Russian on Athos of the St. Panteleimon Monastery (August 21 / September 3, 1903) during the distribution of alms is an act of the Providence of the Mother of God about Her Lot in fulfillment of the promises given by Her, and is in an unbroken chain of similar miraculous events that happened at different times in the history of Athos .
The peculiarity of all these miraculous events is that the Most Holy Theotokos each time confirmed the action of Her providence in a significant way - the appearance of a new miraculous icon. This is what happened during the appearance of the Mother of God, St. Athanasius of Athos, who, unable to withstand the tests, cowardly intended to leave Athos. Appearing to him, the Most Holy Abbess of the Holy Mountain turned him away from this, reminding him that She Herself takes care of all the needs of the monastery and is not only an Abbess, but also an economist. The icon of the Great Lavra Ikonomissa reminds us of this phenomenon. It is noteworthy that Rev. At first Athanasius did not recognize the Most Holy Theotokos, and only after the miraculous removal of water from the stone did he understand who was in charge. In the Vatopedi monastery, the Mother of God took upon herself the duties of dochiar (that is, a storekeeper), as evidenced by the miraculous icon of Dochiar. In Iveron, the Blessed Virgin announced that She Herself is the guardian of Her Destiny, a visible sign of which is the Iveron Icon.
But the Most Holy Theotokos cares not only about the earthly welfare of the inhabitants of Her Lot, but most of all about spiritual gifts, which is also preserved in memory in many miraculous icons. So now the Most Holy Abbess appeared to confirm Her vigilant providence and to fulfill one of Her promises - to be not only a healer, nourisher and teacher of Her monks, but also a resolver in various misunderstandings and temptations. The essence of the real misunderstanding was that the Protat of the Holy Mountain forbade the Russian Holy Mountain monastery to distribute alms in the form of benefits to needy Kelliots. The monastery could not fulfill this requirement. Alms to all the poor inhabitants of Athos of different nationalities and, in particular, support for Russian hermits, were the commandments of the great elders of the Russian Svyatogorsk Monastery Jerome and Macarius. Extinguished at the end of the 18th century due to Peter's reforms and the Russian-Turkish wars, and completely lost for Russian monasticism, the Monastery was restored and returned to the Russian inhabitants, who no longer had their refuge on Athos, by the grace of God alone, which obliged its monks to alms and support for those in need. The monastery fulfilled this commandment all the days of its existence, both in times of prosperity and in times of need.
At the time described, the closest student and assistant of Hegumen Macarius, Schema-Archimandrite Andrei (Verevkin), a faithful follower of the precepts of his great elders, became abbot. Especially Fr. Andrei was jealous of alms. Having received a letter from Protat prohibiting the distribution of alms to the poor Siromakhs and Kelliots, he assembled a Council of Elders of the Monastery to make a general decision. However, opinions at the Council were divided. Most of the fathers considered it impossible to leave alms and thereby violate the blessing of the elders Jerome and Macarius. The dissatisfied, using the letter from Protat, asked to immediately stop what they considered to be the “waste” of the treasury. Having listened to everyone, Father Andrei, relying on the will of the Mother of God, ordered the distribution of alms to be carried out for the last time, despite the prohibition, for the sake of the poor Siromakhs, who knew nothing about this circumstance.
During the last distribution of alms, a photograph was taken in which the image of the Mother of God in monastic attire appeared, approaching for alms. General surprise and jubilation gripped everyone - both the inhabitants of the monastery and the poor Kelliots. Fr. himself After the obvious miracle, Andrei considered the question settled. The Council instructed Hieroschemamonk Agathodorus to draw up a report to the Kinot of the Holy Mountain about the miraculous event that had taken place, with a photograph attached, and with a request to continue giving alms, which was done. There was no response from Kinot. Almsgiving was not abolished, but continued even in the most difficult times for the Monastery, and was witnessed by a new miracle.
After the outbreak of the First World War and the severance of ties with the Fatherland, the Athonite Russian monasteries (and the Greek ones too) fell into great need, there was especially a shortage of food, and the orphans - poor wandering hermits - were especially poor. Monk Sergius (Tokarev) was then in charge of distributing free rations of flour to poor hermits. Having a kind heart and seeing the difficult situation of the Siromakhs, he could not refuse the request for an extra handful of flour. The distribution was coming to an end. In hasty work Fr. Sergius did not pay attention to the amount of flour remaining in the chests allotted to the poor. When the last hermit monk received his share, then only Fr. Sergius looked into where the flour was, hoping to find the chests empty. But they turned out to be full, as they were at the beginning of the distribution.
By her appearance, the Most Holy Theotokos supported the Russian Svyatogorsk monastery in virtue, consoled the hermits and silently admonished the elders of Kinot, certified Her Supreme Abbess and testified to the vigilance of Her providence.
According to the current Hegumen of the Athos St. Panteleimon Monastery Schema-Archimandrite Jeremiah, it was alms and fidelity to the covenants of the elders that preserved the Monastery in the difficult times of the 20th century, it was alms that became the oil that did not allow the Russian lamp on Athos to go out.
Not so long ago, in the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos, the original negative of the miraculous Light-painted image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was discovered - a photograph that recorded the appearance of the Mother of God in 1903. The negative was found while working with the old photo archive of the monastery. This discovery, which took place more than 110 years later, can undoubtedly be considered a miracle, taking into account all the disastrous circumstances that befell the Russian Svyatogorsk monastery over a century-long period of time. Many negatives were lost during the fires of 1968; some ended up in private collections. There was not even hope of finding this valuable relic after so many years of decline.
According to the Russian Abbess of the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, Schema-Archimandrite Jeremiah (Alekhine), “the discovery of the negative - the prototype of the Icon of the Mother of God with Light - is the mercy of the Most Holy Theotokos, testifying that the Abbess of Athos favors the Monastery and accepts the feasible feat of its inhabitants.”
