the epithet "Bogolyubskaya" in relation to the ancient images of the Mother of God in prayer or the Mother of God "Prayer for the people": in the inventory of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin in 1680-1681. the icon "The Most Holy Theotokos of Bogolyubskaya" is the name of an ancient lectern icon, which depicts the Mother of God in prayer; the compilers of the inventory of the Moscow Assumption Cathedral in 1701 considered numerous icons with different versions of the image of the Mother of God in prayer, known from the inventories of the 1st floor, as images of the Mother of God of Bogolyubskaya. 17th century as images of the "Pure Mother of God prayer." The appearance of such compositions, related to the monuments of the XIV-XV centuries. with a single image of the praying Mother of God (the Mother of God in prayer on the icon of the 30-40s (?) of the 15th century (traditionally called “Our Lady of Bogolyubskaya”, SPGIAHMZ), and on the shroud of Sophia Paleolog 1499 from the Trinity-Sergius Monastery (SPGIAHMZ) ) is associated with the interest in the topic of conciliar prayer and intercession of the Mother of God for the Orthodox people, characteristic of Russian art of the late Middle Ages. under the influence of works of a new type on the ancient Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God, images of a scroll in the hand of the Mother of God and Jesus Christ appeared in the upper right corner of the centerpiece.

The design of the all-Russian veneration of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God falls on the last. third of the 17th century It is believed that in 1672 the baptism of Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich was specially timed to coincide with the day of memory of the apostles Peter and Paul, on the eve of whose feast Prince was killed. Andrei Bogolyubsky. According to the Chronicle of the Bogolyubsky Monastery, in 1681 the monastery was visited by Tsar Feodor Alekseevich, who attached his pectoral cross to the icon. In 1682, until the day of the celebration of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God, the funeral of I. and A. Naryshkin, who were killed during the Streltsy uprising of the brothers of Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna, was postponed, and in 1684-1687. over the place of their burial in the Moscow Vysokopetrovsky monastery a church was built in honor of the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God (probably the first church with such a dedication); in 1690 it contained a copy of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God, brought by Tsar Peter from the Bogolyubsky Monastery. The Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God of the Kremlin Sretensky Cathedral was also considered miraculous in that period. With the special veneration of the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God in the era of Peter I, the legend about the icon in the village. Yuryevsky Borovsky st. Kaluga province., Donated by Peter to the steward B. Baturin, who asked to bless him with an image from the court church, as well as a legend about the appearance of the Bogolyubskaya Moscow Icon of the Mother of God, located above the Varvarsky Gates of Kitay-gorod. The compilation of the service of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God dates back to the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. and, possibly, connected with the construction of the temple in the Vysokopetrovsky monastery. The oldest list of the service dates back to 1704 (GIM. Simon. No. 1).

Among the large number of copies of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God of the 3rd Quarter. XVII - beginning. XVIII century, associated with the artistic tradition of the Armory, there are both exact copies of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God, and images that reflect the mutual influence of the iconographic types of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God and Our Lady "Prayer for the People". Feature of these icons - the appearance of a landscape background and different versions of the text on the scroll of the Mother of God. On some icons there are inscriptions with the epithet "Bogolyubskaya". The oldest of the exact lists of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God, con. XVII - beginning. XVIII century, the icon of 1677, signed by Theodot Feofanov son Protopopov (Ukhtomsky), comes, according to N. I. Komashko, from the Smolensk-Kornilievskaya church. Pereslavl-Zalessky (now in a private collection). The icon quite accurately conveys the iconography of the prototype that had developed by that time, with the exception of the image of Deesis in the upper field. According to N. V. Sultanov, in c. in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God Markovo, Bronnitsky district, was the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God, signed by Simon Ushakov. The most accurate lists of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God, reproducing the Deesis in the upper field, are: the icon of 1694, painted by Hieromonk. Tolgsky monastery Gennady (YAHM); icon of 1710, written by Yakov Ivanov Molchanov for the church. St. John the Warrior on Yakimanka in Moscow (currently in the same place), an icon of 1712, painted by Vasily Ulanov "from the miraculous image that at the Meeting at the Top" for the Moscow church. Holy Trinity in Syromyatniki (TG). A number of icons from the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, repeating the main iconographic features of the ancient prototype, under the influence of compositions with the image of the Mother of God “Prayer for the people”, complement the image of the praying Mother of God with the figures of crouching saints: the icon of 1689 from the Moscow church. Resurrection in Kadashi, written by Nikolai Solomonov and others (TG; St. Sergius of Radonezh, Varlaam Khutynsky and John of Damascus fall at the feet of the Mother of God; there is no image of Deesis), and the icon of con. 17th century from the collection of the Intesa bank (Vicenza, Italy; at the feet of the Mother of God - Sergius of Radonezh and Varlaam Khutynsky, a five-figure Deesis is depicted on the upper field). On the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God of the Vysokopetrovsky monastery there was an image of the falling prince. Andrew. There is a known case due to the influence of the veneration of the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God, the image of Prince. Andrew on the icon "Prayer for the people": he is represented on the icon of con. XVII century, written by Fyodor Andreev and originating from the Donskoy Monastery (TG), among the saints who fall.

