Celebration of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God “Hodegetria. Orthodox icons. Holidays. Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God

Saint Demetrius of Rostov suggests that this image was painted at the request of the ruler of Antioch, Theophilus. From Antioch, the shrine was transferred to Jerusalem, and from there the Empress Eudoxia, the wife of Arcadius, transferred it to Constantinople to Pulcheria, the emperor's sister, who placed the holy icon in the Blachernae church.

The Greek Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh (1042–1054), giving his daughter Anna in 1046 to Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, son of Yaroslav the Wise, blessed her on her journey with this icon. After the death of Prince Vsevolod, the icon passed to his son Vladimir Monomakh, who transferred it at the beginning of the 12th century to the Smolensk Cathedral Church in honor of the Assumption Holy Mother of God. Since that time, the icon has been called the Hodegetria of Smolensk.

In 1238, at the voice of the icon, the selfless Orthodox warrior Mercury entered the camp of Batu at night and killed many enemies, including their strongest warrior. Having accepted a martyr's death in battle, he was canonized by the Church as a saint (Comm. 24 November).

In the 14th century, Smolensk was in the possession of the Lithuanian princes. The daughter of Prince Vitovt Sofia was married to the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dimitrievich (1398–1425). In 1398, she brought with her to Moscow the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The holy image was installed in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin, on the right side of the royal gates. In 1456, at the request of the inhabitants of Smolensk, headed by Bishop Misail, the icon was solemnly procession returned to Smolensk, and two copies of it remained in Moscow. One was placed in the Cathedral of the Annunciation, and the other - "measure in measure" - in 1524 in the Novodevichy Convent, founded in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia. The monastery was set up on the Maiden's Field, where Muscovites released the holy icon to Smolensk "with many tears". In 1602 with miraculous icon an exact list was written (in 1666, together with an ancient icon, a new list was taken to Moscow for renewal), which was placed in the tower of the Smolensk fortress wall, above the Dnieper Gates, under a specially arranged tent. Later, in 1727, a wooden church was built there, and in 1802 a stone one.

The new list took on the grace-filled power of the ancient image, and when the Russian troops left Smolensk on August 5, 1812, they took the icon with them to protect it from the enemy. On the eve of the Battle of Borodino, this image was worn around the camp to strengthen and encourage the soldiers to a great feat. ancient image Smolenskaya Hodegetria, temporarily taken to the Assumption Cathedral, on the day of the Battle of Borodino, along with Iverskaya and Vladimir icons The Mother of God was carried around the White City, Kitai-Gorod and the Kremlin walls, and then sent to the sick and wounded in the Lefortovo Palace. Before leaving Moscow, the icon was taken to Yaroslavl.

So reverently our ancestors kept these icons-sisters, and the Mother of God, through Her images, guarded our Motherland. After the victory over the enemy, the Hodegetria icon, together with the glorified list, was returned to Smolensk.

The celebration in honor of this miraculous image was established in 1525 in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia.

There are many revered lists from the Smolensk Hodegetria, which are supposed to be celebrated on the same day. There is also a day of celebration of the Smolensk icon, which became famous in the 19th century, - November 5, when this icon, by order of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army M.I. Kutuzov was returned to Smolensk. In memory of the expulsion of enemies from the Fatherland in Smolensk, it was established to celebrate this day every year.

The Holy Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria is one of the main shrines of the Russian Church. Believers have received and continue to receive abundant grace-filled help from her. The Mother of God, through Her holy image, intercedes and strengthens us, guiding us to salvation, and we cry out to Her: “You are the faithful people - the All-good Hodegetria, You are the Smolensk Praise and all the Russian lands - affirmation! Rejoice, Hodegetria, salvation of the Christian!

