Where is the Savior not made by hands kept? The image was saved by the miraculous

My new look! The first thing that should be included in your plans is changing yourself. From the moment you were born, when you came into this blessed world, you were destined to become a happy person. Perhaps other people's wrong thoughts have affected your well-being, and it

“The Son of Man has not come souls
to destroy men, but to save them” (Luke 9:56)

- the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, miraculously imprinted on the cloth with which Christ wiped his face. According to the Tradition set out in Chetyi Menae, Abgar V Uchama, sick with leprosy, sent his archivist Hannan (Ananias) to Christ with a letter in which he asked Christ to come to Edessa and heal him.

Hannan was an artist, and Abgar instructed him that if the Savior could not come, then at least paint His image and bring it to him. Hannan found Christ surrounded by a dense crowd; he stood on a stone from which he could see better and tried to portray the Savior.

Seeing that Hannan wanted to make His portrait, Christ asked for water, washed himself, wiped His face with a cloth, and His image was imprinted on this cloth. The Savior handed this board to Hannan with the command to take it with a reply letter to the one who sent it.

In this letter, Christ refused to go to Edessa himself, saying that he must fulfill what he was sent to do. Upon completion of His work, He promised to send one of His disciples to Abgar. Having received the portrait, Avgar was healed of his main illness, but his face remained damaged.

After Pentecost, the holy Apostle Thaddeus, one of the 70, went to Edessa, completed the healing of Abgar and converted him to Christianity. Abgar attached the image to the board and placed it in a niche above the city gate, removing the idol that was there.

Day 16/29 August 944 became the most important in the history of the miraculous image of Christ on the board, called in Byzantium “Holy Mandylion” (TO AGION MANDYLION), and in Ancient Rus'“Holy Ubrus”. On this day, a precious relic, on the eve solemnly transferred to Constantinople from the distant Syrian city of Edessa, was placed in the reliquary church of the Grand Palace among other most important shrines of the empire.

From this moment on, the general Christian glorification of the Mandylion begins, which becomes perhaps the main relic of the Byzantine world. In the lists of Constantinople shrines in pilgrimage descriptions, it consistently occupies one of the first places.

UNMADE IMAGE
Troparion, tone 2

We worship Your most pure image, O Good One, / asking forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God: / by the will of Your flesh you deigned to ascend to the Cross, / so that You may deliver Him from the work of the enemy. / Thus we cry out to You in gratitude: / You filled all with joy, O our Savior, / who came to save the world.

Kontakion, tone 2

Thy ineffable and Divine sight of man, / the indescribable Word of the Father, / and the unwritten image, / and the divinely written one is victorious, / leading to Thy unfaithful incarnation, / we honor and kiss him.

Greatness

We magnify You, / Life-giving Christ, / and honor Your most pure face / glorious imagination.

Foreign greatness

We magnify You, / Life-giving Christ, / and honor Your holy image, / by which You saved us / from the work of the enemy.

Word on the Day of the Image of the Lord Not Made by Hands

This day, which we celebrate in honor of our Savior Jesus Christ, who left His face not made by hands on the canvas, encourages us, brothers, to talk about His ineffable love and mercy for the human race.

Being “the radiance of the glory of the Father” (Heb. 1:3) and “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), in whose bosom He dwelt from eternity, He became man and became visible, revealing to all the inexhaustible source of Divine mercy and love .

Constantly surrounded by people, He called everyone to Himself, promising to give peace, healed mental and physical ailments, and attracted everyone to Himself with the inexplicably sweet words of His teaching and the unusually meek appearance of His Divine face.

The hearts of the people of the pagan world who lived before the coming of Christ did not know love, since the whole life of their hearts was exhausted in serving passions and vices destructive to the soul and body.

Even the Jewish people, who were preparing for the coming of the Savior, understood little what the love of God is, so that even the chosen apostles of Christ during the earthly life of the Lord were still not freed from the desire for earthly glory, mutual envy, and lack of faith in relation to their Teacher .

And then He appeared who, for all people who lived on earth, made palpable the quiet breath of Divine love in hearts that were melting from sorrow, shed consolation to souls devoted to the service of vices, made them feel the weight of the burden that this service placed on them, joy and lightness fulfillment of the Divine law. Everyone sought to listen to Him and be healed of their ailments, or simply to open their soul, exhausted from the passions and sorrows of life, to the breath of love that emanated from Him.

How beautiful and blessed was the life of these people, who constantly saw the Savior comforting, healing, edifying and irresistibly drawing to Himself with His love! Truly blessed were their eyes, which saw what they saw, what many prophets and kings desired to see or hear, although they did not see or hear (Luke 10:23-24)!

If human love makes people’s lives so joyful and filled with bliss, then how much more blessed were the people who were in communion with Him Who, calling Himself the Son of Man out of love for the human race, was God Himself, hitherto unknown to the world in all the fullness of His Divinity life and glory!

