Icon of the Mother of God "Kaluga"
Prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos before Her Kaluga Icon
First prayer
O Most Holy Virgin, Mother of Christ our God, Marvelous Queen of heaven and earth! Listen to the much-painful sighing of our hearts; Look down from Thy holy height upon us, standing with faith and love before Thy miraculous icon and praying to Thee, O Lady, with tenderness! Do not betray the Orthodox Church to disparagement, help us, Most Holy Theotokos, to preserve the patristic Orthodox faith immaculately until the end of our days, to walk unswervingly in all the commandments of the Lord and deliver us from destructive, soul-harming teachings.
We trust in Your mercy, O wondrous Queen of Heaven and earth, Thy servants: cleanse our minds from sinful thoughts, mental relaxation, overwhelming passions, from temptations, seductions and falls; You are, O Lady, a strong refuge for repentant sinners. Raise us from the depths of sin and water our withered hearts with true repentance, enlighten our heartfelt eyes to the vision of salvation, and guide those seduced by demonic delusion onto the right path; Destroy every evil and ungodly deed; Teach and promote every good and godly deed; put, O Lady, into our hearts the spirit of the fear of God, the spirit of piety, the spirit of meekness, humility, patience, gentleness; soften our evil hearts and create evil good things, grant us zeal for the salvation of our neighbors.
Enlighten and teach us, O All-Merciful Intercessor, how to walk sinlessly along the path of this earthly life, for You, Most Holy One, weigh our faith and see our hope, the Lady of the world! Comfort those who mourn, help those in need; protect from lightning thunder, harmful winds, severe diseases, deadly plagues, internecine warfare, and invasions of foreign enemies.
Holy Mother of God! Delivered from sudden and violent death; Grant to all of us a conversion to the true path and a Christian death of our belly that is painless, shameless, peaceful, and a participant in the Holy Mysteries. During our exodus, appear to us, O Virgin Mother of God, and deliver us from the power of demons, airy bitter ordeals and eternal fire. To those who died a sudden death, beg the mercy of Thy Son, and for all those who have died who have no relatives, begging for the repose of Thy Son, Thou Thyself be a ceaseless and warm Prayer Book and Intercessor. Those who have ceased in faith and repentance from this temporary life, our fathers, brothers and sisters, have been granted by Your intercession to dwell in the heavenly abodes with the Angels and with all the saints, where the voices of those who continually celebrate and joyfully glorify the Most Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever , and forever and ever. Amen.
Second prayer
Read during the religious procession.
O Most Holy Lady Theotokos, Queen of Heaven and Earth! We resort to You and call on Your help: save our land from the invasion of foreign enemies, and from all mental and physical illnesses, and from deadly ulcers, and we always sing, magnify and glorify You, the Most Holy Theotokos, as our good and wondrous Intercessor forever centuries. Amen.
Troparion, tone 4
Irresistible Intercessor of the Kaluga lands from foreign enemies and Merciful Deliverer from the deadly ulcer! Deliver Thy servants from all troubles and illnesses, who with faith and love resort to Thy miraculous icon, and save our souls.
Kontakion, tone 6
Not imams of songs, below words, how worthy it is to praise Thee, Mother of Christ our God, the appearance for the sake of Thy miraculous icon of the land of Kaluzhstya, only we can cry out to Thee: do not turn away Thy mercy from us and send it down to all who flow to Thy wholesome icon.
Greatness
We magnify You, Virgin Mother of God, and honor Your miraculous icon, with which You were pleased to save the land of Kaluga from enemy invasions and all-destroying diseases.
Phenomenon Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God happened in 1748 in the village of Tinkovo, not far from Kaluga, in the house of the landowner Vasily Kondratyevich Khitrovo. Two maids were sorting through old things in the attic of his house. One of them, Evdokia, who was distinguished by her unrestrained disposition, allowed herself harsh and even obscene speech, not paying attention to the admonitions of her modest friend. Among other things, they accidentally discovered a large roll of rough canvas. Having unfolded it, the pious girl saw the image of a Woman in a dark robe with a book in her hands. Mistaking the image for a portrait of a nun and wanting to bring Evdokia to reason, she threatened her with the wrath of the abbess. The impudent Evdokia responded to her friend’s words with abuse and, succumbing to irritation, spat on her face. Immediately she had a seizure and fell unconscious.
A frightened friend told about what happened in the house. The next night, the Queen of Heaven appeared to Evdokia’s parents and revealed to them that it was their daughter who was blasphemously laughing at Her and ordered them to perform a prayer service in front of the desecrated icon, and to sprinkle the sick woman with the water blessed at the prayer service. After the prayer service, Evdokia recovered.
The landowner of Khitrovo took the miraculous icon into his house, where it abundantly exuded healing to those who resorted to it with faith. Subsequently, the icon was transferred with honors to the parish church in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Kaluzhka. A copy of the holy image was sent to Kaluga.
Through this icon, the Mother of God more than once showed Her protection of the Russian land in difficult times for it.
The celebration of the Kaluga Icon on September 2 was established in memory of the deliverance of Kaluga from the plague in 1771, when a monstrous epidemic literally devastated the city - the townspeople died out in entire families. The miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was then brought from the village of Kaluzhki, a religious procession walked around the entire city with it and a nationwide prayer service was served. After this, the plague in the city stopped.
The second celebration takes place on October 12, in memory of the salvation of Kaluga from the invasion of Napoleonic troops in 1812. French prisoners testified that during the battles near Kaluga and Maloyaroslavets, when they were defeated by Russian troops, they saw the Mother of God standing in the air, surrounded by luminous men.
In 1898, the celebration of the miraculous Kaluga Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary was established on July 18 in gratitude to the Mother of God for delivering Kaluga from cholera. In those terrible days, by resolution of the City Duma, a religious procession was carried out with a miraculous image. Through the intercession of the Most Pure One, the city was saved.
The icon is also celebrated on the first Sunday of Peter's Lent.
In the difficult 30s of the 20th century for the Orthodox Church, the authorities closed the church in the village of Kaluzhki, throwing off the bells and confiscating church valuables. Traces of the miraculous image were lost. Only from fragmentary information is it possible to trace the further history of the holy icon.
There is a version that the miraculous Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God was first in the Trinity Cathedral of Kaluga, then it was placed in the local history museum, from where it was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in the post-war years. Currently it is located in the St. George Cathedral of Kaluga.
According to another version, the original image was replaced at a time when many copies were made of the miraculous icon, but the original was kept in the archaeological museum of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, from where it was solemnly transferred to the Kaluga diocese in 1998.
