“The Queen of Heaven has shown great mercy to the Russian people by granting them Her wonderworking ‘Reigning’ Icon. This image was revealed during a difficult time for our homeland. Thanks to the help, intercession, and protection of the Queen of Heaven, our people and Fatherland have passed through the crucible of revolutions and trials.”
(From the address of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia on the 90th anniversary of the discovery of the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God, 15 March 2007)
More than 100 years have passed since the appearance of the “Reigning” Icon of the Mother of God in our land. The Most Holy Theotokos, enthroned with the Eternal Child, holds the symbols of imperial power: the sceptre and the orb. This signifies the regal dignity of the Most Pure Virgin. The purple of her robe is also symbolic: red has long been considered the colour of royal authority, a symbol of majesty and high worth.
In 1917, the icon's discovery brought particular comfort to believers: centuries-old statehood was crumbling before their eyes, moral foundations were collapsing, spiritual values were being trampled underfoot, and people living in their native land turned on each other like bitter enemies, brother against brother. According to the recollections of those who lived through it, veneration of the icon grew gradually, as the people received enlightenment from above and came to their senses. The Queen of Heaven Herself assumed sovereignty over Her fourth inheritance — this is how Orthodox Christians perceived the heavenly gift granted to them in those troubled times.
And with this hope, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, lived through persecution, hunger, cold, repression, exile, labour camps, and wars, remaining faithful to God. Many not only stood firm in their faith but entered eternity as confessors and martyrs, bearing witness that their love for God was stronger than life and stronger than death.
After the finding of the Reigning Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, copies were made and quickly spread throughout the churches. One of the most venerated is now in the Church of the Prophet Elijah in Obydensky Lane in Moscow. It was painted in the 1920s by the Orthodox artist Nikolai Sergeyevich Chernyshev at the request of the daughters of Archpriest Joseph Fudel. The Reigning Icon of the Mother of God is the artist's finest work.
The Reigning Icon of the Mother of God, artist N.S. Chernyshev
In December 1941, N.S. Chernyshev was arrested on charges of establishing an anti-Soviet church organisation. On 19 August 1942, the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, he was sentenced. He was likely executed by firing squad in a Saratov prison.
Another wonderworking copy is kept in the Nikolo-Perervinsky Monastery (Moscow Region).
Venerated copy of the Reigning Icon of the Mother of God in Nikolo-Perervinsky Monastery
On 27 July 1990, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God was solemnly transferred by the clergy and Orthodox Muscovites to the village of Kolomenskoye, to the active Kazan Church, and placed near the right kliros of the church.
Kazan Church in Kolomenskoye, near Moscow
Times have moved on. Churches began to be built throughout the Russian land, golden crosses gleamed on domes, bells rang out, and worshipping people filled the churches. This is a gift from God in response to the prayers of our new martyrs and confessors. Through their sacrificial feat, the Church survived and was reborn through their prayers under the protection of the Sovereign Lady.
Perhaps the Lord will not raise us to the heights to which our saints ascended in the 20th century, but what happens on this earth also depends on our life choices, our way of life, and our faithfulness to God. God grant that, through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and our new martyrs and confessors, in 100 years' time, our descendants may say: "In the 21st century, Christians lived in such a way that, thanks to them, we are today in the Orthodox Church, we have beautiful churches, divine services, and we are Orthodox people," - so that under the sovereignty of the Most Holy Theotokos, the salvation of our people may continue on this earth.
"Seeking the City of Zion, we flee today under Your protection, O Pure Virgin, and no one can prevail against us, for there is no city stronger than that of the Existing God, and there is no other strength than the mercy of the Virgin Lady."
(Troparion, Tone 4)
Material prepared by the team of obitel-minsk.ru
Images from the internet
Sources used:
1. The Unbreakable Wall. Apparitions of the Mother of God in the Russian Land. Collection / Comp.: V. Arkhipov. — Moscow: Russian Chronograph, 2013.
2. Miracles and Fates of Icons of the Mother of God in the 20th Century / S. Rybakova. — Moscow: Lepta Kniga, 2008.