Hieromartyr Thaddeus (Uspensky)

Akathist to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ not made by hands

Kontakion 1

We worship Your Most Pure Image, O Good One, asking for forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God, by the will of You you have deigned to ascend in the flesh to the Cross, so that You may deliver what You have created from the work of the enemy, so we cry out to You with hope: Lord God, my Savior, come to me to the one who bends and heal from my incurable illness.

“Jesus, my Savior,” Abgar, the prince of Edessa humbly prayed, “come to me and heal my incurable illnesses, in which I have suffered for many years.

Imitating him, I, stricken by sinful leprosy, cry out in prayer to my face: My Lord, Lord, have mercy on me according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity. Lord my Savior, with the dew of Your mercy wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Lord, turn Your face away from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities. Lord, create a pure heart in me and renew a right spirit in my womb. Lord, do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me.

Kontakion 2

Seeing the love and faith of Abgar of Edessa, Lord, You wrote to him: “Blessed are you, Abgar, who has not seen Me, and I will send My disciple who believes in Me and He will heal you and give eternal life to you and those who are with you.” Send, O Lord, Thy mercy to me also who cry: Alleluia.

Ikos 2

The mind does not comprehend the mystery of how the Lord, by attaching a veil to His Divine face, depicting His likeness on it, sent it to Abgar, fulfilling his desire. Be filled with this great joy by bowing to the image of Christ. Today we worship Him with reverence, with prayer and faith calling: My Lord, Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will proclaim Your praise, My Lord, Lord, restore to me the joy of salvation and strengthen me with the Sovereign Spirit. Lord, I have sinned against You alone and done evil before You, by Your mercy have mercy on me, My Lord, Lord my Savior, look upon the sorrow of my soul and hasten to help me. My Lord, Lord, hear me and deliver me from all sorrows.

Lord God, my Savior, come to me, who is perishing, and heal my incurable illnesses.

Kontakion 3

Abgar, filled with the power of love and joy, bowed to the Not Made by Hands image of the Savior of the world and, having received healing of his illnesses; crying out in faith, “Christ our God, whoever trusts in You will not be put to shame.” By this teaching we should always trust in the mercies of the Lord and sing to Him: Hallelujah!

Ikos 3

Having love for the fallen human race, You, Christ God, through one of Your disciples, called out to this Ashar from the darkness of sin and enlightened her soul with the light of Your truth. Call me also from the depths of sin, and I will cry out to You with tears:

My Lord, Lord, grant me tears of tenderness, and with them I will beg You - cleanse before the end all my sins, Lord, enlighten my soul with the light of Your Divine knowledge, and lead me by Your mercy into Your Kingdom My Lord, Lord, my enlightenment and my Savior , I came running to You, teach me to do Your will. My Lord, my Lord, my God, enlighten my heart, and drive away the temptation of the evil one from it, and guide me on the path of salvation. My Lord, Lord, do not reject my prayer and hear me, with Your Grace confirm my heart with Your fear. Lord God, my Savior, come to me, who is perishing, and heal my incurable illnesses.

THE SAVIOR NOT MADE BY HANDS, icon, 13th century*

Kontakion 4

The storm of passions and worries of everyday life drowns me, and my heart, gripped by the horror of death, cries out to Ty: Lord, there is no one who helps me on earth, save me, like Abgar of old, and grant me to sing with him: Alleluia.

Ikos 4

Hearing that the Jews hate You and want to do something evil to You, Lord, Abgar writes: “I pray: come to me and dwell with me.” Imitating that love, and having risen from the depths of my fall, I boldly pray to Thee, O Christ God:

Lord my God, enter into the house of my soul and remain inseparable from me, a sinner. Lord, God of my heart, come and unite me with You forever. My Lord, Lord, my soul has clinged to You, come and fill my heart with joy.

Lord God, my Savior, come to me who is perishing and heal my incurable illnesses.

Kontakion 5

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord - the Jewish children sang of old when they met the Lord in Jerusalem. Today, we, opening the doors of our hearts to the Savior coming to us, call with tenderness: Alleluia.

Ikos 5

You have spoken wondrous words, O Lord, to all who are perishing: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid; believe in God, believe in Me, and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” I, thinking about my iniquity, I pray to You, O Good One, confirm my heart and enlighten my mind, crying to You: My Lord, Lord, look upon me and enlighten my eyes, so that I will not sleep into death, my Lord, Lord, the guide of Israel from land of Pharaoh, guide me in Your path, that I may walk in Your truth. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, I believe in You, help my unbelief, my Lord, Lord, do not reprove me with Your wrath, and do not depart from me for my iniquities.

Lord God, my Savior, come to me, who is perishing, and heal my incurable illnesses.

Kontakion 6

Look with my eyes at Your image, Lord, I do not dare, the accursed one, from my evil deeds, but, like a publican, groaning, I cry out to You God, cleanse me, a sinner, from the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teach me to sing with a pure heart of Your mercy: Alleluia.

Ikos 6

Ascension in my sorrow, Thy comforting word, Thou didst say to my Savior: “I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.” For this reason, I, having escaped the darkness of despair, with hope in Your love for mankind, came running to You, praying: My Lord, Lord, take refuge in my time of trouble and sorrow, do not leave me alone, my Lord, Lord, sinless, imputed with the lawless, take me away. from the hands of those who hate me. My Lord, Lord, save me from the desecration of visible and invisible enemies. My Lord, Lord, forgive me and accept me, like the prodigal of old, into Your arms.