However, according to documents found in the storerooms of the regional museum of local history about the transfer to the museum, among other items, of the original Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God, its description and dimensions do not correspond to the image transferred from the Lavra. In addition, the icon was in rather dilapidated condition. Thus, it is believed that the icons of the Mother of God (now there are three of them in Kaluga) are miraculous copies, and the image itself will still be revealed to the Orthodox believers of Russia.
Troparion of the Mother of God before Her Icon of Kaluga, tone 4
Z Defender of the Invincible Kaluga Land from foreign enemies/ and Merciful Deliverer from the deadly plague!/ Deliver Thy servants from all troubles and illnesses,/ who resort with faith and love to Thy miraculous icon,/ and save our souls.
Kontakion of the Mother of God before Her Icon of Kaluga, tone 6
N e imams of songs, below words, / how worthy it is to praise You, / Mother of Christ our God, / for the appearance of the miraculous icon of Your land Kaluzhstey, / only we can cry out to You: / do not turn away Your mercy from us / and send it down to all who flow to the blessed one Your icon.
The Greatness of the Mother of God before Her Kaluga Icon
We magnify You, Virgin Mother of God, and honor Your miraculous icon, with which You were pleased to save the land of Kaluga from enemy invasions and all-destroying diseases.
Prayer of the Mother of God before Her Kaluga Icon
ABOUT Most Holy Virgin, Mother of Christ our God, wondrous Queen of heaven and earth! Listen to the much-painful sighing of our hearts; Look down from Thy holy height upon us, standing with faith and love before Thy miraculous icon and praying to Thee, O Lady, with tenderness! Do not betray the Orthodox Church to disparagement, help us, Most Holy Theotokos, to preserve the patristic Orthodox faith immaculately until the end of our days, to walk unswervingly in all the commandments of the Lord and deliver us from destructive, soul-harming teachings.
We trust in Your mercy, O wondrous Queen of heaven and earth, Thy servants: cleanse our minds from sinful thoughts, mental relaxation, overwhelming passions, from temptations, seductions and falls; You are, O Lady, a strong refuge for repentant sinners. Raise us from the depths of sin and water our withered hearts with true repentance, enlighten our heartfelt eyes to the vision of salvation and guide those seduced by demonic delusion onto the right path; Destroy every evil and godly deed, teach and promote every good and godly deed; put, O Lady, into our hearts the spirit of the fear of God, the spirit of piety, the spirit of meekness, humility, patience, gentleness; soften our evil hearts and do evil good things, send us zeal for the salvation of our neighbors.
Enlighten and teach us, O All-Merciful Intercessor, how to walk sinlessly along the path of this earthly life, for You, Most Holy One, weigh our faith and see our hope, Lady of the world! Comfort those who mourn, help those in need; protect from lightning thunder, harmful winds, severe diseases, deadly plagues, internecine warfare, and invasions of foreign enemies.
Holy Mother of God! Delivered from sudden and violent death; Grant us all a conversion to the true path and a Christian end to our lives, painless, shameless, peaceful, and a participant in the Holy Mysteries. During our exodus, appear to us, O Virgin Mother of God, and deliver us from the power of demons, airy bitter ordeals and eternal fire. To those who died a sudden death, beg the mercy of Thy Son, and for all those who have died who have no relatives, begging for the repose of Thy Son, be a constant and warm prayer and intercessor. Having ceased in faith and repentance from this temporary life, our fathers, brothers and sisters are granted by Your intercession to dwell in the heavenly abodes with the angels and with all the saints, where the voices of those celebrating and joyfully glorifying the Most Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, do not cease, now and ever and ever. Amen.
The miraculous image of the Virgin Mary grants healing to everyone who turns to it in prayer. The icon of the Mother of God also helps people with pressing problems.
Prayers to the Mother of God, said near her icon, will help every lost soul gain faith in God and in their own strength. The intercession of the Mother of God heals any illness, both physical and spiritual. Sincere words are always reflected in the gracious help of the Virgin Mary.
History of the icon
The Kaluga Icon was revealed in 1748. In the house of a landowner who lived near Kaluga, an angry and unfaithful servant found a package. Unrolling it, the girl saw the face of the Holy Virgin, dressed in a black cassock. Instead of bowing before the sacred treasure we found, the ill-mannered person began to mock the Mother of God, which aroused the wrath of God. The girl was seized by a fatal illness.
That same night, the Mother of God herself appeared to her father and mother in a dream and told them that their daughter had ridiculed Her face with particular anger. The Virgin Mary ordered a service to be performed over the disgraced image. And in order for the girl to continue to live, her parents needed to sprinkle her with holy water in front of a clean icon.
After the service, the exhausted maid was healed of a terrible illness. Since then, the image of the Mother of God has regained its powerful power and corresponding name.
Where is the miraculous image located?
Found in 1748 in the village of Tinkovo, the icon was moved to the city of Kaluga only in 1771, when a terrible scourge struck the people - a pestilence. No measures could avert the misfortune until the miraculous image appeared in the city.
In 1812, the icon of the Virgin Mary saved Kaluga from the onslaught of the French army, which unexpectedly took a different road, skirting the city. Until 1918, the icon was in the Kaluga Museum, but during wartime it was stolen and looted. After the war, the image of the Mother of God was returned to the Kaluga St. George Cathedral, where it is kept to this day.
Description of the icon
The shrine depicts the Virgin Mary, dressed in dark clothes. She holds a book in her hands, and the head of the Virgin Mary is crowned with a crown, symbolizing the Kingdom of Heaven. However, in later lists, which date back to the end of the 18th century, the presence of a tiara on the head of the Mother of God is not observed. The Virgin Mary is depicted as a righteous nun. Previously, the icon was covered with a silver chasuble and bright precious stones.
Any image of the Mother of God carries mystery, mystery and love. Every believer who at least once looked for help near the icons of the Mother of God certainly received it. The miraculous influence of the Mother of God has been confirmed by many people.
How does the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God help?
Each holy image carries within itself Divine participation and power. People who suffer from various ailments, regardless of whether they are physical or spiritual, turn to the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God.
Prayers addressed to this image help to gain intercession and firm faith. There are cases where miraculous help emanating from the image of the Virgin Mary cured deafness.
Prayers before the holy icon of the Virgin Mary
You can receive the protection and intercession of the Mother of God by addressing her correctly. The spoken words must be imbued with faith, love and sincerity.
