Icon of the "Sporite of loaves". Prayer before the icon of the "Sporite of loaves"

Does anyone know the history of the icon of the "Sporite of loaves"? But it is very interesting. But let's first find out what the Ural monasteries are like. It is noteworthy that those who study the history of the monasteries of the diocese of Yekaterinburg carefully analyze their way of life, eventually come to the conclusion that each object has its own peculiarities, its unusual history, its seal of the Lord's harvest.

Sredneuralsky female monastery

Many people are amazed by the very young Sredneuralsky women's monastery. "Sporite of loaves" is an image in honor of which he was built. The building is located on the Nizhnetagilsky tract, twenty kilometers from Ekaterinburg. This monastery was founded on the decision of the Holy Synod on April 20, 2005. Interestingly, until 2002, in its place was placed an ordinary green lawn.

May 18, 2002 for the construction of the object from Ganina Yama arrived the first workers. In the midst of a dense forest, they found a wooden lodge designed for four sisters-dwellers, and two tents, in which it was planned to house the workers. There was nothing else on this territory, only disembodied forces in the air eagerly listened to pleas.

And by 2011 on the lands of the monastery four magnificent temples, solid high-rise buildings of stone, a milk shop and a hospice house have grown. Here was built a four-story cell building, which housed workshops and a school for children. Also, workers were able to create an impressive garden and subsidiary farming. In the monastery there are now about three hundred novice prayer-books: in this place you can really feel God's presence.

Construction of the monastery

Ah, how swiftly built Sredneuralsky monastery! "Sporite of loaves," the holy icon, apparently, was the reason. After all, such facts of rapid construction can not be recalled for the entire historical period of the formation of monasteries in Russia and Europe. In church history, such cases are few in number. And this is not an invention - ordinary dry statistics.

It is known that such acts can not be carried out either by the people's intention or by themselves. After all, all that is directed at souls, undergoes an infinite number of obstacles and temptations. Such an embodiment of the animal in the mortal world is possible only with the amazing will and help of the Lord.

But how to get God's support? You need to be able to properly call it, offering sacrifice in worship, prayer, chastity, fasting, self-control. And, of course, it is very important to always follow the path of righteous life.

Some laymen naively believe that everything is pouring from the skies when a person makes up a special plan of economic management, approves the "five-year plan", participates in various meetings. Any word or action requires the word of God. If a person genuinely tries to please the Creator of the earth and heaven, our Heavenly Father, he will certainly receive generous fruits. Expressive examples of such acts can very often be observed in worldly life. By the way, they are visible only to those whose heart is not petrified, clean and very sensitive. In such situations, people proclaim an irrefutable truth: "Now, everywhere you should do everything and everything!" But he takes and performs according to the faith of everyone ...

Angelic people

When communicating with people or attending a divine service, when deepening into the essence of what is happening, the phrase "cadres decide everything" comes to mind. But her formulation is slightly different: "spiritual cadres decide everything."

It is interesting that the mother-in-law of the Sredneuralsky monastery, Mother Vavar and the confessor of the holy monastery of the Scheigumen Sergius, are called angelic people. They in fact have an impressive life experience, practice in many spheres of activity, amazing human qualities and talents in prehuman, earthly life. It is these people that God is inviting to his service. He protects them, supporting and exuding his many mercies.

Mother Superior Varvara

Mother Superior Mother Barbara in the world is called Svetlana Nikolaevna Krygina. It is highly intellectual, with a higher education prudent patron of the flock entrusted to her from God. Natural humility does not allow her to take pictures and talk about herself, but if she asks a thematic question, one can get an exhaustive answer.

She is laconic and attentive, practically "dead" for the earthly life. Svetlana Nikolaevna, having taken a vow in a nun on March 31, 2005, took her name in honor of Barbara the Great Martyr . She was appointed abbess of the holy place on April 20, 2005.

It should be added that on May 18, 2009, Mother Varvara was awarded the rank of the Mother Superior for the diligent service of the Church of God by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, His Holiness Kirill, at the request of the Archbishop of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye Vikenty. Nun, a nun, helps her to do righteous deeds - her own sister.

