home Medicines from A to Z Prayer to the chosen governor as the winner. Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos “Charred Voivode”

Prayer to the chosen governor as the winner. Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos “Charred Voivode”

Writes about her:
"Since the publication of this non-canonical icon in the catalog in 2009, when the attitude of people on the Internet towards it was neutral or in some places even positive, changes have occurred. Many statements have appeared that the icon is an inappropriate amateur activity, that it is impossible to arbitrarily dress the Mother of God in alien She wears clothes, and at present (2012) many in Orthodox circles do not consider this icon to be Orthodox.Due to the difference of opinion about this icon, it is given the status of "doubtful" until official statements are made.
The icon is located in the Holy Vvedensky Verkh-Techensky convent of the Kurgan diocese."

"The following miraculous event took place in Bogolyubovo at the very beginning of the 21st century. According to eyewitnesses, one pilgrim photographed the icon Mother of God Czestochowa, to which the Russian people pray to give them the last Russian Tsar.

However, instead of the image of the Mother of God of Czestochowa, another image of the Mother of God appeared in the photograph in a helmet and chain mail, in her hand She holds an eight-pointed Russian cross. The copy of the icon of the Mother of God of Częstochowa has been preserved.

Therefore, this image began to be called the image of the Mother of God of Czestochowa in armor or the Mounted Voivode.

According to Mother V., a similar incident occurred in Volgograd. There, when photographing the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, the resulting image was divided into two parts, where on one side there was an image of the icon being photographed, and on the other side there was an image of this icon, where the Mother of God was also in chain mail and a helmet, and the Child was dressed in a red tunic. When trying to separate the image of the Virgin Mary in chain mail from the image of the Virgin Mary Hodegetria, the image was again divided into two images. Therefore, the Volgograd image consists of two images: the Virgin Mary Hodegetria and the Virgin Mary in chain mail.

One of the pilgrims to Pochaev Lavra I saw a similar image of the Mother of God in chain mail and a helmet, only the helmet of the Mother of God was supplemented with a protective shield from a saber strike to the eyes.

A similar case happened in Kyiv.

On the eve of the First World War and the revolution, at the World Exhibition in Paris, Russia presented a Kasli cast iron sculpture called<Россия>. She imagined a woman in a helmet, chain mail with an eight-pointed Russian cross on her chest, prophetically holding right hand a sword, and with her left hand she was blocking the royal regalia with a shield: a crown, a crown and an orb, lying separately on a column. Today this sculptural image can be seen in the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin, in State Duma, in some museums, on the logos of patriotic publications. This image has become an archetype of Russian public consciousness."

end of quote

They definitely remembered this on the website. Very similar to this great-power statue of N. Laveretsky from 1896, a vulgar personification of Russia.

"Allegory of Russia" on a World War I poster

And here is more creativity of modern bogomas:

What is this role-playing games such?
Why are they not satisfied with the classic ancient iconography of the Mother of God?
Vladimirskaya, has it stopped working? Donskaya?
What kind of exercises are there in cosplay? Orthodox armored bra to the knees?

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and everything initially grows from here - see Wikipedia
Warrior Maiden, woman Warrior- archetypal fictional image female character, often of royal blood, who has a strong character and is engaged in a typically “male” business, usually war (although sometimes crafts). The antipode to it is another cliche - helpless damsel in distress.

According to the medieval literary tradition, the warrior maiden, losing her innocence, also lost her military strength, becoming an ordinary woman. However, this is a condition of compliance virginity does not necessarily occur. Likewise, being a member of the royal family is not a requirement, although in classical examples both requirements are met. (NB: The Virgin Mary was from the family of King David, by the way...)

... Thus, such images of warrior maidens are a relic of servants of a religious cult and a magical rite.

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(This reminds me of the story with - where in terms of points Jesus, King Arthur and Dionysus score the same number, and Luke Skywalker, Paul Atreides and Harry Potter - a little less. Nothing new under the sun.)

And in general - helmet + virgin + celestial goddess = first of all the ancient Greek goddess Pallas Athena for an educated person

A crucifix instead of a spear, a Baby instead of an owl (a symbol of wisdom) - and go ahead, paint an icon?

