High in the rocky gorges of the Troodos, in the west of the island of Cyprus, is the richest monastery of Kykkos. Real miracles happen there. The history of the abbey is filled with incredible incidents. In the holy place there is a world legend - the Kikk Icon of the Mother of God.

Honoring the Divine Kikk image is arranged on December 26 (January 8, according to a new style). The image of the Heavenly Queen is carefully preserved in the imperial monastery built in her honor.

According to ancient tradition, the Kikk Icon of the Mother of God was created by the Apostle Luke during the earthly existence of the Virgin Mary. She personally blessed this shrine.

In the world of Christianity, there are three types of images of the Virgin: "Eleusa" ("Gracious"), "Oranta" ("Prayer") and "Hodegetria" ("Guiding the path").

The Kykkian legendary icon of the Mother of God, kept in Cyprus, belongs to the “Eleusa”. The difference is that the faces of the saints on the image are in contact. This symbolizes the boundless love for all living things that are on earth.

It is here, in the Kykkos Monastery in Cyprus, that the miraculous icon is kept.

Before the Gracious shrine found itself in the rocks of Kykkos, it was owned by the Christian community in Egypt (the first in the lands of the pharaohs). The holy image was transferred there by the Apostle Luke. After the beginning of Christian persecution (980), the image of the Mother of God was transported to Byzantium (Constantinople) and carefully preserved until the reign of Alexy Komnenos (XII century).

Path of the shrine to Cyprus

The governor of Byzantium in Cyprus, Manuel Vutomis, who was reputed to be a tough and heartless person, hunted in the dense forests of Troodos. He lagged behind his escorts and got lost in the forest thicket. Wandering along the mountain paths, he came across the hermit monk Isaiah. The elder was so busy with his prayers that he did not notice Manuel Vutomis approaching and did not greet him.

The angry governor beat the elder Isaiah and soon found his way back to his retinue. After some time, he was overcome by a strange ailment - he was weakening, withering every minute.

When Manuel Vutomis was already on his deathbed, he called a priest to confess. Speaking about his sins, Manuil Vutomis recalled the old man he had beaten. The clearer mind prompted the governor that his strange illness was a punishment for insulting the monk. The ruler urgently sent people to search for the monk Isaiah to apologize to him.

divine providence

Monk Isaiah at that time read prayers next to a sprawling oak. Suddenly, during the divine service, a bird of divine beauty flew to the tree and chirped, sitting on the branches:

Kykkos rock, Kykkos mountain. The Monastery will be erected in the Kiksky gorge. The Heavenly Virgin will enter there and never leave again.”

At the same moment, the elder had a vision that this beautiful bird was the messenger of God, and he, the servant of Isaiah, had a sacred mission to create a monastery of the Kykkos Icon of the Mother of God in the rocks of Troodos, which must be transported to Cyprus, taken from Byzantium.

Difficulties of an old man

By this moment, the retinue of the governor arrived in time for the monk and delivered Isaiah to the chambers of Manuel Vutomis. He healed Vutomis with the power of his prayer. And then he made a request. The monk wanted the Merciful Icon to be brought from Byzantium to the island. Manuel Vutomis hurried to his emperor Alexius with a petition. On the eve of Alexy Komnenos, his adored daughter fell seriously ill. Her illness was exactly the same as that of Manuil Vutomis.

Manuel Vutomis told his emperor about the incident with him and advised him to call Isaiah to the palace so that he would heal the imperial child with prayers.

Isaiah, who immediately arrived at the royal temple, asked for the image of the Mother of God in return for the recovery of his daughter Alexy. After his appeal to God, the heiress of Alexis Komnenos began to recover.

But Alexy Komnin was sorry to say goodbye to his beloved image. He made a copy of it and presented both faces before Isaiah, offering to guess which of the images is Merciful. Isaiah asked the Lord for help in a difficult choice. Immediately after the prayer, a bee flew into the palace and sat on the original holy face, marking it.

Since then, the bee has become the hallmark of the hegumen of the Kikk monastery.

Even after the miraculous sign from above, Alexy Komnenos did not want to give the Mother of God, he hesitated to send her to the monastery, which should be created in Cyprus. In a dream, the Mother of God herself came to him with a command to fulfill the promise. Alexy Komnenos immediately prepared a rich vessel and sent the sacred image to the island with honors.

In the center of the gilded iconostasis is a shrine under a red velvet cover, hidden from prying eyes.

The icon came to Cyprus

The merciful icon was greeted by the inhabitants of the island with great happiness. Up to the Kikk peaks themselves, the shrine was accompanied by a religious procession. Not only Christians honored the image. Nature also worked wonders. Trees bowed before the sacred face and pearl shells rose from the depths of the sea.

And now on the mountains of Tirillia, on the way to the monastery, there are bowed trees - a unique evidence of the reverence of nature for the divine.

At the personal expense of Manuil Vutomis, a monastery was erected on the Kikk peak in honor of the coming Mother of God. Near the monastery there is a bell tower built in 1882. Tsarist Russia presented the monastery with a huge bell, weighing more than a ton, with a dedicatory inscription.

Neither the Arabian tribes, nor the Crusaders who plundered Byzantium, nor the Ottomans could denigrate the legendary monastery. The monastery was subjected to terrible fires many times, each time the monastery burned to the ground. But the Merciful Icon remained untouched.

In 1750, during the restoration of the monastery after a strong fire, the arch of the almost completed temple collapsed on the builders. But all the workers remained alive - they were protected by the Holy Mother of God. Miracles began with the appearance of the Virgin Mary to the monks.