Lord God, my Savior, come to me, who is perishing, and heal my incurable illnesses.

Kontakion 7

Thou hast shown Thy wondrous works, O Lord, in Thy most pure image, and hast given marvelous consolation to all earth-born, teaching them in the sorrowful circumstances of life to resort to Thy mercy and to sing to Thee with love: Alleluia.

Ikos 7

Wearing the temple and the entire body is desecrated, many of the cruel things I have done, I tremble at the terrible Day of Judgment and pray: open the doors of repentance to me, O Life-Giver, and like David I cry to You: My Lord, Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my prayer and have mercy on me. Lord my God, Your seventh, give me understanding and my soul will live. Lord my God, my shepherd, I have gone astray, like a lost sheep, seek your servant and save me. My Lord, Lord, have mercy on me, heal my soul for those who have sinned against You.

Lord God, my Savior, come to me, who is perishing, and heal my incurable illnesses.

Kontakion 8

On the terrible day of Your coming, I am terrified, O Christ, and I tremble, for I have many sins, but You, Merciful God, before the end, convert me, singing Tn: Alleluia.

Ikos 8

Thou wast all love for fallen man, O Jesus, and Thou gavest them Thy Holy Image, clearly saying to all who are in sorrow and sorrow, “Come to Me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” For this reason, the one who is perishing, with boldness I pray to Thee, O Christ, saying:

My Lord, my Lord, my guardian, save me from the enemies who attack me. My Lord, Lord, who lives on high and looks down on the humble, look down on me, a sinner, and be my joy. My Lord, Lord, save me, drowning in the abyss of everyday temptations. My Lord, Lord, let not my heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid in confessing Your name. My Lord, Lord, receive me like a publican, like a Canaanite, have mercy, have mercy on me according to Your mercy.

Lord God, my Savior, come to me, who is perishing, and heal my incurable illnesses.

Kontakion 9

All pagans, come, with love and reverence let us worship the most pure image of the Savior of the world, who delivered us from the work of the enemy and cry out in gratitude to Him, the Conqueror of death and hell: Alleluia.

Ikos 9

All struck by sinful leprosy, I am perplexed as to how it is worthy to magnify Thee, O most merciful Master, but with heartfelt faith I confess Thee, the true Son of God, I humbly stand before Thy Holy image, praying: Lord Jesus, my Joy, grant to me that I may rejoice in mercy Yours. Lord, my Most Gracious Savior, save Your servant from unbelief and lawlessness. My Lord, Lord, Unspeakable Mercy, by Your grace consume my anger and my heart. My Lord, Lord, indescribable purity, give me purity of heart and mind. My Lord, Lord, clothe yourself with singing like a robe, sanctify me, darkened by the sorrows of life.

Lord God, my Savior, come to me, who is perishing, and heal my incurable illnesses.

Kontakion 10

My Lord, Lord, Merciful to my Savior, raise up my soul, weakened by cold deeds, by Thy Divine mercy, like the one weakened in ancient times at the sheep’s font, and instruct me in the path of salvation, so that we sing: All-moon.

Ikos 10

Eternal King, Comforter, True Christ, cleanse me from all filth, as you cleansed the ten lepers, and heal me, as you healed the money-loving soul of Zacchaeus the tax collector, so that I may sing to You, saying:

My Lord, Lord, you who have received our illnesses and suffered illnesses, heal the illnesses of my heart. My Lord, Lord Jesus, my Helper, help me, as my soul faints from this sorrow. My Lord, Lord, who gave eyes to the blind to see, give me an eye that I may see Your meekness and patience. Lord, long-suffering, deliver my soul from the wicked and save me for the sake of Thy mercy.

Lord God, my Savior, come to me, who is perishing, and heal my incurable illnesses.

Kontakion 11

Bringing all-conciliatory singing to You, and praying with a contrite heart, do not despise me, O Most Blessed Master! Turn away Thy face from my sins! But do not turn Your face away from the servant who sings to You: Alleluia.

Ikos 11

O true Light Christ, who enlightens and sanctifies every person coming into the world, look upon me, Thy sinful and indecent servant, and correct my life according to Thy commandments, and sanctify my soul, that I may offer Thy prayer to thee:

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Light of the world, shine Your light on me My Lord, Lord, You are the source of life, grant my soul imperishable life and confirm me in Your commandments. Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Sun of righteousness, with Your righteousness warm my soul and illuminate my mind. My Lord, Lord, You are my mentor, teach me to do Your will and love You with all my heart My Lord, Lord, You have opened the eyes of the blind, open the doors of repentance for me and, as you are generous, cleanse all my sins.

Lord God, my Savior, come to me, who is perishing, and heal my incurable illnesses.

kontakion 12

By Your omnipotent grace, confirm my heart in faith, hope and love, grant me through repentance and unflagging fulfillment of Your commandments to reach the Kingdom of Heaven, where with the faces of the apostles I will sing: Ti Alleluia.