The miracle that had taken place was reported to all the brethren for consolation and strengthening in the feat. On the occasion of this wonderful event, prayers of thanks were offered to the Most Holy Theotokos in the Russian Svyatogorsk Monastery, and photographs taken from the acquired negative of 1903 were distributed to all the inhabitants of the monastery and the pilgrims present.
Monastic archives show that between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Russian monks distributed alms to the needy on a weekly basis. Every week, from the two southern Russian ports of Odessa and Taganrog, where the Athonite farmsteads of the St. Panteleimon Monastery were located, large and small ships with food and vital materials came to the Athonite pier. They were intended for 3,000 inhabitants of the St. Panteleimon Monastery and 4,000 Russian-speaking brothers who labored in various monasteries, metochas, cells and kalivas of the Holy Mountain.
An enlarged copy of the photograph with the image of the Mother of God is now placed at the gates of the Russian Svyatogorsk monastery of St. Panteleimon
A crowd of poor Syromachian monks and pious wanderers gathered at the Great Gate of the monastery. There is evidence that about 600-800 people received bread cakes - chereks - from the hands of the monks. On scheduled days, people who were doing nothing, drunkenly and obeying no one began to come to the monastery gates for alms. On the eve of the Dormition, on August 14, 1903, the monastery received a letter from the Holy Kinot, which expressed dissatisfaction with the “useless” and “harmful”, in his opinion, alms, which could accustom young and healthy monks to parasitism. The Higher Sacred Administration of the Holy Mountain asked the Hierarchy of the St. Panteleimon Monastery to cancel the distribution of alms and find a more acceptable and non-tempting form of help. The message, in particular, said: “Alms given in the Gospel are only pleasing and dear to God when they are given in the mind - to people worthy of alms and in need of it. Given to people who unworthily present themselves as alms-seekers and who rely only on this visit, and for this reason they live here, then such giving of alms becomes a cause of harm.”
According to other sources, the decision to stop distributing alms was made not under the influence of the Kinoto letter, but by the inhabitants of the St. Panteleimon Monastery themselves due to the fact that the monastery’s reserves had become scarce due to a reduction in material assistance from Russia.
On August 21, 1903, the monks of the Russian monastery decided to observe the tradition for the last time and give out alms, and only then read the contents of the letter from the Kinot to those present. At this time, as usual, hundreds of needy and wandering people had already gathered at the main port in anticipation of alms. During the distribution of chereks, Hieromonk Gabriel took a photograph in which the image of the Mother of God appeared, humbly receiving blessed alms together with other petitioners. Looking at the unusual photograph, the monks immediately remembered the story of the monk Sebastian, who heard from the porters that “one hermit saw a woman several times while distributing chereks.” Some of the ascetics, who also saw the Marvelous Virgin in reality among the wretched monks and alms-seekers, wanted to tell the gatekeeper about this, but on the very day of photographing, no one saw Her.
The Mother of God invariably provided for those who labored in Her earthly lot. At the behest of the Queen of Heaven, the monastery continued to satisfy the needs of the poor brethren: after fraternal meals in the monastery, they organized meals for the poor, and the cellarer gave them food from the warehouse.
History of veneration
Once Saint Andrew, the Fool for Christ's sake, going around the Heavenly Abodes, wanted to see the Mother of God there, but he heard a voice telling him that the Most Holy Theotokos had descended into a poor world to help all those calling on Her name.
Being a partaker of the ineffable glory of the Divine, She descends into the vale of earthly sorrows to help suffering people. The Most Holy Theotokos participates in the economy of human salvation, which was accomplished by Her Son. In order to save man, the Lord descended to earth not in the form of a Lord and Commander, but in the form of a slave, exhausting or humiliating Himself even to death (Phil. 2:7-11). This self-abasement or free exhaustion is called kenosis in theology (Greek κένωσις - humiliation, belittlement, exhaustion). Like Her Son, the Most Holy Theotokos often appears, especially on Holy Mount Athos, “simply,” hiding Her glory. So in this case, the Mother of God descended in the form of a poor petitioner, accepted alms from the hands of the elder monk in order to console the poor brethren, support the good tradition of the Monastery and settle an unexpected misunderstanding. By her condescension, the Mother of God reaffirmed Her promises about Holy Mount Athos.
Immediately after the miraculous event, the news of which spread throughout the Holy Mountain, the veneration of the photographic image began. Copies were made and kept by the monks in the holy corners among the icons. The photograph also found its way to Russia, finding its admirers there too.
At the end of the 1980s, with the beginning of the restoration of the monastery, the wonderful photograph was reproduced with a brief description of the event and distributed among pilgrims. For the new generation of Russian people who suffered from atheistic propaganda, photography served as a factor of reassurance in the existence of the spiritual world, which was repeatedly confirmed by pilgrims to the monastery.
The celebration in honor of the Painted Image was established by the Council of Elders of the monastery in 2003 with the blessing of the abbot Archimandrite Jeremiah on the 100th anniversary of the appearance for the liturgical perpetuation of the memory of the miraculous event. The name “Image in Light” was born during the preparation of the liturgical sequence (the word “photograph” is a literal translation of the Greek elephant “photography”). At the same time, an iconographic image was created for liturgical use. Based on chronicle records and surviving oral memories, the historical outline of the event was recreated.
In 2011, at the site of the appearance of the Mother of God, a memorial chapel was built, into which a source of water was supplied for performing water-blessing prayers. Cases of relief of physical and mental ailments from drinking water from this source have been recorded.
In the same year, on the first floor of the fraternal Pokrovsky building, a paraklis temple was built and consecrated in honor of the Light-Painted Icon.
In 2011, an image of a historical photograph on a marble plaque was installed in the monastery of the Athos Icon of the Mother of God in the village. Chopoviki Zhytomyr region.
A similar marble plaque depicting a photographic image was installed in 2012 at the parish of the Feodorovsky Cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo.
In 2013, at the next meeting of the Holy Synod in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, it was decided to include in the month book of the Russian Orthodox Church the celebration of the remembrance of the appearance of the Light-Painted Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was in the Russian Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos in 1903.