Many images were written from her face, which are now stored in Georgia, Russia, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Egypt and Greece. In 1577 the face was covered with a gilded silver phelonion. The riza was renewed in 1976. The iconostasis was equipped in the church in the middle of the 18th century. The merciful icon is located in its central part.

Miracles of the holy image

The images of the Infant and the Mother of God are hidden under a lining that follows the outline of the image (draw). The salary itself is securely covered with a precious, heavy, velvet veil. The face of the Mother of God is not visible to anyone and never opens. This gives rise to a lot of legends and rumors:

• It is believed that this was the command of the Emperor Alexius Komnenos.
• The merciful icon carries such a powerful energy that it can blind.
• The shrine is too old and inspires great respect, its face was hidden for storage.

Our Lady of Kykkos is a unique phenomenon. After all, all icons like her have open faces of the Infant and Mary. Only once a year does she leave the monastery and open her face. The monks take the shrine to the top of the nearby Mount Throne and leave it there for a prayer service. And even at this time they have no right to look at the images.

Some elders say that the richly decorated canopy can rise a little by itself in front of some pilgrims. This is regarded as a special grace sent down by the Mother of God on these people.

There is a legend that the Alexandrian Patriarch Gerasim in 1670 dared to open the veil to look at the divine faces. For serious blasphemy, he became blind and with tears he asked day and night for forgiveness from the Almighty.

To the great regret of the visitors of the monastery, the icon cannot be seen - it is always hidden under a veil. But if one day you get to Cyprus, to the Kykk monastery, then you can safely ask the miraculous shrine for help. She will always help.

How does a shrine help?

The people idolize the Mother of God. There are many songs of praise in her honor. The merciful icon is the most sacred thing on the island. The ancient monastery chronicle testifies to the numerous miracles that originate from the Kikk Icon of the Mother of God, various miracles occur in our days.

Pilgrims, marching to the Holy Land, without fail visited Cyprus to honor the legendary shrine. And today a huge number of believers of different religions from all over the world come to the monastery.

Her divine power helps to heal not only Christians, but also non-Christians. The Mother of God listens to everyone who comes to her in sorrow, sorrow and ailments. They don't call her "The Merciful" for nothing. Entering the monastery, you can see numerous offerings, evidence of the miraculous power of the Virgin.

• A piece of the tongue of a mystical swordfish. According to legend, this creature in 1720 destroyed a ship with pilgrims, and it began to sink. The Mother of God helped everyone get out and be saved.
• One pagan wanted to destroy and desecrate the image, he paid with his hand (it withered). Evidence of this (a cast of the defiler's hand) is located next to the image.
• It was in the power of the Holy Face to call for rain at the time of droughts, the Kikk Mother of God helps to conceive barren women, heal the sick (one mute was cured here, the other, who was dying, came to life).
• The islanders asked the monks to bring the shrine to the villages in order to stop epidemics, natural disasters, and misfortunes. Only one presence of the shrine was enough to stop all the troubles.

The merciful icon bestows good on everyone who comes to the Mother of God, what the one who asks needs, helps to heal from infertility, headaches, and bleeding. She fulfills requests to end family quarrels, adversity, lack of money. Her miraculous power is sung in numerous verses.

Poetic works about Our Lady of Kykkos were published many times in separate collections published for the general public. And to this day, a lot of believers flock to the shrine with requests and prayers. The Merciful Mother of God of Kykkos helps everyone!

There are a large number of revered images of the Virgin, since for many believers she is support in various life situations. This article will consider Cypriot in its various versions, since there are quite a few images that came out of this island.

The first appearance of the icon

The first Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God in its most famous form was revealed in 392. It happened in the city of Larnaca in the place where Lazarus was buried. The monastery of Stavruni was built on this site, and after that a church was specially built, where the icon began to be kept. They placed it on the gates of the church, with which the first miracle was connected.

Once a man, an Arabian, passed by this church. What caused his act is not entirely clear, perhaps he just wanted to mock. One way or another, he fired an arrow that hit the knee of the Mother of God icon. Immediately, a large amount of blood poured onto the ground, and after a while the man died on the way, never reaching his home.

The original icon has not survived to this day. However, in the same temple, a copy of it was preserved in mosaic form on the wall.

Stromynsk Icon of the Mother of God

The Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Stromyn is one of the lists of the first image, which have spread to many Orthodox churches. It depicts the Mother of God, sitting on a throne, and in her arms is a Baby. Nearby are two holy martyrs - Antipas and Photinia.

Little is known for certain about his appearance in Rus'. According to one legend, Sergius of Radonezh blessed Abbot Savva of the Stromynsky Monastery with this copy of the icon. In 1841, the image became miraculous when an eighteen-year-old girl was healed from an illness that threatened her with death. It was about this icon that the voice spoke in a dream. At his command, she had to take the image into the house and serve a prayer service in front of him. After doing everything, the girl was completely healed. This event led to the fact that believers began to come to the icon in droves, asking for protection and deliverance from bodily ailments.

The days of the celebration of the icon are the twenty-second of July and the first Sunday of Great Lent. In the village of Stromyn, another day is set - the sixteenth of February. It was on this day that the first healing took place.

Other listings of the Cypriot icon

Cypriot has other lists. By the way, they may differ in their spelling, but they will all have the same name. For example, there are lists where the Mother of God does not sit on the throne, but Peter the Athos and Onufry the Great are on the sides. On some images, the Child holds a scepter in his hands. Another version of the image, also common, where the Mother of God sits on a throne, and the Child is in her arms. Around are angels with palm branches.