Ikos 12

You, Good Shepherd, proclaimed to everyone the sorrows and sorrows of those who exist: “My friends, I am going to My Father and your Father to prepare a place for you, but I will come again and take you to Myself, if you keep My commandments.” Hearing this reverently, I dare and, immersed in fierce sorrow, come to You, praying: My Lord, Lord, Merciful to my Savior, save me, who am perishing. My Lord, Lord, drive away from me the clouds of unbelief, evil and enmity, and by Your Good Spirit set me on the path of righteousness. My Lord, Lord, consolation of my soul, comfort me in this present sorrow. Lord my God, for the sake of Your name, revive me and through Your righteousness bring my soul out of sorrow. Lord, Most Mighty King, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.

Lord God, my Savior, come to me, who is perishing, and heal my incurable illnesses.

kontakion 13

Oh, Most Merciful and Most Good Lord God, my Savior, who came into the world to save fallen man, do not disdain me more than all the sinners and do not turn Your face away from me, but look at the fierce sorrow and sadness of my soul, heal and establish in the Light of truth and love, let us sing to You: Alleluia!

O my Most Merciful Savior, who came into the world for the salvation of fallen man, seek me who am perishing and with Thy grace sanctify my soul, cleanse my body and correct my life, but according to Thy commandments, let me sing to Thee with a pure heart: Alleluia.

O My Most Merciful Savior, look upon Thy servant, I am drowning in the sea of ​​worldly temptations and troubles, and, like Peter of old, drowning, save by Thy grace, sanctify the soul and establish it on the path of Thy commandments, so that with a pure heart and lips I cry out to Thee with love: Alleluia , Alleluia, Alleluia

Prayer

Oh, Most Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, our God, You are more ancient than Your human nature, having washed off Your face with holy water and wiped it with a rubbish, so You miraculously depicted it on the same curb and You deigned to send it to the Prince of Edessa Abgar to heal him from an illness. Behold, now we, Thy sinful servants, are possessed by our mental and physical ailments, we seek Thy face, O Lord, and with David in the humility of our souls we call, do not turn away Thy face, O Lord, from us, and do not turn aside in anger from Thy servants, our helper. wake up, do not reject us and do not leave us. Oh, All-Merciful Lord, our Savior, depict Yourself in our souls, so that in holiness and truth, living in holiness, we will be Your sons and heirs of Your Kingdom, and so we will not cease to glorify You, Our Most Merciful God, together with Your Beginning Father and the Most Holy Spirit. forever and ever. Amen

By blessing His Holiness Patriarch Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II
Dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the gate church in the name of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands in the Conception Monastery

* Savior not made by hands, XIII century, Wood, gesso, tempera, Place of creation - Balkans, Place of storage - Sacristy cathedral in Laon. Moved from Edessa to Constantinople in 944, the Mandylion disappeared when the city was captured by the Crusaders in 1204. Being common in the frescoes of the 12th century, this image also appears on icons by the end of the century. This icon is one of the earlier versions of the image. Bishop Jacques Pantaleon de Troyes (later Pope Urban IV, 1261 - 1264) received this icon in 1249 in Rome and gave it to his sister Sibylla, abbess of the Cistercian monastery of Montreux-en-Thieraches in France, where this image was definitely located in 1262. It was then moved in the 17th century, probably in 1658, to the monastery of Montreux-les-Dames, la Nouvelle, near Laon, and received a silver setting in 1679. In 1792, the ark was melted down and the image was sent to the parish church. In 1795, the icon came to the Laon Cathedral and was officially transferred to the cathedral sacristy in 1807.

** The day of August 16, 944 became the most important day in the history of the Miracle Image of Christ on a board, called in Byzantium “Holy Mandylion” (TO AGION MANDYLION), and in Ancient Rus' “Holy Ubrus”. On this day, the precious relic, which the day before had been solemnly transferred to Constantinople from the distant Syrian city of Edessa, was placed in the reliquary church of the Grand Palace among other most important shrines of the empire. From this moment on, the general Christian glorification of the Mandylion begins, which becomes perhaps the main relic of the Byzantine world. In lists of Constantinople shrines and pilgrimage descriptions, it consistently occupies one of the first places.

In contact with

The Savior Not Made by Hands is an icon that appeared during the earthly life of Jesus Christ. The image of the Savior Not Made by Hands depicts only the face of Christ, the meaning and symbolism of the icon focuses on main goal Christian - establishing a personal relationship with God. This is an image that speaks specifically about the personality, and not about the activity of Christ. Unlike narrative icons, here Christ is in direct contact, “face to face.”

Why Not Made by Hands or the History of the Image

The image appeared on a towel (plate) with which Jesus Christ wiped his face, seeing that Ananias (Canaan), sent from Edessa, was going to paint His portrait. Ananias was sent by the ruler Abgar V Uchama, who was sick with leprosy, asking Jesus for healing. Ananias was also instructed to paint a portrait of Christ and bring it to Abgar if Jesus could not come.

Important! The Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands has no author: its appearance is one of the most important miracles that occurred during the earthly life of Jesus Christ.