Of course, if in Jesus Christ (if you dissect the myths) there is something from Osiris, Fammuz and the Aztec god Vitzliputzli, then, of course, in the Virgin Mary - Athena appears in spots. Cm. Byzantinoslavica Vol. LXIII, Prague, 2005, pp. 225-258.: Gukova S. N., Signs of ever-virginity Our Lady

"The three stars on the maforia of the Mother of God - one on the forehead and two on the shoulders - are traditional elements of the Mother of God iconography, signs of Mary’s virginity before, during and after the Nativity of Christ. (...)

With greater certainty, however, we can note another pattern - the connection of the stars with a special aspect of the Mother of God cult, which was noted in Byzantium throughout its existence - we mean the veneration of the Mother of God as a Warrior. In fact, apotropaic signs on the shoulders, knees and chest are found mainly on images of warriors, this is understandable, since it was they who, by the nature of their activities, were exposed to the greatest danger and needed additional protection.

We believe that the stars of the Virgin Mary are related to the similar form of the stars of the Greek warriors in their function.

The military aspect of the cult of Our Lady has its roots in ancient cult Athena, who in Attica bore the name “Advanced Fighter”: the Athenian people believed that in battles that threatened their existence, Athena would come out to fight for them in the front ranks.

S. S. Averintsev, discussing the connection greek goddess with Our Lady (...) Our Lady inherited many of the functions of ancient Athena.

Mary's direct intervention and intercession in saving Constantinople from the invasion of the Avars has been recorded in sources since 626. She repeatedly acted as a Warrior, defeating the enemies besieging the capital (677, 717, 860, 923). The liberation of Constantinople from the Latins in 1261 was also attributed to the miraculous intercession of Mary, which contributed to a new strengthening of her cult in the Palaiologan period.

This special role of Mary is already reflected in the Akathist of the Mother of God, where she is styled as “the Chosen Victorious Voivode,” “as having an invincible power.” During the ceremony on the day of the Feast of the Ascension, described by Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in the exclamations of the Prasins, the military aspect of the cult of the Mother of God is expressed extremely clearly: she is an “invincible shield”, “defender commander, invincible in battle”, “co-strategist”, leading the troops together in the Basileus. Thus, the Mother of God was revered not only as the defender of the empire and its capital, but also as the commander of the basileus in the fight against external enemies."
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It is in honor of this akathist of 626 that this remake is named.

Akathist is ancient, real. Here is the Russian translation

Having been delivered from troubles, we, Your unworthy servants, Mother of God, sing a victorious and grateful song to You, the Supreme Military Leader. You, who have invincible power, free us from all troubles, so that we cry to You: Rejoice, Bride, who has not entered into marriage!
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However, I keep looking at these “icons” and thinking
Such an outfit does not suit the Mother of God.
With this, yes, you can:

Let's admire it again.

Here's how to do it:

TOUCHING

PANTRICATOR

JUMPING OF THE BABY

MAMMAL

PASSIONATE
(the baby turns away in horror from the cross - the instrument of the Passion)

These are icons, these are the ones to pray to, and God is felt in them.

Eh.
Instead of an upset emoticon I put it.

To the chosen Voivode, victorious, as having been delivered from the evil, let us write thanks to Thy servant, the Mother of God, but as having an invincible power, free us from all troubles, let us call Thee: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.

Kontakion to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Chosen Voivode- invincible Voivode ( climbed- invincible in battles). Winner- victorious (singing, that is, a victorious song). Like getting rid of the evil ones- because they got rid of ( literally: as having been delivered) from evil (from troubles). Thank you note- thanksgiving (thanksgiving song). Let's write about Ti- we chant ( literally: we write) to you. Like a possessing power- (You) as having power. Non-bride- unmarried (literal translation of the Greek word).

The Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, which begins with this kontakion, was written in the 7th century in Constantinople. This is the first (and most beautiful) of the akathists, which became a model for all subsequent ones. All 12 ikos of the akathist end with multiple “rehances” of the Archangel’s greeting Holy Virgin- “Rejoice!”, the final of which is - We magnify the heavenly purity of the Unartificed Virgin, who inexpressibly gave birth to Christ our God, and in Her purity “The Most Honest Cherub” Bride Unbride appears before us as the greatest warrior with the forces of evil - The elected Voivode, possessing an invincible power.