So, one of the lists is located in Nizhny Novgorod and became famous for many miracles. On this icon, the Mother of God is depicted sitting on a throne, wearing a crown on her head. The Child sits in her arms, blessing with her right hand. His head is uncovered.

Another list is in Moscow, in Golutvin, in the church of St. Nicholas. And the last, fairly well-known similar image can also be found in Moscow, in the Assumption Cathedral. It depicts the Mother of God with the Child, below is the orb.

In addition, some ancient copies of the icon can be found in the museums of Russia, which are kept there as the greatest shrines.

How does prayer help an icon?

Prayer to the Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God is help to a person during ailments, especially if he is sick with paralysis or other diseases associated with the musculoskeletal system. Prayer especially patronizes and protects the image during epidemics, if they already exist. They also ask for deliverance.

How to pray to an icon?

You should know that there is no such thing as a special akathist to the Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God. If you want to pray before the image, then you can read any troparion, kontakion or prayer appeal from another icon of the Mother of God. It won't be a mistake. There are also two special prayers for this icon, as well as its magnification.

However, if you want to find an akathist - the canon of the Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God, then in principle you can use the one that is read in front of all such images.

Icon of the Mother of God "Merciful" (Kykkskaya)

The most famous Cypriot icon of the Mother of God in Cyprus today is the image of the “Merciful”. This is an ancient image that was painted by Luke. To date, the icon is in the imperial monastery. It was there that a temple was erected in her honor.

Now the image is closed so that the faces are not visible. However, this does not detract from her miraculous abilities. Even non-believers turn to her for help, and grace descends on everyone.

Many lists were written from the Kikk icon, which are today in many places. For example, there is it in Thessaloniki, in the temple of the icon of the Mother of God “Desnoy”. It also exists in Russia. One is in the women's Nikolsky Monastery, another in Moscow. Memorial Day falls on the twelfth of November and the twenty-sixth of December.

Akathist to the icon

So, as is clear from the above material, it is impossible to find an akathist to the “Cyprus” icon of the Mother of God, which would be written specifically for her, since it does not exist. However, it is for the image of the Virgin "Merciful". The Akathist is quite long, and, in principle, it can be read for those icons of the Theotokos that do not have their own.

Miracles performed near the icons

All of these icons are miraculous. Of course, events were not always recorded, but some of them still survived. For example, those miracles that took place near the Stromynsk icon were recorded. The very first was the miracle of the healing of the girl, which is described above.

Another event was the full recovery of the peasant Alexei Porfiriev, who had been paralyzed for a long time, completely losing his mobility. After the prayer service near the icon, he regained his former mobility and was able to continue to live fully.

Such healings have happened more than once. It was with motor problems that the power of the icon manifested itself most strongly. According to the chronicles, this happened at least two more times, when the believers were completely cured of the relaxation of the arms and legs.

A very great healing happened to the other list as well. Prayers to the Cypriot icon, which is located in Nizhny Novgorod, in 1771, the invasion of the pestilence epidemic, which claimed many lives, was stopped. There have also been many healings due to her help. At that time, the icon passed from where people performed prayers in front of it. So many healings have taken place.

No less significant are the miracles of the Kykkos icon. For the first time they are mentioned at the time when the icon moved to Constantinople, because, despite numerous attacks, it arrived at its destination safe and sound. However, in the twelfth century it was transferred to Cyprus. This was preceded by a chain of amazing events. The ruler of Cyprus was punished with paralysis for beating an old man in anger. Subsequently, he repented, and the elder told him about his vision. The ruler had to bring to Cyprus from Constantinople. On his way, he found the emperor's daughter in the same condition as he was. It was a sign. The icon was taken away and brought to the island, where it continued to perform its miracles.

Conclusion

The Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God is a special miraculous image that has many lists throughout the Orthodox world. Each of them finds its response in the souls of those who pray. Its special significance is also evident from the fact that this image was often executed in the form of a mosaic or painting on the altar parts of the temple. The symbolism of the icon is quite simple. This is the Incarnation, through the Queen of Heaven, as well as the path of righteousness. All this gives hope and instills faith.

There are many images of the Mother of God in the Orthodox icon-painting tradition. One of the oldest is the icon of the Cypriot Mother of God. Her power and strength is known throughout the Christian world.

The phenomenon of the icon

For the first time, the miraculous image appeared in 392 on the island of Cyprus. An icon depicting the Mother of God with a baby in her arms, surrounded by angels, appeared at the burial site of Lazarus. On the margins are the figures of the holy martyr Antipas and the martyr Photinia. The monastery of Stavruni was erected on this site.

Icon of the Mother of God "Cyprus"

In the 9th century, the icon was transferred to the temple built for it. There is a legend that the original location of the foundation of the future church was changed by the power of the Lord God. In honor of this event, the church was given the name Panagia Angeloktista, believing that the new foundation was built by angels.

The power of the Cypriot icon is judged by the legend of an Arabian who, passing by the icon, shot him with a bow. The arrow pierced the knee of the Mother of God, from which blood flowed, sprinkled the ground at the gate. The frightened shooter in a panic rushed to run, but soon fell dead.

Interesting: the original image is lost. But its copy, made in the technique of mosaic, is in the monastery of Stavruni.

Lists icons in Russia

The iconography of the Cypriot Mother of God is popular in Russia. There are several revered lists of this image.