Finding Jesus in the crowd listening to His sermon, Ananias stood on a stone and prepared to write. Christ, who saw this, washed himself with water and wiped his face with a cloth on which His face was imprinted.

Miraculous Image (Ubrus) of the Lord Jesus Christ

Ananias took this handkerchief to his ruler, who was healed of leprosy in the image of Christ. But not completely - traces of illness remained on his face until he accepted Christianity and placed the image given to him by the Savior over the gates of the city, overthrowing the idol that had previously hung there.

A descendant of Abgar, who again fell into idolatry, tried to destroy miraculous image. The icon was preserved by the local bishop: he walled it up in the city wall. The place where it was preserved was forgotten by the inhabitants of Edessa.

Important events or celebrations in honor of an icon

The Church honors the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands annually on August 16 according to the new style. On this day, at the service, an akathist to this icon is read, prayers addressed to it are sung. The date was not chosen by chance: on August 16, 944, the image was transported to Constantinople. It was bought from Edessa by Constantine Porphyrogenitus and Roman I.

400 years earlier, during the siege of Edessa by the Persians, the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands was rediscovered. The place where the icon was hidden was indicated to the local bishop by the Mother of God. When opening a niche in the city wall, it turned out that the image was preserved intact on the board and imprinted on a clay board.

Wooden carved icon “Savior Not Made by Hands”

Residents of the city carried the image along the fortress wall with prayer. The enemy retreated. Edessa began to honor the holy image every year.

In Constantinople, the relic was in the Pharos Temple Mother of God. The exact history of the first icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands is unknown: there are only legends. According to one of them, he was kidnapped by the crusaders in the 13th century, but the ship that took him away sank. Another legend says that the board was transported to Genoa in the 14th century.

Now no one knows where the relic is.

How the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands is depicted

After the events of 544, two canonical ways of depicting the Image Not Made by Hands were formed: ubrus and skull. The Savior on the ubrus is an icon where the face of Christ is placed against the background of light matter (ubrus). Sometimes angels are also depicted holding the edges of the board. The Savior on chrepiya (tiles, bricks) is depicted against a dark background or on brickwork.

Important! IN Orthodox tradition this image is considered as one of the evidence of the truth of the human incarnation of God and as the main proof of the need for icon veneration.

The most famous icons of the Savior Not Made by Hands

In the meeting Tretyakov Gallery there is a double-sided image of the work of Novgorod masters of the 12th century, on one side of which the Savior on the skull, and on the other - the Glorification of the Cross. The Savior Not Made by Hands in the version of the Novgorod icon of the 12th century is one of the most famous lists from the Edessa relic.

The Savior Not Made by Hands is the first work of every completed icon painter.

Another list of the Image Not Made by Hands, especially revered by the Russian Orthodox Church, comes from the Vyatka land. It was transported to Moscow from the city of Khlynov by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. This happened when a pestilence was raging in Rus', from which the city of Khlynov was protected by the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands. The list from the Vyatka image was recreated above the gates of the then Frolovskaya, and later the Spasskaya tower of the Moscow Kremlin.

Gate icon of the Savior on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin

According to legend, during a train crash near Kharkov, the emperor Alexander III held the collapsing carriage on his shoulders, in which he was helped by the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which he had with him.

You can pray before the icon of our Lord Jesus Christ “Savior Not Made by Hands” about everything that is important for a believer. A full-fledged spiritual life is impossible without prayer, and the soul needs all four of its types: praise, petition, repentance and gratitude.

Advice! The simplest prayer that anyone can remember is the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands

According to legend, the image of the “Savior not made by hands” is the very first Orthodox image that immortalized the image of the Lord God. The role of this icon is very important for every Christian; quite often this shrine is put on a par with Life-giving Cross and the Lord's Crucifixion. Orthodox people Since ancient times, people have shown interest in the meaning of the “Savior Not Made by Hands” icon, and in what cases they turn to it for help.

Legends of the origin of the icon “Savior Not Made by Hands”

The icon of Jesus has a special meaning in Orthodox iconography. This shrine has two versions of its appearance:
on a towel (Mandylion);
on the stone (Keramion).

According to the first legend, which says that one day the ruler Abgar fell ill with dangerous disease and made a written request to Christ to deliver him from leprosy. Jesus Christ sent a letter to the king, but the illness did not subside.

Then the king sent his court artist with an order to make a portrait of Christ. But looking at the servant’s unsuccessful efforts, the Savior took a clean handkerchief and a bowl of water. Having rinsed his face, Christ took a towel and left his appearance on it. When the artist Abgar went back, he spent the night in the town of Hierapolis and buried a towel with the image of Jesus imprinted in stone slabs. The next morning, the face of Christ was displayed on one of the stones. When a servant gave King Abgar a miraculous towel with the image of Christ, the sick man instantly got rid of his illness.

The scarf and the Plate were soon sent to Constantinople, and a few years later these shrines were delivered to Kievan Rus. The face of the Savior on a towel is characterized by a slightly greater significance than on a stone. But divine help equally comes to believers who offer prayers in front of these shrines.