In the XVIII-XIX centuries. lists of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God were venerated in Moscow (see the Bogolyubskaya Moscow Icon of the Mother of God), in the village. Yuryevsky Borovsky st. Kaluga province., in with. Zimarov Ranenburgsky u. Ryazan province. (see Bogolyubskaya Zimarovskaya Icon of the Mother of God), in c. Tsarevich Dimitry in Uglich (see the Bogolyubskaya Uglich Icon of the Mother of God). Less famous lists were in the Tambov province: in the Vvedenskaya c. in Elatma (1771), in the cathedral in Usman (she became famous in 1831, feast on March 25), in Bogolyubsky wives. a monastery in Kozlov (now Michurinsk, holiday 29 Oct.); in Florovskaya (Bogolyubskaya) c. in Tula (she became famous in 1771), in the c. Resurrection of Christ in Tarusa (donated in 1790, glorified by miracles in 1848 and 1870). The Bogolyubsky image became famous during the plague epidemic in 1771, when the Mother of God, being different people, ordered to transfer the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God from Bogolyubovo to Vladimir. After the transfer of the miraculous icon, the epidemic ceased, and from that time on, the custom of bringing the Bogolyubsk Icon of the Mother of God to Vladimir annually on May 21 was established. In addition, during the year the icon was worn in different cities and villages of the Vladimir province. Numerous copies of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God also became famous in 1771 and during the cholera epidemics of 1831, 1848, 1853 and 1870.

In the XVIII - early. 20th century in parallel, there are 2 main iconographic versions. The first edition is represented by numerous icons and enamel images - copies of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God. These monuments are known in 3 main versions: the 1st exactly copies the ancient sample; in the 2nd version (distributed from the end of the 17th century?), there is an image of the prince falling to the Mother of God. Andrei Bogolyubsky (icon of the 2nd half of the 18th (?) century, renewed in the middle of the 19th century, in the iconostasis of the chapel of Saints Cyprian and Justina of the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat in Moscow), sometimes with the image of the monastery (icon of the 1st quarter. 18th century, GVSMZ). This iconographic type illustrates the legend of the apparition of the Mother of God, Prince. Andrew. The 3rd option, possibly appearing in the beginning. 18th century, includes an image of the Bogolyubsky Monastery, placed at the feet of the Mother of God (sometimes from the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl). Some later lists of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God reproduce the cross attached to the image by Tsar Feodor Alekseevich and attached to its salary at the right shoulder of the Mother of God.

The 2nd edition goes back to the “Prayer for the People” type and includes images of saints praying to the Mother of God (most often Moscow wonderworkers), which is associated with the veneration of the Bogolyubskaya Moscow icon; a special type of "Prayer for the people" (with the figure of the upcoming Metropolitan Peter) became widespread in the Old Believer copper casting of the 18th-19th centuries.

Archive: Medvedeva E. S. Old Russian. iconography of the Intercession. 1947. Rkp. // Archive IARAN. Z-2. 3. 1728.

Sources: Census book of Moscow Blagoveshchensky Cathedral XVII in. // Sat. for 1873, ed. Obvm ancient Russian art at the Moscow Public Museum. M., 1873. S. 9-10 (2 pages); Inventory of the Moscow Assumption Cathedral from the beginning. 17th century to 1701 inclusive // ​​RIB. T. 3. St. Petersburg, 1876. Stb. 615, 620; Chronicle of the Bogolyubov Monastery from 1158 to 1770, comp. according to the mon-rsky acts and records of the igum. Aristarchus in 1767-1769 / Message archim. Leonid [Kavelin] // CHOIDR. 1878. Book. 1. S. 1-24.

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A. S. Preobrazhensky

Bogolyubskaya Moscow Icon of the Mother of God

Article from vol. V of the "Orthodox Encyclopedia", Moscow. 2003

The Bogolyubskaya Moscow Icon of the Mother of God (holiday June 18 old style (July 1), a miraculous image, since the 18th century was located above the Varvarsky Gates of Kitay-Gorod in Moscow (according to other sources, it appeared there in the reign of Peter Alekseevich (1696-1725) , which is indirectly confirmed by the images on the icon of saints named after members of the royal family); is currently kept in the Moscow church of St. Apostles Peter and Paul on Kulishki near the Yauza Gates.

The dating of the icon (size: 198*126 cm) is difficult due to renovations. In terms of iconographic features (posture, gesture and scroll in the hand of the Mother of God, the figure of Jesus Christ blessing) it is close to the type of the ancient Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God. A distinctive feature of the Moscow icon is that it depicts several rows of praying saints in front of the Mother of God: Moscow metropolitans Peter, Alexy, Jonah and Philip, blzh. Vasily and Maxim of Moscow, St. Paraskeva, St. Basil the Great, Alexy, man of God, scch. Simeon, relative of the Lord, ep. Jerusalem, app. Peter, Rev. Evdokia and mts. Paraskeva.