Stromynsky list

One of the most famous versions of the Cypriot Mother of God is located in the village of Stromyn near Moscow. It is believed that with this holy image St. Sergius of Radonezh blessed Savva Stromynsky, the second rector of the monastery of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos. Over time, the monastery was closed, and the holy image was transferred first to the wooden St. Nicholas Church, and then to the stone Assumption Cathedral.

Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God

The miraculous image was recognized in 1841 after the healing of Martha, the daughter of a local peasant. Falling asleep, the seriously ill girl saw the image of Our Lady of Cyprus, which gave her hope for recovery. To do this, the shrine had to be brought to the girl's house, serve a prayer service and wash with blessed water. The patient was brought to the temple, where she found the necessary image above the doors. After holding a home prayer service, Martha was able to take it to church on her own. After that, believers rushed to the temple in the hope of healing and help.

Iconography of the Stromynsk Icon

The composition is built around the figure of the Mother of God, who sits on a throne with the baby Jesus in her arms. On either side of her soar angels in wreaths and with laurel branches in their hands. On the margins are the figures of Saints Antipas and Photinia. Now the icon is covered with a silver riza.

History and iconography of the Nizhny Novgorod edition

On the Nizhny Novgorod version, the Mother of God sits on a throne with a royal crown on her head. The baby Jesus, sitting on her lap, blesses believers with his right hand.

At the end of the 18th century, an epidemic of pestilence raged in the city. The miraculous icon was passed from house to house and a prayer service was served before it. By ardent sincere prayer, families received healing.

In Russia, several more variants of the icon of the Cypriot Mother of God are revered. They are located in two churches in Moscow (Assumption Cathedral and the Church of St. Nicholas in Golutvin), some old churches and museums.

How to pray in front of an icon

You should know that there is no special prayer read before the image of the Cypriot Mother of God. Asking for help and patronage, they read any prayer appeal to the Virgin. The main thing is to cleanse your thoughts and soul from bad thoughts and humbly ask for the main and significant desire.

What does the icon help with?

The icon of the Cypriot Mother of God is a powerful miraculous icon that helps people asking for the following:

• healing seriously ill people, especially those suffering from paralysis;
• epidemic prevention and control;
• assistance in difficult life situations;
• health and well-being of family members.

Important! The icon of the Cypriot Mother of God is a miraculous image of great power. But help will be provided only to true believers through humble fervent prayer.

Icon of the Mother of God "Cyprus"

As we all know, Orthodox Christianity treats icons with special reverence. Contemplating them, the one praying ascends to the prototype, that is, praying before the icon of the Holy Virgin, he looks at the Mother of God herself. Especially revered images are specially visited, their appearance is reproduced in hundreds of lists, in “measure and likeness”, as well as in a reduced format, so that those who cannot reach the shrine can see the icon. There are other reasons as well. For example, when the Mother of God of Vladimir ended up in Moscow, in the Assumption Cathedral, an exact copy was made from it and sent to Vladimir, so that the shrine would remain there, protecting its city. I'm oversimplifying a bit, but the bottom line is that icons are meant to be contemplated, and the most prominent ones are reproduced over and over again.

In this sense, the icon of Our Lady of Kykkos, one of the main shrines of Cyprus, is unique. Although anyone can “visit” it, no one can see the icon. It is covered with a frame that seems to repeat the image, and the frame is covered with a precious veil.

All revered icons since the Middle Ages have salaries and chasubles made of gold, silver and precious stones. Two salaries and a robe of Our Lady of Vladimir are exhibited in the Armory. The frames of the miraculous icons of Athos are still in situ, decorating the icons. Some icons have different jewels for ordinary days and holidays. But no matter how magnificent and rich the salary is, it leaves visible faces (albeit repeatedly rewritten). The exception in this series is the Mother of God of Kykkos, because the faces of Mary and the Child are covered with a heavy velvet veil. Only the lower part of the chased salary is visible, which reproduces the contours of the figures. I want to emphasize once again that the icon that cannot be seen is a unique phenomenon. But how it happened, and what the image might look like - let's figure it out.

To begin with, a little history, or rather, legends. It is believed that the icon of Our Lady of Kykkos was painted by the Evangelist Luke, who was an artist by profession, during the life of the Virgin. Most of the ancient revered icons are attributed to Luke, including the Vladimir Mother of God, which actually dates from the ΧΙΙ century. So, Luke painted the icon of the Mother of God, later called Kykkos, for the Christians of Egypt. But in the era of iconoclasm (in the eighth - first half of the ninth century), the icon was sent to Byzantium in order to save it from destruction. This sounds a little strange, because Constantinople, in fact, was at that time the center of the persecution of images.

The iconoclast covers the icon of Christ with lime. Miniature of the Khludov Psalter. Around 850. Byzantium. Historical Museum (Moscow)

One way or another, the icon did not reach Constantinople, because on the way the ship was captured by pirates. The pirates were Saracens, that is, Arabs, and they were not interested in the icon: nothing saves cultural monuments like oblivion and indifference (by the way, they could destroy the icon, because Islam does not approve of the image of a person). One way or another, in 980 or so, these pirates were defeated by the Greeks, and the icon ended up in Constantinople, where at that time any iconoclastic heresy was defeated, Orthodoxy triumphed, and nothing threatened the work of Luke the Evangelist.

