Kazan Icon of the Mother of God: prayer for health, help, children, marriage

The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is one of the central shrines of the Russian Orthodox Church, and its acquisition and subsequent fate have become an important part of Russia's religious and socio-political memory. The historical context of the appearance of the image, the tradition of prayer to the Kazan Mother of God — in the material of "Izvestia".

The history of the Kazan Icon

The discovery of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God dates back to 1579; the event is described in church lives and regional chronicles and is traditionally associated with the fire in Kazan's posad and the subsequent miraculous discovery of the image.

According to legend, the nine-year-old girl Matrona, the daughter of the Sagittarius Danila Onuchin, appeared in a dream and pointed out the place where the earth should be excavated after the fire. An image wrapped in cloth was found there. The found icon was solemnly transferred to the temple, and soon evidence of the first healings and other miracles began to arrive.

A description of the finding and the first testimonies are found in the writings and services associated with the name of Metropolitan (later Patriarch) Hermogenes, as well as in later collections of hagiographies and church stories. Sources record that after the discovery, prayer buildings were built at the site of the find on the instructions of Tsar Ivan IV, and over the years a monastic complex was formed — the Kazan Bogoroditsky Monastery, which became the center of veneration of the image. Copy lists were written from the original of the Kazan Icon, many of which also acquired the status of miraculous and spread throughout Russia.

In the 17th century, the image acquired a general historical significance: the lists of the Kazan Icon accompanied national and military actions, including the militia of 1611-1612, and were used in religious processions and to bless the army. It was these events that formed the basis for the second autumn commemoration of the icon on November 4 in the church calendar and linked its image with the idea of national unity and protection from external threats. Historians note that within the framework of mass memory, the religious plot of the acquisition was gradually enriched by folk traditions and subsequent plot layers, which does not negate its importance as a religious and cultural phenomenon.

The Kazan icon has become a typical example of the iconographic motif of "Hodegetria" in Russian painting. Her lists are in a number of large churches, including the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg and one of the famous lists kept in Moscow. Over the centuries, the image has consolidated its status as one of the most replicated and revered icons in Russia.

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What to ask of the Kazan Icon

Believers traditionally associate the Kazan icon with patronage in the most vital spheres, a set of petitions has been formed historically and is preserved in practice to the present day.

One of the most frequent popular appeals is requests for children's health, assistance in childbirth and family well—being. The symbolic connection with the childhood vision of Matrona reinforces the importance of the image as the intercessor of mothers and babies.

Many believers turn to the Kazan Mother of God with requests for healing from serious ailments, for mental and physical healing; in the church and folk tradition, there are testimonies of "miraculous" recoveries after prayer before the icon.

The petitions contain requests for the protection of the family from troubles, fires, misfortunes, as well as for peace in the house and the strength of family ties. This treatment is in harmony with the general idea of the icon as the Mother of God, the Intercessor.

Historically, the Kazan icon has served as a symbol of unity and protection of the country: during periods of wars and crises, it was carried to processions, prayed for the salvation of the state and the unity of the people. In modern conditions, prayers are also offered to the image for peace, for deliverance from disasters and for the spiritual stability of society.

The practice of addressing icons includes specific ritual actions: going to church, worshiping, setting candles, submitting petitions, participating in a prayer service, and reading the akathist. These actions are perceived by believers as a way to express personal need and expectation of the intercession of the Mother of God before Christ.

Strong prayers to the Kazan Icon

Troparion to the Most Holy Theotokos before the icon of Her "Kazan", glas 4:

"Fervent intercessor, Mother of the Lord Most High, You pray for all of Your Son, Christ our God, and help to save all who run under Your powerful protection. Protect us all, O Lady, Queen and Lady, who are in adversity, and sorrow, and sickness, burdened with many sins, who come and pray to You with a tender soul and a contrite heart, before Your most pure image with tears, and who have firm hope in You for deliverance from all evils. Grant and save all that is useful to all, Virgin Mother of God, for You are the Divine protection for Your servants.";

Kontakion to the Most Holy Theotokos before the icon of Her "Kazan", glas 8:

"Let us run, people, to this quiet and kind refuge, a speedy Helper, a ready and warm salvation, the protection of the Virgin; let us hasten to prayer and strive for repentance: for the Most Pure Theotokos bestows upon us endless mercies, rushes to the rescue and delivers Her pious and God-fearing servants from great troubles and evils."

Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos in front of Her "Kazan" icon:

"O Most Holy Lady, Lady Theotokos! With fear, faith and love before Your venerated and miraculous icon, we beseech You: do not turn Your face away from those who run to You. Pray, merciful Mother, that your Son and our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, may preserve our country in peace, may His Holy Church be unshakeable, and may she deliver from unbelief, heresies, and schism. We have no other help, no other hope, except You, Most Pure Virgin: You are an all—powerful Helper and Intercessor for Christians. Deliver all those who pray to You with faith from sinful falls, from the attempts of evil people, from all kinds of temptations, sorrows, diseases, troubles and sudden death. Grant us a spirit of repentance for our sins, humility of heart, pure thoughts, correction from a sinful life and remission of sins, so that all may gratefully sing of Your glory and mercy that You show over us here on earth, and we will be worthy of the Heavenly Kingdom, and there, with all the saints, we will glorify the most honorable and magnificent name of the Father and Son, and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen to that."