Rejoice, Unbrided Bride! If we turn to the Greek language in which the akathist was written, we will see that all these three words, literally translated into Church Slavonic and entered into our religious consciousness, should have been perceived by the Greeks somewhat differently than we perceive them.

Rejoice- the greeting of the Archangel Gabriel, brought to us by the Gospel, - both before the Nativity of Christ and after it, was an ordinary greeting in Greek - the same as our “hello”. In the appearance of the Angel, in his wondrous and mysterious words, the inner meaning of the greeting, forgotten in everyday life, of course, was renewed and shone with all its strength; Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos (and every later inspiredly composed akathist), all permeated with this “Rejoice!” and sparkling with the joy of majesty, also resurrects the dormant meaning of the Greek word in everyday language. But in the Russian (and Old Russian) language they greeted each other not with the word “rejoice”, but with the word “hello” (in which we usually forget wishes for health). “Rejoice” remains for us a word that is always richer, more special - a conscious word of joy, a unique greeting for the Most Pure Virgin Mary and the saints of God.

Bride Unbride- a direct, literal translation of two Greek words. Church Slavonic bride corresponds to the Greek word “nymph”, which means not only a girl-bride, but also a newlywed wife and a young woman. New Testament(And Greek translation Bible) gave this word enormous mystical depth: the Bride of the Lamb in the Revelation of John the Theologian (Rev. 19, 7; 21, 22, 17) is not only destined for Him, but also stands with Him in a mysterious marriage; this is the image of both the Mother of God and the Church (in her we recognize the bride of the Song of Songs and other books of Scripture). And the Greek word translated by the Slavic word non-bride- this is the negative form of the first word, meaning “not married”; this word was quite common in Greek. For Greek, but not for Slavic! After all, in Slavic bride- that's exactly it unknown, unknown (that is, exactly what the Greek corresponds to non-bride) a girl who has not entered into marriage, although destined for him; the word itself carries the meaning of purity. Inside Slavic language word non-bride difficult to explain. It introduces a new shade of meaning into the expression of the akathist: Pure Bride, but not bride-like, not ordinary, not comparable to any other bride.
Other Slavic epithets of the Virgin Mary corresponding to the word Not a bride,- Unskilled, Unsophisticated.

The elected Voivode is victorious... Almost all of us are accustomed to hearing these words as a single whole, so we do not feel the structure of the phrase (quite simple): (to whom?) Chosen Voivode(We) let's write down(What?)

I stayed with a friend. I started talking. She looked at the clock, eleven in the evening. She quickly said goodbye and headed to the station. It’s a short walk, first along the dacha streets and only at the station for about seven minutes through a forest. The moon was fading, it was dark, she refused to be escorted and ran. We are all brave young people. I walk and think: Mom will be angry that she came late, and tomorrow she will have to get up early for early mass, and then there will be a lot of work to do. I walked quickly, walked through the streets and ran into the woods. It’s dark, gloomy and, of course, scary, but that’s okay, the path is wide and has been walked many times. I walked in and felt a homely spirit, but there were no people around. I was running, and suddenly someone grabbed me by the arms from behind and threw something over my head. I struggle, I want to scream, but they put a hand over my mouth over a rag. I struggle, I break free, I try to kick the attackers, but from strong blow the head went quiet for a moment. They pulled me off the path to the side, took the cloth off my head, then I realized that it was a jacket, but they were still covering my mouth with a rag. A man’s voice said: “If you make a sound, we’ll kill you!” - and a knife appeared before my eyes. “Get down, you fool, you’ll be quiet, we won’t kill you,” I look at the man, one is short, the other is tall, and they both smell of wine. "Get down!" - they opened their mouths and pushed them to the ground, and I whispered to them: “Let me go, have mercy!” - and rushed, and the tall one put the knife to his chest and stabbed. I realized that nothing could save me. The tall guy said to the second: “Go about thirty steps to the path. I’ll handle it, I’ll shout to you,” the short man left.