In the same year, the first temple in honor of the illuminated icon of the Mother of God was consecrated outside the Holy Mountain in the city of Kyiv (website: http://hram.co.ua).
Temple in honor of the appearance of the Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Kyiv). Easter 2014.
The veneration of painted icons has been known since ancient times of Christian history. The image not made by hands and the Shroud of Constantinople (the so-called Turin) belong precisely to this type of image. Actually, it is on them that icon painting and icon veneration are based. Both images of the Savior represented the same face. The Sinai Icon of the Savior completely coincided with them in proportions, which indicates an undoubted borrowing. From the 6th century, they spread in many copies and became widely known, completely replacing the ancient antique type of the face of Christ, and stimulating the development of the canon of icon painting throughout the Orthodox East.
Regarding the Image Not Made by Hands, it should be noted that it exists in two forms. These are the so-called Ubrus (slav.) or Mandylion (Greek - plate), representing the image of the Lord on the ubrus or plate, and Chrepie (slav.) or Keramidion (Greek - tile), representing the face of the Lord on a brick. Everyone probably knows what Ubrus is. But what is Skull? This is a photocopy of Ubrus itself, that is, the Face Not Made by Hands, on brick or tile. The fact is that Ubrus was hidden with a lit lamp from idolaters in a niche above the gates of Edessa and covered with bricks, that is, with a skull. In the 6th century, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to Bishop Eulavius of Edessa and indicated the place where the image was hidden and blessed it to be found again. When they opened the masonry, they discovered that the lamp continued to burn, and on the brick that covered the niche was an exact representation of the Savior’s Face Not Made by Hands. Thus, we can say that the Savior on the skull is a light-painted reflection of the light-painted face of the Lord on the ubrus or board. This is, as it were, a secondary light-painted display.
The type of secondary light-painted images includes such well-known phenomena in the Church as displays of original icons on glass framing their icon cases. For example, the icon “Look at Humility.” In 1993, the face of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Child was miraculously reflected on the glass without touching it.
Another icon should also be classified as this type. As mentioned above, in 1903, copies of the wonderful Athonite photograph came to Russia. From one of them, by order of the St. Petersburg merchant Grigory Grigorievich Eliseev, an icon was painted, which is still preserved in the Estonian city of Kokhtla-Jarve. The icon was commissioned by Grigoriev for his home church in the town of Toila. Later, it was transferred along with the iconostasis to the Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the Kohtla-Järve district of Provandu. On December 13, 2011, during restoration in the temple, the glass was removed from the icon and it turned out that the image of the Mother of God was reflected on it. Thus, we can talk about the appearance of a light-painted copy of the light-painted image of the Most Holy Theotokos, or a secondary light-painted image, by analogy with the face of the Lord not made by hands.
Original painted icons have a special meaning and a special status for the Church. They not only elevate our mind to the prototype, but show us the divine features of the prototypes themselves. These are the primary sources of the iconographic canon, forming the Church’s understanding of the faces of the Lord and His Most Pure Mother. Without exaggeration, we can say that light-painted icons are one of the types of Divine revelation.
Troparion: We bow to Your Most Pure Face, O Good One, asking for intercession for us, Mother of God, by the Will of You you have deigned to appear among the brethren, so as to deliver them from the sorrow that You have gathered together. Thus we cry out to You with gratitude: You fill all with joy, O Most Pure Virgin, who entrust themselves to Your Protection.
Kontakion: Thy indescribable and merciful glance towards man, O most pure Cherub and most glorious without comparison seraphim. And Your Light-revealed and self-depicted Image, evidence of the appearance of Your ineffable love and mercy, we honor with kisses.
“In the wretched cell of a monk
I saw a wondrous image.
The soul was filled with fear,
When I learned about this miracle.
The photo was received without deception
He struck the Saints:
Without any lies or fog
He depicted the Mother of God.
Queen in a long robe,
Inexpressible beauty
In a wonderfully blissful radiance
Full of love and purity.
Ukrukh humbly received,
Behind her are the poor people of Athos,
By this miracle I taught the brethren
Do not reject Her hands.
She promised before
Athos to be observed for centuries.
The mountain has not yet become impoverished
Grace has not become scarce.
In the cell of the Athonite monk
I saw the original.
The soul was filled with fear,
And I involuntarily burst into tears.”
Hegumen Vissarion (Ostapenko)
The Athos church calendar for 2007 of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery is dedicated to an amazing event that happened more than a hundred years ago - August 21 / September 3, 1903. One of the monastery manuscripts tells that on this day, during the distribution of alms to the poor monks at the Great Monastery Gate, the monk Gabriel took a photograph and when he developed it, in a black and white photograph, to his great surprise, he saw the image of the Mother of God, humbly receiving the blessed I crushed the bread.The confessor of the monastery, Father Macarius (Makienko), says: “Our archives contain written memories that shortly before this event, some of the ascetics saw in reality the Wonderful Woman among the monks. They wanted to show Her to the gatekeeper, but on the very day of photographing, no one saw Her. "This event opened another page in the sacred chronicle of not only our monastery, but the chronicle of the entire Holy Mount Athos. One can also say this: this is a new chapter in the memorable history of the innumerable benefits of the Mother of God to the entire human race."
In the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, a new icon appeared, dedicated to this appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos - “The Light-Painted Image of the Mother of God” (see Photocopy). A service dedicated to the miraculous appearance of the light-painted and self-depicted image of the Blessed Virgin Mary has also been prepared. It is also published in the calendar on pages 189 - 241.
This service is our grateful offering to the Mother of God for the misunderstood manifestation of Her mercy. We believe, continues Father Macarius, that all who sincerely love the Most Holy Theotokos as the God-given Mother will joyfully accept this new celebration into their hearts and memories. We also believe that through the prayers and grace of the Blessed Virgin, this newly revealed miracle will serve to strengthen the faith of many ailing doubts.
Father Macarius also wrote in Church Slavonic the “Sermon on the day of the celebration of the illuminated image of the Mother of God” (placed in the calendar on pages 242 - 262).