“Oh, Most Holy Theotokos, mother of our Savior, Queen of Heaven! Hear the prayer coming from the hearts of people asking for your powerful help. Look at us from above, how we bowed down next to your icon and with tenderness ask for your intercession. Do not refuse to help us, Most Holy Virgin, and preserve our strength of spirit and immaculate faith in our Father. May we not deviate from the true path in the hour of despair, and may we meet any adversity in accordance with all the commandments. Deliver us from mental suffering, bad influence and sin. We trust in Your mercy, Holy Mary, may your help purify our minds and hearts. You, consolation and refuge for people who repent of sins, atone for our sins before the Creator and bless us on the true path. Grant light in the darkness of demonic seductions and point to a bright destiny. Lady, help me and my enemies find piety, patience, kindness, humility and health. Save and preserve the sinful souls of people from natural disasters, deadly diseases, severe plagues, internecine wars and invasions of enemies. Deliver us from violent death, sudden misfortunes, the power of the devil and eternal fire. May the power of God be in our deeds. We glorify Your name, Your Son and our Father, now and forever. Amen".
The Day of the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God is celebrated on September 15 . A prayer addressed to Saint Panteleimon the Healer will also help you gain indestructible health. Take care of yourself and your health and don't forget to press the buttons and
(celebration Sept. 2, Oct. 12), miraculous, main shrine of the Kaluga diocese. The circumstances of the appearance of the icon and the miracles from it are set out in a handwritten Legend kept in the library of the Kaluga Seminary. Its compiler, Rev. Arseny Ioannov from the village. Boyanovichi (Buyanovichi) of Zhizdrinsky district. Kaluga province. (now Khvastovichi district, Kaluga region), began collecting information “from the most reliable witnesses or from the closest relatives of those who were awarded the grace of healing, or from those themselves on whom miracles were performed, some of whom have been purged, and some remain to this day.” (Legend. 1895. P. 5. Note) with the blessing of Philaret (Amphiteatrov), bishop. Kaluga and Borovsky (1819-1825), i.e. not earlier than 1820. The research was completed by 1834, and the manuscript was sent for consideration and approval to Nikanor (Klementyevsky), bishop. Kaluzhsky and Borovsky. The first publication of the Legend was published 30 years later, under Archbishop. Grigory (Mitkevich), in 1863 in Kaluga EVs, a separate publication in 1895.
According to the Legend, the icon was found in 1748 in the village. Tinkov (now Ferzikovsky district, Kaluga region) in the house of landowner Vasily Kondratyev Khitrovo. Two “yard girls” were sorting out old things in the attic. At the same time, one girl, “modest and chaste,” tried to reason with her friend Evdokia Grigorieva, who was not distinguished by “girlish modesty” and while working, without stopping, spoke obscene words. Among the junk, the pious maiden discovered a folded canvas. Having unfolded it, she saw on it the image of a Virgin in a dark robe with a book in her hand. The girl decided that this was a portrait of a certain abbess reading the monastic rule, and threatened Evdokia that if she did not shut up, then the abbess herself would punish her with her anger. The shameless girl spat on the face with the words: “That’s how I’m afraid of your abbess.” But she barely had time to finish speaking when she fell unconscious, foaming at the mouth. The pious girl reported to the owner about what had happened, her half-dead friend was carried downstairs and placed “under the holy icons.” The next night, the Queen of Heaven appeared to Evdokia’s parents and said that “their daughter was spat upon by the face not of a nun, but of the Mother of God.” She ordered to serve a prayer service in front of the found icon and sprinkle St. Evdokia. water. After doing what was said, “the sick woman got up and became as healthy as before” (Ibid., pp. 6-7). The surrounding residents became aware of the miraculous event. Khitrovo decorated the icon with a chasuble and, although he placed it in his house, he allowed access to it to everyone.
The Legend lists 25 miracles from the icon (Ibid. pp. 7-18). The first 2 miracles occurred in the Khitrovo house; in both cases, the Mother of God appeared to the sick with the command to turn to Her icon in prayer. Thus, the servant Prokhor, who suffered from deafness (miracle 1), and the seriously ill daughter Khitrovo, who, according to the doctors, had no hope of recovery, received healing (miracle 2).
After the miracle of his daughter’s healing, the landowner was afraid to keep the shrine in his house and handed it over to the church. Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God (“what is on the Kaluzhka River”), which belonged to him. Kaluzhka (now within the boundaries of Kaluga), located less than a kilometer from Tinkov, where there was no temple. Khitrovo bequeathed to his descendants not to take the icon from the church in Kaluzhka.
In 2 miracles that happened shortly after the icon was transferred to the temple, it is emphasized that the place where the Mother of God instructed the suffering to go was unknown to them, and both times these were residents of Kaluga. In one case, an elder, whose son suffered from ulcers, prepared a lot of crackers for a long journey, but came to Kaluga on the same day; His son was healed after prayers (miracle 3). Another time, tradesman Ivan Dmitriev Vorobyov and his wife, whose children died after birth, walked around several. temples on the river Kaluga, but not finding what they needed, they returned home. And only after the 2nd appearance of the Mother of God, who said that they should look for a temple in honor of the Nativity, they found the icon and prayed in front of it. Their daughter Anna was born safely (miracle 4).
In most cases (miracles 1-4, 7, 8, 13, 15, 21, 22), the Mother of God herself appeared to the sufferers “in a dream vision” with the command to resort to Her icon in the Nativity Church for help. in Kaluzhka. Thus, the following people received healing: from relaxation, Kaluga resident Petelin (miracle 5); in 1753, Myasoedov’s 5-year-old son Nikolai suffered from blindness (miracle 6); relatives of the eminent landowner from the city of Novosil, punished with blindness, who did not pay for supplies with the deacon of the church in Kaluga, Jacob Ivanov (miracle 7); from relaxation, a landowner from Smolensk (miracle 8); from relaxation, Kaluga resident Petr Ivanov Fursov (miracle 9); in 1782, from relaxation, the landowner from Aleksin Fyodor Ivanov Isakov (miracle 11); from relaxation, Kaluga resident Gavriil Akimov Butnev (miracle 12); from a long illness on the verge of death, landowner Maria Kar (miracle 14); from “obsession with fever” the girl Evdokia Fedorova from the village. Zgomoni Medynsky u. Kaluga province. (miracle 15); in 1810, the daughter of the Tula landowner Ivan Mikhailov Zhelyabovsky (miracle 16); in the church during the service of a resident of Tula, the maidens Varvara Danilova (miracle 17) and Maria Afanasyeva (miracle 18); Kaluga residents Matrona Tokareva and Anna Shcheglova, punished with serious illness for doubting the miraculousness of the icon, but repented (miracle 20); “possessed for several years by an evil spirit” peasant Melania Ivanova from the village. Anishino Venevsky U. (miracle 21); Tula resident Vera Danilova, weakened by illness (miracle 22); during a procession of the cross, a tradeswoman from Zhizdra, Ustinya Fedorova, was driven out of drunkenness (miracle 23); from relaxation, the girl Elisaveta Faleeva from Kaluga (miracle 24); from a serious illness, landowner Alexander Gavrilov Pavlov from Aleksin (miracle 25).
