July: Day 28: Teaching 1: Celebration of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God

July: Day 28: Teaching 1:
Celebration of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God

 
(The Great Perfections of the Blessed Mother of God)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Smolensk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, called "Hodegetria", was painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. It is called Hodegetria, that is, the Guide, because the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in Constantinople to two blind men and commanded them to go to Her temple, and when they were brought there, she granted them healing, and also because the icon accompanied the emperors on their campaigns against their enemies. From Jerusalem it was transferred to Constantinople. In 1046, the Greek Emperor Constantine Monomachos, giving his daughter Anna in marriage to Prince Vsevolod of Chernigov, blessed her with a copy of the Constantinople Hodegetria. In the 12th century, the son of Vsevolod and Anna, Vladimir Monomakh, transferred this icon to Smolensk. From that time on, the icon was called the Smolensk Icon. 

In 1213, when Batu approached Smolensk, and the citizens resorted to the Most Holy Mother of God with ardent prayer, then at night in the cathedral, where the icon stands, the church sexton received an order from Her to tell Mercurius, a resident of Smolensk, to go to the temple in military armor. In the temple, Mercurius heard a voice from the icon: “My servant Mercurius! The ruler of the horde wants to attack My city tonight with all his army and with a giant; but I have pleaded with My Son and God for My house, that He may not deliver it into the hands of the enemy. Go secretly, away from everyone, to meet the enemy, and by the power of Christ, you will defeat the giant. I Myself will be with you. But along with victory, a martyr's crown awaits you.” Mercurius did so - he struck the giant and struck Batu's army, with the help of swift men sent from above and in the presence of the Radiant Woman, whose visage terrified the enemies, and he himself fell dead. 

In the 14th century, the icon was relocated to Moscow, and in the 15th century, the residents of Smolensk pleaded with Grand Prince Vasily the Dark to send the icon back to Smolensk. The holy icon was accompanied with a religious procession two miles outside the city, and here, on the site of the farewell of the inhabitants of Moscow with the icon, in 1524 the Novodevichy Convent was built in memory of the return of Smolensk to the rule of the Russian sovereigns. A copy of the Smolensk icon was placed in the convent and a feast with a religious procession to the convent was established.

II. On the day of the celebration of the Mother of God, it will be appropriate to present to your pious attention, at least in brief words, the great perfections of the Mother of God.

Reading the Gospel history and Church traditions, which have preserved for us certain features of the life and character of the Mother of God, one can see that the Most Holy Theotokos was filled with Christian virtues. She was distinguished by unparalleled piety, angelic chastity, extraordinary modesty, great humility, complete devotion to the will of the Heavenly Father, uncomplaining submission to His orders, unwavering generosity in misfortunes, and tender love for all people, and especially for Her Son and Lord.

a) Nowadays, a maiden and a wife are considered chaste if they behave cautiously, do not violate the rules of modesty and decorum, even though they may harbor not entirely innocent thoughts and feelings in their hearts. Such was not the chastity of the Most Holy Virgin Mary. She was pure not only in body but also in spirit; she was innocent not only in appearance but also in the inner state of her heart. Today, it seems that even the most innocent maidens take pleasure in the company of men, willingly converse with them, and are unashamed to listen to their flattering words. However, the Most Holy Virgin was greatly troubled when an incorporeal angel appeared before her in the guise of a man, not with flattering words but with a holy greeting (Luke 1:28-29). Therefore, unparalleled in chastity, the Most Pure, even after betrothal to the righteous Joseph, did not wish to be his wife, but made a vow to God to always preserve her virginity and kept it until the end of Her life. And the Lord, favorably accepting this vow, miraculously accomplished that She remained completely a virgin even after the birth of the God-man, for which the Church declares of Her: "In giving birth, you preserved your virginity" (Troparion of the Dormition of the Theotokos).

b) With such wondrous purity, the Mother of God combined the greatest modesty, the first sign of true innocence. She was exceedingly modest in her attire, demeanor, gaze, and speech. Nowadays, hardly any maidens and wives care more about their physical adornment; their concern for clothing extends to whimsicality, and some, donning light, transparent fabrics, seem not so much to cover themselves as to reveal their flesh... The Mother of God did not act in this manner. She, to quote the Apostle, clothed herself "decently, with modesty and self-control," and adorned herself not "with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess godliness" (1 Timothy 2:9, 10). According to the testimonies of Church writers, "She was a Virgin not only in body but also in spirit, humble in heart, wise in words, slow to speak, chaste in conversations, honorable and constant in all things; she spoke very little and only about necessary matters, willingly listened to others, and was eloquent, giving every person their due respect and reverence, engaging with everyone decently, without laughter, disturbance, or anger, untouched by pride, pretense, and delicacy, but was simple and demonstrated great humility in all things" ("Menaion", August 15).