I stand and clearly understand that there is no salvation for me now, no one can help. What to do? How to protect yourself? And the whole thought went to God: “Help, Lord!” I suddenly don’t remember any prayers, suddenly only one appeared, to the Mother of God, and I realized: only the Mother of God can save me, and began to read in a frenzy: “To the chosen Voivode, victorious, as if we got rid of the evil ones, let us write thanks to Thy servants, Mother of God, but as if you have an invincible power, free us from all troubles, let us call You: Rejoice, Unbrided Bride,” and at that time the tall one knocked me down and began to tear my clothes. He tore it off, leaned over me, holding a knife in his hand. I see this clearly and at the same time I frantically pray to the Mother of God, repeating the same prayer and probably prayed out loud. The tall one leaned over and suddenly asked me: “What are you muttering there?” - and I kept praying and at that moment I heard my voice, and the guy said again: “I ask, what?” - and immediately straightened up and began to look somewhere above me. He looked attentively, looked at me and angrily kicked me in the side, picked me up from the ground and said: “Let’s get out of here,” and, holding a knife in his hand and the underwear torn off from me, he led me somewhere to the side. When they got there, he threw me to the ground, leaned over me again, and I prayed and prayed.

She stands next to me and again peers over, and I constantly call on the Mother of God and at the same time I feel that for some reason I am not afraid of anything. The guy stands and looks somewhere into the forest, then he looked at me and said: “What does she want here, in the forest, at night?” He picked me up, threw away the knife and led me into the forest. He walks in silence, I pray in an undertone and am not surprised by anything and am no longer afraid of anything, I only remember that the Mother of God is with me. Of course, it was a daring thought, but that’s what I thought at the time.

They didn't walk long. I see the station lights flashing between the trees. Without leaving the forest, the guy told me: “Here! Get dressed! - and threw my things. “I’ll turn away.” I turned away and got dressed. Let's go, he took a ticket to Moscow, took him to the tank with drinking water and wiped my face with a handkerchief. There was blood on my head from the blow.

We boarded the train, the carriages were empty, it was late, there were only the two of us in the carriage. We sit, remain silent, and I pray to myself all the time, constantly repeating: “To the elected Voivode, victorious...”

We arrived, got off the train, he asked: “Where do you live?” I answered. We got there by tram, on the back platform, to Smolenskaya Square, and then went to Neopalimovsky Lane to my home. I pray, he walks silently, only occasionally looking at me.

We reached the house, climbed the stairs, I took out the key and again fear attacked me. Why is he here? I don’t open the door, I stand. The guy looked at me and began to go down the stairs. I opened the door, rushed into the room and fell to my knees in front of the icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir. I thank Her and cry. My sister woke up and asked: “What’s wrong with you?” - I pray and don’t answer, I pray.

About two hours later I went, washed my face, put myself in order and prayed until the morning, thanking the Mother of God, and in the morning I ran to church for early mass and that’s all. I told Alexandru. He listened to me and said: “The Lord and the Mother of God have shown you great mercy. We must thank them, but the villain will be punished.”

A year has passed. I sit at home and study. The windows are open, it's hot and stuffy. Mom and I are in the apartment. The bell rings, mom opens the door for someone and says: “Come in.” At home!" - and from the corridor he shouts to me: “Maria, to you.” I thought: “This is inappropriate,” but I shouted: “Come in!” She stood up and decided that it was one of her fellow students. The door opened and I froze. He is the guy from the forest. If they had asked me a minute ago, I wouldn’t have been able to say what he was like, but then I instantly recognized him.

I stood as if stiff, and he entered, for some reason looked around the room and, not paying attention to me, rushed to the corner where I had a color lithograph of the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God hanging. My mother and I kept the icons in a small cabinet, and we hung the Vladimir icon on the wall under the guise of a painting.

He came up, looked and said: “She,” - he stood there for a while and came up to me. “Don’t be afraid of me, I came to ask you for forgiveness. Forgive me, I am terribly guilty before you. Sorry!" And I stood there, petrified, confused, and he came close to me, close and said again: “Forgive me!” - turned and left. This meeting made a terribly difficult impression on me. Why did you come? What did this bandit want? A thought came to my mind: I should call the police to detain him, but instead I opened the cabinet with icons and began to pray.

All the time there was a persistent thought in my head why, looking at the Vladimir icon, he said: “She.”

Then I thought about everything. Why didn’t she see him then, why did such a bandit ask for forgiveness, why did he need it? And he is not tall at all, and his eyes look inquisitively and intently, not like a bandit.