Miracle 13 is notable for the fact that the Mother of God calls Herself the “Guardian of the city of Kaluga” in an appearance in 1791 to a woman named Christina at the Luzhetsky Monastery near Mozhaisk. The Mother of God commanded Christina to end her relationship with a friend of “disapproving behavior”; she followed the advice; after she took monastic vows in the Moscow Nikitsky Monastery with the name Magdalene and every year she went to the icon in Kaluga. Two miracles are given in the Legend in connection with the intercession of the Mother of God through Her icon for Kaluga. So, in 1771, during a pestilence, the residents of Kaluga asked Archimandrite. Nicodemus from the Laurentian Monastery brought an icon from Kaluga, it was carried in a religious procession around the city for 3 days, and the plague receded (miracle 10). In 1812, Kaluga was saved from the French invasion (miracle 19).
The compiler of the Tale summed up the list of miracles with the conclusion that “there were many more miracles that remain unknown” (Tale. 1895. P. 18), and the miraculous icon was glorified in many. lists, which were “in almost every church” in Kaluga province. One of the lists, which the Legend reports, was ordered by the Aleksin landowner Pavlov and placed in his home.
The size of the miraculous icon is 1 arshin 12 vershoks × 1 arshin 6 vershoks. OK. In 1753, it was decorated with a silver frame at the expense of Petelin in gratitude for the healing.
Until the beginning XX century The icon was consistently called “Kaluzhenskaya”, after its place of residence in the village. Kaluzhka (the parallel name “Kaluzhskaya” was finally established, obviously, after 1812). In the documents of the 1st quarter. XIX century its name is found “The Lament of the Mother of God” (including in a letter from the heir of Khitrovo - GA Kaluga region. F. 33. Inventory 1. Item 2052. L. 27 volume; see also: Izvekov. 1894 . P. 6), apparently from the mournful expression of the Virgin’s face on the icon. Another name - “Revealed” - does not so much recall the fact of finding the icon, but rather serves as an epithet reflecting its deep veneration. After transfer to K. and. Khitrovo to the temple with. Kaluzhka, the village has a second name - Revealed. There were so many offerings to the icon that with these donations, with the “care” of Khitrovo, on the site of the wooden Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in the village. In Kaluga in 1760 a stone church was erected with the same dedication.
A separate page in the history of K. and. connected with the events of the Patriotic War of 1812, when Kaluga was an important strategic point - a food “warehouse” for the active army and a place where reserve forces flocked. During the formation of the Kaluga militia, Evlampy (Vvedensky), bishop. Kaluga, in the summer of 1812, served a prayer service with all the Kaluga clergy before K. and., which was transferred these days from Kaluga to Kaluga. After M.I. Kutuzov’s order to retreat Russian. troops due to significant losses from positions at the village. Borodino, Kaluga province. fell into the zone of possible occupation. Ep. Evlampius blessed the whole world to perform religious processions with K. and. around Kaluga. Oct 10 The French occupied and devastated Borovsk, then approached Maloyaroslavets. 12 Oct. A battle took place near Maloyaroslavets. In anticipation of its outcome, the Kaluga residents, leaving their houses, moved to the right bank of the river. Oki and took refuge in the Romodanovsky ravines. During these hours the miraculous icon, in front of the cut, as stated in the Akathist to the Kaluga Icon, the bishop prayed. Evlampios (kontakion 4), apparently, was in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Romodanova. It was with the intercession of the Mother of God through Her St. The icon is connected by the fact that the enemy did not enter Kaluga, but began to retreat along the Smolensk road. French prisoners who were on a campaign near Maloyaroslavets testified that “they were defeated by the Russians when they saw this particular icon of the Most Pure Mother of God, called Kaluga, standing in the air” (Kazansky. 1900. No. 2. P. 38). The peasant woman gr. Razumovsky Paraskev Alekseev (Poselyanin. 1909. P. 560). The miracle was reported to the emperor. Alexander I.
On May 8, 1813, Kaluga residents, seeing in K. and. their deliverer, they turned to Bishop. Evlampiya with a request to leave the icon forever in Kaluga. Ep. Evlampy supported the intention of the townspeople and in a message to the Kaluga City Duma expressed the desire to determine the place of further residence of K. and. Trinity Cathedral of Kaluga (Izvekov. 1894. P. 3-4), where interior decoration work was carried out at that time. Apr 29 In 1813, the governor of Kaluga P. N. Kaverin ordered “to make a place for the miraculous Mother of God of Kaluga icon on the left side of the iconostasis” (GA Kaluga Region F. 49. Inv. 1. Item 50; Item 42. D 151; F. 32. Inventory 19. Item 161. Sheets 33, 39). On July 17 of the same year, a decree of the Holy Synod was received with permission for the “forever” stay of K. and. in the Kaluga Cathedral “so that in the church of the village of Kaluzhki, instead of this icon, a copy of it would be placed” (Izvekov. 1894. P. 6). By Nov. In 1813, the miraculous icon was already in the Trinity Cathedral, but without a frame or case, on a simple “stage,” as follows from the address of Bishop. Kaluga and Borovsky Evgeniy (Bolkhovitinov) to the leader of the Kaluga nobility V.I. Timiryazev about the need to build a “well-made icon case” for the icon, the bishop called on Kaluga citizens to make their contribution (like himself), because “this decoration belongs to honor not only the icon, but also the Kaluga citizens themselves,” at the request of whom the icon was left in the city (GA Kaluga Region F. 260. Inventory 1. Item 185, November 9, 1813; repeated request about donations - September 18, 1816). Donations for the construction of the icon case and decoration of K. and. were introduced until the consecration of the Trinity Cathedral in 1819, the right (southern) aisle of which was dedicated to the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God. There, on the right side, in front of the iconostasis, an icon case with K. and. By April 17 In 1815, a Moscow architect created sketches (“3 plans”) of the icon case (Ibid. F. 33. Inventory 1. Item 2402. L. 15). The icon case project was also presented by Bishop. Evgeny, after which “the original facades were sent on February 2, 1816 for execution” to Moscow “in the name of Ivan Petrovich Deforsh” (Ibid. Item 2052. L. 51). According to the description of the abbot c. Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in the village Kaluga St. Mikhail Timofeevich Izvekov, on the miraculous image there was “a pearl circle (around) the entire face, a silver chasuble, gilded, a crown also silver and gilded, strewn with stones, on which the crown consists of rhinestone stones” (Izvekov. 1894. P. 6).
