June: Day 26: Celebration of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God

June: Day 26:
Celebration of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God
 
(Lessons From the History of the Feast: 
a. The Mercy of the Mother of God to our Fatherland, and 
b. With Our Sins We Bring Upon Ourselves the Wrath of God)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, the celebration of which is held today, was first in Constantinople, but 70 years before the fall of this city it appeared in Russia, within the boundaries of Novgorod, over the waters of Lake Ladoga. This was in 1383, during the reign of Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy. The icon traveled through the air, carried by angels, and stopped at the Tikhvinka River. During its procession, many saw it, and where it stopped, churches were later built. At the site of its last stop, a wooden Church of the Dormition was built. Despite repeated fires in this church, the icon remained unharmed. Through the zeal of Grand Prince Vasily Ioannovich, a stone church was built in place of the wooden one, and in 1556, 173 years after the appearance of the icon, the Tikhvin Monastery for men was built here. 

In 1613, the monastery suffered from the Swedish commander De la Gardie. Embittered by the failures in the war, De la Gardie surrounded the monastery and began to attack it incessantly. The monks, along with many local residents, locked themselves in the monastery and placed all their hope in God and His Most Pure Mother. At that time, the Mother of God appeared to a pious woman, Maria, who had come to the monastery two years before and was healed of blindness, and said: “Tell everyone to take My icon and walk around the walls and see the mercy of God.” When a religious procession with the icon of the Mother of God was held around the monastery, the enemies were confused and fled. 

During another attack, the Mother of God appeared to the pure-hearted and God-fearing novice Martinian together with Saints Nicholas, Barlaam of Khutyn and Zosimas of Solovky and ordered that people of wicked life, for whose sins the monastery was suffering, be expelled from the monastery. This was done: the wicked people were removed, and along with them, the Swedish troops stationed near the monastery also withdrew of their own accord.

During new attacks by the enemies, new prayers before the icon of the Mother of God attracted new mercy from God. The enemies were especially severely defeated on the night of the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross - September 14, 1614. This victory was also granted by the prayers of the Mother of God. It seemed to the enemies that numerous regiments of armed warriors with many bright cross-bearing banners were approaching the monastery from the direction of Moscow. The enemies fled and, in confusion, struck each other.

A year later, the Swedish commander approached the monastery again and decided to destroy it to the ground, chop the miraculous icon of the Mother of God into pieces and scatter the church in which it was located across the field. The inhabitants of the monastery, having learned of this threat, wanted to leave for Moscow with the miraculous icon. But they could not move the icon from its place. And again the enemies were struck with fear and no longer dared, from that time on, to approach the monastery.

A year later, the Tsar's ambassadors arrived at the monastery to conclude peace with the Swedes. Having taken a copy of the miraculous icon, they went 50 miles away to the Syas River, and here, in the village of Stolbovo, before the icon of the Mother of God, they concluded peace on February 10, 1617. 

In memory of the miraculous appearance of the icon and the repeated defeat of enemies through the intercession of the Mother of God, the feast of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God was established.

II. The history of the current feast teaches us many edifying lessons. Let us dwell on two for now.

a) The Mother of God in Her miraculous icons constantly pours out Her mercy to the Orthodox and God-loving Russian people for the pious life and strict Orthodoxy of their ancestors.

No one has seen Her mercies and various kinds of good deeds over themselves more than we have. But how do we now repay Her for all that She has done and does for us? Do we try to prolong Her love over us for the future? How much of this effort is in us? Where is the firm faith of our ancestors in us? Where is their sincere spirit of piety? Where is their sincere fear of God? Even the kindest mother can run out of patience when her children are incorrigible. 

Our hope is in You, Mother of God! Do not deprive us of Your protection. As You of old helped the Tikhvin Monastery in victory over visible enemies, so help us in the struggle with the corrupt “world”, which everywhere sets snares for people who are not established in faith and piety, with our sin-loving “flesh”, which wars in our members against the good yoke of Christ and the light burden of His holy commandments, and with the “devil”, who walks about like a lion, seeking to destroy Christian souls.

Let us, brethren, actively imitate the piety and faith of our ancestors, who attracted upon them the protection and covering of the Queen of Heaven, so that we too may not be deprived of Her mercy.

b) The second lesson that we learn from the history of the present feast is that the wicked life of people and the decline of the true faith bring upon them the wrath of God in the form of various kinds of disasters and sorrows, and at the same time remove the protection of the Mother of God from such people and do not allow Her to provide Her maternal intercession. Thus, when the Tikhvin Monastery and city were attacked by enemies, the Queen of Heaven saved them from ruin and devastation only when, at Her instruction, people of wicked life were expelled from the monastery, whose sins were the cause of God's wrath and the permission of the enemy's attack. May this also inspire us, brethren, in our prayers to the zealous Intercessor of the Christian race, first of all to repent of our sins and correct our lives, in order to make our prayers pleasing to God.

“In order for prayer to be heard by God,” says Venerable James of Nisibis, “one must wash oneself, cleanse oneself, stop doing evil, learn to do good, love justice, provide assistance and protection to the suffering and oppressed.”

III. May God help us, through the prayers of the zealous Intercessor of the Christian race, to fulfill this saving advice.  

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.