The next stage in the history of the image dates back to the end of the ΧΙ century, when the icon ended up in Cyprus. It was kept in the chambers of Emperor Alexei Komnenos (r. 1082–1118), to whom the Mother of God appeared in a dream and ordered the icon to be sent there. The then ruler of the island, Manuel Vutomit, asked Alexei about the same. The hermit Isaiah, who lived on the mountain where the Kykkos monastery now stands, was also warned in a vision about the arrival of the miraculous image. The legend says that the miraculous icon was so dear to Alexei that he could not come to terms with the idea that now anyone could take it and see it, and therefore ordered to close it from prying eyes. Jewels and relics have been hidden for all ages, and even in the East they still do this for some reason with living people.

However, Alexei Komnenos was not alone in his desire to hide the home shrine from prying eyes. My colleague Irina Sterligova once drew attention to sewn items, first mentioned in the inventory of Ivan the Terrible's personal property. These items were part of the attire of revered icons and were called "dungeons" or "wall sheets". They were veils of thin fabric, richly decorated with fragments, studded with pearls and precious stones, which were attached to the upper field of the icon in such a way as to cover the sacred image. In the middle of these "dungeons" (probably from the word "zastit", that is, to close) "names of images", that is, the names of icons, were embroidered.

Icons with "dungeons" during some divine services and ceremonies were taken out of palace churches and royal chambers to cathedrals. These were very personal and deeply revered objects, and the "dungeons" hid them from vain or even heretical eyes, which could look at the shrine while it was being carried through Cathedral Square. Most likely, the custom of covering holy images was not invented in the Kremlin chambers, but was adopted from the Byzantines.

By the way, the miraculous icon of the Blachernae Mother of God in Constantinople was also hidden most of the time by a veil, which miraculously rose every week at the Friday evening service, revealing the face of the Mother of God to those who pray. On Sunday the veil fell. This “ordinary miracle” (as the Byzantines called it) is associated with the feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God, but this is a separate issue. Later, the practice went to the people: in peasant houses, icons in the red corner were also curtained. But all this only points to the roots of the phenomenon of Our Lady of Kykkos: all these dungeons and curtains hid the image only from an undesirable public and at certain moments. It is important that the tsar, the grand duke and the emperor contemplated their home shrine, not to mention the many people in the Blachernae church contemplating the “ordinary miracle” of the appearance of the icon. And only the Kikk Mother of God can not be seen by anyone. At all.

One way or another, the face of the icon is closed, and according to the monastery chronicles, the Queen of Heaven punishes the curious quite severely. For example, the Patriarch of Alexandria lifted the veil in 1669 and immediately became blind. True, his sight returned to him after he admitted that he was wrong and repented. We can assume that the image is closed for our own safety. The famous traveler Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky, who traveled the island of Cyprus far and wide in the 18th century, suspected that the face of the Mother of God could be seen by staying in the temple for the night, and that it nevertheless opens when the dilapidated veil is changed on it, and this happens every three to four years. Judging by the notes, the “pedestrian” still did not dare to spend the night in the temple, and the shroud did not need to be replaced during both of his visits. Your obedient servant also did not look under the cover. Under the salary there may be another one, or an imitation of a fabric curtain in silver. In general, the eyes are an important organ for an art critic, and respect for the traditions of the places you visit is the best safety technique.

The icon is taken out of the temple only on special occasions, with great honors, and at the same time they try not to look at it. This is done, for example, when it is necessary to bring rain during a drought, and the Lady always rescues the islanders.

The version about the jealousy of Alexei Komnenos for his home relic is legendary, and the presence of copies-lists of the icon that appear in the surrounding churches already in the ΧΙΙΙ century suggests that for some time the icon could still be seen. When did she close? Anyway, it happened quite a long time ago. There are several versions.

The very first option is after the fire of 1365. Then the whole monastery burned out, and the icon, according to sources, remained unharmed. In Rus', too, this often happened. For example, once, as a result of a fire in the Kremlin, one board remained from a revered icon, and the image burned down. The famous artist Dionysius, who remembered the original, primed the surviving board and repainted the image. I do not rule out that something similar happened here. The icon could be burned or smoky. For some reason they did not restore it, either there was no one, or they were afraid to spoil it. Maybe since then her face has been closed. Until that moment, the icon should have been available, which is evidenced by rather ancient lists, but about them later. Fires in the monastery also happened later, in particular, in 1542, 1751, 1813.

The second version of the date of hiding the icon is 1576. It was then that the icon received a luxurious setting (most likely not the first): silver, gilded, decorated with tortoise shells inlaid with mother-of-pearl. It has been preserved and seems to be on display, just mounted on another board. The modern salary dates back to the end of the ΧVIII century. It is with him that the last and latest date when the icon could be seen is connected - this is the last change of salary, 1795.

Now let's turn to the image itself, let's try to mentally reconstruct it. Judging by numerous lists, for example, this icon of the end of the 13th and first half of the 14th century from the monastery of St. John Lampadist, we see that this icon belongs to the type of Eleus, or in Russian Tenderness, that is, one where a mother caresses her son, grieving for his future suffering.

In addition, its type can be defined as Jumping, that is, the child jumps in the arms of the mother, and she tries to hold him. In this, theologians also see a reference to future passions, because, mourning her son, Mary said that earlier in childhood he jumped in her arms, and now lies dead. In a word, an ambivalent type, at the same time touching and tragic.