The miraculous icon did not remain in the Trinity Cathedral for long. Guards ensign Alexey Gerasimovich Khitrovo, who was part of the Kaluga militia, apparently returning home from a campaign, learned about the transfer of the family icon from the church in the village. Kaluga to the Trinity Cathedral (Fridhelm. 2009, 20112. P. 68). On May 25, 1814, he sent a letter to the ruling bishop asking for the return of the icon. This information represents the earliest recorded history of the origin of K. and. and significantly correct the official version of the Legend of Paradise was created by Archpriest. Arseny Ioannov 20 years later. Thus, A.G. Khitrovo reports that the icon was still in the house of his grandfather, steward Kondrat Lavrentievich Khitrovo (mentioned in the Boyar List (List of stylites and solicitors and noblemen of Moscow and clerks of the current 1712) as “tenant since 7195 (1687) " - RGADA. F. 210. Inventory 2. Item 59. Sheet 191 volumes), and was glorified “for various miracles for more than seventy years.” According to his promise, Kondrat Lavrentievich transferred this icon “that actually belonged to him” to the parish of the then dilapidated wooden church in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, which is in Kaluga,” and Alexei Gerasimovich’s father, Gerasim Kondratyevich Khitrovo, “with others to him and his descendants “He blessed with a will, “so that my father’s (i.e., Gerasim Kondratyevich) parishes and houses, and his descendants... will not be transferred anywhere from the said parish church forever” (except for pilgrimages). A.G. Khitrovo expressed concern in a letter that without the miraculous icon, “a huge church with two more chapels in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, with a decent sacristy,” which was largely supported by the offerings of pilgrims, would be left without a means of subsistence (GA Kaluga region F. 33. Inventory 1. Item 2052. Sheet 27 volumes - 28; see: Friedhelm. 2009, 20112. pp. 68-69).
After a repeated letter from A.G. Khitrovo dated June 26, 1814, supported by a petition from the parishioners of the Nativity Church. in the village Kaluzhka, on June 30 of the same year, a resolution was followed by Bishop. Evgeniy with an order to return K. and. from the Trinity Cathedral to the temple of the village. Kaluzhka. But the icon was returned only on May 6, 1817, under Anthony (Sokolov), bishop. Kaluga and Borovsk. Instead of the miraculous K. and. in the Trinity Cathedral they placed a copy from the church in the village. Kaluzhka (Izvekov. 1894. P. 13). The list was placed in an icon case, and a precious piece of clothing that was worn by K. and was placed on it. For offerings to the miraculous K. and. in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Kaluga in 1821, a blessing was received to make a chasuble; the weight of the robe made of 84-carat silver with a gilded crown was 16 pounds 83 spools.
Celebration of K. and. took place several times a year - September 2, October 12, July 18. In remembrance of miracles and in gratitude to the Mother of God, 2 annual religious processions were established with K. and. around the city: 2 Sep. in memory of the deliverance of Kaluga from the plague (1771), October 12. in connection with the deliverance of Kaluga from the invasion of Napoleon's troops (under Bishop Eulampia, it was established by decree of the Holy Synod). The icon was brought on the eve of the celebration from the church in the village. Kaluga to Kaluga Cathedral.
On July 18, 1892, during a cholera epidemic, Kaluga residents carried the icon in a religious procession around the city, and it “apparently was saved from a destructive epidemic” by the intercession of the Mother of God. Since 1893, in memory of this event under Anatoly (Stankevich), bishop. Kaluga and Borovsk, an annual religious procession was established on July 18. On the eve of bringing K. and. In all churches of Kaluga on July 16, an all-night vigil was held with the service of the Most Rev. Mother of God. On July 17, after the early liturgy, a small religious procession from the cathedral went to the Khlyustinsky charitable institutions (now Kaluga City Hospital No. 4, Nikitina St., 66). There they met an icon brought from Kaluga. At the bishop's house, the procession was awaited by the bishop, who led the procession to the Trinity Cathedral, where the late liturgy was served. On the same day, during the all-night vigil in the city churches, the service of St. Mother of God, and in the cathedral in front of K. and. The Akathist of the Most Holy One was read. Mother of God. On July 18, for the late liturgy, clergy from all Kaluga churches with icons and banners came to the Trinity Cathedral. After the service with a prayer for deliverance “from the deadly infection,” the religious procession went to Parade Square. (now on Old Torg Square), from where he moved along the city streets with a rest stop at the Laurentian Monastery (total duration - 8 hours). On July 20, after the late liturgy, the icon was escorted to the village. Kaluzhka. However, the route of the procession was changed to quell the fire to the east. side of the city, which threatened to spread to the center of Kaluga. Ep. Anatoly served a prayer service at the fire in front of K. and. The wind died down and changed its direction, making it possible to put out the fire (Lebedev. 1893).
In the summer of 1900 in Kaluga province. It rained incessantly for more than a month. Every day of bad weather made the onset of famine inevitable, since the bad weather did not allow the harvest to be harvested and jeopardized the next year's sowing. A miraculous icon was brought from Kaluzhka to Borovsk for 3 days. On Sunday, September 12, during a national prayer in the city square, the sun appeared for the first time in bad weather, the rains stopped, and clear, cloudless days arrived (Kazansky. 1900. No. 3. P. 77).
K. and. Every year they brought empties from Kaluga to Optina. The icon was transported by ferry to the opposite bank of the river. Zhizdra, where she was met by a procession of the cross led by the abbot, the monastery and skete brethren. After a short prayer, the procession went to the monastery cathedral, and the solemn service began. At the end of the service, K. and. carried around the cells of the monastery, and then transferred to the temple of the monastery of St. John the Baptist. After the prayer service with an akathist, the monastery brethren received the icon from their cells. The next day, before the late liturgy, the icon was returned to the monastery, where at the end of the service, with the bells ringing, a religious procession took place, in which, together with K. and. wore monastery shrines. After the water blessing prayer near the well of St. Ambrose of Milan at St. gate of the monastery K. and. They escorted her to the border of the monastic property, where she was handed over to the clergy and numerous townspeople of Kozelsk. In the Life of St. Ambrose Optinsky reported that on September. 1868, when the elder’s condition deteriorated so much that there was no hope of recovery, his spiritual son, Count. A.P. Tolstoy asked the Optina abbot. Isaac “to send a monk to the village. Kaluzhenka... with a request to the local priest to bring to the monastery a famous shrine - the miraculous Kaluzhensk Icon of the Mother of God.” Before the icon in the elder’s cell, a prayer service with an akathist was served and a cell vigil was held for the health of the saint. Ambrose did not immediately, but it improved, and “among the Optina brotherhood, hope for the mercy and help of the Mother of God revived” ( Agapit (Belovidov), schiarchim. Biography of the deceased Optina Elder Hieroschim in Bose. Ambrose. M., 1900. Serg. P.; M., 1992. Part 1. pp. 66-67). Aug 17 1871 to alleviate the suffering of St. A list of K. and. was already brought to Ambrose’s cell - “from their monastery, the local Kaluzhenskaya icon” (Ibid. p. 72).
