www.byzcath.org Forums Mysteries: The Life of Worship Icons & Iconography Theotokos without Christ?

I was under the impression that it is an iconographical "regulation" not to write an icon of the Thetokos with the Savior being absent from it. Yet, I came across this miraculous Russian icon, which shows just that:

Mother og God, Softening of Evil Hearts [papaherman.files.wordpress.com]

Was I mistaken? What's the deal here?

Alexis

Alexis, was this a Catholic or Orthodox icon? The seven swords indicate that it is probably of the "seven sorrows" of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a devotion of the Servite Order in the Roman Catholic Church.

Joe

The website I pulled it off of said it was a miraculous Russian Orthodox icon...

Alexis

Do you have a link to this website?

Joe

Joe,

I was on a school computer so I'm having trouble locating it. But it was the result of a Google image search.

Alexis

These days, so many Roman Catholics make "Russian-style" icons (but with Western themes and using Western symbolism) that only the most trained eyes can spot the differences!

The url for the image is:

"http://papaherman.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/mother-of-god-softening-of-evil-hearts-2-tatiana-vodicheva.jpg"

Going to the blog at http://papaherman.files.wordpress.com

and then the September 2007 archive,

http://papaherman.wordpress.com/2007/09/

and scrolling down a bit gives the image.

Here's the article that followed the image:

‘Miraculous’ Russian icon to be on display in Czech Republic
By ČTK / Published 19 September 2007
Prague, Sept 18 (CTK) - A Russian Orthodox icon of the Mother of God which allegedly weeps oil and blood tears will be on display in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia, Orthodox Church bishop Jiří Stránský told journalists Tuesday.

The icon called the Softening of Stone Hearts has allegedly caused many miraculous healings and brought many people to belief in God.

After the accident of the Russian submarine Kursk in 2000, in which 118 men died, the icon started weeping bloody tears, Svatava Kabosova, editor-in-chief of the Czech magazine the Voice of the Orthodox, said.

“It is one of the biggest miracles of the 20th and 21st centuries because it was not the original but a paper copy of the icon that started weeping,” Kabosova said.

The copy that is to be displayed in Prague as of Saturday was originally found in a pre-fab house in Moscow.

“The aim [of the exhibition] is not a desire to stir up sensation or to persuade somebody about a miracle,” Stransky said. A visit to the icon should rather help all people seeking consolation and help, he added.

The icon has so far been on display only in Russia.

After Prague it will be displayed in Brno, south Moravia, Plzen and Karlovy Vary, both west Bohemia, and in Kosice, east Slovakia.

The Orthodox Church estimates to have 30,000 believers in the ten million Czech Republic and 70,000 members in the five million Slovakia.

The church also serves foreign church-goers, mainly Russians, Ukrainians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Greeks, Romanians and other nationalities living in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Another blog describing the above Icon:

The Softening of Evil Hearts

The icon of the Most Holy Theotokos known as “the Softening of Evil Hearts” or “Simeon’s Prophecy.” The Mother of God is depicted without Her Child, with seven swords piercing her breast: three from the left side, three from the right, and one from below.

A similar icon, “Of the Seven Swords” (August 13) shows three swords on the left side and four from the right.

The icon “Simeon’s Prophecy” symbolizes the fulfillment of the prophecy of the righteous Elder Simeon: “a sword shall pierce through your own soul” (Luke 2:35).

Before the Revolution of 1917, this miraculous icon was in the St. John the Theologian Bogolyubsk-Seven-Arrow Church, a small country church on the banks of the Toshin River, not far from the town of Vologda.

The Mother of God is depicted in an unusual pose, alone, without the Pre-eternal Divine Infant. She is pierced by seven arrows: four on her left side, and three on her right. The following is an account of the earliest glorification of this icon: A certain peasant of the Kandikovsky District who as the result of disease had for many years suffered with generalized weakness and a limp, had a dream in which he learned that he would be healed if he visited the St. John-Bogolyubsk church and found the icon of the Mother of God in the bell-tower. Twice he went there, related his dream, and asked permission to enter the bell-tower. However, they did not believe him, and his request was denied. Finally, the third time, they took pity on him and allowed him into the bell-tower. He immediately found the Holy icon which he had seen in his dream. It was being used as a floorboard on a stairway landing. They washed the icon of the dirt and bird droppings covering it. The sick peasant requested that a moleben be served before it, and, thereafter, was healed.

Much time passed, with nothing again heard of this icon until 1830, at a time when cholera was rampant in Vologda. The terrified residents ran for help to the Queen of Heaven, and taking up her Seven-arrow and Seven-city icons, carried them about the city in a solemn Procession of the Cross. The epidemic visibly abated, and soon the cholera entirely disappeared. From that time on, the icon was glorified through many miraculous healings of the sick.


Here's another icon showing the Theotokos singularly:

Mother of God, GrowerofCrops [i42.photobucket.com]

The Icon of the Mother of God, named “Prosperess of Loaves” (”Sporitel’nitsa Khlebov”), was written at the blessing of the starets-elder of the Visitation Optina wilderness monastery, the priest-schemamonk Amvrosii (Ambrosii) (23/XI/1812 - 10/X/1891). Father Amvrosii, a great Russian ascetic of the XIX Century, was ardent with a childlike faith towards the Mother of God. He in particular revered all the feastdays of the Mother of God and on these days he redoubled his prayer. With the icon, “Prosperess of Loaves”, Father Amvrosii blessed the Shamordinsk women’s monastery established in honour of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, and founded by him not far from the Optina monastery.