At the end of each month of the voluminous calendar, the patronal holidays ("panigyrs") of the monasteries and monasteries located on Holy Mount Athos are listed. In the month of August (September 21/3), a new Svyatogorsk panigir is designated, dedicated to the Icon of the Mother of God Painted in Light in the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery. According to the resident of the monastery, Father Philosopher, the panagir in honor of the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos Illustrated was widely published for the first time; The patronal feast day in memory of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God will be celebrated for the second time this year.
2. “This mountain,” said the Queen, “let it be My lot...”
“Our Most Merciful Lady Theotokos repeatedly repeated to Her ascetics the joyful promise of Her Lot,” wrote Hieromonk Panteleimon (Sapozhnikov). - She said to the founder and head of the common monastic life on Athos, the Monk Athanasius: “I will henceforth be your Ikonomissa, who will take care of you.” Then, through the Venerable Gabriel (Georgian), who was honored to receive the miraculous icon at sea, the Most Blessed Lady commanded to announce: “Rtsy monk: I have not come to be kept from you, but most of all, may I be your Guardian not only in the present, but also in the future.” for the monks will live in this mountain with the fear of God and reverence, and will not neglect the strength of virtue, so that they may have boldness and hope in the good life of My Son and Master, as I asked and gave Me this gift.” Two centuries before this (1664), the Intercessor of the monks and the entire Christian race, by granting sight to the monk Neil who prayed for that, deigned in Her Lot to be named Quick to Hear (i.e., a quick obedient to those praying to Her), and She uttered the following touching words full of Motherly love and great mercy for all: “Let the monks and all Orthodox Christians turn to Me in need, and I will not leave anyone; I will intercede for all who come to Me with reverence, and the prayers of all will be fulfilled by My Son and My God, for the sake of My intercession for them before Him" (See: On the miracles of the Mother of God. - In the book: Athos Church Calendar, 2003, p. 177).
By the providence of God, Holy Mount Athos is destined to play a special role in the history of the salvation of mankind, and the flow of pilgrims from all continents does not dry out here. Here, in the Lot of the Most Holy Theotokos, under Her protection, prayers have been incessantly offered to God for more than a thousand years. According to legend, the Mother of God herself indicated the place for monastic feat to the first Athos saint, the Venerable Peter: “For the free service of God there is no other more convenient place than Mount Athos. I will be an Intercessor for this place and a warm Intercessor for it to God, and it will not become scarce for living here with faith and reverence and keeping the commandments of the Son and of My God and His mercy until the end of the age."
Persecution of Christians brought the first hermits to inaccessible places on Athos. The number of those suffering to serve God in the angelic rank in this earthly lot of the Mother of God increased every year. The monastic brotherhood of Holy Mount Athos still remains under the blessed protection of the Mother of God, and the Most Pure Virgin Herself is called the Abbess of all the Holy Mountain residents.
Once Saint Philaret, Archbishop of Chernigov, knowing about the good deeds of the Lady to the inhabitants of Her Lot, and as if foreseeing with his perspicacious eyes a future event, sang a hymn to the earthly Destiny of the Mother of God:
This mountain, - the Queen said, -
May it be My lot.
My right hand will stretch from here
Always shelter over this place.
I will not forget this place,
Always his Intercessor,
I will petition for him
Forever to My Son.
The Holy Fathers, who were worthy to see our land with spiritual eyes, testify that it is connected to the sky by lonely pillars of light. One of these places that constantly radiates this invisible radiance is Holy Mount Athos.
My beloved Athos reigns
Above the sea with a pillar of fire,
To the humble desert monks
A home for all ages,
Many generations of Christian ascetics labor here in continuous labor, fasting and night prayer vigils. Since the time of the Byzantine emperors, Athos has been a separate independent monastic state, completely autonomous in its internal life, governed by the Holy Kinot, consisting of representatives of twenty main monasteries. According to God's Providence, the Holy Mountain became a shelter and nursery for monastic life not only for the Greeks, but also for the Slavs who labored in the monasteries of the holy great martyrs Panteleimon, George and the Mother of God Monastery of Hilandar.
In the dead of night, the Holy Mountain with its twenty monasteries, many hermitages and kallivs is engulfed in the flames of prayers that disperse the darkness. The image of Athos is forever imprinted in our minds as some amazing place on the globe, where the marble peak of the Holy Mountain and the Orthodox crosses on the monastery domes and bell towers touch the very sky. And in the early morning, a pink-yellow haze breaks off from the shimmering surface of the Aegean Sea or a light fog rises. At this hour they gently envelop the green mountains of Athos and the white monastery buildings. The bell towers of the cathedrals and the gilded crosses of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery, turning pink with the first rays, seem to grow before your eyes. They swim along with pink seagulls in the mother-of-pearl sky towards the rising sun, and then, gradually decreasing in size, melt and completely disappear into the heavenly heights.
The transcendental monastic brothers of Athos, who have peace in their souls, clarity in their minds, and humility and love in their hearts, after a long night service and subsequent short sleep, begin the day's work, fulfilling the obediences assigned to them. Having left the world forever, they devote their lives on Athos only to prayer, worship and work. Their heart, will and desire are one, and the silence of their lips is the key to their Svyatogorsk life.
Every day in the first half of the day, a ferry with pilgrims on board sails like a white bird from Ouranoupolis to the monastery pier. The dazzling blue sky contrasts with the orange-yellow flowers of lemons and oranges, the air is filled with the subtle aromas of Athonite plants.
Athonite monks, welcoming guests, treat them, according to the old custom, with crystal clear water, a shot of brandy and Turkish delight. On the table there is tea made from mountain herbs and slices of monastery bread that smells like apples. Another rule is strictly observed: talking with guests is good, but silently praying for them, reproaching and humbling oneself, is even better, for this is spiritually beneficial and salutary for pilgrims and the owners of the monastery.
And then you understand why other pilgrims not only stop for a few days on the Holy Mountain, but also, by the will of God, stay here forever.
