When
we saw for ourselves the bleeding icon of the Savior, the question
arose in mind of many people: "Was it anything like this before in
Russia?"
In chronicle we read:
"In the year 6934 (1426)
beyond the old Kolozh, at Stony Lake, there was a Sign - the icon
of the Blessed Virgin was bleeding, at the 16th day of September;
this Sign denoted the invasion of nasty prince Vitovt and a great
bloodshed of Christians."
From the same source, more
detailed:
"In the year 6934 (1426),
in the same autumn, there was a Sign from the icon of the Blessed
Virgin, at Stony Lake, at the Vassiliy's court: there was bleeding
from the right eye of the icon, and blood dropped at the place where
the icon stood, and blood flew into the cloth on the way to Pskov,
where the icon was transferred at 16th September, in the day of commemoration
of Holy GreatMartyress Euphimia."
So what the icon is mentioned
in the Pskov chronicles?
It
was the Icon of the Mother of God, named "Support to the
Humble" ("Prizri na smirenie"), the copy of it is located
in Kiev.
In the year 1993
it has miraculously printed itself on
the glass of an icon case where it was placed .
This icon remained
in Moscow for three months and a half, calling upon to the
humility, strengthening this call with wonders as a testimony…
And now the time
has come, to bid farewell to this icon. It was accompanied
from Moscow at 14th December at 18 p.m.
The
bleeding icon of the Savior left Moscow at 15th December.
But according to the church
calendar - this two events have occurred in the same day,
because we start counting time from the evening. The simultaneous
departure from the capital is the second coincidence, that binds the
both icons…
We return to the chronicle
evidences.
The Sign of the year 1426
forewent the number of tragic events, that have happened in the next
years in the princedom: in that year it was a famine in Pskov, from
Ilia's day till Epiphany, than 40 farmsteads were burned by the fire
in spring, and at last, in the same year the Lithuanian prince Vitovt
broke the peace with Pskov and made an invasion along with Tatars
conquering Pskov's districts.
In
the narrative of the icon is mentioned, that such signs, "signals"
from the holy icons are given to people from the invisible
world to tell us, how immense great is Mother of God's love
to the humankind, that strives even if not for protecting
us from the impendent disasters, than at least for alerting
us to them.
So what shall we
wait for in our lifetime, overburdened by such disgusting
sins, that our forefathers could not even imagine? For what
kind of future difficult trials does our Lord prepare us?
Answers to this questions will be revealed in certain time.
And we shall already now learn the spiritual lessons from
the threatening omens that are shown.
The combined visit of Lord
along with Mother of God should raise hope for a prayer of Diligent
Patroness in our hearts, and the name of Her icon suggests us the
salvation way.
Merciful Lord, lend a "Support
to the Humble" of Your Mother, and let us grow in this saving virtue,
that, coupled with obedience, is "more than fast and prayer".
The second answer gives the Divine Sufferer:
"A
new commandment
I give unto you, that ye
love one
another; even as I
have loved you,
that ye also love
one
another. Greater
love hath
no man than this,
that a man lay
down his life
for his friends.
This
is a fragment of icon before bleeding. Now the left half of the Gospel
is hidden from us. LOVE ONE ANOTHER
- exactly this words are covered with Divine blood…
Russian version