It is known that K. and. met in Kaluga on major church holidays, for example. in 1876, on the feast of the Intercession of the Holy. Mother of God (Rozhdestvensky. 1876).
Wide veneration of K. and. writing, which was unconventional for Old Believers, had the peculiarity that it manifested itself in the Kaluga region with strong Old Believers foundations. In 1899, the miracle of healing of the wife of the collegiate assessor Z. A. Chufarovskaya was witnessed. The family of the healed woman, in gratitude, petitioned for the icon to be brought to their home in Borovsk, about half of the population of which were Old Believers. When meeting K. and. Old Believers joined the religious procession, “who during the entire three-day stay of St. icons in the city were present at services in the cathedral church” (Izvekov. 1900. P. 3). Recognition and veneration of K. and. Old Believers confirms the existence of lists of icons made in the Old Believer style, as well as its inclusion in the marks of icons of holidays and selected saints (for example, the mark of K. and. on the icon “The Resurrection of Christ, with marks of holidays and selected saints,” late 18th century ., Grand Martyr George “on horseback” in Kaluga, painted by a Kaluga master in a manner close to the manner of the Vetkovo masters ( Nechaeva T. N., Chernov M. A.“Pisan in Kaluga...”: Kaluga icons of the 18th-19th centuries. // Antiques: Art and collectibles. M., 2010. No. 11(81). P. 24. Ill. 82, 83 on p. 58).
About the exceptional significance of K. and. The life of the Kaluga region is evidenced by images of icons together with the Kaluga miracle workers. So, on the icon there is the 2nd floor. XIX century (KOHM) presented on a golden background in the middle K. and. Saints Lawrence and Tikhon of Kaluga are holding on the sides (see: Ibid. Ill. 57 on p. 48).
Veneration of the icon was also expressed in poetic form, from a poem belonging to Bishop. Macarius (Trinity), you can find out not only about the number of days of celebration of K. and. in the end XIX century (“Three times a year the Mother of God comes to our city”), but also about some features of the procession ( Macarius (Troitsky), bishop. Poem for the day of visiting the Kaluga miraculous icon of the Mother of God in Kaluga // Kaluga EV. 1898. Part unofficial. No. 19. pp. 682-685).
3 Feb In 1918, the last religious procession took place with the miraculous K. I. - in order to prevent the troubles impending on the Church (in January 1918, such religious processions took place in Moscow and Petrograd). Kaluga residents, summoned to the Trinity Cathedral by the ringing of bells, went to meet K. and. to the Sergius Skete (founded in memory of the death of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich near Kaluga, near the village of Mstikhino; destroyed in Soviet times), where she was located. A prayer service and all-night vigil were served in the cathedral. The next day after the liturgy, a prayer service was served again and a religious procession was held with the reading of the Akathist to the Mother of God along the central streets of the city. At the end of the religious procession on Parade Square. They served a prayer service for the pacification of passions. Then the icon was traditionally carried to the Khlyustinsky charitable institutions, from where the skete monks took it to the church in the village. Kaluga (Religious procession with the miraculous icon in 1918 // Kaluga Church and Social Bulletin. 1918. No. 4. P. 4-5).
Oct 6 1923 due to the lack of a church in the village. Kaluga agreement with the Soviet authorities on the use of the church building of K. and. For safety reasons, they moved it to the Trinity Cathedral. After the closure of the cathedral in 1926, K. and. ended up in the Assumption Church in Kaluga. On July 9, 1940, it was transferred for storage to the Kaluga Museum of Local Lore. In the 40s XX century, under Onesiphorus (Ponomarev), bishop. Kaluzhsky and Borovsky, K. and. returned to the Church and installed in the church as a martyr. George “on horseback”, which acquired the status of a cathedral during the Soviet period (Legostaev. 2000. pp. 73-74). Currently time in the St. George Cathedral near the left choir in the icon case there is K. and. (not researched). In size it is close to the miraculous icon. Not covered by a chasuble, the heavily darkened areas of the painting are difficult to distinguish. The characteristic closed large eyelids, neat, swollen lips and the soft design of the nose with a voluminous tip suggest that the icon could have been painted no later than the 2nd half. XVIII century
One of the earliest, accurately dated lists of K. and. (private collection, Obninsk, Kaluga region), created in 1777. The icon painted in tempera, despite its small size compared to the protograph (22×26 cm), is very close in conveying individual features and in the general interpretation of the face of the Virgin Mary to the icon from the cathedral Vmch. George "on horseback". In the lower right corner there is an inscription: “Image of Prty Btsy What’s on the Kolush (f?)ki.” The icon is decorated with a silver frame chased with baroque motifs and bearing the master’s mark - “S. L."
OK. In 1812, a banner was made with the image of K. and. on the front side and the image of the rights. Lawrence of Kaluga the Wonderworker on the reverse side (KOKM). In c. Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God (Nikitskaya) bishop. Evlampy (Vvedensky) consecrated the banner and presented it to the leader of the Kaluga militia, Lieutenant General V.F. Shepelev. After the return of the Kaluga people's militia from Prussia in 1815, the banner was first located in the center. Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos (Nikitskaya; before the consecration of the Trinity Cathedral it served as the main church of the diocese), since 1819 - in the Trinity Cathedral “near the internal walls” (currently in KOKM). According to the description in the report of the cathedral prot. Alexia Kolybelina 1888, “the banner of 1812, arranged in the form of a church banner made of thick canvas with three lower blades; represents a holy Icon; On its front side there is depicted the face of the Mother of God of Kaluga, copied from the miraculous image located in the church of the village of Kaluga, which in a terrible time of temptation was transferred from here to Kaluga for prayers and to the miraculous power of which the pious faith of the Kaluga residents attributes the deliverance of the city of Kaluga from the invasion of the French... With the banner 1812 there is an iron... plate on which... the inscription: “Rifleman No. 6 of the Squad. Granted on July 27th. 1855, in 1812 it was near Danzig, in 1855 and 1856 it was in the Crimea" (GA Kaluga region F. 32. Inventory 1. Item 1835; see: Friedhelm. 2009, 20112. With 67-68). It is known that the militia made donations to decorate the banner. Colonel N.R. Mainov asked the bishop for a blessing to set up places near the banner “in frames behind glass” where the history of the formation of the militia would be outlined, mentioning when and by whom the banner was given as a blessing, “its campaign and return” to Kaluga ( Ibid., p. 64).