3. “And She reveals Her face there”
The Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, with its domes and domes shining in the sun, gilded balls and crosses of different heights among palm trees and cypresses, creates a solemnly elated mood among pilgrims arriving at the Holy Mountain. From the monastery pier you can enter the territory of the Monastery itself only through the Great Monastery Gate, built in the thickness of the southern wall. The main entrance, called “porta” according to Athonite tradition, is framed by a domed canopy supported by two marble columns. Above the arch of the entrance itself, in a niche, is a majestic image of the heavenly patron of the Russian monastery, St. Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, whose celibate relics are located in the main cathedral on the monastery square. On the left on the wall at the Great Gate hangs a large stone slab made of labradorite with black and white silhouettes of the Virgin Mary, monks and pilgrims. The memorial plate in Russian and Greek tells about the wondrous miracle of the appearance of the Mother of God, which occurred at this place exactly one hundred years ago - August 21/September 3, 1903. The image itself on the stone slab is an enlarged copy of an old photograph that captured the miracle of the appearance of the Most Holy Image of the Most Holy Theotokos, as one of the old monks said, “as a consolation and confirmation of His Providence for us sinners.”
A hundred years ago, monastic manuscripts, now carefully preserved in the library, tell the story that the St. Panteleimon Monastery, which accepted donations from Russia, generously shared alms with its needy brethren. Every week, from the two southern Russian ports of Odessa and Taganrog, where the Athonite farmsteads of the St. Panteleimon Monastery were located, large and small ships with food and vital materials came to the Athonite pier. They were intended for 3,000 inhabitants of the St. Panteleimon Monastery and 4,000 Russian-speaking brothers who labored in various monasteries, metokhs (agricultural land of the monastery. - Author's note), cells (a separate building of several rooms. - Author's note) and kaliva (monastic house without temple. - Author's note.) Holy Mountain.
Monastic archives show that between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Russian monks distributed alms weekly at the porta. A crowd of poor monks-Syromakhs (a hermit-wanderer who does not have a permanent shelter and pilgrims from monastery to monastery, from cell to cell. - Author's note) and pious wanderers gathered at the Great Gate. There is evidence that about 600 - 800 people received bread cakes - chereks - from the hands of the monks. On scheduled days, people who were doing nothing, drunkenly and obeying no one began to come to the monastery gates for alms. On August 14 of the same year, from Kareia, a kind of capital of the monastic “republic” and the center of self-government of Athos, where the Holy Assembly, or Kinot, usually meets in the Protat building, the monastery received a letter in which Kinot expressed dissatisfaction with the “useless” and “harmful” in his opinion, alms. The Higher Sacred Administration of the Holy Mountain, in its official letter, demanded that the Hierarchy of the St. Panteleimon Monastery cancel the hitherto practiced distribution of alms and find a more acceptable and non-tempting form of help, which, by the way, was eventually implemented. The message, in particular, said: “Alms given in the Gospel are only pleasing and kind to God when they are given in the mind - to people worthy of alms and in need of it. Given to people who unworthily present themselves as alms-seekers and who are only for this visit and they count on it, and for this reason they live here, then such giving of alms becomes a cause of harm.” Thus, Kinot conveyed to the leadership of the monastery his determination “about the cessation of alms distributed in such a useless manner for the future.”
On August 21, 1903, exactly a week after receiving the Kinot letter, the monks of the Russian monastery decided to observe the tradition for the last time and give out alms, and only then read the contents of the letter from Kinot to those present. At this time, as usual, hundreds of needy and wandering people had already gathered at the main port in anticipation of alms. During the distribution of chereks, Hieromonk Gabriel unexpectedly decided to take a photo as a souvenir.
When this photograph, black and white at that time, was developed, then, to everyone’s greatest surprise, it showed... the image of the Mother of God, humbly receiving blessed alms together with other petitioners. Looking at the unusual photograph, the monks immediately remembered the story of the monk Sebastian, who heard from the porters that “one hermit saw a woman several times while distributing chereks.” Some of the ascetics, who also saw the Marvelous Virgin in reality among the wretched monks and alms-seekers, wanted to tell the gatekeeper about this, but on the very day of photographing, no one saw Her. One of the Athonite poets wrote the following poems about the miracle that occurred:
The photo was received without deception.
He struck the Saints:
Without any lies or fog
He depicted the Mother of God.
Queen in a long robe,
Inexpressible beauty
In a wonderfully blissful radiance
Full of Love and purity.
Ukrukh humbly received,
Behind her are the poor people of Athos,
By this miracle I taught the brethren
Do not reject Her hands.
She promised before
Athos to be observed for centuries.
The mountain has not yet become impoverished.
Grace has not become scarce.
The Mother of God invariably provided for those who labored in Her earthly lot. At the behest of the Queen of Heaven, the monastery continued to satisfy the needs of the poor brethren: after fraternal meals in the monastery, meals were organized for the poor, and the cellarer gave them food from the warehouse.
Monastic manuscripts testify that the Mother of God often appeared to the Holy Mountain residents even today, which is confirmed by oral and written traditions.
One day I asked the monastery confessor, Father Macarius, to tell me something about other apparitions of the Mother of God known to him or the brethren in our time. Smiling, he replied:
Monks don’t talk about this unnecessarily...
And then, noticing my embarrassment and, probably, not wanting to sadden the pilgrim, Father Macarius continued:
In our monastery, there has long been such a pious custom: when the brethren notice or hear that such and such a brother’s earthly days are already numbered, they gather at his cell and ask about his life in the monastery, about the mistakes he made and about correcting them. About how, in addition to the general cell rules, he also had his own prayer rule, how he fought to acquire grace-filled prayer, how he overcame despondency and longing for his homeland, especially in his first years of life on Athos. And the elders edify those who thirst for salvation with their soul-helping instructions and examples, and warn them against the secret wiles of demons. For the benefit of the brethren, they talk about the instructions and admonitions they received from the holy saints of God or venerable elders, about God’s help and about the apparitions of the Mother of God they experienced...
