The Mother of God has always been especially revered on the Russian land. They turned to her in hours of great sorrow and great joy. Its icons were used to bless both the soldiers going to battle and the newlyweds before the wedding. It is not surprising that there are many Miraculous icons of the Mother of God in Russia. One of these icons is the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, which is also called the "Hodegetria".
The Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, called the "Hodegetria", is considered one of the most revered icons of the Mother of God in Russia. The exact time of its writing is unknown. According to one of the legends, the icon of Hodegetria was painted by the Evangelist Luke, while the Virgin Mary was still alive.
There are several versions of why this icon was called "Hodegetria". One of the versions says that the icon of the Mother of God, painted by the evangelist Luke, was for a long time in the Odigon monastery (the monastery of the Guides). Sailors going on a long voyage prayed to the icon of the Mother of God for the granting of blessings and parting words for the journey.
The second version tells that one day the Virgin Mary appeared to two mendicant blind men and brought them to Her icon in the Blachernae temple, where the miraculous healing of these people took place. According to the third version, it was this image that the Greek emperors took with them on all military campaigns, so that be under the protection of the Virgin.
The icon of Hodegetria came to Russia thanks to the Greek emperor Constantine Porfirorodny. With her, he blessed his daughter Anna on the road, when the princess went to Russia to unite in marriage with the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Yaroslavovich. The emperor's grandson, Vladimir Monomakh presented this icon as a gift to Smolensk. Since then, the Hodegetria icon has been in the Smolensk Cathedral Church. Hence the second name of the icon - Smolensk.
Thanks to the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, Smolensk was saved from the invasion of the Tatars. She also blessed the soldiers who participated in the Battle of Borodino in 1812. After Borodino, the Hodegetria icon went to Yaroslavl, where it stayed until the end of the war. From Yaroslavl, the image of the Mother of God was returned to Smolensk, where it remained until 1940. What happened to the icon further is unknown.
The day of celebration of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God is August 10. It was on this day in 1526 that Smolensk was returned to Russia from under Lithuanian rule.
In 2012, celebrations in honor of the icon began on 28 July. On this day, a religious procession came out of Smolensk, which transferred the keeper of the Smolensk land to Vyazma. The procession lasted 8 days. On August 9, 2012, a theatrical performance "The Tale of the Intercessor of the Russian Land" took place, in which it was told about the role of the Hodegetria icon in the Patriotic War of 1812.
On August 10, the Divine Liturgy dedicated to the celebration of the day of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God was held in the Holy Dormition Cathedral. Throughout the entire period of the celebration, an exhibition of decorative and applied arts was held on the Cathedral Hill near the Cathedral.