The complex pose of a baby escaping from the mother's arms is the first distinguishing feature of the image. On most lists, the baby sits to our left, although there are also mirror options. The second feature is an additional veil on the head of the Virgin Mary. By the way, such icons, with two covers, and quite ancient, are also known in Rus'. This is the so-called Mother of God Tenderness Starorusskaya (from the name of the city of Staraya Russa)

Our Lady of Tenderness Old Russian. Beginning of the ΧΙΙΙ century. Russian Museum (St. Petersburg)

and simply Our Lady of Tenderness from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, both beginning of the 13th century.

True, this is where the similarity with Kikkskaya ends: the baby on both of these icons does not break out of the hands, but, on the contrary, hugs the mother. And he sits on the right, not on the left. The third characteristic (but optional) detail of the iconography of the Kykkos Mother of God is the outline of this very second veil, the edge of which the baby lifts with a handle. In Rus', this option appeared only in the Χ7th century. The first such image, signed in Greek "Kykkskaya", appeared in 1668. It was painted by the famous royal icon painter Simon Ushakov for the Church of St. Gregory of Neocaesarea in Moscow.

Our Lady of Kykkos. Simon Ushakov, 1668. Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow)

Then there was great interest in everything Greek, and this is connected with Patriarch Nikon, whom all the same Greek hierarchs later came to judge. The Ushakov icon very accurately reproduces everything that was discussed, even the inscriptions are all Greek (Russian translation is nearby), only the composition is a mirror image. Most likely, the master made a very accurate copy, removing it mechanically, and then forgot to turn the sheet over. It happens even with great masters. Then the icon of Ushakov was copied, and more than once. For example, the only signature work of the Rybinsk icon painter Leonty Tyumenev in 1693 is the Kikk Mother of God.

Our Lady of Kykkos. Leonty Tyumenev, 1693. Rybinsk Museum. Copy from Ushakov's icon

Before the work of Simon Ushakov, I know only one icon reminiscent of Kikk: it depicts the Mother of God with an additional, red head veil, and also the Jumping of a baby. It can be dated to the 16th century, the second half or even the end of the century.

True, she also “looks” in the wrong direction, and small details do not match. This means that they knew something about the Kikk icon in Russia at the end of the 16th century. It was no coincidence that I spoke about the relations between Russia and Cyprus in the Late Middle Ages, and we will return to them later.

Actually in Cyprus there are copies of the XIII, XVI and XVIII centuries. There are many of them, and they come from villages located precisely in that part of the island where the mountain rises, on which the Kykksky monastery stands. And in the 16th century, and later, a stable type was preserved: the Mother of God Jumping. A second, additional veil is thrown over Mary's head, red, or almost black, meaning purple, woven with gold patterns. By the way, the name “Kykkskaya” has been found on icons since the 13th century.

It is written on the icon: ΚΗΚΟΤΗΣΑΑ. At the same time, some lists that exactly repeat the types described above are not signed at all as “Kikkotissa”. For example, an icon from the church of St. Marina in Kalopanayiotis is signed as "Athanasiotissa" (Αθανασιότησσα). The icon was published in a small resolution, and the face is poorly preserved, so I don’t give an image.

The icon of the 16th century, signed as "Kikkotissa", kept in the Byzantine Museum in Pedoulas, also retained the name of the artist. He, like the evangelist artist, was called Luke.

Our Lady of Kykkos. Cyprus, 16th century. Byzantine Museum in the village of Pedoulas

So, all the icons of Our Lady of Kykkos are very recognizable, thanks to the pose of the baby and the second maforium (cape). Sometimes, as on this 18th-century icon from the monastery of the Holy Mother of God Amasgu, the main image was supplemented.

Our Lady of Kykkos. Cyprus, 18th century. Monastery of the Holy Mother of God Amasgu in the village of Monagri

Angels were added on the sides of the face of the Mother of God, and below - Luke the Evangelist, the author of the original icon, and St. Nicholas, because he was the patron saint of the customer. This is stated in the inscription-prayer on the lower field of the icon, where the ktitor asks Christ not to neglect the servant of God Nicholas and his parents.

But still, what is depicted on the icon closed from the eyes? It would seem that everything fits. There, judging by these copies and the outlines of the figures on the salary of the original, there is a half-length image of the Virgin with a baby in her arms. But everything is not so simple.

In the funds of the State Public Library of St. Petersburg, in the Pogodin collection, there is a handwritten collection, and in it is the Tale of the Cyprus Island of the late 16th century. It is short, but it tells a lot about the history of the island in a slightly confused way. O.A., who published this source. Belobrova believes that this was recorded from the words of a local resident. We can talk about regular relations between Russia and Cyprus just from the end of the 16th century. Representatives of the island, mostly clerics, came to Muscovy and were invariably given help and a warm welcome. One of the patriarchs of the Time of Troubles, the Cretan Ignatius, according to him, occupied one of the chairs in Cyprus (although he did not say which one). Prior to this, there were only bizarre references to Cyprus in ancient Russian literature. For example, hegumen Daniel, who visited Constantinople and the Holy Land in the ΧΙΙ century, also visited Cyprus and wrote that there, in the Troodos mountains, “... incense, incense will be born: it falls from heaven, and it is collected on trees. After all, there are many low trees in those mountains, equal to grass, and that good incense will fall on them. Collect it in the month of July and August; in other months it does not fall; but only in those two will be born. Don't ask me what that means. Daniel does not say anything about the Kykksky monastery, only about the relic of the Tree of the Cross, which is located in the same part of the island, in the monastery of the Holy Cross (Τιμίος Σταυρός).