German Farm

Whose else life is inextricably linked with the story of this wonderful shelter, with the icon of the "Sporite of the loaves"? Father Sergius (Romanov) appears in this story - in it he is the most important character. It is noteworthy that the Archbishop of Verkhoturye and Yekaterinburg Vikenty, in 2002, blessed Hieromonk Sergius for the creation of a female farmstead of social significance in the name of the royal saints of the Passion-Bearers at the monastery, whose father, Sergius, was in charge at that time.

It is interesting that the territory on which the metochion was located was previously in the holdings of the subsidiary farm of the Sredneuralskaya GRES. In the people this area was called the German hamlet - it was here during the war that a camp was located in which prisoners of war were kept. The German settlement in August 2002 was given free of charge to the diocese of Yekaterinburg. And in September 2002, the Hieroschemans Rafail (Berestov) visited the farmstead. He assured that the holy shelter erected on this site is under the special protection of the holy empress Alexandra and the Mother of God.

Spiritual care of the monastery

The first liturgy was held in a wooden house church in August 2002. Then began the construction of a majestic long-awaited temple building made of bricks. The church was solemnly consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Sporite of loaves" on September 17, 2004. It is noteworthy that in the women's Sredneuralsky monastery, the last Russian Tsar-martyr Nicholas II and his family, who gave their lives for Russia, are especially revered.

For a long time, scheming Sergius is carrying a burden of the spiritual concerns of the monastery. He tirelessly cares about parishioners, sisters-prayer-books and his flock entrusted to him. He is also a very diligent business executive: he is worried about construction, understands technical issues, has the gift of communicating with both worldly people and benefactors. In general, Father Sergius is called a very considerate person. Words explain this nuance is too difficult - it simply gives him a pleasant warmth, cordiality, a desire to understand every real Christian, close in spirit. Such kindness, love, and sometimes childlike frankness and naivety are considered very rare phenomena in our time. Such qualities can be found only among monastics in the holy Athos land.

Mysteriously, the holy dwelling of the nazi residents was brought to their home: they gathered here, undoubtedly seeking to know the sublime feelings. Each novice is individual and unique, as the creation of God, many have higher education. But what unites them? Of course, only the only amazing quality is humility. And followed him quietly meekness, simplicity and resignation. Agree, it is no coincidence that such a spiritual army has been given an appropriate shelter.

Icon

And now we will get acquainted with the history of the miraculous image. The icon depicting the Mother of God, the "Sporite of loaves," was written with the blessing of Hieroschemonk Ambrose, an elder of the Vvedenskaya desert, Optina. He was the greatest Russian ascetic of the nineteenth century, a flaming children's faith to the Mother of God. Father Ambrose revered the feast of the Theotokos, celebrating them with incessant prayer.

Near the Optina desert, he founded the Shamordin monastery in honor of the Kazan image of the Mother of God and blessed it with an icon "Sporite of loaves". On this masterpiece depicts the Mother of God, lying on snow-white clouds. Her outstretched arms bless the world. In the lower part of the picture, a compressed field is depicted, on which rye sheaves are among the herbs and flowers.

Elder Ambrose personally determined the date for the celebration of the icon - October 15 - and gave it the name of "Sporite of loaves". By such actions, he pointed out that the Mother of God is "a helper to people in their efforts to obtain a daily bread." Feeling his blessed death, Father Ambrose ordered to print a colossal number of photographs of this image. He sent them and gave them to his children spiritual.

Interestingly, before the holy icon is very often performed akathist. "Sporite of loaves" is very favorable to this kind of hymns. Elder Ambrose for singing the akathist before this miraculous image composed a special chorus: "Rejoice, Blessed! The Lord is with thee! Submit to us, unworthy, the dew of Thy grace and manifest Thy mercy! "

The day of the funeral of the elder Ambrose in the Shamordin Monastery was scheduled for October 15 - the date of the celebration of the image. By the way, the holy icon "Sporite of loaves" showed the first miracle in 1891. It was then that people starved in the entire territory of Russia because of a crop failure, and in the fields of the Shamordin monastery, and throughout the Kaluga region, bread was born in abundance.

Further, in 1892, the icon "Sporite of loaves" served as a model for the list created by the novice of the elder Ambrose Ivan Fedorovich Cherepanov. At that time, the elder Ambrose was no longer alive, unfortunately. The list of the holy image was sent to the Pyatnitsky Convent of the Voronezh Region. In those places, because of the drought, the inhabitants were threatened with hunger, but the icon of the Mother of God "Sporite of the loaves" saved people again: a moleben was served before her, rain fell and the drought receded.