Smolensk icon of the Mother of God, called "Hodegetria", which means "Guide", according to Church tradition, was written by the holy evangelist Luke during the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos. Saint Demetrius of Rostov suggests that this image was painted at the request of the ruler of Antioch, Theophilus. From Antioch, the shrine was transferred to Jerusalem, and from there the Empress Eudoxia, the wife of Arcadius, transferred it to Constantinople to Pulcheria, the emperor’s sister, who placed the holy icon in the Blachernae Church. for Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, son of Yaroslav the Wise, he blessed her on her way with this icon. After the death of Prince Vsevolod, the icon passed to his son Vladimir Monomakh, who transferred it at the beginning of the 12th century to the Smolensk Cathedral Church in honor of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. Since that time, the icon has been called the Hodegetria of Smolensk.
In 1238, at the voice of the icon, the selfless Orthodox warrior Mercury entered the camp of Batu at night and killed many enemies, including their strongest warrior. Having accepted a martyr's death in battle, he was canonized by the Church as a saint (Comm. 24 November).
In the 14th century, Smolensk was in the possession of the Lithuanian princes. The daughter of Prince Vitovt Sofia was married to the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dimitrievich (1398-1425). In 1398, she brought with her to Moscow the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The holy image was installed in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin, on the right side of the royal gates. In 1456, at the request of the inhabitants of Smolensk, headed by Bishop Misail, the icon was solemnly returned to Smolensk with a religious procession, and two copies of it remained in Moscow. One was placed in the Annunciation Cathedral, and the other - "measure in measure" - in 1524 in the Novodevichy Convent, founded in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia. The monastery was set up on the Maiden's Field, where Muscovites "with many tears" released the holy icon to Smolensk. In 1602, an exact list was written from the miraculous icon (in 1666, together with the ancient icon, a new list was taken to Moscow for renewal), which was placed in the tower of the Smolensk fortress wall, above the Dnieper Gates, under a specially arranged tent. Later, in 1727, a wooden church was built there, and in 1802 a stone one.
The new list took on the grace-filled power of the ancient image, and when the Russian troops left Smolensk on August 5, 1812, they took the icon with them to protect it from the enemy. On the eve of the Battle of Borodino, this image was worn around the camp to strengthen and encourage the soldiers to a great feat. The ancient image of the Smolensk Hodegetria, temporarily taken to the Assumption Cathedral, on the day of the Battle of Borodino, along with the Iveron and Vladimir icons of the Mother of God, was carried around the White City, Kitay-Gorod and the Kremlin walls, and then sent to the sick and wounded in the Lefortovo Palace. Before leaving Moscow, the icon was taken to Yaroslavl.
So reverently our ancestors kept these icons-sisters, and the Mother of God, through Her images, guarded our Motherland. After the victory over the enemy, the Hodegetria icon, together with the glorified list, was returned to Smolensk.
The celebration in honor of this miraculous image on July 28 was established in 1525 in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia.

Miraculous lists with icons

There are a huge number of lists from the now lost miraculous icon of the Smolensk Hodegetria. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were more than three dozen miraculous and especially revered copies of this icon alone, and temples dedicated to the Smolensk image stood in many cities, villages and monasteries of the Russian land.
In Moscow, two miraculous lists of the Smolensk Hodegetria were especially revered. One of them was located in the Ascension Monastery of the Moscow Kremlin (kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery), about which an important annalistic record has been preserved, stating that “in the summer of 6990 (1482), the Hodegetrie icon was burned in Moscow ...”. Judging by this entry, the charred Greek icon was refurbished by the icon painter Dionysius (in 1482), following its original iconography, and painted “in the same image.”
The veneration in Moscow at the end of the 15th century of the Hodegetria from the Ascension Monastery was connected with the current historical situation. In 1473 Grand Duke Ivan III married a second marriage to the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine, the Greek princess Sophia Palaiologos. Most likely, it was thanks to Sophia that the new veneration of the ancient Greek icon by the Grand Duchesses began in memory of the famous Hodegetria of Constantinople.
In the 15th century, in the Moscow Kremlin, along with the icon from the Ascension Monastery, another list of the Smolensk icon was also venerated - the same copy of Hodegetria, which in 1456 was placed in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin in place of the miraculous icon taken home. The list from the Annunciation Cathedral is distinguished by the vertical position of the scroll in the hand of the Child and the absence of images of archangels. It is currently stored in the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin.