A description of this monastery is also in the Tale of the Cyprus Island, and there is also a description of a certain Assumption Monastery, where the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is kept. True, according to the Tale, it is located closer to the city of Kyrinea (the northern part of the island), which does not correspond to the position of the Kykksky monastery, but the shrine resembles the Kykksky one, judge for yourself: “Near that city (Kyrineya - Yu.B.) the monastery is called the Assumption, and in it in the church there is an image of the Most Pure Theotokos with the eternal baby on the throne, and the baby against her breasts, blesses with both hands, Luke’s letters evangelist. If the archbishop and the people want to pray from the presence of foreigners, or ask for rain or buckets, and how they follow that image, they raised it to the cathedral and how they open the church, and that most pure image, having come out of this place, stands at the door in the air, and sweat is on her empress’s whole face; by that they recognize the grateful. The priests, having accepted that image, will carry it to the cathedral, and when the church is opened, and the image is in the icon case, and they can no longer lift it, and at that time from the image from the eyes of tears, and by that they recognize the mournful. In general, we are talking about the fact that the icon is the letters of Luke the Evangelist, the Mother of God on the throne, the baby blesses with both hands, and that the icon is prayed for the weather in case of foreign invasions. If the Virgin is disposed to help people, the icon comes out of the temple itself, and sweat streams down Mary's face. When everything is bad, the icon cannot be lifted, and it cries.

It is possible that the icon described in the Tale is a collective image of Kikkskaya and some other. It is interesting that the altar mentioned in the description, which is absent from all lists, is on one icon of the ΧΙΙ century, which can be considered the oldest copy of the Cypriot icon.

The Mother of God on the throne, with prophets and saints. ΧΙΙ century, monastery of St. Catherine at Sinai

This icon is kept in the monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, in general, not so far from Cyprus. She has a very complex and sophisticated program, which I will not dwell on now. It is important that the centerpiece of the icon, the Mother of God with the Child on the throne, in everything except the gesture of the Child, coincides with the description given in the Tale of the Cyprus Island. In addition, this icon one to one repeats the images of Our Lady of Kykkos. Only she is depicted in full growth, sitting on a throne (or throne) with pillows. And for the rest - the same pose of a baby, who clutches at the bedspread and rests his foot on the mother's shoulder, the same additional scarf on Mary's head. A variant of this type is the folded icon, also from the monastery of St. Catherine.

Fold-diptych with St. Procopius and Our Lady of Kykkos. 1280s, monastery of St. Catherine at Sinai

Here, however, the baby does not play, but lies in the arms of the mother. But for some reason, researchers publish it as Kikkotissa. From the foregoing, it turns out that the icon of the Mother of God on the throne, with saints and prophets of the 12th century from the Sinai monastery can be the most accurate copy of the image that no one can see.

If the above is true, then we can assume that the icons of Our Lady of Kykkos, which spread throughout Cyprus, and then further, through Athos throughout the Orthodox world, right up to Moscow, represent a chamber half-length version of the miraculous image, hidden from human eyes, no matter the pious, unfit, or simply curious. The appearance of an abbreviated version can be justified by a very complex icon program, with many additional figures, but people still prayed to the Virgin, and the most common type of icons were half-length images. Therefore, only the most important things were reproduced in the lists.

In conclusion, I want to emphasize once again that an icon that cannot be seen is a unique cultural phenomenon. Let's hope that someday we will be able to find out what is really depicted on it. It would be very interesting.

Julia Buzykina

Brief historical background

The legend, placed in the Greek Synaxar for the week of Orthodoxy, which is usually associated with the appearance of the Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God, is very brief. In 392, an event took place on the island of Cyprus, which revealed to the Christian world the miraculous power of another previously unknown icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. The holy image stood on the gate leading to one of the island's churches, built on the burial site of Righteous Lazarus. Once a certain Arabian, passing by the temple, wanted to mock the Christian shrine. He shot an arrow at the image and hit the knee of the Most Holy Theotokos depicted on the icon. At the same moment, blood flowed profusely from the wound and stained the ground.

The Arabian, in horror, rushed to gallop away from this place, but, not having traveled even a short distance, he fell dead on the way. Thus Divine Providence punished the blasphemer. Since ancient times, the Cypriot icon has been kept in the monastery of Stavruni, built on the site of its acquisition, where the church of Our Lady of Panagia Angeloktissa was built specifically for the stay of the holy image in it.

Iconography

The icon of Our Lady of Cyprus represents the Queen of Heaven sitting on a throne with the Divine Infant in her arms. On either side of Her are two angels holding palm branches.

From an iconographic point of view, the composition of this early icon of the Theotokos anticipates the later altar mosaics and murals of Christian churches, in which the image of the Mother of God is comprehended in connection with the dogma of the Incarnation. The main meaning of such images of the Mother of God in the conch of the altar apse is that the Virgin Mary, like no one else on earth, likened Christ, becoming the very dwelling of God, the womb of the Divine Incarnation.

So, in the conch of the apse of the famous church of Hagia Sophia of Constantinople (built in the first half of the 6th century under Justinian, the altar mosaics are from the middle of the 9th century), the Mother of God seated on a throne is depicted, holding the Infant in front of Her on her knees. To the left of the Mother of God, on the arch of the vima, the archangel Gabriel is depicted. This iconographic type, by the name of its miraculous icon-painting prototype, is called "Cyprus". The Mother of God on the Sophian mosaic is shown dressed according to the Jerusalem tradition - as Syrian women usually dressed, that is, in a maphoria that covers her hair and falls to her knees, while in the interpretation of Her face and figure there are strong ancient echoes, undoubtedly characteristic of the prototype itself as a work close in time to the Hellenistic era.

