Icon of Mother of God of Iver, one of the most revered in Orthodoxy, has several other names associated with its history - "Hodegetria", or "Putevoditelnitsa", "Vratarnitsa", "Privratarnaya" or Greek "Portaitissa""Gracious."
Iver Icon of Mother of God covered with legends.According to legend, the first mention of it relates to the 9 th century, the hard time of iconoclasm.On the territory of modern Turkey, near the town of Nicaea, in the house of orthodox widow and her son she was kept and venerated shrine, which later became known as "Mother of God Icon of Iver".With a view to the destruction of the house came the soldiers.Bribed widow, they left the icon until the morning.But when when leaving one soldier struck the face of the holy spear of icons abundantly poured the blood (and therefore on the icon depicted the Virgin sometimes sores on the cheek, sometimes - no).Scared the soldiers fled, and the widow, in order to save the face of the saint, carried him out to sea.But the icon is not sank, and being in an upright position, moved away from the coast.
During the two centuries of it has been heard.According to legend, after this time the icon closer to Mount Athos, where the Iberian monastery.Gabriel, one of the holy elders issued an icon from the sea and found in the temple, the gate of which found her in the morning.After repeated repetition of this action monks realized that the face of the Virgin does not want anyone to be protected, and he wants to serve as a guardian of the monastery.For her, the gate of the temple built the church, which was placed and an icon (hence the name - "Vratarnitsa", "portress").There she is now.
Iver Icon of Mother of God is venerated as miraculous.Under her tutelage the monastery escaped the invasion of the barbarians, not skudeli its reserves, aching recovered.Thank about it swept across the Orthodox world, providing an inexhaustible inflow of pilgrims.
In the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, who because of his piety earned him the nickname "Quietest" icon of the Mother of God of Iver began to have direct relevance to Russia.
When Patriarch Nikon on his initiative and with the support of the "quietest" Romanova in the likeness of Athos began to build a monastery in Valdai, received later the name "Virgin Svyatozersky Iversky monastery.
By order of the king on Mount Athos was written copy of the Iberian Virgin, which at the end of the work was brought to a new monastery and church that serves to privratno.There were several lists of icons, as performed on Mount Athos and brought to Russia.One of them was in the church at the Resurrection Gate of the Kremlin, the other traveled in a special carriage of Russia.He survived to the present day and is in the temple in Sokolniki.Privratno Kremlin church, destroyed in 1928, is now restored, but the icon is stored in it, had disappeared.
Prayer Iberian Mother of God does not exist in the singular.Icon saves in a fire, heals mental and physical wounds, helps farmers, keeps harvest increases the fertility of the land.In addition, it removes the grief and sorrow, heal ailments.Because so great number of prayers, voices and Kondakov, spoken in front of this bright face, the shrine of the entire Orthodox world.