The Bogolyubskaya Moscow Icon of the Mother of God became famous during the plague epidemic in 1771. Residents of Moscow, who learned that the city of Vladimir was freed from the epidemic after the transfer of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God from Bogolyubov, began to serve prayers before the icon of the same name above the Barbarian Gates. A large gathering of people for a prayer service to the icon being lowered from the wall aroused the anxiety of the secular and spiritual authorities. Moscow Archbishop Ambrose (Zertis-Kamensky) ordered the prayers to be stopped and, according to undisclosed information, had the intention to remove the icon from the wall. Such actions of the Moscow Archbishop led to popular unrest. Miracles and healings from the image laid the foundation for further veneration of the Bogolyubskaya Moscow Icon of the Mother of God.

In the 19th century the celebration in honor of the icon lasted 3 days and was accompanied by a procession to the Barbarian Gates. In 1880, at the request of the Moscow Metropolitan Innokenty (Veniaminov), a chapel was built for the miraculous image in the Varvarskaya Tower and a hipped porch was added (architect N.V. Nikitin). Above the gate, instead of the miraculous icon placed in the chapel, a list of it was placed, which also became famous for miracles and replaced the ancient icon in those days when it participated in religious processions. After the closing of the chapel in 1923, the Bogolyubskaya Moscow Icon of the Mother of God was transferred to the Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul at the Yauza Gates, and the substitute icon in 1918 ended up in the Church of the Resurrection in Sokolniki, where it is still located.

Iconography of the Bogolyubskaya Moscow Icon of the Mother of God goes back to the images of the praying Mother of God with falling beginnings. XVI century - one of the variants of the icon "Our Lady of Prayer" with a group of praying ecumenical and Russian saints. From the end of the 17th century such icons began to be called Bogolyubsky because of the iconographic similarity with the ancient Bogolyubsky icon.

The placement of an icon of such a design over the Barbarian Gates can be explained by several reasons. Firstly, the image of Moscow wonderworkers praying to the Mother of God for the human race symbolized the patronage of the Mother of God and the saints of Moscow and was associated with the tradition of placing an icon on the city gates that performed protective functions. Secondly, the icon was installed over the gates of Kitay-gorod, facing towards Vladimir, not far from which the revered Bogolyubskaya icon was kept. Finally, the images of Blessed Vasily and Maxim of Moscow on the icon reminded us that at the opposite end of Varvarskaya Street from the gates there are churches where these saints are buried (the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat and the Church of Maxim the Blessed).

Glorification of the Bogolyubskaya Moscow Icon of the Mother of God after the epidemic of 1771 led to the appearance of lists from it, some date back to the 80s. 18th century (TsMiAR, silver setting 1784; GMZK). These icons quite accurately repeat the prototype, but the composition of the saints on the icon and on the lists may not coincide. The images of the Moscow Kremlin, which are distinguished by a high degree of accuracy, and the texts of prayers placed at the bottom of the icons, are associated with the idea of ​​the intercession of the Mother of God and the Moscow miracle workers for their city. On the icons of the XIX century. prayer texts, as a rule, are not found, and the image of the Kremlin takes on stylized forms. In addition, during this period, the composition of the upcoming Our Lady of the saints often changed depending on the wishes of the customer (for example, an icon of the 2nd quarter of the 19th century from the collection of the State Museum of Palekh Art).

Literature: Belyankin L. E. East. research on the celebration in honor of the icon of St. Mother of God, named Bogolyubsky, at the Barbarian Gates in Moscow. M., 1871; Bogoslovsky T. Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God // ZhMP. 1945. No. 10. S. 46-50; The legend of the miraculous icons of the Mother of God and of Her mercies to the human race. Kolomna, 1993. S. 353-354; Forty magpies. T. 2. S. 68-71, 96; T. 3. S. 75; Rejoices in Thee: Rus. icon of the Mother of God XVI - beg. XX centuries: Cat. vyst. 1995. M., 1995. No. 39. S. 56-57; Polyakova O. A. Architectural backgrounds on Russian icons. saints // Art of Christ. peace. Sat. Art. M., 1998. Issue. 2. S. 77-79.