Palm branches, which are held in the hands of Angels on the icon of the Cypriot Mother of God, testify to the liturgical understanding of the entire image. In such an uncomplicated way, as by waving branches plucked from palm trees, in ancient times, in countries with a hot climate, insects were driven away from the Holy Gifts reclining on the throne. Thus, in the ancient Mother of God icon located in Cyprus, the images of the Mother of God with the Child were interpreted in the Eucharistic sense - as an image of the consecrated and presenting Sacrifice and its sacred receptacle - the Mother of God. According to St. John of Damascus, in the same action of the Incarnation, the Lord perceives human nature and deifies it. That is, together with the Theotokos, who symbolizes the earthly Church, all people who receive the Body and Blood of Christ are transformed. Such, apparently, is the deep meaning of the ancient miraculous image.

Miraculous and locally venerated lists from the icon

The most famous copy of the Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God in Russia before the revolution was in the village of Stromyn, not far from Moscow, in the Bogorodsk district. Not far from this village, in the XIV century, a monastery was founded by St. Sergius of Radonezh, which received the name of the Stromyn Assumption Monastery. In 1764, this monastery was abolished by the decree of the Holy Synod, the buildings of the monastery were demolished, and the temple of the monastery was turned into a parish church, on the site of which, in the 19th century, the parishioners built a new magnificent stone church in the name of the Assumption of the Mother of God with two chapels: st. Sergius of Radonezh and Saint Nicholas. In this Church of the Dormition there was the miraculous icon of the Cypriot Mother of God, which became famous in 1841 for the miraculous healing of the sick. This happened under the following circumstances.

At the beginning of 1841, the eighteen-year-old daughter of a peasant in the village of Stromyn named Martha became very ill, so that relatives and friends were already sure of her imminent death. After the patient was confessed and communed with the Holy Mysteries of Christ, the Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God began to appear to her in a dream, standing above the porch at the entrance to the local parish church. From the icon, Martha heard a voice saying to her: “Take Me to your house, serve a prayer service with water blessing and you will be healthy.” After the urgent requests of the patient, she was brought to the church so that she herself would find the icon she had seen. The search was not crowned with success for a long time, until, finally, Martha saw an old icon of the Mother of God above the church doors, in which she immediately recognized the image from her blessed dream. Soon after the priest served a prayer service with water blessing in front of the miraculous icon in the sick house, the girl finally recovered. This day, February 16, became a locally revered holiday of the church in the village of Stromyn.

After the miraculous healing of a terminally ill woman, the inhabitants of the village of Stromyn and the surrounding areas hurried to the church to serve prayers before the newly-appeared image. Several cases of healing from paralysis and relaxation have been attested. The miracles that had occurred and the ever-increasing popular veneration of the icon were reported to the Metropolitan of Moscow, St. Philaret, who instructed him to learn as much as possible about the image, serve prayers before him and report on the most outstanding cases of miracles. Since then, the Cypriot-Stromynsk Icon of the Mother of God has become a deeply revered image throughout Russia. The image was decorated with a rich silver-gilt riza.

In response to Metropolitan Philaret’s request about the Cypriot icon, the priest of the Assumption Church in the village of Stromyn compiled a detailed description that preserved for us information about the shrine: “1) The Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God in the Assumption village of Stromyn church measures 1 arshin and 4 vershoks in height, and 1 arshin and 2 vershoks in width. The Mother of God is depicted wearing a crown, seated on a throne; at the top near Her on the sides are angels, one on each side, in crowns with branches; kneeling below - on the one hand, the holy martyr Antipas, on the other, the martyr Photinia; 2) nothing is known about the origin of this icon. According to church records, it was listed in 1783 in the abolished wooden Nikolaev church, behind the left kliros, and in 1823 in a high place in the Sergievsky chapel of this church. When in 1829 the Nicholas wooden church was dismantled, then the Cypriot icon of the Mother of God was placed on the porch of the newly built stone church above the entrance doors; 3) on the icon, from no one knows why, under the eye on the left side there is a small damage to the face; 4) the icon was placed in the side-altar church of St. Nicholas, behind the left kliros, in a respectable place” (based on materials from the Bogorodsk-Noginsk website).

The celebration of the Cypriot-Stromynsk Icon of the Mother of God takes place on July 9/22 and on the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

Another list of the Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God, famous for many miracles, was in the old days in Nizhny Novgorod in the church of St. John the Baptist in Slobodka. Through prayers before her, the pestilence in Nizhny Novgorod, which raged there in 1771, ceased. The inhabitants of the city took the holy icon to their homes, performed prayers before it and received healings.

The Mother of God on the Nizhny Novgorod list is also depicted sitting on a throne, Her head is decorated with a royal crown. The Eternal Child is represented with an uncovered head, with His right hand He blesses.

In addition to the two described miraculous icons of the Cypriot Mother of God, in pre-revolutionary Russia, the lists were also known that were kept in the Moscow church of St. Nicholas in Golutvin and in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. The latter was at the left pillar of the cathedral. On it, in addition to the images of the Mother of God with the Pre-eternal Child and worshiping Angels, traditional for this iconographic type, an orb was written - a symbol of royal power.

The troparion, kontakion and prayer to the Cypriot Icon of the Mother of God are common to the Mother of God.