The humility of the Virgin Mary was so sincere and profound that she did not hesitate to confess it before God Himself in her grateful prayer. "My soul magnifies the Lord," she cried, "and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for He has regarded the humility of His servant" (Luke 1:46-48). She was of royal descent, young and beautiful, and yet she did not consider it a humiliation to be betrothed to an elderly carpenter. She was the beloved daughter of the Lord, had communion with angels, was deemed worthy to be the Mother of the Son of God, and despite all this, she lived in obscurity, patiently endured poverty, and was nourished by the labor of her hands. She knew of the divine dignity of her Son — she was a witness to the glory that was conferred upon Him at His birth by the Magi, earthly sages, and the heavenly hosts; she noticed in Him wonderful wisdom, saw numerous manifestations of His miraculous power, and all this the Mother of God kept "in her heart" (Luke 2:19, 51), as if to conceal it from herself, lest she inadvertently become proud of her greatness. Such was her humility!

c) This humility of the Mother of God was accompanied by sincere devotion to the will of the Heavenly Father, complete submission to His arrangements, and magnanimous endurance of the trials and tribulations sent by Him. She placed all her hope in the Lord, and from the cradle to the grave, she fully submitted to the decrees of His providence. Here, her pious parents dedicate her, according to their vow, to the service of God: she not only does not resist this but willingly leaves Her father's house and is enclosed in the house of God. The Archangel Gabriel announces to Her the conception of the Son of God without seed. She is perplexed about how this can be, yet does not doubt the truth of the heavenly message and responds in submission to the angel: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). After the death of Her betrothed, Joseph, the Most Holy Virgin had no refuge with Her Son where she could "lay her head" (Luke 9:58); however, she did not despair in spirit but patiently endured her poverty. Finally, when the enemies of Jesus Christ achieved their goal: the Innocent was condemned as a lawbreaker and crucified as a villain... Oh, what sorrow the Mother of God must have felt then! Indeed, at that moment, Her soul was pierced by that "sword" which the righteous Symeon the God-Receiver had foretold to Her (Luke 2:35). But this sword only pierced Her soul; it did not strike her down: she did not falter, did not weaken under the burden of misfortune, did not fall into despair. Such was the strength of Her soul, and all the more the firmness of Her faith and hope in God!

d) But as steadfast as the soul of the Mother of God was in patience and devotion to God, so tender was Her heart for friendship and holy love. She sincerely loved her neighbors, was sociable with them, and provided for their needs to the best of Her ability, as evidenced by the fact that She did not refuse to be present at the wedding at Cana in Galilee and aided the newlyweds in their time of need (John 2:1-5). She was a good and faithful betrothed: She unconditionally obeyed Joseph, comforted his old age, and willingly shared all his needs and labors with him. She was the most tender of Mothers: for despite Her youth, She herself raised Her beloved Son, not entrusting Him to the care of strangers, as other thoughtless mothers do with their children, and in order to preserve His life, fled with Him from Her homeland to a foreign land, attentively watching over all His actions, being mindful of every circumstance of His life (Luke 2:19, 51; 8:20), and maintained a profound love for Him not only until His death but even beyond it.

Such was the love of the Mother of God for Her Son and Lord! Since holy love, as expressed by the Apostle, is a compilation of "perfection" (Col. 3:14), one must conclude that the Most Holy Virgin possessed, in addition to the virtues we have mentioned, numerous other qualities, the enumeration of which would take too much time. Truly, those who had the fortune to see Her and to be in Her presence testify that She was filled with grace and all virtues, that in Her, human nature was united with the angelic, and that this was a heavenly miracle of astonishing holiness (Letter of Ignatius the God-bearer to John the Theologian).

III. If this was indeed the Mother of our Lord, then we, brethren, must honor Her in every way – reverently proclaiming Her the blessed one, and earnestly praying to Her the gracious one - that She may protect us under Her cover from all evils and help us to excel in virtues by Her example.

 

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