A. S. Preobrazhensky

Bogolyubskaya Zimarovskaya Icon of the Mother of God

The Bogolyubskaya Zimarovskaya Icon of the Mother of God (holiday June 18, old style (July 1), the miraculous list of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God, according to legend, stood over the gates of the city of Pronsk. During the devastation of the city by the Tatars, the icon was split into 2 halves and thrown into the bushes "However, it miraculously grew together (one half turned out to be slightly higher than the other) and was revealed on the day of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. In memory of this miracle, the Annunciation Church was erected on the site of the appearance of the icon. Further information about the icon is not found until 1771, when in Central Russia, an epidemic of pestilence broke out. In a thin dream, one of the ill Muscovites was instructed to find an icon in the house of the landowner Vasily Abramovich Lopukhin on Prechistenskaya Street. The icon was found in the attic, and after the prayer service was served, the patient received healing. The news of the miracle brought a huge number of pilgrims, and the icon was transferred to the church where the spiritual father of Lopukhin served.About 1780, the icon was transferred to the Lopukhins' family estate - the village of Zimarovo, Ranenburg district, Ryazan province, where they committed religious processions throughout the province. The Bogolyubskaya Zimarovskaya Icon of the Mother of God was glorified in 1831, 1848, 1855, 1860, 1871 and 1892 for special miracles, when cholera epidemics raged in the Ryazan province. So, for example, there is a case of healing in 1860 of a resident of the Kazan Yavlensky maiden monastery in Ryazan, as evidenced by the inscription embroidered in gold on the riza of the list from the miraculous icon, made in gratitude for the healing (RIAMZ). In 1849, the icon escaped death in a fire, being taken the day before to Skopinsky district; wooden temple where she was, completely burned down. Since 1889, the miraculous icon has been annually brought to the provincial center for 1-1.5 summer months, where she alternately stayed in each monastery and temple, as well as in the homes of the townspeople. This tradition was preserved even after the October Revolution: in the diary of the Ryazan priest I. I. Prokhodtsov there is an entry for 1919: “... On July 19, the Bogolyubskaya icon was unexpectedly brought to the city on horseback.” In 1925, the request for the icon to stay in Ryazan was annulled by the police department (GARO. F. R-61. Op. 1. D. 204. L. 15). In present the location of the icon is unknown.

The Bogolyubskaya Zimarovskaya Icon of the Mother of God was painted in the likeness of an image created at the command of Prince 97.8. Andrei Bogolyubsky, differing only slightly in size (186.7 cm), was kept under a gilded silver setting, in the lower part there was an inscription: “... the first riza was made by Mr. Lopukhin, gilded by Shilovsky, remade in 1855”; on the salary above the head of the Virgin - a crown with precious stones.

Archive: GARO. F. 7. Op. 1. D. 97. L. 62, 62v.; F. 19. Op. 1. D. 1416 [The case of the transfer of the Bogolyubskaya icon to the pulpit. Assumption Cathedral. 1906]; F. 49. Op. 1. D. 861. L. 155 [On the arrival of the icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God in Ryazan from Zimarov, Ranenburg district. 1891]; D. 862. L. 285, 289-302 [On permission to transfer the icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God during her stay in Ryazan]; F. 627. Op. 147. D. 23. St. 2099. L. 1-2, 98-98v. [The case at the request of the inhabitants of the city of Ryazan for the transfer from the village. Zimarov Ranenburgskogo u. to them the miraculous icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God]; D. 24. St. 2099. T. 2. L. 10-13, 21-23, 157-157v., 95-109 [The case of bringing from the village. Zimarov, Ranenburg district in the city of Ryazan, the Bogolyubskaya icon for the service of prayer]; F. 869. Op. 1. D. 280. L. 79 [From the diary of I. I. Prokhodtsov about bringing the Bogolyubskaya Zimarovskaya icon to Ryazan]; D. 559. L. 139-140; D. 668. L. 130-130 rev., 134-134 rev.; D. 669. L. 25, 65, 66v., 136.
Literature: Dobrolyubov I. East.-stat. description of churches and mon-rays of the Ryazan diocese. Ryazan, 1888. T. 3. S. 186-187; The legend of the miraculous Bogolyubsky icon of the Mother of God, which in the village. Zimarov, Ryazan Province. Ryazan, 1916; The blessings of the Mother of God to the Christian family through Her St. icons. SPb., 1905. M., 1997p. pp. 29-31; Bogolyubskaya icon in the village. Zimarov // Tales of the miraculous icons of the Mother of God. Kolomna, 1993. S. 352-353; Snessoreva. Earth life Rev. Mother of God. S. 130; Sinelnikova T. P., Popova V. M. Eternal images: Materials on the miraculous icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God p. Zimarov Ranenburgsky u. Ryazan province. // History of Ryazan: Pages of the past. Ryazan, 1998. S. 5-69.

Bogolyubskaya Uglich Icon of the Mother of God

The Bogolyubskaya Uglich Icon of the Mother of God (Feast June 18, old style (July 1), a miraculous image located in the local row of the iconostasis of the church of St. Tsarevich Demetrius "on the Blood" in Uglich. .), the time and circumstances of the glorification of the icon are connected with the pestilence that raged in 1654 in Moscow and neighboring cities.

