High in the rocky gorges of the Troodos, in the west of the island of Cyprus, is the richest monastery of Kykkos. Real miracles happen there. The history of the abbey is filled with incredible incidents. In the holy place there is a world legend - the Kikk Icon of the Mother of God.
Honoring the Divine Kikk image is arranged on December 26 (January 8, according to a new style). The image of the Heavenly Queen is carefully preserved in the imperial monastery built in her honor.
According to ancient tradition, the Kikk Icon of the Mother of God was created by the Apostle Luke during the earthly existence of the Virgin Mary. She personally blessed this shrine.
In the world of Christianity, there are three types of images of the Virgin: "Eleusa" ("Gracious"), "Oranta" ("Prayer") and "Hodegetria" ("Guiding the path").
The Kykkian legendary icon of the Mother of God, kept in Cyprus, belongs to the “Eleusa”. The difference is that the faces of the saints on the image are in contact. This symbolizes the boundless love for all living things that are on earth.
It is here, in the Kykkos Monastery in Cyprus, that the miraculous icon is kept.
History
Before the Merciful shrine found itself in the rocks of Kykkos, it was owned by the Christian community in Egypt (the first in the lands of the pharaohs). The holy image was transferred there by the Apostle Luke. After the beginning of Christian persecution (980), the image of the Mother of God was transported to Byzantium (Constantinople) and carefully preserved until the reign of Alexy Komnenos (XII century).
Path of the shrine to Cyprus
The governor of Byzantium in Cyprus, Manuel Vutomis, who was reputed to be a tough and heartless person, hunted in the dense forests of Troodos. He lagged behind his escorts and got lost in the forest thicket. Wandering along the mountain paths, he came across the hermit monk Isaiah. The elder was so busy with his prayers that he did not notice Manuel Vutomis approaching and did not greet him.
The angry governor beat the elder Isaiah and soon found his way back to his retinue. After some time, he was overcome by a strange ailment - he was weakening, withering every minute.
When Manuel Vutomis was already on his deathbed, he called a priest to confess. Speaking about his sins, Manuil Vutomis recalled the old man he had beaten. The clearer mind prompted the governor that his strange illness was a punishment for insulting the monk. The ruler urgently sent people to search for the monk Isaiah to apologize to him.
divine providence
Monk Isaiah at that time read prayers next to a sprawling oak. Suddenly, during the divine service, a bird of divine beauty flew to the tree and chirped, sitting on the branches:
Kykkos rock, Kykkos mountain. The Monastery will be erected in the Kiksky gorge. The Heavenly Virgin will enter there and never leave again.”
At the same moment, the elder had a vision that this beautiful bird was the messenger of God, and he, the servant of Isaiah, had a sacred mission to create a monastery of the Kykkos Icon of the Mother of God in the rocks of Troodos, which must be transported to Cyprus, taken from Byzantium.
Difficulties of an old man
By this moment, the retinue of the governor arrived in time for the monk and delivered Isaiah to the chambers of Manuel Vutomis. He healed Vutomis with the power of his prayer. And then he made a request. The monk wanted the Merciful Icon to be brought from Byzantium to the island. Manuel Vutomis hurried to his emperor Alexius with a petition. On the eve of Alexy Komnenos, his adored daughter fell seriously ill. Her illness was exactly the same as that of Manuil Vutomis.
Manuel Vutomis told his emperor about the incident with him and advised him to call Isaiah to the palace so that he would heal the imperial child with prayers.
Isaiah, who immediately arrived at the royal temple, asked for the image of the Mother of God in return for the recovery of his daughter Alexy. After his appeal to God, the heiress of Alexis Komnenos began to recover.
But Alexy Komnin was sorry to say goodbye to his beloved image. He made a copy of it and presented both faces before Isaiah, offering to guess which of the images is Merciful. Isaiah asked the Lord for help in a difficult choice. Immediately after the prayer, a bee flew into the palace and sat on the original holy face, marking it.
Since then, the bee has become the hallmark of the hegumen of the Kikk monastery.
Even after the miraculous sign from above, Alexy Komnenos did not want to give the Mother of God, he hesitated to send her to the monastery, which should be created in Cyprus. In a dream, the Mother of God herself came to him with a command to fulfill the promise. Alexy Komnenos immediately prepared a rich vessel and sent the sacred image to the island with honors.