An image revered by believers

For the intercessor of the Christian family, the Most Holy Theotokos, we pray in sorrow and joy, with hope and love. In general, her miraculous icons in Russia are many - like the stars in the sky.

Among them there is the icon of the Mother of God "Sporite of the loaves" - it is blessed by the elder Ambrose, and in the Optina desert special attention is paid to it. It was Father Ambrose, as mentioned above, who gave the name to this image and set the date for its celebration - after harvesting was completed. After a certain period of time on this festive day, the body of the elder was buried.

Before the icon "Sporite of the loaves" prayer Is read about the multiplication of the fruits of heaven and earth, many parishioners ask for blessings for work. The image has a very unusual iconography and is full of deep spiritual content. By the way, the idea of the image arose in a seriously ill elder in the last years of his life. Then he was for a long time in the Shamordin monastery and was very concerned about her fate: he diligently prayed to the Theotokos for intercession and patronage. Agree, because the monk created a bewitching spectacle: Mother of God "Sporite of loaves" blesses the majestic beauty of the Russian land. The image in the shortest possible time received an extraordinary veneration of believers: this was facilitated by his miracles, which are mentioned in the autobiography of the elder.

The following summer, after the death of the monk Ambrose, the monk Optina of the desert, Ivan Fedorovich, a native of the nobles, the icon "Sporite of the loaves" was written with his own hand. Convent Pyatnitsky of the Voronezh region at that time received it - its inhabitants made a prayer before her and, as was reported above, were saved from hunger.

God's providence

Who wants to visit a monastery dedicated to a wonderful image? The "spore-maker of loaves" is found in many temples. They are as if scattered on earth by the Creator of heavenly pearls. In honor of this image in 2000, the temple was consecrated on the lands of the auxiliary farm of Optina desert.

The trace of the icon before which his elderly and holy prayers was raised by the elder Ambrose is lost in time: nothing is known about her fate. There is only information that the decree of the Holy Synod in 1892, the image was taken from the Chamordin monastery. But, looking in the modern commentary on the work of Father Florensky Paul "Iconostasis", you can find a note pointing to the notice of Bishop Anatoly of Ufa, created in Bergamo in January 1988. It says that this icon is located near Vilnius, in the Lithuanian village of Mihnovo.

In the cell of St. Ambrose ascetic of God a couple of years ago a charming list appeared from the first icons of the "Sporite of loaves". This image in 1999 was transferred to the temple Kurochkin Alexander from Rostov-on-Don. It was from him that the image of the Queen of Heaven, purchased for the occasion, was kept for about seven years. Alexander was a professional restorer, and therefore was able to open the inscription on the wrong side of the image, hidden under a thick layer of paint: "Rejoice Blessed! The Lord is with thee! Give us also your mercy, unworthy of the Rosa of Thy grace. Celebrating on October 15 ». At the very bottom of the picture it was written: "The image of this hieroschemonk Ambrose of the elder Optina of the desert."

It is noteworthy that the name of the icon on both the back and the front is written in the same handwriting. But in our life there is nothing accidental! It is necessary to rejoice that the lost connection of time with the finding of this particular icon, the "Sporite of loaves," was restored. Prayer Before the blessed image ascends to heaven with faith, that the supplicants will not remain unheeded.

Icons Lists

It should be noted that the original was written a huge number of picturesque lists distributed throughout Russia. One of these icons can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Over time, iconography changed, because each icon painter saw in his own way both the sky and the grain field. What about the image written a few years before the revolution in Shomordino? The icon tells amazingly about the minutes preceding the thunderstorm.

It depicts a heavy, dark cloud hanging over a golden golden field, dark trees and a temple. The structure is far away, it is difficult to consider. And above this composition is the blessing, serene image of the Mother of God. Oh, with what ecstasy before this way the priests read the akathist! "Sporeitelnitsa bread" - an icon of miraculous, looks tenderly at the prayers and listens to their requests!

And finally I want to add: in many modern icons the Mother of God is depicted seated on a cloud with raised hands in prayer. It hovers over the bread field, and around it shines an oval mandorla, colored on the outer edge of the stars and permeated with rays.