...The war began, it was 1943. We were terribly hungry. I worked as a nurse in a hospital and tried to study at a medical institute; my sister was sick, but she was in seventh grade, and my mother could barely walk from weakness.

Life was hard, but I still managed to run to church sometimes. There were battles near Moscow, in the Caucasus, near Stalingrad, and the spring of 1943 began. I was on duty these days for two days in a row. She came tired, there was nothing to eat, my sister was lying down, and my mother too. Both weakened.

I undressed, lit the stove, my hands were shaking and hurting. I’m trying to pray, reading the akathist to the Mother of God from memory. I hear a knock on the door, I open it, a lieutenant is standing with a stick and a large duffel bag: “I’m coming to you!”

I ask: “Who are you?” He doesn’t answer and drags a bag into the room, then says: “That’s me! Andrey!" - and then I instantly recognize him. Mom sits up and looks at him.

Andrey unties the bag, clumsily puts his foot down, sits down on a chair without invitation and begins to take something out of the bag.

Cans of stewed meat, condensed milk, lard, sugar and more and more appear on the table. Taking it out, he ties the bag and says: “I was seriously wounded, I was lying around in hospitals for more than three months, I thought I wouldn’t survive, now my leg is being treated in clinics. I lay there, remembered you and prayed to the Mother of God, as you did then. The doctors said that I would die, it was hopeless. I survived, I’m living, and my brother brought these products to me out of joy that he found them in the hospital, he’s a chairman of a collective farm here near Moscow. He exchanged it - and came to me.”

He got up, went to the cabinet with icons, it was open, crossed himself several times, kissed the icons, came up to me and again, like last time, said: “Forgive me, for God’s sake. Ask. The past oppresses me continuously. It’s hard for me,” and I looked at his food, at him standing with a stick near the table and shouted: “Take it, take it all now. Get out!” - and burst into tears. I’m standing, roaring, my mother is lying there, she can’t understand anything, my sister poked her head out from under the blanket. Andrei looked at me and said: “No, I won’t take it,” - he went to the stove, lit it, put some logs, stood next to it for about five minutes, bowed and left, and all the time I cried bitterly.

Mom asks: “Masha, what’s wrong with you and who is this person?” I told her everything then. She listened to me and said: “I don’t know, Masha, why you were saved then, but no matter what, you’re good and very good Andrey. Pray for him."

Andrei saved our family in 1943 with his help. He was gone for two weeks, and then he came to my mother five times without me, and each time he brought a huge amount of stuff and talked to my mother for hours.

The sixth time I came in the evening, I was at home. He came, said hello, came up to me and said again: “Forgive me!” I talked to him. He talked a lot about himself. He told me how he saw me in the forest and why they attacked me then, he told me everything. He told me how he leaned over me and heard me whispering something, was surprised, didn’t understand, and suddenly saw a Woman standing next to him, and She stopped him with an imperious gesture, and when he threw me to the ground a second time, then again this Woman with an imperious hand She shielded me with hers, and he became afraid. He decided to let me go, took me to the station, saw that I was not myself, and took me to Moscow. “My conscience for you constantly tormented me, did not give me peace, I realized that everything was for a reason. I thought a lot about that Woman. Who, what is She? Why did you stop me? I decided to go to you, ask for forgiveness, ask about Her. I couldn't suffer anymore. I came to you, it was difficult, I was ashamed to go, scared, but I came. I came in and saw the image of the Mother of God of Vladimir on the wall and immediately understood who this Woman was. He left you and began to learn everything that could be learned about the Mother of God. I learned everything I could. I became a believer and realized that this was a great and terrible phenomenon for me, and I had committed a serious sin. What happened had a very strong impact on me, and I felt deep guilt towards you. A guilt that cannot be redeemed."

Andrey told me a lot about himself.

My mother was a person of exceptional soul and faith, and even before Andrei came last time told me: “Maria! The Mother of God showed this man a great miracle, not for you, but for him. For you it was fear and horror, and you did not know why the Lord took violence away from you. You believed that prayer saved you, but the Mother of the Lord herself stopped him. Trust me, bad person such a phenomenon would not exist. The Mother of God will never leave Andrei, and you must forgive him.” Andrey also told his mother everything.

