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Let us take a deeper look at the history and meaning behind one of the most important texts in Orthodox Christianity.
The spiritual message of the icon revealed itself with time. It promises eventual forgiveness to the Russian people and the return of the supreme power from the Holy Theotokos after a long period of suffering and repentance.
God, who gives the sinners and the righteous their dues, is not someone who lies in waiting to punish a wrongdoer after the fact. What gives us fear and trembling is the hurting wound of not responding to the love that He had given to us.
As we pray for our dead, we remember that all the living will enter eternal life in their time. We also realise how vain and fragile our earthly lives are, how finite are our worldly comforts and wealth, how small are many of our daily concerns.
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