Iconography

The icon of the Smolensk Mother of God is the most accurate and strict expression of the meaning of the iconographic type of the Mother of God Hodegetria (“Guide”). The very name of "Hodegetria" contains the concept Mother of God icons as a whole, or even wider. As the famous Byzantinist N.P. Kondakov wrote, “the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria represents the focus not only of the iconography of the Mother of God, but of Christian iconography in general…”. The Mother of God appears in this image as a Helper on a person’s difficult path to Christ, therefore She is presented frontally, looking point-blank at the worshipers. On her left hand, the Mother of God holds the Christ Child, and with her right hand she points to Him as the Savior, Who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6) for all. The Infant Christ Himself blesses the Mother with one hand (in Her face and all of us), and in the other hand holds a rolled scroll - His holy teaching. The characteristic features of the Smolensk Hodegetria include the frontal position of the Infant, a very slight turn of the Mother of God towards the Son. Only the hand of the Mother of God, clearly read against the background of her dark clothes, bears the main semantic load as a kind of indicator of the Path to salvation.
There are various versions of the origin of the iconography of the prototype of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God - the miraculous Hodegetria of Constantinople. For a believer, its creation by the Evangelist Luke is undoubted, which is also confirmed in the purely “portrait” frontal setting of the characters. Some researchers, on the basis of the typological proximity and similar meaning of the two images, suggest that the iconography of the Mother of God - the Guide is a fragment that separated from the composition "The Adoration of the Magi", which was widespread in early Christian art. In all likelihood, the earliest images of the iconographic type of Hodegetria could indeed represent the Mother of God both standing and sitting, but later the waist-length image spread, as in the Constantinopolitan shrine. The very name "Guidebook" was established no earlier than the 9th century, although similar images are known from the 6th century and earlier.
The most accurate representation of the non-preserved Hodegetria of Constantinople can be seen on the output miniature of the Graeco-Latin Psalter of Hamilton (c. 1300), stored in the State Museum in Berlin. It shows a family (possibly members of a brotherhood that served the miraculous icon in the monastery), worshiping Hodegetria. The peculiarity of the depicted icon is a wide, almost square board and half-figures of worshiping archangels in the corners, which were characteristic feature Constantinople Hodegetria.
Until its disappearance, the prototype of Smolenskaya was never subjected to a thorough scientific study. According to old descriptions, the board on which the icon was painted was unusually heavy, primed with chalk on glue, and covered with canvas. The Mother of God is depicted at half height, to the waist, supporting the Infant with her left hand. The Savior blesses the worshipers with his right hand, holding a scroll in his left hand. Outerwear The Mother of God is dark brown, the lower ones are dark blue, the clothes of the Infant are dark green with gold. On the reverse side of the prototype was written the Crucifixion with the Greek inscription "The King is crucified" and a view of Jerusalem. When painting was renewed in Moscow in 1666, the figures of the Mother of God and John the Theologian were added to this Crucifixion, which had not been there before.
The Holy Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria is one of the main shrines of the Russian Church. Believers have received and continue to receive abundant grace-filled help from her. The Mother of God, through Her holy image, intercedes and strengthens us, guiding us to salvation, and we cry out to Her: "You are the faithful people - the All-good Hodegetria, You are the Smolensk Praise and all the Russian land - the affirmation! Rejoice, Hodegetria, the salvation of Christians!"

Troparion, tone 4:

Now diligently to the Theotokos, / we sin and humility, and fall down, / in repentance, calling from the depths of our souls: / Lady, help us, having mercy on us, / pandering, we are perishing from many sins, / do not turn away Your slaves, / Thou bo and one hope Imams.

Kontakion, tone 6:

The intercession of Christians is shameless, / an immutable intercession to the Creator, / do not despise the voices of sinful prayers, / but precede, as if good, to help us, faithfully calling Ty: / hasten to prayer and rush to supplication, / intercession ever, the Mother of God, honoring Thee.

O Wonderful and Exceeding all creatures, the Queen of the Theotokos, the Heavenly King Christ our God Mother, the Most Pure Hodegetria Mary! Hear us sinners and unworthy ones, at this hour praying and falling down to Your most pure image with tears and tenderly saying: lead us from the ditch of passions, O Gracious Lady, deliver us from all sorrow and sorrow, protect us from all misfortunes and evil slander, and from the unrighteous and fierce libel of the enemy. May you, O our Blessed Mother, save Thy people from all evil and supply and save with all good deeds; unless you have another Representative in troubles and circumstances and warm intercessors for us sinners are not imams. Pray, O Most Holy Lady, Thy Son, Christ our God, that He may honor us with the Kingdom of Heaven; for this sake, we always praise Thee, as the Creator of our salvation, and we exalt the holy and magnificent name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the Trinity of the glorious and worshiped God, forever and ever. Amen.

(days.pravoslavie.ru; www.portal-slovo.ru; illustrations - days.pravoslavie.ru; www.li.ru; www.photosight.ru; www.artvuz.ru; romanov-murman.narod.ru; foto .utoli.org.ru; www.ruschudo.ru; www.st-catherine.ru; makariya.ru; okuznechik.narod.ru; www.shushara.ru; culture.karelia.ru).