The role of the image “Savior Not Made by Hands”

The holy image is a unique and only image of the appearance of Jesus Christ. Other Images of the Savior depict him in full height or in motion.

In what cases do people turn to the face of the “Savior Not Made by Hands”:

But before you turn to the Lord God with a request, you need to repent before his icon and offer the prayer “Our Father.”

The day of veneration of the icon “Savior Not Made by Hands” is the sixteenth (twenty-ninth) of August.

“Jesus Christ showed us His holy face, so that we, looking at the icon, would forever remember his coming, torment, painful death for the atonement of the sins of all mankind” - this was said at the Sixth World Assembly"

This icon, as the Holy Legend says, arose during the worldly existence of the Savior, and is now called the Savior Not Made by Hands. There is no evidence of this incident in the New Testament, but its memory is recorded in the memoirs of Orthodox historians and in church legends.

Notes on the icon “Savior Not Made by Hands”

One of the first written evidence of such a face in Eastern countries dates back to the fourth century. According to historians, this evidence is the legendary written request of King Abgar addressed to Jesus and the Savior’s response note to the king, which was contained in the annals of Fayuma around the fourth-fifth century and during research work in Ephesus in inscriptions left on an ancient doorpost in one of the old houses.

There are references to the revelations of the righteous Aquitanian believer, wandering through the divine places of the East, Sylvia, who around the fifth century received from the Edessa monk copies of the letters of Abgar and Jesus.

In which churches in Russia is the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands kept?

In Russia itself there was no original of the shrine of the towel, but copies known for miraculous properties were kept. One of them for a long time was kept in the Novospasskaya monastery, located near Taganka, which became famous as the tomb of the Romanov family. But one of the first miracles happened in the town of Vyatka, after a while the miraculous image was sent with honors to Moscow. This happened in the winter in the middle of the sixteenth century.

At first, the icon was kept in one of the Kremlin towers, but soon it was sent to the Transfiguration Church. Here are some miraculous healings, sent in a miraculous way:
a blind man regained his sight;
support in ending the uprising of S. Razin;
a pilgrimage with the image was stopped by a fire in the mid-eighteenth century;
countless deliveries from the disease cholera.

But, unfortunately, during the revolution, the miraculous Vyatka icon disappeared, and in our time, instead of the original, a copy of the image is kept there.

The Cathedral of the Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands in Abramtsevo is considered a delightful monument of Russian architecture. The small, exquisite temple is the joint work of V. Vasnetsov, V. Polenov, I. Repin. Together they came up with a drawing of the structure, the icon case, the entire furnishings, created images, and also decorated the floors with mosaics. The window painting was done by M. Vrubel. The church was consecrated at the end of the eighteenth century. You can get from the capital to Ambramtsevo by train, reaching the Khotkovo stop.

One of ancient icons In Russia, the image of the “Savior Not Made by Hands”, written in the twelfth century and belonging to the Novgorod type, is considered. There is no face on it, because the icon shows the image of the Lord, miraculously imprinted on stones (in Edessa). According to experts, this image is very similar to the original that appeared on the stone. At that time the face was in the Kremlin, now it is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Prayer before the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands

Troparion, tone 2

We bow to Your most holy image, O Merciful One, we ask for forgiveness of all our sins, Lord Jesus, Who submitted to the Father’s will in the flesh, ascended to the Cross, and delivered You, the human race from unclean deeds. For this reason, we gratefully sing to You: He showed happiness to everyone, Our Savior, who came to save people.

The first Christian icon is the “Savior Not Made by Hands”; it is the basis of all Orthodox icon veneration.

According to the Tradition set forth in the Chetya Menaion, Abgar V Uchama, sick with leprosy, sent his archivist Hannan (Ananias) to Christ with a letter in which he asked Christ to come to Edessa and heal him. Hannan was an artist, and Abgar instructed him, if the Savior could not come, to paint His image and bring it to him.

Hannan found Christ surrounded by a dense crowd; he stood on a stone from which he could see better and tried to portray the Savior. Seeing that Hannan wanted to make His portrait, Christ asked for water, washed himself, wiped His face with a cloth, and His image was imprinted on this cloth. The Savior handed this board to Hannan with the command to take it with a reply letter to the one who sent it. In this letter, Christ refused to go to Edessa himself, saying that he must fulfill what he was sent to do. Upon completion of His work, He promised to send one of His disciples to Abgar.

Having received the portrait, Avgar was healed of his main illness, but his face remained damaged.

After Pentecost, the holy Apostle Thaddeus went to Edessa. Preaching the Good News, he baptized the king and most population. Coming out of the baptismal font, Abgar discovered that he was completely healed and gave thanks to the Lord. By order of Avgar, the holy obrus (plate) was glued onto a board of rotting wood, decorated and placed above the city gates instead of the idol that had previously been there. And everyone had to worship the “miraculous” image of Christ, as the new heavenly patron of the city.