In connection with the work on the icons for the iconostasis (design by architect M. F. Kazakov, 1814) of the Trinity Cathedral 5 Oct. In 1816, an agreement was concluded with an icon painter from Orel, a drawing teacher at the Oryol district school, Grigory Ivanovich Korneev, who was distinguished for “the best Greek icon painting of holy images.” 7 Sep. 1818 Korneev was given “in addition to the contract for writing a copy of the miraculous image of the Kaluga Mother of God 100 rubles... and for six images of the Kaluga Mother of God of average size - 150 rubles” (GA Kaluga Region F. 33. Op. 3. Unit archive 29. L. 58-60, 71).
Currently time in the Kaluga diocese the list of K. and. in the Trinity Cathedral. Oct 21 In 1998, in the year of celebration of the 250th anniversary of the discovery of Christ, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' transferred to the diocese a list of the miraculous icon, which was kept in the Central Accreditation Center of the MDA. The list is close in size to the miraculous icon (116×89 cm), executed in oil on canvas and dates from the last. third XVIII century (restored in the workshop of the Central Exhibition Center of the MDA by E. S. Churakova). Rev. The Virgin Mary in a dark dress with red trim and a blue maforia with volumetrically modeled folds is depicted on a brown background. Contrasting with the dark color of the pre-personal is the rather simplified, light, highly whitened carnation of the personal. On the lips of the Mother of God there is a light half-smile, the halo is made in the form of a light ray-like radiance, at the top of the sides of the halo is the monogram of the Mother of God (in red): “”. After the transfer, the list was placed in the Cathedral of the Great Martyr. George “on horseback”, presently. time is in the Trinity Cathedral at the right choir. The icon is decorated with an embroidered chasuble with precious stones, made in 1998 by the Kaluga craftswoman L. Babadey.
An opinion was expressed about the closeness of the iconography of K. and. to the lifetime portrait of Queen Evdokia Lopukhina (Elena in monastic life) (18th century copy from an unknown original, 88.5×70 cm, GVSMZ, Suzdal Kremlin). The similarity of the images is added by the dark coloring, the cut of the figures below the waist, a slight 3/4 turn to the left, and the direction of view. A noticeable iconographic discrepancy is the position of the right hand, the edge in the portrait of Lopukhina is hidden by a muff. The popularity of such iconography as applied to portraits of queen nuns is evidenced by at least one more portrait identical in image, located in the collection of the State Museum of Art and Art (attributed according to a later inscription as a portrait of the nun Martha - Queen Maria Feodorovna Naryshkina; see: Russian art XVII - early. XX centuries: Painting. Cat. GMIIRT / Author: G. A. Mogilnikova. Kaz., 2005. Cat. 806). The type of portrait of a well-born woman with a prayer book and rosary in her hands is also known in the Polish Baroque so-called. Sarmatian portrait from the middle. XVII century (portrait of Katarzyna Wapowska, Wilanów Museum, Warsaw, publ.: Tananaeva L.I. Sarmatian Portrait. M., 1979. P. 143. Cat. 50), which took shape under the influence of Western Europe. samples are primarily religious. painting. How and whether K. and were connected? and the portrait of Lopukhina remains unknown. In connection with the discovery of the icon in the Khitrovo house, it can be noted that the Khitrovo and Lopukhin families, who also had family estates in the Kaluga province, had family ties in different generations (for example, the son of Evdokia Lopukhina’s brother, General-Chief Vasily Avraamovich Lopukhin († 1757 ), owner of a family estate in the village of Shchelkanovo (about 60 km from Tinkov), was married to the daughter of Anna Fedorovna Khitrovo, Count Ekaterina Yaguzhinskaya).
In con. XX century Religious processions were resumed with K. and., first in the city, then in the cities of the region. In July 2011, with the blessing of Clement (Kapalin), Metropolitan. Kaluga and Borovsky, a 20-day general diocesan religious procession was held with K. and. from the Trinity Cathedral to 28 settlements of the Kaluga diocese. This procession with the name “Let’s Pray for the Land of Kaluga” took place and traveled hundreds of kilometers.
Near the Church of the Nativity of St. Mother of God (closed in 1935, in 1991 transferred to the Kaluga diocese, since October 25, 2005 there has been a women's community in honor of the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God, the metochion of the St. Nicholas Chernoostrovsky women's monastery in Maloyaroslavets) in the former. With. Kaluzhka (now within the boundaries of Kaluga) St. the source of the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God, where on the days of celebration of the icon water prayers are performed.
Currently From time to time miracles of healing occur from the icon (some are documented, see: Miraculous Kaluga. 2009, 20112. P. 95. Note).
In honor of the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God, churches, chapels, and chapels were consecrated: the southern chapel in the Cathedral of the Annunciation. Mother of God, Kozelsk (1810); chapel in the Trinity Cathedral, Kaluga (1819); The wooden church in the Sretensky monastery of Tikhonova in Kaluga is empty. (1872; currently the chapel of the Assumption Cathedral is also consecrated); church at the bishop's house, Kaluga (1875); wooden church in the village Trudovoy (now within the boundaries of Kaluga; ca. 2000); house church at the Boarding School for the Elderly and Disabled, Kaluga (2002); wooden chapel in the village Dobroye, Maloyaroslavets district, Kaluga region. (until 2010); church in the village Elensky, Khvastovichi district, Kaluga region. (2012, on the site of a wooden church, 1997).
Arch.: Optina Library is empty. // Chronicle of Optina Pustyn. 1900-1916 Mash.
