Very often people turn to God precisely inminutes of hard life tests. Then they come to church and try to order some prayer in the hope of easing their position and finding peace in the soul. However, not all believers know exactly what problem they need to address to this or that saint. After all, not every prayer at the icon can be effective, Orthodox clergymen often say this. Today we will tell you about the icon "The Virgin Three-handed". Prayer in front of this image may contribute to the solution of many problems, because this image is considered by many not only unusual, but unique.
How to pray before the images?
Before going directly to prayerOur Lady of Troeruchitsa, is to learn how to properly seek help from the saints. Often, the Orthodox do it thoughtlessly, under the influence of fashion, the advice of friends or relatives, as well as in situations where going to church is considered the only straw to which a person clings. But this is a fundamentally wrong approach, because any appeal to God should be not just sincere, but, above all, conscious.
Если вы обратитесь к священнослужителю за советом about how to pray correctly in a given situation, then most likely he will answer you that any appeal to the Creator is already correct. After all, not once in the history of mankind, faith has saved people from illness, death and other misfortunes. Many Orthodox can testify about the miracles that happened in their lives after a sincere prayer. And in this case it does not matter to whom of the saints she was addressed. Therefore, if trouble has come to your home and you are asking God for help, then just do it with faith and an open heart. As the priests say, the Lord will surely hear such a prayer and extend a helping hand.
However, you should not forget thatthere is such a thing as "miraculous icons." Prayers (to the Mother of God Three-handed, for example) before such images have a special power. Indeed, the appearance of these icons is often associated with miracles, and then they were naked with thousands and thousands of people. Therefore, they have extraordinary grace and the ability to help suffering souls in the most desperate situations.
Often Orthodox prayers of the Most HolyThe Virgin Mary in front of her icon, without even knowing what to ask for. In the following sections of the article we will tell the story, which is due to the emergence of this unique image. And also we give some of the most common prayers to the Virgin Three-handed.
Description of the image
To date, there are several icons“Mother of God Three-handed”, but all of them are made in accordance with the first image, which, unfortunately, is not stored in Russia. However, at one time several copies were made from it, kept to our days.
The centerpiece of the icon is Jesus,sitting on the hands of Our Lady. With one hand she blesses everyone who approaches the image, and the other is directed toward the Infant. By this, the Mother of God wants to show that for every believer a path to salvation is prepared, and this path is faith. It can only be obtained through an appeal to Jesus.
It is noteworthy that the icon shows the thirdarm. Sometimes it is made of gold and silver, and sometimes it is prescribed in accordance with anatomical details. Sometimes icon painters draw it in such a way that it becomes similar to the third hand of the Virgin. To understand what this image means, it is necessary to study the history of the life of St. John of Damascus (we will give it in the next section).
The image itself is considered miraculous, and the prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos in front of the “Three-armed woman” icon can heal from many diseases. However, we will talk about this a little later.
John of Damascus in the fight against heresy
There were many moments in Orthodoxy whenbelievers were persecuted. These dark periods were filled with tragic events, but it was often in difficult times that the Lord showed miracles that strengthened faith. This is how the story of John of Damascus is interpreted.
Rev. John lived in Damascus and was reputed verya believer who condemned all his life heresy and persecution of Christianity. During this period, the new emperor, Leo III, took the throne of Byzantium. The governor decided that the veneration of icons can be equated to the worship of pagan idols and led the struggle against holy images. He destroyed the icons and imprisoned thousands of believers who did not obey him. This angered John and began to write numerous letters to his friends and acquaintances in Byzantium.
His wise speeches penetrated right into the hearts of believers.and the emperor's minions. Many of them began to doubt the correctness of their actions, and with each new letter there were more and more such people. This drove the Byzantine ruler into a rage.
The Martyrdom of John of Damascus
Leo III understood that the monk would not stop andwill continue to write his letters, so he decided to destroy John. In order to get rid of the saint, the emperor wrote a forged letter. His text allegedly contained a proposal for help in conquering Damascus from John to the very ruler of Byzantium. The slander reached the mouth of the caliph of Syria, a letter was presented to him as evidence. For treason, the monk was instantly removed from his post as minister and imprisoned in a dungeon.
Он пытался оправдать себя, однако халиф все more enraged and ordered John to cut off his right hand so that he could never write again. The sentence was carried out, and the brush was hung on the square as an edification to the townspeople.
The monk himself suffered greatly and prayed toCaliph on the return of his severed brush, in order to avoid shame on himself and his family. The ruler of Syria took pity on his former minister and ordered that his limb be thrown into prison to the prisoner.
Miraculous healing
Returning his brush, John fell to his knees in front ofthe image of the Virgin and began to pray for the increment of the hand. He read many prayers and in all of them he fervently regretted that now he could not do anything useful for the Creator. Exhausted from pain, the monk fell asleep and in the dream the Virgin Mary appeared to him. She promised to heal John, but only if he would still be more eager to do his work in the name of the Lord.