Patronal feast in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, especially revered by believers. This visible expression of the Incarnation has become a symbol of the Russian faith, capable of granting stunning, miraculous help.

The prototype of the icon is a version of the icon-painting of the Mother of God, made by the closest follower of the faith - the Evangelist Luke, whose author's works are also Russian Orthodox Church. The icon represents the image of Jesus, already somewhat grown up, in contrast to another, common type of icon image, called "Eleusa". This word is interpreted as tenderness, an expression of love. For the Smolensk image, dogma is somewhat different - it glorifies the fact of the appearance of the Heavenly King in the form of a divine baby to the whole world, as evidenced by the characteristic gesture right hand Mother of God.

The shrine belongs to a certain icon-painting type and is known as Hodegetria - "Guide" from Greek. It is able to lead believers to salvation by true path- to Christ. There is a story about how Holy Virgin helped healing by showing the way to the temple to two blind men who received it in front of the image. But how the icon itself got into the territory future Russia there are no reliable facts.

The most acceptable version is considered to be the transfer of the icon as a parental blessing of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine to his daughter when she was married to Prince Vsevolod in 1046. His son, the famous Vladimir Monomakh, then transferred the icon from Chernigov, his father's inheritance, to Smolensk in 1095. A few years later, he founded the Assumption Cathedral, where this icon was placed. She began to be called Smolensk and keep the people inhabiting these lands.

For the first time, miraculous help came from the icon in 1239, when Smolensk was surrounded by the troops of Batu Khan, whose numerical superiority seemed to leave no chance for the inhabitants. Skeptics may question subsequent events, but they can be categorized as true miracles. The fervent prayer of the Smolensk people, who turned to the protector, granted salvation in the person of the believing warrior Mercury. The holy voice from the icon directed his actions. At the cost of his life, he made his way into the camp, defeated many enemies, including the strongest warrior of the horde. And not a single critic can deny that the Orthodox Church united the Russian people from fragmentation, especially during the period of the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

But subsequent historical realities forced the Smolensk Mother of God to leave her refuge. So it was in 1395, when the principality lost its right to Hodegetria after the capture by Lithuania. But again, another wedding in 1398, this time the daughter of the Lithuanian ruler and the Moscow prince, the son of Dmitry Donskoy, returned the icon to the Russian land as a dowry, only to Moscow. And half a century later (1456), at the request of the Smolensk ambassadors, it was solemnly returned.

The exact list, that is, a copy of the icon, was subsequently transferred on July 28 (August 10), 1525, to the Novodevichy Convent, built in honor of the liberation from Lithuanian rule. From this moment begins the period of celebration. On August 10, the Divine Liturgy is held, glorifying the earthly life of Jesus and the Mother of God. Not all images are honored with their patronal feast day. There are also 4 images of the Mother of God (for example, Vladimir, Kazan).

For those believers for whom the significance of the icon is great, there is an opportunity to make a religious procession organized by Orthodox activists. It has become a traditional, annual event with the pilgrimage route Vitebsk-Smolensk, and is called Hodegetria. Celebrations and celebrations strengthen the spiritual ties of the Orthodox and fill life with joy, although the prototype itself disappeared after the German occupation of Smolensk, which was established in 1943. His fate is still unknown, but the Orthodox do not lose hope.

The Smolensk icon of the Mother of God, called Hodegetria, has a very ancient origin. It was brought to Russia from Greece, but when and by whom is not known for certain. There is one legend, which reports that the Greek Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenic blessed his daughter, Princess Anna, with this icon, giving her in marriage in 1046 to Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich of Chernigov.

After the death of Prince Vsevolod of Chernigov, the Hodegetria icon was inherited by his son Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh, born of the Greek princess Anna. Vladimir Monomakh transferred the icon of the Hodegetria - the blessing of his mother - from Chernigov to Smolensk, where he reigned from 1097, and placed it in the cathedral church of the Assumption of the Mother of God, founded by him on May 3, 1101. Since that time, the Hodegetria icon has been called the Smolensk icon.

Of the many miracles that occurred from this icon, the deliverance of Smolensk from the Tatars is especially remarkable: In 1239, during the invasion of the wild hordes of Batu into the Russian land, one of the Tatar detachments went Smolensk region, and Smolensk was in danger of being plundered. The inhabitants, feeling unable to repel the formidable enemy, turned with fervent prayer to the Mother of God. The Mother of God heard their prayers and granted the city salvation.