My sister Katerina was crazy about Andrei, and until my very last meeting with him, I had a feeling of disgust and even hatred towards him, and I tried not to eat the food that he brought... When I talked to him, I understood a lot, I looked looked at him differently and calmed down. I then approached Andrey and said: “Andrey! You have changed, you have become different. Forgive me that for a long time I could not overcome the feeling of hatred towards you,” and gave him her hand.

He began to say goodbye - he was leaving for a convalescent battalion, and then he was supposed to be sent to the front.

Mom took a small icon of the Mother of God with the inscription: “Save and preserve” from her cross chain, blessed Andrei with it, crossed him and, according to Russian custom, kissed him three times. He unbuttoned the collar of his tunic, took it off, and his mother sewed a little pattern for him somewhere. Katya, saying goodbye, impulsively hugged Andrei and kissed him on the cheek. He came up to me, bowed low and, as always, said: “Forgive me for the sake of God and the Mother of God, pray for me,” he approached the icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, venerated it several times, bowed to all of us and, without turning around, came out.

The door slammed, mom and Katya began to cry, and I turned off the light in the room, raised the blackout curtain and saw in the moonlight how he left the house, turned to our windows, crossed himself several times and walked away.

I never saw him again, only in 1952, I was already married, I received a letter from him at the old address, my mother gave me the letter. The letter was short, without a return address, but I saw from the postmark that it was sent from near Saratov.

“Thank you, thank you all. I know that I was terrible for you, but you did not throw me away, but in one of the most difficult moments you supported me with your forgiveness. Only the Mother of God was your helper and patroness. You owe your life to her and only her, and I owe even more to faith, which gives two lives - human and spiritual. She gave me faith and saved me on military roads. Save and preserve you, Mother of God. I am finally living as a Christian. Andrey".

This is the last we heard about him.

“To the chosen Voivode, victorious, as having been delivered from the evil ones, let us sing thanksgiving to Thy servants, the Mother of God.”

After getting rid of evils and disasters, it is most natural and pleasant to rejoice and give thanks. But do you know, brothers, over whom and in whose favor the victory was accomplished, for which we will now sing thanks to the elected Voivode? It was committed, as history tells, in favor of the Greeks and their capital city - Constantinople, which was suffering from a cruel siege - it was committed over the Kagan, the leader of the Scythians, among whom, in all likelihood, were our ancestors. Thus, we give thanks for a benefit alien to us - we celebrate our own defeat!

What does it mean? - What Christian faith and in this respect, as in many others, she changed the order of things and taught her to look at events differently: to regard the wisdom of the world as violence, and the violence of the cross as the only wisdom; to impute tears of repentance as a source of spiritual bliss, and worldly joys and laughter as evil and destruction; to value deprivation before wealth, to boast about suffering, to triumph in humiliation. If we had hitherto remained in the darkness of paganism, then the memory of the miraculous defeat of our ancestors under the walls of Constantinople would have been the subject of public sadness and lamentation; but, since we are brought out of this darkness by the grace of God into the wonderful light of Christianity, we remember it with our victors, we give thanks for our own defeat! And in doing so, we act completely justly; for in the face of our fleshly ancestors, darkened by the darkness of paganism, unbelief rushed against faith, wild ferocity against the civil order, greed for spoils against peaceful property. On the contrary, in the person of the inhabitants of Constantinople (who are also our ancestors by faith), through the sending down of miraculous help from above, they were rewarded with trust in God and prayer: such virtues by which we live and breathe, from which we expect temporal and eternal salvation.

The triumph of faith, wherever it is revealed, is the triumph of all believers; the reward of fiery prayer, no matter who it descends on, is the reward of all those who truly pray; the victory of Christianity, in whatever form it may be, is a victory common to all Christians. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that we are now celebrating, in some way, our own defeat. This is entirely in the spirit of our holy faith; for “the spirit of true Christianity consists in always triumphing in victory over oneself.” Let us reveal this thought in honor of our chosen Voivode, Who is the best leader and assistant in this internal battle.

