Homily One for the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
(Delivered on October 22, 1960)
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!
Beloved brothers and sisters, today we solemnly commemorate in prayer and glorify the manifestation of the Mother of God's mercy toward Orthodox Russia, which was expressed in the miraculous deliverance of our beloved fatherland from the invasion of foreign forces in 1612.
Our ancestors, the Russian people, loved the Mother of God and possessed a special, profound faith in Her heavenly intercession for the Christian race. In their sorrows and calamities, they always turned to Her with fervent prayer. Although entire countries regarded the Most Holy Virgin as their Protectress and venerated Her, in our fatherland the name of the Mother of God was surrounded by a special veneration—immeasurably greater than anywhere else. The Mother of God poured forth Her grace and mercy upon no other land as abundantly as She did upon the Russian land. In practically every Russian city there is a source of the Mother of God's grace: Her wonderworking icons, through which She has willed to give people a heavenly pledge of Her love and to serve as a Consolation to suffering humanity. Our people loved to call the Mother of God by special names befitting Her heavenly protection and mercy, and the Mother of God did not allow their faith to be in vain, but granted swift help to everyone who asked, as well as to our fatherland as a whole.
Especially memorable is the deliverance of our land, through the mercy of the Mother of God, from Polish rule in 1612. In that sorrowful time, when the royal dynasty in Russia had all but died out, disturbances arose in our fatherland and led to a complete absence of legitimate authority. The Poles hastened to take advantage of this: they seized Moscow and, with it, nearly half of the Russian realm. Fearing that they might remain forever under the yoke of Polish rule, the Russian people rose to defend their fatherland, placing their hope in the Heavenly Protectress and turning to Her with an earnest supplication for help in the struggle against the enemy. The troops took with them an icon of the Mother of God known as the Kazan Icon and, led by Her, advanced toward Moscow. A fast was proclaimed, and for three days the entire people and the soldiers fasted and fervently prayed before the wonderworking icon of the Queen of Heaven, asking that victory be granted to them. The Most Immaculate Sovereign Lady heard their prayer and, through Her intercession, obtained from Her merciful Son and Lord help and victory over the enemies for the Russian people. Saint Sergius of Radonezh appeared in a dream by night to Archbishop Arseny of Greece, who was languishing in Polish captivity, and told the hierarch that, through the prayers of His Mother and the Moscow hierarchs Peter, Alexis, Jonah, and Philip, the Lord would overthrow the invaders the very next day and return the Russian capital, the foremost city of the realm, to the hands of the Russian people.
Encouraged by this news, on October 22 our soldiers, carrying the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, took Moscow without great difficulty and liberated the fatherland from foreign forces. Thus, both the country and the Church were delivered from foreign subjugation. Reverently honoring their Heavenly Helper, the grateful army and all the citizens of the capital held a service of supplication to the Most Holy Theotokos, who had saved the Russian state, on the very next Sunday. Carrying the Kazan Icon in a cross procession, they proceeded all the way to Lobnoye Mesto [the historic stone platform in Red Square, Moscow, whose name is traditionally associated with the biblical ‘Place of the Skull’], where, at the gates of the Kremlin, they were met by Saint Arseny, who bore another sacred treasure: the wonderworking Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which he had preserved while in captivity. And so that the memory of the Most Holy Theotokos' saving intercession for our fatherland would not fade with time, it was soon unanimously decreed that a solemn commemoration of Her miracle should be held every year on this day, October 22.
As we can see, dear brothers and sisters, the principal reason our country was saved from destruction was the steadfast Orthodox faith of our ancestors. When there was no longer any hope in human strength, all the true sons of the Church and the fatherland undertook a three-day fast and prayed to the Mother of God before Her wonderworking Kazan Icon. And their prayer was heard. Moreover, from the earliest times, the Russian people have been distinguished by a simple, reverent faith and a sincere, heartfelt love for the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in this faith of ours, and in our love for the Son of the Ever-Virgin Mary, that the reason for Her special mercy toward us is to be found. What mother would remain indifferent to someone who showed clear signs of care and love for her children? Reverent faith and a strong love for the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, undoubtedly bring special joy to His Most Pure Mother in Heaven as well. This is why Her intercession and help are poured out upon all who, from ancient times, have held the Lord Jesus Christ sacredly in honor and confessed Him, worship Him reverently, and lovingly obey the Church He established on earth.
What, then, does the commemoration of the Mother of God's miraculous help to our Russian land require of us? The closer the Mother of God is to us, and the more merciful and attentive She is toward us, the more carefully we must conduct ourselves and guard our faith. The more we are given, the more will be demanded of us. Who, if not the people of God, the Jewish people, witnessed such manifest and miraculous divine help? Their entire history, from beginning to end, is permeated and filled with accounts of God's wondrous and direct guidance. Yet how much, and how grievously, did this chosen people of God suffer for repeatedly turning away from the true God and frequently betraying the faith of their forefathers! Why? Because divine justice and majesty require it: the Lord cannot leave unpunished any offense that violates the dignity of His holy Law. “Let us depart from here,” was heard within the very sanctuary of the Jewish Temple, and soon the abomination of desolation appeared in the holy place and, according to the Lord's word, will remain there until the end of the age—all because the Jewish people did not believe in the Only-Begotten Son of God.
Let us therefore give thanks, dear brothers and sisters, to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother for the great blessings bestowed upon our fatherland to establish and exalt it, as it was brought to its glory through severe trials by the right hand of God alone. Let us cherish, brothers and sisters, our holy bond with the Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother, who chose our land as Her own possession. The Lord Jesus Christ and His Mother are fervently concerned for us in Their love. Let us remember who our Protectress is, who is our help and hope, and let us not break our bond with Her, but strengthen it through our faith, our lives, and our hope.
While bearing in mind that Orthodox Christians are the possession of Her Son and enjoy Her special protection, let us not forget that the true nature of Orthodox Christians consists precisely in following Christ in all things as the only Lawgiver and loving Him without measure as our only Savior. We must hold firmly to the path followed by our Orthodox ancestors, the path shown to us by Jesus Christ and still shown to us by the Holy Church. The Lord has set this path before us in His Holy Gospel, and we must faithfully preserve and observe it. If we depart from this path, from this covenant with Christ, our Protectress, the Queen of Heaven, will also depart from us. For She cannot be in communion with the enemies of Her Son, who trample upon His teaching, His commandments, and His covenant blood, just as Christ, Her Son, cannot be in communion with Belial.
Let us pray today to the Queen of Heaven, asking Her Herself to establish us on the path of salvation. She is always ready to intercede for us, provided that we have recourse to Her intercession with warm and fervent prayer, steadfast faith, and hope. Then She will never withdraw Her loving-kindness from us, but will continually preserve and save us from every evil. Let us offer Her fervent prayers from the depths of our hearts, and with tender devotion let us cry out to Her: Rejoice, O fervent Protectress of the Christian race! Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