The next morning, the saint saw that his brush had grown, and only a barely noticeable scar remained in place of the wound. This miracle struck everyone around him, and John of Damascus was released from prison.
The further fate of the saint
After all that happened, John of Damascuswent to the monastery and took vows there. After some time, he made a brush of silver and attached it to the miraculous icon, near which he prayed. From this time on, it became known as the "Three-handed". It is also believed that in honor of the Mother of God he wrote a song of praise, which is still used in various divine services.
The icon itself was donated to the monastery, where it remained after the death of John.
The fate of a unique image of the Virgin
Until the thirteenth century, the icon did not leave itsplaces, requests and prayers to the Virgin Three-handed always found a response. Everyone who came to an image with a misfortune found solace and salvation here. Therefore, the fame of this amazing icon gradually grew throughout the Christian world.
Around the middle of the thirteenth centurythe monastery presented it as a gift to Savva of Serbia, who gratefully took her to his country. There she was before the invasion of the Turks. Fearing that the miraculous image would be destroyed, the Orthodox placed it on a donkey and sent it back home.
Удивительно, но животное каким-то чудом сумело go the hard way to Mount Athos and stopped right in front of the Khilendar monastery. The brothers who went outside the gates of the monastery were surprised by what they saw and offered a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord before they took the image of the Mother of God to the monastery.
Miracles in the Hilendar Monastery
Very soon after his appearance in the cloisterthe icon began to work wonders. After the death of the abbot, the monks could not decide who would take his place. Not coming to a consensus, they were amazed to see that the icon of the Mother of God was seated on the chair of the abbot. The monks put her in her place, but for several days she again found herself in a chair. This continued even when the monks closed the monastery to the castle.
В одну из ночей к иноку явилась Богоматерь.She said that she herself would manage the monastery and should not look for a new abbot. From this time on, there is no post of abbot in the Khilendar monastery, only his assistant exists.
Icon in Russia
A copy of the famous image came to our countryonly in the second half of the seventeenth century. With great reverence, the icon was placed in the New Jerusalem Monastery. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, several copies were made of it, which were distributed to Russian churches.
Unfortunately, the original image brought from Athos was lost over time. Therefore, now the Orthodox can only see lists from the first copy of the image of Three-handed.
What pray the Virgin?
Prayers to the Virgin Three-handed people are considered the moststrong To her are addressed with different requests, but first of all they ask the Most Pure about intercession from enemies. She always helps those who need it. The Orthodox believe that the Mother of God can hide the beggar from the anger and gaze of his enemies.
You can also ask for support in the following situations with a prayer to the Mother of God of Three-handed:
- for healing;
- for the wishes of health to relatives;
- for the welfare;
- with a serious threat to family well-being.
Especially helps the prayer to the Virgin Three-handedfrom hand diseases. At the same time, it is considered that in case of any problems with limbs one should immediately turn to this icon. Hot prayer will facilitate the quick healing of the suffering. In subsequent sections of the article, we will explain how exactly you need to pray the image in different situations.
Prayer to the Three-armed Virgin Mary for Healing
It’s impossible to imagine a person’s life withoutdiseases. However, some of them are fatal and even modern medicine sometimes can not relieve the sufferer from the ailments. Therefore, people see the only way out in prayer. The virgin Troeruchitsa from diseases helps well and it is to her image that the Orthodox bring their requests for health. In this case, it is worth reading the following prayer.
It is necessary to read this text without fail beforeicon, it’s best to do this in church. However, in cases where it is impossible to do this, acquire a small image of the Mother of God home and create prayer work before him. This prayer must be read every day in the morning. In order to enhance its effect, the following text can be pronounced several times during the day.
Prayer of the Most Holy Theotokos Three-handed for increased well-being
Известно, что в нашем мире сложно обойтись без of money. Sometimes people remain in such need that only a miracle can help them. So they follow him to the church. In this case, you should contact the Three-handed for help. But keep in mind that your request must be sincere and do not carry in yourself greed. The Virgin Mary will not help people if they ask for welfare when they are doing so well. Before the icon it is necessary to read the troparion, it is best to do it twice a day.
Prayer for the health of loved ones
Sometimes the disease does not kill us, but our loved ones. It is very difficult to cope with such a situation, because you want to give everything to help your close and dear person.
If you have someone sick, or you just wantask the Virgin about the health of loved ones, then before the icon you can read those prayers that we have already quoted in the article. As a supplement, some Orthodox are advised to say the Akathist to the Most Pure Virgin. Its text is given below.
Appeal to the Virgin Mary in the event of a threat to the family
The most pure always patronized families andto women. After all, they are the keepers of the home and bring up children. Therefore, almost any woman feels great when trouble knocks at her house and the world disappears in it. If you feel that someone wishes you evil or is jealous of your happiness, then ask for the intercession of the Most Pure. The most effective in such a situation would be the prayer of Our Lady of Three Hands, which we give below.
We hope that our article will help you in a difficult situation, and you will be able to correctly turn to the higher forces for help.