Lit.: Rozhdestvensky N.G., priest. Word on the day of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin. Theotokos and meetings of the Kaluga Mother of God // Kaluga EV. Arr. 1876. No. 19. P. 364-370; Khanykov V.V. Kaluga chronicle from distant times to 1841 / Communication: archim. Leonid (Kavelin). M., 1878; Lebedev M., prot. Bringing the miraculous Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God to Kaluga and public prayer with a religious procession around the city for the deliverance of its inhabitants from cholera // Kaluga EV. Arr. 1893. No. 16. P. 493-497; Izvekov M.S., priest. About the stay of the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God in Kaluga. Kaluga, 1894; aka. Word on the day of celebration of the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God, called “Kaluga” // Kaluga EV. 1897. No. 14. P. 402-405; aka. A new miracle of mercy from the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, called Kaluga // Ibid. Ch. unofficial 1900. No. 1. P. 1-3; aka. Word on the day of the procession with the miraculous Kaluzhenskaya Icon of the Mother of God around the city on the 18th of July // Ibid. 1905. No. 14. P. 429-436; Kazansky V., prot. Teachings delivered in the Borovsky Cathedral Church during the stay of the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God in Borovsk // Ibid. 1900. No. 2. P. 34-39 [lecture 2]; No. 3. P. 75-78 [lesson 3]; Sokolov I., prot. Word on the day of the religious procession (Sept. 2) around the city of Kaluga with the Kaluga revealed icon of the Mother of God // Ibid. No. 17. P. 381-385; Stay of the Icon of the Mother of God of Kaluga in Kaluga // Ibid. 1902. No. 14. P. 357-359; Villager E. Mother of God. 1909. pp. 558-561, 657; Legostaev V.V. History of the Church p. Kaluzhka. Kaluga, 2000; Shvedov S.V. Kaluga province - a stronghold of the “second wall” of the Fatherland in 1812 // From Tarutino to Maloyaroslavets: To the 190th anniversary of the Battle of Maloyaroslavets. Kaluga, 2002. P. 5-14; Ogoltsov M. O., Balashova E. A. Features of Kaluga icon painting and the influence of various icon painting schools on it // Tr. regional scientific competition projects in the field of humanities. Kaluga, 2004. Issue. 5. pp. 242-259; Miraculous Kaluga: About the miraculous Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God and c. Nativity of the Most Holy Virgin Mary on the river Kaluzhka / Comp.: V. N. Friedhelm; author: V.V. Legostaev, N.V. Salakhova, V.N. Fridgelm. Kaluga, 2009, 20112; Fridgelm V.N. About voluntary donations for the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God // Miracle-working Kaluga. Kaluga, 2009, 20112. pp. 53-70; Komarov S., protodiac. Let's pray for the land of Kaluga // Orthodox Church. Christian. Kaluga, 2011. No. 5. P. 4-9.
E. V. Shevchenko
Ancient Kaluga has a wonderful patroness - an icon of the Blessed Virgin created on canvas. For more than two and a half centuries it has protected the inhabitants of the city, generously pouring out the grace of God on those who are pure in heart and strong in faith. Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God - this is how it is customary to call this wondrous image, found in the 18th century and which became one of the main shrines of the region.
Appearance of the shrine
This happened in 1748 in the village of Tinkovo, not far from Kaluga. It pleased the Most Holy Theotokos to show people Her miraculous image in the house of a pious man - the landowner Vasily Kondratyevich Khitrovo. During one of the cleanings, a bundle of antique canvas was discovered in the attic of the house. When it was unfolded, the eyes of those present saw an image of a woman in monastic robes, immersed in reading a book.
The girl who found the canvas decided that it was a portrait of one of the sisters or the abbess of a convent located not far from the village, and, showing the find to Evdokia, the owner’s daughter, by the way, she told her that if necessary, she would complain about her to the mother abbess - this was too painful Evdokia is careless in prayer and sinful in foul language. However, instead of repentance, the servant’s threat aroused anger in the master’s daughter, and she, not remembering herself, spat on the picture, showing her contempt for the spiritual person.
Punishment for insolence and blasphemy
What happened next shocked everyone present. Suddenly Evdokia staggered and then fell, losing consciousness. When the girl came to her senses, she could neither speak nor move. It was clear to everyone that the unfortunate woman was paralyzed for the blasphemy she had committed. The owner's daughter was taken to her room and placed under the icon.
Soon the Most Pure Mother of God appeared to the owner of the house in a night vision and reported that Evdokia was punished for her insolence in relation to the found image. The Queen of Heaven also said that it is not the abbess depicted on it, but She is the Mother of God, and that henceforth, through this image, Grace will be sent down to Kaluga and its inhabitants. The Mother of God ordered to tell the priest about everything that had happened and to serve a repentant prayer service in front of the found icon.
Healing of Evdokia and new miracles
It was said about the daughter of Vasily Kondratievich that after sincere and deep repentance, she should be sprinkled with water flowing from under the church - and she would be healed. That's how it all happened. The canvas with the image of the Holy Virgin was placed in a frame, and it became their family shrine. The daring girl tearfully repented, and after she was sprinkled with holy water, she was healed.
A little time passed, and rumors of a new miracle spread throughout the village. The master had a servant Prokhor, who suffered from deafness since childhood. Once in a dream, he heard a voice telling him that the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God, kept in their house, would save him from misfortune. You just need to pray earnestly before her. The same thing happened the next night. Then Prokhor spent long hours in kneeling prayer, after which he unexpectedly fell asleep. He slept for two days, and when he woke up, his hearing was completely restored.
Soon the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God was solemnly transferred to the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was located in a nearby village. But this event was preceded by another miracle, revealed through her and remaining in the memory of her fellow villagers. Evdokia, the same daughter of the landowner who was once punished for her insolence, fell seriously ill. And again there was a night vision of the Blessed Virgin with the command to pray before the image and not to weaken in faith. After the entire Khitrovo family performed a prayer service in front of the miraculous image, the illness left the girl.
Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God - Guardian of the City
Since then, the ancient Russian city has had an intercessor and patroness - the icon of the Kaluga Mother of God. The Blessed Virgin showed wonderful miracles through her. In 1771, for their sins, the Lord struck the inhabitants of the city with a plague, but they served a repentant prayer service before it, and the Most Pure One begged Her Son to have mercy on the Kaluga residents. Another time, in 1812, a prayer to the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God saved the city from the invasion of Napoleonic troops. This event has been preserved forever in Russian history. When a cholera epidemic occurred in 1898, during a prayer service the Orthodox all over the world read an akathist to the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God, and the Heavenly Intercessor did not abandon them - she took the trouble away from the city.
In memory of these miracles, the Holy Church established holidays celebrated annually on Kaluga soil. All of them are dated in accordance with the days when the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God showed her intercession. These are October 25 and July 31. In addition, the Icon of the Mother of God at the bishop's house in the city of Kaluga celebrates its patronal holiday every year on the first Sunday
Prayer before the miraculous icon
This miraculous image, revealed during the reign of the pious Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, continues to be under the care of Kaluga residents to this day. Soon it is planned to open a convent in his honor on the site of his miraculous discovery.
No matter what everyday misfortunes happen, the residents of the city go to the temple, where the Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God awaits them. What do they pray for before her, what do they ask for protection from? They pray for the health of themselves and their loved ones, for blessings on all good deeds, for family happiness and many children. They ask to be protected from the evil one and all his wiles.