After 2 families of the Englishmen suddenly fell ill and died by the evening of the same day, the townspeople expected that the plague would not leave anyone alive. However, a townsman named Afanasy Kustov, who was walking to the city meeting, near the church of St. Tsarevich Demetrius "on the blood", was shown 3 boys, whom he mistook for the children of the voivode who lived nearby. One of the youths approached Athanasius and asked him to announce at the city meeting that “the Lord is angry with the inhabitants of the city of Uglich for their sins and sends a pestilence on them; therefore, they must pray to the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother and call on the help of the saints of God - Tsarevich Dimitri, Prince Roman and others, and the Lord will hear their prayer and turn away His wrath, righteously moved against sinners. Athanasius did as the lad instructed him. The inhabitants of Uglich responded to the call of Athanasius, came to the church of St. Tsarevich Dimitry "on the blood" and performed a solemn prayer service before the Bogolyubsk Icon of the Mother of God. The pestilence has stopped. The icon was set to celebrate.

The icon may have been painted in the beginning. 90s 17th century by the royal painter Pyotr Fedorov Bilindin, whose artel carried out orders for the stone church of Tsarevich Dimitri “on the blood”. In 1867, the inset from the icon with the image of the Mother of God was transferred to a new base.

Literature: Legends about the miraculous icons of the Mother of God, about Her mercies to the human race. Kolomna, 1993, vol. 1, p. 354; A handful of A. N., Kisteneva S. V. Church of Tsarevich Demetrius "on the blood." Rybinsk, 1998, p. 16.

OK. 1158–1174

Vladimir-Suzdal Historical, Artistic and Architectural Museum-Reserve, Vladimir, Russia
Inv. B-2972

Comes from the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin in the Bogolyubsky Palace near Vladimir.

The Bogolyubov Icon of the Mother of God is a unique work ancient Russian art. Created around 1158 by order of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, it is considered the first icon painted on Russian soil. Its creation is associated with the legend of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to Prince Andrei during his prayer near the mouth of the Nerl River in 1155. Later, in this place, called Bogolyubov, a magnificent palace ensemble was erected by the prince. Here, in the Church of the Nativity, the image of the Virgin was placed.

Bogolyubov icon - outstanding example paintings of princely masters. It was created by an outstanding Greek icon painter or a Russian master who was well acquainted with the Byzantine art of that time. Since the last third of the 17th century, in connection with the special attitude in the royal family to the Bogolyubov Icon of the Mother of God, its all-Russian veneration has been established. The cult of this icon was most widespread in the 18th-19th centuries: a large number of lists, temples and monasteries are founded in her honor.

The Bogolyubov icon became especially famous during the plague of 1771, when, as it is believed, it was after the transfer of this miraculous icon from the Bogolyubovsky monastery to Vladimir that the epidemic stopped. In honor of this event, the custom was established to annually bring the icon to the provincial center and carry it around the cities and villages of the province.

Apparently, this is what led to the fact that by the beginning of the twentieth century, the painting of this monument was in a deplorable state. In 1918, urgent work was carried out to conserve the icon by the restorers of the Commission for the Preservation and Disclosure of Ancient Paintings under the leadership of A. I. Anisimov, V. T. Georgievsky and I. E. Grabar.

After the closure of the Bogolyubovsky Monastery in the 1920s, the icon was placed in the Church of Joachim and Anna in Bogolyubovo, and later in the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.

By the time the Bogolyubov icon arrived at the Vladimir Regional Museum of Local Lore (1946), this icon was in an extremely disrepair condition: there was a strong lag and deformation of the soil on the entire surface, in some places right up to the board. This led to the extremely complex nature of the restoration work carried out in the workshops of the All-Russian Artistic Research and Restoration Center named after Grabar in 1956–1976. Restorers N. A. Baranov and M. V. Romanova (under the direction of N. N. Pomerantsev) needed to develop a special technique for removing numerous wax inserts, residues of contaminated paraffin and bonding gesso to the base. As a result of the restoration, a lot has been accomplished. However, the condition of the gesso and the paint layer of the icon has become so irreversible that even after twenty years of restoration, the icon remains very fragile and needs constant supervision by highly qualified specialists.

Placed after many years of restoration in one of the halls of the Historical exposition of VSMP, the Bogolyubov icon was monitored by museum workers. A big problem with the preservation of the icon arose in the early 1990s in connection with the request of the Church to transfer the icon to the Assumption Cathedral of the Knyaginin Monastery in Vladimir, which became active. In 1993, thanks to the efforts of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve, the problem was solved: by order and at the expense of VSMZ, the company that made the sarcophagus for the mausoleum of V. I. Lenin made unique installation. A hermetically sealed showcase made of special glass was created in combination with a special device that provided a constant temperature and humidity regime favorable for the icon.

Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God, otherwise called the Bogolyubskaya Vladimirskaya, is one of the oldest miraculous icons of Russian origin (XII century), written at the behest of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky according to his memoirs of the miraculous appearance of the Virgin.

Festival Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God It was established by Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky on July 1 (June 18, old style), the day the Mother of God appeared to him.