The Tatars stopped at Dolgomostye, 24 versts from Smolensk, intending to suddenly attack the city. At that time, in the squad of the Smolensk prince there was one warrior named Mercury, a pious man. It was him that the Mother of God chose as Her instrument to save the city. On the night of November 24th cathedral, where the miraculous icon of Hodegetria stood, the church sexton received a command from Her to say to Mercury: “Mercury! depart soon in military armor, for the Lady is calling you.

The watchman immediately went to Mercury and told him everything. He, putting on military armor, hurried to the temple to the icon of the Mother of God and there he heard a voice coming from the icon: “Mercury! I am sending you to protect My house... Go out to meet the enemy secretly from the people, the saint and the prince, who are unaware of the attack of the military; I myself will be with you, helping My servant. But there, along with the victory, the crown of martyrdom awaits you, which you receive from Christ.

With tears, Mercury fell before the holy icon and, fulfilling the will of the Mother of God, went against the enemies without fear. At night, he penetrated into the camp of the enemy and killed the Tatar giant, on whom the Tatars hoped more than on their entire detachment. Surrounded by enemies, Mercury courageously repulsed all their attacks. Enemies saw the lightning men accompanying him and the Luminous Wife. Her majestic face horrified them. Having smitten many Tatars, Mercury, at last, himself was struck by a blow to the head and fell down dead. His body was buried with honor in the cathedral church.

Mercury of Smolensk is numbered among the holy martyrs. His shoes are still kept in the Smolensk Assumption Cathedral.

At the beginning of the 15th century, the Hodegetria icon was transferred from Smolensk to Moscow. In 1456, Bishop Misail of Smolensk arrived in Moscow, accompanied by the governor of the city and many distinguished citizens, and asked the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark to return the holy Hodegetria icon to Smolensk. On the advice of Metropolitan Jonah, the Grand Duke fulfilled the request of the Smolensk ambassadors. Solemnly, with a procession, on Sunday, January 18, they saw off the Smolensk Icon from Moscow.

In 1666, the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God was in Moscow for the second time to restore the painting, which had darkened with time.

In 1812, during the French invasion, this icon was taken out of Smolensk before the Battle of Borodino by Bishop Iriney Falkovsky and delivered by him to Moscow. The inhabitants of Moscow, at the sight of the great shrine, fell on their knees in front of her, crying out: “Mother of God, save us!” On the day of the Battle of Borodino, August 26, in the procession, the Smolensk icon was carried around the White City, Kitai-Gorod, and the Kremlin walls.

After the Battle of Borodino, the Hodegetria icon, along with the Iberian icon, was taken to the Lefortovo Palace, where the wounded soldiers lay. Before the capture of Moscow by the French, the Smolensk Icon was sent by Bishop Iriney to Yaroslavl, where it remained until the end of Patriotic War 1812. From Yaroslavl, the icon was again returned to Smolensk and placed in the cathedral, until 1940 of our century. The further fate of the Smolensk shrine is unknown.

Now in its place in the Assumption Cathedral is the miraculous Smolensk icon of Hodegetria, painted in 1602. Her history is like this. After the construction of the fortress wall was completed, the icon was brought to Smolensk by Tsar Boris Godunov to be installed over the main, Frolovsky, gates near the Dnieper bridge. This icon was written off from the miraculous image under Tsar Ivan the Terrible by the artist Postnik Rostovets.

By the beginning of the war of 1812, she was in the Church of the Annunciation, because. the new stone temple built for her was not consecrated. On the night of August 6, Russian troops left Smolensk, and the Miraculous Icon from the Church of the Annunciation was taken by the 1st artillery company of Captain Glukhov. From that time until the expulsion of the French troops outside the Smolensk province, the icon was inseparably among the troops in the 3rd Grenadier Division.

On August 25, by order of the commander-in-chief M.I. The Kutuzov icon of Our Lady of Smolensk was surrounded by all the ranks of the troops, and before it a prayer service was served with kneeling in the presence of the commander-in-chief and the entire army.

The icon was in the army until November 5. After the victory over the French corps of General Ney near Krasnoye, the icon, by order of Kutuzov, was transferred to the new Gateway Church of the Mother of God, where it was located until 1941.

Since 1526, on August 10 (according to the old style, July 28), the feast of the Miraculous Icon of Hodegetria of Smolensk has been celebrated. It was erected in memory of the return of Smolensk from the rule of Lithuania.