Our holy faith, brothers, coming from the God of love and peace, is all filled with grace and generosity; but at the same time she brings with her cruel abuse. A Christian must not return evil for evil ( Rome. 12:17), “to love your very enemies” ( Matt. 5:44), pray for the very crucifiers ( OK. 23:34); but at the same time he must always be a warrior and a winner. Do you remember, asked our Lord and Savior Himself, “Do you remember that he came to bring peace to the earth? - no, I didn’t come to tell the world, but the sword" (Matt. 10:34). And in another place, inviting us to courage and fight in spiritual battle, He Himself says: dare, that is, stand and fight courageously, “for I have conquered the world” ! (In. 16:33). The Apostles of Christ also very often call for spiritual warfare, offer all kinds of weapons for this, give advice, encourage courage, point to the crowns prepared for the victors; Christian they have a warrior, from cradle to grave.

What kind of abuse is this that our holy faith brings with it? What is this victory that every Christian should strive for? This is a person’s fight with himself; this is victory over passions and flesh, over everything that is hostile to God and ourselves. A Christian must, first of all, overcome the world with its charms, temptations, power, deceit and contagious impurity. He must defeat the spirits of evil in high places, with their invisible and visible attacks. But the main battlefield for a Christian is his own heart. External enemies mean little to him if there is no rebellion within; attacks from outside are harmful only when there are traitors within the person himself. And all the strength and all the courage of a Christian should be directed against this domestic evil. Going against your favorite habits, against the demands of your flesh, against the desires of your own heart is often more difficult than going against the darkness of your enemies: but - you have to go!

He who does not wage this internal battle is a Christian by name alone. Only victory over ourselves makes us true Christians. Without this, Christianity and man remain alien to each other. Without this there is no and cannot be salvation!

To be completely convinced of this important truth, one has only to remember in what state man is now and why we were given our holy faith. – It was given for our salvation, in order to save each of us from those terrible evils that burden everyone. But what is the essence of these evils and disasters from which Christianity should free us? – Mainly that we are not our own, that we are in slavery, in captivity, in extreme oppression and poverty. Who is our enemy and oppressor? Sin, feelings and passions. They rule in us, everything else submits to them and suffers. The mind suffers, filled with lies, deceptions, exhausted in the service of vice; the will suffers, constantly moving in the wind of sensual desires and passions; freedom suffers, not having the strength to turn to the law and following blindly the feelings; The body itself suffers from unnatural pleasures, although the sin living in us most of all warms and nourishes it. After this, how can we be saved if not by fighting with ourselves, with what is in us that is hostile to ourselves? “And what else can our holy faith do but provide us with the means to emerge victorious from this battle?” It really is! Delve into the essence and composition of Christianity; and you will immediately see that everything in him is directed towards this necessary goal - to free man from the captivity of passions, from the slavery of feelings, from the humiliation of the spirit under the dominion of the flesh; and since the source and seat of this evil is in himself, in order to make him a winner over himself.

Therefore, the Christian himself, as we said, looks at many things completely differently than a natural person. What for the latter seems to be the greatest evil, for example, suffering, poverty, humiliation, because all this hurts his pride, for the first one seems and should seem good; for it frees him from internal slavery and returns him to freedom of spirit.

According to this holy law, we celebrate our present triumph, despite the fact that the event we remember is incompatible with national pride. It is truly incompatible with pride; but is perfectly compatible with love of God, with love of neighbor, and with pure love of ourselves. For in the person of the Greeks, delivered by the intercession of the Mother of God from the Scythian siege, faith, hope and prayer were awarded: and these are the very virtues in which our salvation lies. The rumor about the miraculous defeat of the soldiers under the walls of Constantinople, which spread among our ancient ancestors, undoubtedly contributed to the development in them of respect for the Christian faith, and predisposed them to abandon paganism, which then followed - first privately, in some individuals, and then among all the people, under Saint Vladimir. Therefore, our very faith is, in some way, the fruit of the defeat that our ancestors suffered from the elected Voivode.

Shouldn’t we, brothers, with great zeal now flow to the most pure image of this Voivode, Who, having delivered the Greeks from the evil ones, and evil brought upon our ancestors in order to bring good upon them over time ( Rome. 3:8) that we use today? But, thanking the Mother of God for the external victory over us, let us not forget to ask for the internal victory over us, being firmly convinced that in this final victory, over ourselves, lies the entire triumph of our faith, that our very salvation depends on it. Amen.

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Prayer to the chosen governor as the winner. Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos “Charred Voivode”

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