In the center of the gilded iconostasis is a shrine under a red velvet cover, hidden from prying eyes. The icon came to Cyprus
The merciful icon was greeted by the inhabitants of the island with great happiness. Up to the Kikk peaks themselves, the shrine was accompanied by a religious procession. Not only Christians honored the image. Nature also worked wonders. Trees bowed before the sacred face and pearl shells rose from the depths of the sea.
And now on the mountains of Tirillia, on the way to the monastery, there are bowed trees - a unique evidence of the reverence of nature for the divine.
At the personal expense of Manuil Vutomis, a monastery was erected on the Kikk peak in honor of the coming Mother of God. Near the monastery there is a bell tower built in 1882. Tsarist Russia presented the monastery with a huge bell, weighing more than a ton, with a dedicatory inscription.
Neither the Arabian tribes, nor the Crusaders who plundered Byzantium, nor the Ottomans could denigrate the legendary monastery. The monastery was subjected to terrible fires many times, each time the monastery burned to the ground. But the Merciful Icon remained untouched.
In 1750, during the restoration of the monastery after a strong fire, the arch of the almost completed temple collapsed on the builders. But all the workers remained alive - they were protected by the Holy Mother of God. Miracles began with the appearance of the Virgin Mary to the monks.
Many images were written from her face, which are now stored in Georgia, Russia, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Egypt and Greece. In 1577 the face was covered with a gilded silver phelonion. The riza was renewed in 1976. The iconostasis was equipped in the church in the middle of the 18th century. The merciful icon is located in its central part.
Miracles of the holy image
The images of the Infant and the Mother of God are hidden under a lining that follows the outline of the image (draw). The salary itself is securely covered with a precious, heavy, velvet veil. The face of the Mother of God is not visible to anyone and never opens. This gives rise to a lot of legends and rumors:
- It is believed that this was the command of the Emperor Alexius Komnenos.
- The merciful icon carries such a powerful energy that it can blind.
- The shrine is too old and inspires great respect, its face was hidden for storage.
Our Lady of Kykkos is a unique phenomenon. After all, all icons like her have open faces of the Infant and Mary. Only once a year does she leave the monastery and open her face. The monks take the shrine to the top of the nearby Mount Throne and leave it there for a prayer service. And even at this time they have no right to look at the images.
Some elders say that the richly decorated canopy can rise a little by itself in front of some pilgrims. This is regarded as a special grace sent down by the Mother of God on these people.
There is a legend that the Alexandrian Patriarch Gerasim in 1670 dared to open the veil to look at the divine faces. For serious blasphemy, he became blind and with tears he asked day and night for forgiveness from the Almighty.
To the great regret of the visitors of the monastery, the icon cannot be seen - it is always hidden under a veil. But if one day you get to Cyprus, to the Kykk monastery, then you can safely ask the miraculous shrine for help. She will always help. How does a shrine help?
The people idolize the Mother of God. There are many songs of praise in her honor. The merciful icon is the most sacred thing on the island. The ancient monastery chronicle testifies to the numerous miracles that originate from the Kikk Icon of the Mother of God, various miracles occur in our days.
Pilgrims, marching to the Holy Land, without fail visited Cyprus to honor the legendary shrine. And today a huge number of believers of different religions from all over the world come to the monastery.
Her divine power helps to heal not only Christians, but also non-Christians. The Mother of God listens to everyone who comes to her in sorrow, sorrow and ailments. They don't call her "The Merciful" for nothing. Entering the monastery, you can see numerous offerings, evidence of the miraculous power of the Virgin.
- A piece of the tongue of a mystical swordfish. According to legend, this creature in 1720 destroyed a ship with pilgrims, and it began to sink. The Mother of God helped everyone get out and be saved.
- One pagan wanted to destroy and desecrate the image, he paid with his hand (it withered). Evidence of this (a cast of the defiler's hand) is located next to the image.
- It was in the power of the Holy Face to call for rain at the time of droughts, the Kikk Mother of God helps to conceive barren women, heal the sick (one mute was cured here, the other, who was dying, came to life).
- The islanders asked the monks to bring the shrine to the villages in order to stop epidemics, natural disasters, and misfortunes. Only one presence of the shrine was enough to stop all the troubles.
The merciful icon bestows good on everyone who comes to the Mother of God, what the one who asks needs, helps to heal from infertility, headaches, and bleeding. She fulfills requests to end family quarrels, adversity, lack of money. Her miraculous power is sung in numerous verses.
Poetic works about Our Lady of Kykkos were published many times in separate collections published for the general public. And to this day, a lot of believers flock to the shrine with requests and prayers. The Merciful Mother of God of Kykkos helps everyone!