With God’s help, I managed to write down two stories about the apparitions of the Mother of God in the Russian monastery on Mount Athos. It was like this... Once at the monastery gates, where a miracle happened more than a hundred years ago, I discussed with several pilgrims: does the Mother of God still provide for the ascetics of Her Earthly Lot; Does She appear to them in a dream or in reality, does She comfort them and in what way does She instruct them? While thinking about this out loud, we did not notice an elderly monk approaching us. Noticing our idleness, he looked at us sternly, and then hurriedly headed towards the monastery cemetery. Feeling awkward and even guilty, I rushed to catch up with him, not only to apologize, but also to ask him about the miracle of the appearance of the Mother of God. Then he looked at me intently and asked:
Tell me, didn’t God promise those who love Him to abide with them “always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20)? Doesn’t His Most Pure and Most Blessed Mother, like Her Son, provide for all the people who call on Her for help and glorify Her to the best of their ability? Remember, already in the tenth century, in Constantinople, Saint Andrew, the holy fool for Christ’s sake, who saw the Heavenly abodes, was not vouchsafed to see there the longed-for Intercessor of the human race? “The Mother of God came down to earth to help those who call upon Her,” the celestials answered him.
Have you personally ever been able to see the Most Pure Virgin on the Holy Mountain? - I asked timidly.
Yes, he answered. - Once, on New Year’s Day, after the All-Night Vigil, I saw in a dream a great many monks rising to the capital of Athos, and in front of this monastic regiment, the Mother of God walked majestically, with a bouquet of lilies in her hands. I did not see Her face, but, following Her, I marveled at Her unearthly lightness: She lightly touched the ground, and everything ahead parted before Her. Another time, not so long ago, on the eve of the Patronal Feast of the monastery, having completed the cell rule, I dozed off with sorrow that very soon there would be a holiday, and in my obedience very much was not yet ready. In my drowsiness I see, but it was as if in reality, as if I was somewhere behind the monastery on the sea side, and along the upper road a line of guests was drawn to our monastery. From everything I saw, I began to grieve even more, they say, the holiday is already beginning, and I have not yet properly prepared for it. Suddenly I notice how, hastily overtaking others, in black monastic clothes and with a basket in her hand, a Woman resembling the Mother of God is approaching the monastery, exactly as She is captured in the wonderful photograph. With joy I exclaimed: “Mother of God!” Stopping at my call, She looked at me, as if asking: “What do you need?” I then had no words to say to Her, for I was incredibly glad that I recognized the Mother of God in the walking Woman. She hastily turned towards the hurrying guests and soon found herself in the stream of people already entering the monastery. At that moment the monastery bell was rung for the beginning of the morning service, and my heart rejoiced with extraordinary joy. During the holiday, I hoped once again, in reality, to see Our Heavenly Athos Mother Superior, but, due to my sins, I was not worthy. I was convinced, however, that She was really present at the panegyric, which is the name of our Patronal Feast. Day and night during the holiday itself, I walked everywhere around the monastery and was amazed at how smoothly it went on. I felt that Someone was miraculously organizing the holiday itself, although no verbal instructions were heard. All the brethren worked at the call of their conscience, especially in the kitchen and refectory obedience, about which I was worried...
My interlocutor fell silent for a while, took a deep breath and, looking into the sea, continued:
There seems to be nothing miraculous in my story. It’s just that the Mother of God, in Her greatest humility, came in a difficult moment to help our brethren worthily spend the Patronal Feast and console the guests. She is the Mistress of this Holy place.
During my stay at the Monastery, I once noticed an elderly monk in one of the corners of the monastery courtyard, hastily rearranging and sorting through some things. I came closer and expressed my desire to help him. This was Hieromonk Jacob, who lived for about two decades in the monastery skete of Xylurgu, called by the Greeks the “skete of the Mother of God” because of the main cathedral in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Father Jacob was leaving for Khromitsa, and he gladly accepted my offer to help him. And so, having shouldered our things, we left the monastery and, passing by the famous place of the appearance of the Mother of God, I asked Father Jacob whether he had heard before from the brothers who labored here about the miracle of this appearance and how he himself felt about it?
A well-known case. All this happened here. And the elders spoke about this more than once. “And I myself received a gift from the Mother of God,” admitted Father Jacob.
Having crossed ourselves and bowed at that place, we began to slowly descend from the monastery to the sea pier. Father Jacob further related the following:
When I lived alone in the monastery of Xylurgu, I made it a rule for myself during the morning service at the 9th ode to go to the cathedral church and there, with censing, sing before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “The Most Honest”. One night, having seen the whole church, I sat down in the stasidia and quietly fell asleep. In a dream I see how the Mother of God sits on the bishop’s see in a majestic cathedral and many people stand in front of Her in a long line. Everyone has an offering in their hands, as if they want to congratulate the Mother of God. I was the last one in this line. Looking at others, I was overcome by a feeling of embarrassment both for myself and for the fact that I was standing empty-handed, that is, without a gift. “What will I bring as a gift to the Queen and Lady?” - this thought especially bothered me. When my turn finally approached, I said with tears: “Mother of God, I have nothing with me that I can give to You. May I sing “The Most Honest”?” She smiled tenderly and nodded her head approvingly. And I began to sing... Having finished singing, I looked at Her. She, in a blissful radiance, handed me a coin in Her hand with the words: “How well you sing! Take a coin for this." I woke up, and I had Her gift in my hands...
Having finished the story, Father Jacob shed tears, and so did I: his story touched my heart so much. The horn of a cruise ship broke up the long pause. I helped the elderly man carry his things onto the ferry, and we hastily said goodbye...
The author of these lines also experienced special feelings and detachment from everything earthly and vain, listening to the stories of modern monks of the Russian monastery about the miraculous appearances of the Mother of God in our days.
4. Give strength to Thy servant, Most Holy Mother, and blessing to those who glorify and praising Thee
Athonite monks call the Holy Mount Athos “the vertograd, the earthly inheritance or lot of the Mother of God.” His Grace Filaret, Archbishop of Chernigov, likening Mount Athos to an earthly paradise, wrote in 1876:
I know who owns you
Who inherited you:
Keeps you, cherishes you
Queen of the Highest Heights.