However, the grandson of Abgar, having ascended the throne, planned to return the people to the worship of idols and, for this purpose, destroy the Image Not Made by Hands. The Bishop of Edessa, warned in a vision about this plan, ordered to wall up the niche where the Image was located, placing a lit lamp in front of it.
Over time, this place was forgotten.

In 544, during the siege of Edessa by the troops of the Persian king Chozroes, the Bishop of Edessa, Eulalis, was given a revelation about the whereabouts of the Icon Not Made by Hands. Having dismantled the brickwork in the indicated place, the residents saw not only a perfectly preserved image and a lamp that had not gone out for so many years, but also the imprint of the Most Holy Face on the ceramics - a clay board that covered the holy lining.

After a religious procession with the Image Not Made by Hands along the city walls, the Persian army retreated.

A linen cloth with the image of Christ was kept in Edessa for a long time as the most important treasure of the city. During the period of iconoclasm, John of Damascus referred to the Image Not Made by Hands, and in 787, the Seventh Ecumenical Council, citing it as the most important evidence in favor of icon veneration. In 944, the Byzantine emperors Constantine Porphyrogenitus and Roman I bought the Image Not Made by Hands from Edessa. Crowds of people surrounded and brought up the rear of the procession as the Image Miraculous was transferred from the city to the bank of the Euphrates, where galleys awaited the procession to cross the river. Christians began to grumble, refusing to give up the holy Image unless there was a sign from God. And a sign was given to them. Suddenly the galley, onto which the Image Not Made by Hands had already been brought, swam without any action and landed on the opposite shore.

The silent Edessians returned to the city, and the procession with the Icon moved further along the dry route. Throughout the journey to Constantinople, miracles of healing were performed continuously. The monks and saints accompanying the Image Not Made by Hands traveled around the entire capital by sea with a magnificent ceremony and installed the holy Image in the Pharos Church. In honor of this event, August 16 was established religious holiday Transfer from Edessa to Constantinople of the Image Not Made by Hands (Ubrus) of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For exactly 260 years the Image Not Made by Hands was preserved in Constantinople (Constantinople). In 1204, the Crusaders turned their weapons against the Greeks and captured Constantinople. Along with a lot of gold, jewelry and sacred objects, they captured and transported to the ship the Image Not Made by Hands. But, according to the inscrutable fate of the Lord, the Miraculous Image did not remain in their hands. When they sailed along Sea of ​​Marmara, suddenly a terrible storm arose, and the ship quickly sank. Greatest Christian shrine disappeared. This ends the story of the true Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands.

There is a legend that the Image Not Made by Hands was transferred around 1362 to Genoa, where it is kept in a monastery in honor of the Apostle Bartholomew.
In the Orthodox icon painting tradition there are two main types of images of the Holy Face: “Savior on the Ubrus”, or “Ubrus” and “Savior on the Chrepiya”, or “Chrepiya”.

On icons of the “Spas on the Ubrus” type, the image of the Savior’s face is placed against the background of a cloth, the fabric of which is gathered into folds, and its upper ends are tied with knots. Around the head is a halo, a symbol of holiness. The color of the halo is usually golden. Unlike the haloes of saints, the halo of the Savior has an inscribed cross. This element is found only in the iconography of Jesus Christ. In Byzantine images it was decorated precious stones. Later, the cross in halos began to be depicted as consisting of nine lines according to the number of nine angelic ranks and three were inscribed greek letters(I am Jehovah), and on the sides of the halo in the background place the abbreviated name of the Savior - IC and HS. Such icons in Byzantium were called “Holy Mandylion” (Άγιον Μανδύλιον from the Greek μανδύας - “ubrus, cloak”).

On icons such as “The Savior on the Chrepiya”, or “Chrepiye”, according to legend, the image of the Savior’s face after the miraculous acquisition of the ubrus was also imprinted on the ceramide tiles with which the Image Not Made by Hands was covered. Such icons in Byzantium were called “Saint Keramidion”. There is no image of the board on them, the background is smooth, and in some cases imitates the texture of tiles or masonry.

The most ancient images were made on a clean background, without any hint of material or tiles. The earliest surviving icon of the “Savior Not Made by Hands” - a Novgorod double-sided image of the 12th century - is located in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Ubrus with folds begins to spread on Russian icons from the 14th century.
Images of the Savior with a wedge-shaped beard (converging to one or two narrow ends) are also known in Byzantine sources, however, only on Russian soil they took shape into a separate iconographic type and received the name “Savior of Wet Brad”.

In the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God in the Kremlin there is one of the revered and rare icons - “The Ardent Eye of Savior”. It was written in 1344 for the old Assumption Cathedral. It depicts the stern face of Christ looking piercingly and sternly at the enemies of Orthodoxy - Rus' during this period was under the yoke of the Tatar-Mongols.

“The Savior Not Made by Hands” is an icon especially revered by Orthodox Christians in Rus'. It has always been present on Russian military flags since the time of the Mamaev Massacre.