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On August 10, the 10th week after Pentecost, on the day of the celebration of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, called the Hodegetria, His Grace Seraphim, Bishop of Belevsky and Aleksinsky, committed Divine Liturgy in the Holy Dormition Cathedral Church of the city of Aleksin, co-serving with the rector of the cathedral church - Archpriest Gennady Stepanov and the clergy of the temple. Following the prayer behind the ambo, the bishop performed the glorification before the icon of the Smolensk Icon of the Most Holy Lady, after which he addressed the worshipers with the words of archpastoral instruction.

“Not imams of other help, not imams of other hope, unless You, the Lady, help us, we hope in You and boast in You, Your servants, for we are, let us not be ashamed”

(En kontakion of the Mother of God before the icon of Her Hodegetria, tone 6)

The Smolensk icon of the Mother of God, called "Hodegetria", which means "Guide", according to Church tradition, was painted by the holy evangelist Luke during the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos. Saint Demetrius of Rostov suggests that this image was painted at the request of the ruler of Antioch, Theophilus. From Antioch, the shrine was transferred to Jerusalem, and from there the Empress Eudoxia, the wife of Arcadius, transferred it to Constantinople to Pulcheria, the emperor's sister, who placed the holy icon in the Blachernae church. The Greek Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh (1042-1054), giving his daughter Anna in 1046 to Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, son of Yaroslav the Wise, blessed her on her journey with this icon. After the death of Prince Vsevolod, the icon passed to his son Vladimir Monomakh, who transferred it at the beginning of the 12th century to the Smolensk Cathedral Church in honor of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. Since that time, the icon has been called the Hodegetria of Smolensk. In 1238, at the voice of the icon, the selfless Orthodox warrior Mercury entered the camp of Batu at night and killed many enemies, including their strongest warrior. Having accepted a martyr's death in battle, he was canonized by the Church as a saint (Comm. 24 November). In the 14th century, Smolensk was in the possession of the Lithuanian princes. The daughter of Prince Vitovt Sofia was married to the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dimitrievich (1398-1425). In 1398, she brought with her to Moscow the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God. The holy image was installed in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin, on the right side of the royal gates. In 1456, at the request of the inhabitants of Smolensk, headed by Bishop Misail, the icon was solemnly returned to Smolensk with a religious procession, and two copies of it remained in Moscow. One was placed in the Annunciation Cathedral, and the other - "measure in measure" - in 1524 in the Novodevichy Convent, founded in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia. The monastery was set up on the Maiden's Field, where Muscovites released the holy icon to Smolensk "with many tears". In 1602, an exact list was written from the miraculous icon (in 1666, together with the ancient icon, a new list was taken to Moscow for renewal), which was placed in the tower of the Smolensk fortress wall, above the Dnieper Gates, under a specially arranged tent. Later, in 1727, a wooden church was built there, and in 1802 a stone one. The new list took on the grace-filled power of the ancient image, and when the Russian troops left Smolensk on August 5, 1812, they took the icon with them to protect it from the enemy. On the eve of the Battle of Borodino, this image was worn around the camp to strengthen and encourage the soldiers to a great feat. The ancient image of the Smolensk Hodegetria, temporarily taken to the Assumption Cathedral, on the day of the Battle of Borodino, along with the Iveron and Vladimir icons of the Mother of God, was carried around the White City, Kitay-Gorod and the Kremlin walls, and then sent to the sick and wounded in the Lefortovo Palace. Before leaving Moscow, the icon was taken to Yaroslavl. So reverently our ancestors kept these icons-sisters, and the Mother of God, through Her images, guarded our Motherland. After the victory over the enemy, the Hodegetria icon, together with the glorified list, was returned to Smolensk. The celebration in honor of this miraculous image on July 28 was established in 1525 in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia. There are many revered lists from the Smolensk Hodegetria, which are supposed to be celebrated on the same day. There is also a day of celebration of the Smolensk icon, which became famous in the 19th century - November 5, when this icon was returned to Smolensk by order of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army M.I. Kutuzov. In memory of the expulsion of enemies from the Fatherland in Smolensk, it was established to celebrate this day every year. The Holy Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria is one of the main shrines of the Russian Church. Believers have received and continue to receive abundant grace-filled help from her. The Mother of God, through Her holy image, intercedes and strengthens us, guiding us to salvation, and we appeal to Her: “You are the faithful people - the All-good Hodegetria, You are the Smolensk Praise and all the Russian lands - affirmation! Rejoice, Hodegetria, salvation of the Christian!