On this icon the Mother of God is depicted sitting upon the clouds, and Her hands are extended in blessing. Beneathe — is a compressed field, and on it amidst the grass and flowers stand and lay sheaves of rye. Starets Amvrosii himself decreed the day of celebration — 15 October, and called the image “Prosperess of Loaves”, indicating by this, that the Most Holy Mother of God — “is an Helper for people in their labours for the acquiring of their daily bread”. Before his blessed death, Father Amvrosii ordered a large quantity of photo-replicas of this icon and distributed and sent them off to his spiritual children. For the singing of an akathist before the holy image, the starets composed a particular response: “Hail, Thou Full-of-Grace, the Lord is with Thee! Grant unto us unworthy ones the dew of Thy grace and the showing forth of Thine mercy!”

The day of burial of Father Amvrosii happened on 15 October — the feastday of the icon. The first miracle from the holy icon was witnessed in 1891, when throughout Russia was a famine because of crop-failure, but in the Kaluzh district and on the fields of the Shamordinsk monastery grain was produced. In 1892, already after the death of Father Amvrosii, his attendant Ivan Feodorovich Cherepanov sent a copy from the icon to the Pyatnitsk women’s monastery in Voronezh district. In this locale there was a drought and famine threatened, but soon after a molieben served before the icon, “Prosperess of Loaves”, it rained and ended the drought.

On a more modern note, in 2008, there was drought in Texas. One devout Orthodox Christian, near Lubbock, TX, printed out and laminated a copy of this Icon from the internet. He placed it in a small shrine in his field, and prayed to the Theotokos for his crops to prosper. He was the only person in his district who had crops that were not stunted or destroyed by the drought. He was able to provide products for several of the markets in his area so that people had access to fresh vegetables of good size at a righteous price.

In these modern days, we often forget that prayers are answered; that God cares for us; that He listens to the prayers of people and especially of the Theotokos - the one who said “yes” to God and bore His only Son. “In one of the prayers at the Sixth Hour we ask the Mother of God to intercede with Jesus for us, “for the prayer of a Mother availeth much to the goodwill of the Lord.’ Indeed, yes,”(1) it does.

While 9 out of 10 icons will show the Mother of God holding the Christ Child, there are many examples of icons where She appears without Her Son. Three examples (the Seven Swords, the Softening of Evil Hearts, and the Multiplier of Wheat) have already been shown. Here are some more:


The Protection [img216.imageshack.us], without the entire event being shown

The Tenderness (Umilenije) icon [hram.ru] from the cell of St. Seraphim of Sarov

The Gerontissa (Eldress) [katsosk.googlepages.com]

Another with the title "Gerontissa" [cn1.kaboodle.com], sometimes called "The Abbess of Mount Athos"

The "Oranta" of St. Sofia in Kyiv [istockphoto.com], also known as the Unshakable Wall

The Kaluga Icon [stanastasia.ru]

Dave

Very interesting. So back to my original question. Are there canonical regulations requiring Christ to be present in icons of the Theotokos, and they are ignored in these icons, or is it merely a tradition with no force behind it other than, well, tradition?

Alexis

I have that beautiful miraculous icon of the Softener of Evil Hearts. This icon gives me peace of mind as well as an understanding that even when the Holy Ascension of Our Lord, Our Lady spent her lifetime in deep prayer with the apostles and other believers. This icon gives me also an understanding of how the Mother of God suffered too, in our lives with all of our suffering we shouldn't cease to pray.

Here are some other icons of the Theotokos without Christ:

Andronikov, Mother of God [holytrinityorthodox.com]

Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Areovindus ("Fiery Vision") [holytrinityorthodox.com]

“Protect us with Your Wings,” Mother of God [notofthisworldicons.com]

Then there are icons of the Theotokos that do not depict Christ as a Child in her arms.

These include:

Port Arthur icon [orthodox.cn]

Variations of the "Mother of God, Joy of All Who Sorrow" Icon [orthodoxwiki.org]

Axtirskaya, Mother of God [notofthisworldicons.com]

AWESOME DISCUSSION!

TOTALLY AWESSOME!

Hot-Linking Images

The effect of immediately viewing iconic images in a thread such as this, as can only be accomplished by using image tags to insert the image directly into the thread, is incredibly awe-inspiring. However, it has its disadvantages.

1. The load time for those with dial-up internet connections can be frustrating and can even overwhelm their PC to the point that they are unable to view the images.

2. The alignment of the forum page itself becomes horizontally distorted (stretched) when viewed by those using older or smaller monitors, requiring that they scroll to the right to see the entire image.

3. The potential for copyright violation is high.

4. Except in the case of those (such as OrthodoxWiki) which have the foresight to protect their images from being hot-linked (resulting in the image being replaced by that unattractive little box with the red X inside), you are effectively stealing bandwidth from the site from which you have hot-linked. For sites that are low-budget and/or have a cap on monthly bandwidth usage, the effect can be to deprive them of their site's functionality.

Please utilize hyperlinks to the site page on which the image appears or to the image itself (right-click the image, click properties, and copy the image link*).

Thanks for your cooperation.

Many years,

Neil

*OrthodoxWiki is an exception to the general form for image linking. To do so for any image hosted there, create the link as:

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Image:NAME OF IMAGE.jpg

- using the image name as recorded in the image properties. This will often be an abbreviated version of the actual image title in the case of long names, rather than the image title itself (for example, Mother of God, Joy of All Who Sorrow is named MOGJAWS for the purpose of the link)