Click on any photo to go to the gallery

Price: 50,000 rubles. Size: 36 x 48.5 cm Face - painting. Code - MB37	Price: 64 000 rubles. Size: 43 x 55.5 cm Copper. Silvering. Gilding. Code - MB38

Price: 130,000 rubles. Size: 41.5 x 72.5 cm Copper. Silvering. Gilding. Frame - ash. Face - painting. Code - MB39	Price: 15 0 000 rub. Size: 49.5 x 80.5 cm Copper. Silvering. Gilding. Frame - ash. Face - painting. Code - MB40

To whom and when to give

• birthdays whose birthday falls on the date of the celebration of the icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God;
• travelers and mothers whose children are in a foreign country;
• officials and politicians for any Orthodox holiday;
• to any Orthodox person, to whom you see fit, for any Orthodox holiday.

What will help

Before the icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God, they ask for protection from diseases and epidemics, natural disasters (fire, flood, drought, etc.), interethnic and intrastate conflicts, need and hunger.

Also, travelers in front of the icon can pray for a successful journey, and mothers - for the health of their children who are in another country.

In 1157, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky went to Suzdal, taking with him the icon of the Mother of God. Not far from the city of Vladimir, the prince's carriage stopped, the horses did not budge. Then the prince decided to put up a tent, where he retired and prayed for a long time in front of the icon.

That night, June 18, the Most Holy Theotokos Herself appeared to the prince in a night vision and ordered to leave the icon in Vladimir, and to erect a temple and a monastery in her honor on this place.

The prince hastily fulfilled the request of the Queen of Heaven and ordered the painters to paint the icon of the Mother of God in the form in which She appeared to him. The newly painted icon began to be called the icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God and was solemnly transferred to the newly erected temple, which became known as Bogolyubsky, and the village that arose nearby - Bogolyubovo.

The icon became famous for many miracles. So, during the invasion of Batu in the XIII century, the temple was burned down and only the image of the Mother of God was miraculously preserved.

But most of all, the icon became famous in 1771 during the plague epidemic in Russia. So, the plague did not touch the Bogolyubov monastery and the nearby village. In the city of Vladimir, the epidemic also ended after the icon was transferred from the monastery to the city.

Lists from the miraculous icon of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God also became famous for miracles. The Uglich, Moscow, Tula, Kozlovsky, Elatemsky, Zimarovsky, Yuryevsky, Usmansky and Tarussky lists are known for the end of terrible epidemics and healings.

The icon of the Mother of God "Bogolyubskaya" is revered by Orthodox Christians around the world. The prayers of the Mother of God in front of this icon can completely change your fate for the better.

History of the icon

The Bogolyubskaya icon of the Virgin Mary is one of the few that survived during the Tatar-Mongol yoke. In 1157, Prince Andrei Yuryevich Dolgoruky was heading from Vyshgorod to the Suzdal lands, accompanied by the icon of the Mother of God. Near the city of Vladimir, the horses stood as if rooted to the spot and ceased to obey. The prince and his squad set up camp and stayed for the night.

In a dream, the Mother of God appeared to the prince and ordered to found a temple in honor of Her Nativity on this place, and to place a miraculous icon in it. Encouraged by the appearance of the Mother of God, Prince Andrei immediately gave the order to build a church and described the miracle that had appeared to him, ordering him to paint an icon of the Blessed Virgin just as She appeared to him. The icon was painted, and subsequently glorified the church in Bogolyubovo with miracles of healing the terminally ill.

Where is the holy image

The Tatars repeatedly raided the Vladimir lands, among other things, burning and destroying the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Bogolyubovo, but the miraculous icon remained unharmed each time. In the 15th century, the Bogolyubskaya icon was placed in the Palace Sretenskaya Church in the Moscow Kremlin. Currently, the image is in the Assumption Knyagininsky Monastery in the city of Vladimir.

Description of the icon

The basis of the miraculous icon is a cypress board. The icon depicts the Mother of God, raising her hands in prayer to the Lord. In her right hand, the Virgin Mary holds a scroll with a prayer to Jesus Christ and asks to bless the place chosen by Her for the construction of the temple.

What helps the Bogolyubskaya icon

The most remarkable miracle performed by the Bogolyubsk icon is considered to be the deliverance of Vladimir from the epidemic of cholera and plague in 1771. A series of miraculous healings of the hopelessly ill became the final confirmation of the special power of this image. That is why the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God is prayed for the healing of diseases and protection from enemies.

Prayers to the miraculous image

“Oh, Blessing Lady, will you allow me to be filled with Your power? Oh, Theotokos, do not leave us, sinful and unworthy servants of God, bow down to us and let us humbly pray to You: ask Your Son and our God, may He deliver us from the curse of the devil and expel sin and unbelief from our souls. Let us not disgrace the grace of God, and let us enter the Kingdom of Heaven with joy. Amen".