This spirit-bearing Lord also sang of the appearance of the Mother of God, captured in a wonderful photograph:
And She reveals Her face there,
He talks to His servants;
Fate itself controls them
And watches over their earthly life.
The monastic brotherhood of the St. Panteleimon Monastery still remains under the gracious protection of the Mother of God - the Abbess of all the Holy Mountain residents. The long night services there, the instructive stories of its monks and the miracle of the appearance of the Mother of God at the Main monastery gate, which occurred more than a hundred years ago and captured in an extraordinary photograph, strengthen our faith in the incomprehensible Providence of God and the care of the Queen of heaven and earth for Her faithful servants. They heal our spiritual and physical infirmities, inspire hope in the fulfillment of the promises of the Mother of the Lord, evoke strong emotional and spiritual experiences in pilgrims, and prayerfully influence their soul, raising it from the vain world to eternity.
Troparion to the Appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos Illuminated Face
We bow to Your Most Pure Face, O Good One, asking for intercession for us, Mother of God, by the Will of You you have deigned to appear among the brethren, so as to deliver them from the sorrow that You have gathered together. Thus we cry out to You with gratitude: You fill all with joy, O Most Pure Virgin, who entrust themselves to Your Protection.Kontakion to the Apparition of the Most Holy Theotokos Illuminated Face
Thy indescribable and merciful glance towards man, O most pure Cherub and most glorious without comparison seraphim. And Your Light-revealed and self-depicted Image, evidence of the appearance of Your ineffable love and mercy, we honor with kisses.http://www.sedmitza.ru/index.html?sid=77&did=46251&p_comment=belief&call_action=print1(sedmiza)
History does not know many cases when the Blessed Virgin appeared to ordinary people. Apparitions of the Mother of God also occurred in the 20th century. Some of them were even captured on film or video camera. We have selected three of the most impressive stories that will not leave anyone indifferent.
History of the Painted Image on Mount Athos
September 3 in the Orthodox calendar is marked by the feast of the unusual image of the Mother of God, called the Light-Painted. On it the Blessed Virgin is depicted with a loaf of bread in her hands. The name “Painting with Light” is no coincidence: “painting with light” is a literal translation from the Greek word “photography.” And it is with photography that his story is connected.
The events that we will talk about took place in 1903 on Holy Mount Athos and are considered, perhaps, one of the most famous apparitions of the Mother of God of our time. The monks of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery then had a tradition - every week they distributed alms to the nomadic monks on Athos, called Siromakhs, and others in need. The necessary provisions for these purposes were brought to them from the Russian farmsteads of the monastery.
However, this year the Holy Kinot, the main governing body on Mount Athos, decided to stop the distribution of alms, since it corrupts those asking. It was on this day, September 3, 1903, that the monks decided to distribute the last alms, after which they read out the resolution of Kinot.
At the time of the distribution of alms, a certain monk named Gabriel took a photograph with beggars who received alms in the form of flatbread - chereks. However, no one expected that during the development of the negative, the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary would appear in the photograph, standing with the poor and receiving alms. It is clear that after this, charity in the Russian monastery on Athos, pleasing to God and His Most Pure Mother, continued.
At the site of the described event in 2011, a chapel was built and a source was drawn to it, and a temple was erected in honor of the Icon of Light. For a long time, the original negative of the photograph itself was lost due to many events that befell the monastery. And only last year it was found again in the archives of the monastery.
The longest apparition of the Mother of God in Zeitoun
Unfortunately, very little is known about this phenomenon in our country. The reason for this is that it happened in Soviet times, when atheistic propaganda tried to hush up such news. At the same time, the phenomenon in Zeitoun is the longest and most documented miracle, which, in addition, was witnessed by the maximum number of people.
The first phenomenon occurred on April 2, 1968 in the city of Zeitoun, which is considered a suburb of the Egyptian capital Cairo. That evening, two car park workers noticed a translucent luminous figure of a Woman on the dome of a temple belonging to the Coptic Orthodox Church.
At first, one of the workers thought that she had decided to commit suicide and began to shout, persuading Her not to do this. Soon they called the priest of this church and realized that this was not an ordinary woman, but the Most Holy Theotokos. She prayed in front of the cross on the dome, which also glowed.
The phenomenon in Zeitoun repeated a week later, and then occurred at varying intervals until May 29, 1971. It lasted for different periods of time: from several minutes to two hours. During this time, crowds of thousands of people of different faiths and even non-believers gathered to see the miracle. Many of them subsequently converted to Christianity.
Also, this appearance of the Mother of God was marked by various miracles and healings. The first of these happened to the same car park worker who first noticed Virgo. The next day, his finger was supposed to be amputated, but the doctor stated that this was no longer necessary, since the finger was healthy.
How the Blessed Virgin looked and behaved was captured on many video and photo cameras. She was wearing long clothes with a covering on her head. A halo shone around the head, behind which it was impossible to distinguish facial features. Sometimes She was seen holding the baby Jesus in her arms. Sometimes She held an olive branch in her hands.
Glowing doves often appeared around the Most Holy Theotokos; it happened that they formed a cross, and then gathered together and seemed to melt into the air. Often the Mother of God turned and blessed people. Moreover, no projectors or lighting devices that could simulate this miracle were found.
However, one must understand that this miracle could also be a phenomenon of a different, opposite nature, as Professor A.I. Osipov, for example, treats it with caution.
The Blessed Virgin resurrected a Muslim in Damascus
The next story is very different from the previous two, as well as from everything you can imagine. Any novelist or screenwriter could envy her plot. But the most amazing thing in the story, perhaps, is that all this actually happened. And although the appearance of the Mother of God was witnessed by one person, himself a participant in the events, the incredible consequences of the miracle were confirmed by many, including medical staff.