A.G. Namerovsky. Sergius of Radonezh blesses Dmitry Donskoy for a feat of arms

Through many of His icons the Lord manifested Himself, revealing wondrous miracles. So, for example, in the village of Spassky, near the city of Tomsk, in 1666, one Tomsk painter, to whom the village residents ordered an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for their chapel, set to work according to all rules. He called on the residents to fast and pray, and on the prepared board he painted the face of the saint of God so that he could work with paints the next day. But the next day, instead of Saint Nicholas, I saw on the board the outlines of the Miraculous Image of Christ the Savior! Twice he restored the features of St. Nicholas the Pleasant, and twice the face of the Savior was miraculously restored on the board. The same thing happened a third time. This is how the icon of the Miraculous Image was written on the board. The rumor about the sign that had taken place spread far beyond Spassky, and pilgrims began to flock here from everywhere. Quite a lot of time had passed; due to dampness and dust, the constantly open icon had become dilapidated and required restoration. Then, on March 13, 1788, the icon painter Daniil Petrov, with the blessing of Abbot Palladius, the abbot of the monastery in Tomsk, began to remove the previous face of the Savior from the icon with a knife in order to paint a new one. I already took a full handful of paints from the board, but the holy face of the Savior remained unchanged. Fear fell on everyone who saw this miracle, and since then no one has dared to update the image. In 1930, like most churches, this temple was closed and the icon disappeared.

The miraculous image of Christ the Savior, erected by no one knows who and no one knows when, in the city of Vyatka on the porch (porch in front of the church) of the Ascension Cathedral, became famous for the countless healings that took place before it, mainly from eye diseases. A distinctive feature of the Vyatka Savior Not Made by Hands is the image of angels standing on the sides, whose figures are not fully depicted. The copy of the miraculous Vyatka icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands hung from inside over the Spassky Gate of the Moscow Kremlin. The icon itself was delivered from Khlynov (Vyatka) and left in the Moscow Novospassky Monastery in 1647. The exact list was sent to Khlynov, and the second one was installed above the gates of the Frolovskaya tower. In honor of the image of the Savior and the fresco of the Savior of Smolensk with outside, the gate through which the icon was delivered and the tower itself were called Spassky.

Another miraculous image of the Savior Not Made by Hands is located in the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The icon was painted for Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by the famous icon painter Simon Ushakov. It was handed over by the queen to her son, Peter I. He always took the icon with him on military campaigns, and he was with it at the foundation of St. Petersburg. This icon saved the life of the king more than once. List of this miraculous icon Emperor Alexander III took with him. During the crash of the royal train on the Kursk-Kharkov-Azov railway On October 17, 1888, he emerged from the destroyed carriage along with his entire family unharmed. The icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands was also preserved intact, even the glass in the icon case remained intact.

In the collection of the State Museum of Art of Georgia there is an encaustic icon of the 7th century, called the “Anchiskhat Savior”, representing Christ from the chest. Georgian folk tradition identifies this icon with the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands from Edessa.
In the West, the legend of the Savior Not Made by Hands became widespread as the legend of the Payment of Saint Veronica. According to him, the pious Jewish Veronica, who accompanied Christ on His way of the cross to Calvary, gave Him a linen handkerchief so that Christ could wipe the blood and sweat from his face. The face of Jesus was imprinted on the handkerchief. The relic, called the “Veronica board”, is kept in the Cathedral of St. Peter's in Rome. Presumably, the name Veronica, when mentioning the Image Not Made by Hands, arose as a distortion of Lat. vera icon (true image). In Western iconography, a distinctive feature of the images of the “Plate of Veronica” is the crown of thorns on the head of the Savior.

According to Christian tradition, the miraculous Image of the Savior Jesus Christ is one of the proofs of the truth of the incarnation in human image of the second person of the Trinity. The ability to capture the image of God, according to teaching Orthodox Church, is associated with the Incarnation, that is, the birth of Jesus Christ, God the Son, or, as believers usually call Him, the Savior, the Savior. Before His birth, the appearance of icons was unreal - God the Father is invisible and incomprehensible, therefore, incomprehensible. Thus, the first icon painter was God himself, His Son - “the image of His hypostasis” (Heb. 1.3). God acquired a human face, the Word became flesh for the salvation of man.

Troparion, tone 2
We worship Your most pure image, O Good One, asking for forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God: for by the will of Thou didst deign to ascend in the flesh to the cross, that Thou mightest deliver what Thou hast created from the work of the enemy. We also cry out to You with gratitude: You have filled all with joy, our Savior, who came to save the world.

Kontakion, tone 2
Thy ineffable and Divine sight of man, the Indescribable Word of the Father, and the unwritten and God-written image is victorious leading to Thy false incarnation, we honor him with kisses.

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Documentary film “The Savior Not Made by Hands”

An image left to us by the Savior himself. The very first detailed intravital description appearance Jesus Christ, was left to us by the proconsul of Palestine, Publius Lentulus. In Rome, in one of the libraries, an undeniably truthful manuscript was found, which has great historical value. This is a letter that Publius Lentulus, who ruled Judea before Pontius Pilate, wrote to the ruler of Rome, Caesar. It talked about Jesus Christ. Letter to Latin and written during the years when Jesus first taught the people.

Director: T. Malova, Russia, 2007