“Most Holy Lady, comforter and intercessor of the human race! Resorting to you in tears, I humbly pray to you: heal, Mother of God, the wounds and illnesses of the body and soul, do not leave my stomach in pain and painful heat! Beg our God and Your Son to deliver me from the curse of the devil and free me from all evil. Amen".

This prayer can help heal the most serious illnesses and strengthen in the true faith.

Memorial Day of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God - June 1, according to the new style. On this day, with the help of sincere prayer, you can change your life forever. We wish you peace of mind and strong faith in God. Be happy and don't forget to press the buttons and

02.07.2017 04:36

miraculous icons The Most Holy Mother of God is especially revered by Orthodox Christians. The Balykin image of the Mother of God has the ability to heal...

Known to many Russians, the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God is called perhaps the most important icon in the Russian church heritage. It was written almost a thousand years ago, many events in Russia are associated with it, and many miracles are attributed to its miraculous power. Its significance for the Russian people is evidenced by the many lists (copies) from the original image, and the fact that people are striving for this icon with prayer in our days. About the history of the origin of the icon, its meaning for Christians - this article.

The history of the appearance of the icon

According to legend, in 1157, the Grand Duke of Suzdal Andrey Yuryevich Dolgoruky was on his way from Vyshgorod to Suzdal, accompanied by the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir. On June 18, 10 miles before Vladimir, the cart stopped abruptly and, despite the efforts of the horses, they did not manage to move it. The retinue of the prince pitched a camp tent in this place. During the prayer, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to the prince and ordered him to build a church of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God on this site, named after her Nativity, and transfer the Vladimir Icon to Vladimir.

The prince, inspired by this event, ordered the court icon painters to write the image of the Virgin on a cypress board in the form in which she appeared to him during prayer. This is how the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God appeared, the photo of which is presented below. On this icon, the Mother of God is painted full-length, with her hands raised in prayer and with her face turned to the Son. In her right hand is a scroll with a prayer to the Lord written on it. Above the image of the Virgin Mary are icons that accompanied the Grand Duke on his journey - Jesus Christ, the Vladimir icon, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel and John the Baptist.

Celebration of the Bogolyubskaya Icon

At first, the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God found its place in Bogolyubovo, in the church built by the prince at the request of the Virgin, along with the Vladimir icon. It is believed that being next to the icon of Vladimir, Bogolyubskaya seemed to have taken over miraculous power from her, becoming no less revered.

On the calendar Orthodox holidays more than 260 revered icons of the Mother of God are mentioned, which have miraculous powers, but in general there are more than 860 different names for it. Many icons have their own days of celebration, their own prayers, akathists and troparia have been written for them. Each of the icons of the Blessed Virgin has its own effect: one heals, the other protects, the third helps in family matters.

The Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God also has a day of veneration. The celebration takes place on June 18, according to Art. style and June 1 - in a new way. On this day, other images of the Bogolyubskaya icon are also revered - Moscow, Zimarovskaya, Uglichskaya, Kozlovskaya, Yuryevskaya, Elatomskaya, Tula, Tarusskaya, Usmanskaya Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God, photos of which are presented in this article.

Location of the icon

As mentioned above, at first this icon was in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin built by the Holy Prince Dolgoruky. Later, the Bogolyubsky monastery was built around this temple, in which the icon was located until it was closed at the beginning of the 20th century. However, after the closing of the monastery, it was kept in the church of Joachim and Anna in the city of Vladimir. Since 1946, the image could be seen in the local history museum of Vladimir. In 1992, it was transferred to the Knyaginin Assumption Monastery, and in 2009 it was sent for renovation (restoration) to the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God, where it is still located.

Iconography in the church sense is the accepted system of rules and schemes for depicting certain images or events.

When depicting the Virgin, there are several well-known iconographic types:

• Oranta (the image of the Virgin Mary with her hands raised up with her palms turned outward and with a baby in her arms - symbolizes intercessory prayer).
• Eleusa (the image of the Virgin with a baby in her arms, pressing her cheek against the cheek of the Mother - symbolizes the highest love of God for people).
• Hodegetria (the image of the Virgin on the throne with a baby in her arms, holding a scroll, facing right hand in his direction - symbolizes the worship of the baby).
• Panahranta (the image of the Virgin Mary on a throne with a baby in her arms with her right hand turned in his direction - symbolizes the greatness of the Virgin)
• Agiosoritissa (the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary without a baby in a prayer pose - symbolizes prayer for humanity).

Iconography of the image

The Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God belongs to the last iconographic type - Agiosoritissa, however, it has several differences from the traditional schemes for depicting the Virgin. In particular, it contains elements of the Hodegetria and Orant type. On the bundle, which is in the hands of the Mother of God, a prayer is written addressed to the Lord in defense of the human race. It is known that the text written on this sheet changed every time the icon was restored.