This incident is best known as the “miracle in Syria.” It was publicized by some media in Syria, Saudi Arabia and Palestine in 2004, first on television, then on radio, through newspapers and magazines. Its participant and protagonist of the events is a certain sheikh from Saudi Arabia. Sometimes sources mention his name: Shahid D.
Shortly before the events described, he successfully married. The marriage of a young wealthy family was marred by only one thing: they had no children. The parents even advised their son to marry another woman, since polygamy is permissible in Islam, and to give birth to an heir from her. Instead, Shahid went with his wife on a trip to Damascus, Syria, to relieve his grief.
There they hired a limousine with a driver-guide who took them to all the sights of the city. The guide sensed their sad mood and soon learned the reason for it. Then the guide advised us to visit the Seidnaya Orthodox monastery, famous for its miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There was an interesting tradition there: believers ate part of the wick from the lamp standing in front of the image of the Most Pure One, in front of which they prayed, and after that their useful petitions were fulfilled.
The sheikh and his wife, inspired by what they heard, immediately wanted to visit this place. At the same time, they promised that if their problem was resolved favorably, they would generously reward the driver with twenty thousand dollars and donate four times as much to the monastery itself.
And a miracle happened! Soon after returning from the monastery, the sheikh's wife became pregnant, and nine months later they had a son. But this was only the beginning of the benefits that the Most Holy Theotokos provided to the non-Christian. Shahid did not forget about his promise and warned the driver that he would soon come to Damascus to thank him and make a donation to the monastery.
However, the guide decided to rob the generous Muslim and take all his money. To do this, he persuaded two more partners to meet the sheikh at the airport with him. On the way, Shahid tried to persuade the criminals, promised to pay each of them ten thousand, but, blinded by greed and anger, they took him to a wasteland and killed him, taking all the money and jewelry.
But the desperation of the attackers did not end there: they dismembered the corpse, cutting off the head, legs and arms. However, for some reason, they did not leave the body here, but put it in the trunk, intending to bury it in another deserted place. But then God’s providence unexpectedly intervened. On the way on the highway, the criminals' car broke down.
One driver passing by offered them his help, to which the attackers rudely refused. The driver was alarmed by their behavior. In addition, he accidentally noticed traces of blood pouring from the trunk. Therefore, soon the police were already at this place. After much argument, the criminals had to open the trunk...
But what was everyone’s surprise when a living sheikh came out of the trunk with the words: “The Most Holy Theotokos just gave me the last stitch here!” He pointed to his neck. The three attackers immediately lost their minds, which led them to admit that they had killed this man. They were placed in a prison for the insane.
Doctors confirmed an extraordinary incident: the stitches turned out to be completely fresh. Moreover, even the thinnest and most delicate vessels were connected, which was impossible to accomplish using conventional medical means. The sheikh, brought back to life, in gratitude for this, donated ten times more to the monastery than he had previously promised.
He himself said that he saw everything that happened to him, the appearance of the Mother of God and his healing, as if from the outside. After this incident, the Muslim sheikh and his entire family converted to Orthodoxy. The believer tries to talk about the miracle that happened to him in Syria as often as possible, although the Arab media try to hush up about it, fearing the conversion of even more Muslims to Christianity.
You will learn more about one of the described miracles from the video:
An order came from the Holy Kinot: no more alms to be given out.
Exactly 112 years ago, on September 3 (August 21, old style), 1903, an event unnoticed by the world took place in the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos. On this day, for the last time, the brethren were supposed to distribute alms at the monastery gates to the poor Siromakh monks (wandering around Mount Athos “without a fixed place of residence”), pilgrims and wanderers. The last time - because an order came from the Holy Kinot (Svyatogorsk government): not to give out any more alms. It's ineffective. This corrupts the monks staggering from monastery to monastery, healthy and not yet old, but inclined to live at the expense of others, instead of working and being obedient... (Isn’t this a familiar situation? How many homeless people do you meet - not on Athos, but in the Moscow metro, on the streets - and every time there is a moral problem: to give or not to give? Especially when it is obvious: a person will drink “alms”, and your “help” seems to bring nothing but harm).
Monk Gabriel saw in the photograph the figure of a Woman humbly receiving a piece of bread
But the fate of Athonite homeless and needy people changed dramatically under the influence of one photograph. The distribution of alms that day was recorded by the monk Gabriel. Having developed the negative, to his great surprise, he saw in a black and white photograph the figure of a poorly dressed Woman humbly receiving the blessed bite of bread. The news quickly spread throughout the monastery; it was reported that one hermit also saw a beautiful Woman several times during the distribution of alms at the monastery gates. Needless to say, after this the ban on giving alms was forgotten.
Apparitions of the Mother of God on the Holy Mountain are not uncommon events. Once or several times in life, in a dream or in reality, many Athonite ascetics see Her. But when the Mother of God leaves a visible sign of her presence, this means some kind of message: a warning, admonition, a manifestation of mercy. This is what happened with the famous Vatopedi Icon of the Mother of God, and this is what happened this time. An enlarged photograph of the monk Gabriel now hangs on the wall of the St. Panteleimon Monastery, a source has been brought to the site of the apparition, and cases of relief from illnesses have been recorded after taking water from it. A new, light-painted image of the Virgin Mary was born from this story. However, the negative of the photograph was lost, and after numerous shocks (including fires) experienced by the monastery in the 20th century, there was no hope of returning it.
Troparion to the Apparition of the Illuminated Face of the Blessed Virgin Mary
We bow to Your Most Pure Face, O Good One, asking for intercession for us, Mother of God, by the will of You you have deigned to appear among the brethren, so that You may deliver them from their sorrow. Thus we cry out to You with gratitude: You fill all with joy, O Most Pure Virgin, who entrust themselves to Your Protection.
Kontakion to the Apparition of the Illuminated Face of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Your indescribable and merciful look towards man, Most Honest Cherub and Most Glorious Without Comparison Seraphim. And Your light-revealed and self-depicted image, evidence of the appearance of Your ineffable love and mercy, we honor with kisses.
