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The Virgin of the Sign *
The Mother of God of the Sign











Mother of God of the Sign, Olga Kirichenko

Novgorod icon of the
Mother of God of the Sign,
one of Russia's oldest
miracle working icons.
The icon of the Virgin of the Sign (or Mother of God of the Sign) is one of the most venerated icons of Russia. Its history is linked with the history of Novgorod, which in old Russia was the cultural and commercial center of the North of Russia and one of old Russia's first cities. The importance of Novgorod has certainly contributed to the fame of the icon. Similar to Constantinople, the city had made the icon its palladium, a sign of special protection by the Mother of God.
     Starting in the 12th century the icon was the source of several miracles, the first of which took place in Novgorod. In those days the icon was called "Znamenie", which in old Russian means "Apparition" or "Sign". Since the City of Novgorod had so much power and also had many vested interests in Northern Russia, many conflicts arose during its lifetime with its neighboors. One such conflict erupted in 1169. Prince Andrew Bogolioubski who left Kiev and took possession of Vladimir, arrived with his army at the walls of Novgorod. The besieged had no other defense than calling on the Mother of God for protection.
     Their bishop, Saint John of Novgorod, went to get the precious icon and placed it on the surrounding city walls. The enemy strengthened its attack with a downpour of arrows onto the city walls. One of them hit the icon of the Mother of God. Immediately, the Virgin turned her view away from the enemy and towards the city. With it she gave a "sign" of mercy to the defenders. When the bishop looked towards the icon and saw tears well from the eyes of the Virgin, he wiped off her tears with an end of his priestly vestment. At that very moment a cloud covered the attackers who, blinded from fear, started to kill their own troups. The Novgorodians, encouraged by this miraculous sign, launched an attack outside their walls and chased the enemy far from their city.

Virgin Orans
(Virgin of the Sign)
Elisabeth Coveliers osb
1980

Virgin Orans
(Virgin of the Sign)
The Great Panagia of Yaroslavl, 13th c.
     The history of Novgorod has known many other moments where the city was saved from danger, by the precious icon ; including a terrible fire in 1566 and an attack by the Swedish in 1611. Thus the icon reflects the political structure of the Middle Ages. It also reflects a strong and audacious faith, but a faith that was put to the test throughout history. Nonetheless, the tsar of Moscow finally took the city and reduced it to ruins, but the icons of the Virgin of Novgorod, of the Virgin of the Sign, multiplied themselves all over Russia and worked other miracles on their turn.
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     * The icon of the Virgin of the Sign is related to the icon of the Virgin Orans. Click the images of the Virgin Orans, to the left and to the right, they have many links you can explore...

Bibl.: Egon Sendler S.J., Les icônes byzantines de la Mère de Dieu, Desclée de Brouwer, Paris, 1992, pp. 123-126. Translation from French by Webmaster.

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The Mother of God of the Sign *

Mother of God of the Sign
Olga Kirichenko
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right click image
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In her wonderful icon of the Mother of God of the Sign (above), Olga Kirichenko shows us the Virgin Mother with the face of the young woman she was when she gave birth.

The Virgin's eyes seem to express everything we know about her : her Merciful Tenderness and Goodness, her Purity and Holiness, and her boundless Motherly Love. The prayer to the right
further underscores this.
Prayer of consecration to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary (a)

O most pure heart of Mary ,
          full of goodness,
          show your love towards us.
Let the flame of your heart,
          O Mary,
          descend on all people.
We love you immensely.
Impress on our hearts true love
          so that we long for you.
O Mary, gentle and
          humble of heart,
          remember us
          when we sin.
You know that all people sin.
Grant, that through your most pure, and
          motherly heart, we may be healed
          from every spiritual sickness.
Grant that we may always experience
          the goodness of
          your motherly heart ,
And that through the flame of your
          heart, we may be converted.
Amen.
-------------------
(a) Prayer dedicated by Our Lady
          to Jelena Vasilij, in Medjugorje, (b)
          Bosnia-Hercegovina,
          28th November, 1983. 		Prière de consécration au
Cœur Immaculé de Marie (a)

Ô Cœur Immaculé de Marie,
          débordant de bonté,
          montre-nous ton amour.
Que l'amour de ton cœur enflammé,
          ô Marie,
          se répande sur tous les humains.
Nous t'aimons immensément.
Imprime en notre cœur un véritable
          amour désireux de toi.
Ô Marie, modèle de douceur
          et d'humilité,
          souviens-toi de nous quand
          nous sommes dans le péché.
Tu le sais, nous sommes tous pécheurs.
Par ton cœur de mère pur et saint,
          guéris-nous de tous les maux
          qui affectent l'âme.
Rends-nous capables de
          toujours voir la bonté de
          ton cœur maternel,
Pour qu'ainsi, nous nous convertissions,
          grâce à l'ardeur de ton cœur.
Amen.
-------------------
(a) Prière donnée par la Sainte Vierge
          à Jelena Vasilij, à Medjugorje,
          Bosnie-Hercégovine,
          le 28 novembre 1983.
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The Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign * - Typical Examples


Mother of God of the Sign
Russian icon
15th or 16th c.
Mother of God of the Sign
Russian icon
15th or 16th c.
Mother of God of the Sign
Russian, 20th c.
Courtesy / Copyright
Orthodoxworld.ru
The Wonderworking
Kursk Root Icon of
Our Lady of the Sign
Links:

The history of eight wonderworking icons, including that of the icon of the Mother of God of the Sign (Znamenny) http://www.stots.edu/article.php?id=34

The Mother of God of the Sign "If wombs had windows, there would be no more abortion", by Frederica Mathewes-Green. The Dick Staub Interview: Why Frederica Mathewes-Green loves icons.


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