The Bogolyubskaya Mother of God is very similar to the images of the Virgin, lined with mosaics in the church of Santa Maria, located in the city of Palermo. A similar similarity can be traced with the image depicted on the fresco of the Mirozhsky Monastery in Pskov, as well as with the image of the Virgin Mary in the compositions “The Last Judgment” and “The Presentation”. Given these facts, historians have concluded that the first author of this icon was a Byzantine icon painter, who arrived at the court of Prince Dolgoruky and subsequently returned to his homeland.

Famous Icon Lists

The word "list" here means a copy copied from the original.
The high veneration of the icon is evidenced by the fact that the Russian people over the past millennium created several dozen copies of it, which adopted its miraculous power. The most famous in this series are the Moscow, Uglich and Zimarovskaya icons of the Mother of God (Bogolyubskaya). The significance of these icons for the Russian people is great: they prayed before them during internecine strife, invasions of foreigners, deadly epidemics.

Moscow

The Moscow icon depicts the Mother of God with a scroll in her hand, praying to the Son, and in front of her, kneeling, are the saints. This list became famous for saving Muscovites from a terrible plague epidemic in 1771. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow has been located in the Church of Peter and Paul.

Zimarovskaya

The Zimarovskaya icon represents the Blessed Virgin without a baby, in full growth, facing the Son, blessing her from heaven. The icon is famous for its ability to heal people from serious diseases - pestilence, cholera. Until 1925, the icon was kept in the village of Zimarovo, Ryazan region, but after 1925 it was lost, and since then its whereabouts are unknown.

Uglichskaya

It was painted at the beginning of the 17th century, and after 200 years the insets from the icon were transferred to a new basis. The icon is famous miraculous healing residents of Uglich from pestilence in the middle of the 17th century. Today the icon is located in the city of Uglich, in the church of St. Dmitry.

What do they pray for before the Bogolyubsk icon?

The Mother of God always appears before those who pray as an intermediary between him and the Lord. The prayer of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God often contains petitions for the salvation of a person from illnesses and natural disasters, national strife and slander against the people, from fires in forests and fields, from hunger and poverty, from deadly epidemics, from floods, frosts and droughts, from attacks aggressors from other states and from destructive internal strife. In addition, travelers ask the icon for well-being on the way, and mothers ask for the health of their children in a foreign country.

The preservation of the icon today

The last restoration carried out revealed the original image of the Bogolyubskaya icon, made in unusually colorful colors. So, the clothes of the Virgin Mary are depicted in the form of a green-gray chiton and a brick maforium. The eyes of the Virgin are blue, and her cheeks are an unusually bright blush. However, in this form the icon became known only recently. Until now, this original image of this work has been hidden by numerous layers of paint and paraffin applied by previous restorers.

The fact that the great Russian icon is in a state of destruction was written back in 1915 by the famous Byzantinist N.P. Kondakov. Thanks to his words, trial openings of the icon were carried out in 1918. However, in 1946, the restoration specialist F.A. Modorov “strengthened” the paint with a paraffin layer according to a technology he had mistakenly chosen, which had a sharply negative impact on the state of the relic. So, in 1956, the icon was transferred to the museum, where experts issued a conclusion that pouring hot wax significantly worsened the bond between the paint and the ground. As a result, it was decided to remove the paraffin layer from the image. For 20 years, the museum restorers cleaned the surface of the icon from paraffin, but the deplorable state of gesso and paint by that time had become irreversible.

The condition of the icon worsened even more after it was kept in the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir in violation of the temperature and humidity regime due to the negligence of the serving staff. In 2009, the icon was transferred to the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum, where the condition of the icon was recognized as catastrophic.

Today, the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God is stored in a specially equipped room of the museum, and the restorers do not promise to present it for display in the foreseeable future.

Temples of Russia named after the Bogolyubskaya Icon

Three cathedrals were built in Russia: the Cathedral of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God in Bogolyubovo, Suzdal District, in Michurinsk, Michurinsky District, and in Tver, in the Vysokopetrovsky Monastery.

In addition to cathedrals, 12 chapels named after the Bogolyubskaya icon were built in the country - for example, in Dobrynino (Sobinsky district), in Pavlovsky (Yuryev-Pavlovsky district), in Shustino (Kolchuginsky district), in Boldino (Petushinsky district), in Ivanovo and in Tarusa, in with. Teterinskoye (Nerekhtsky district), in the city of Krasnoyarsk and in other Russian villages and cities. In Moscow, the chapel of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God is located at the Kalitnikovsky cemetery, in Davydkovo and on the Varvarskaya tower.

In addition to cathedrals, 69 churches were erected in Russia in honor of the icon.

Temples in Moscow showing the Bogolyubskaya icon

In Moscow, the Moscow Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God is revered, placed above the gates of Kitay-Gorod. These gates are located near the Church of Peter and Paul at the Yauza Gates on Kulishki, at the address Petropavlovsky lane, 4, building 6.
The Moscow icon was painted in the same year as the original - in 1157. On the days of the celebration, the icon is removed from the gate for three days and prayers are performed with it.