Icon "The Wisdom of God Sophia": what do they pray for? Icon of Sophia the Wisdom of God Icon of Sophia the Wisdom of God Kiev

The Icon of Sophia, the Wisdom of God, occupies a special place in the Russian Orthodox Church. There are many lists depicting Sophia, the Wisdom of God, for example, in Kiev, Novgorod, Vologda, Tobolsk, Moscow, in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and other places, but they all boil down mainly to two types: Kiev and Novgorod.

This image first appeared in Byzantium. It was to him that the Justinian Church of Sophia the Wisdom of God in Constantinople was dedicated.

All lists with the image of Sophia, the Wisdom of God, depict the Mother of God and the Hypostatic Wisdom incarnate from Her - the Son of God, expressing one main idea. The Incarnation of the Son of God is inseparable from the thought of the Mother of God, who is called the House of Divine Wisdom, the true Temple of the Living God on earth. This served as one of the grounds for mechanically transferring the content and symbolism of Sophia of the Wisdom of God to the image of the Virgin Mary.

By Wisdom, or Sophia, is meant the Son of God based on chapter IX of the book of Proverbs of Solomon, which says: “ " These words contain an indication of Christ, the Son of God, Who in the Apostolic Epistles is called God’s power and “God’s Wisdom”; and the word “house” contains an indication of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who served as the incarnation of the Son of God. Based on these words, the image of the icons of St. Sophia, the Wisdom of God, is built.

“Sophia, the Wisdom of God” (Kiev)

One of the most ancient lists of icons is the Kiev icon “Sophia the Wisdom of God,” located in Kyiv, in the St. Sophia Cathedral.

This icon, borrowed from the Church of Justinian in Byzantium, depicts the union of the Heavenly and earthly Churches through the incarnation of the Son of God - the Wisdom of God. It depicts a house or temple and in it the Mother of God standing in a tunic, with a veil on her head, under a canopy supported by seven pillars. Her arms and hands are spread out, and Her feet are firmly planted on the crescent moon. On the breasts of the Mother of God rests the Eternal Child, blessing with his right hand and holding an orb in his left. On the cornice of the canopy are inscribed the words of the book of Proverbs: “ Wisdom built for herself a house and established seven pillars" Above the canopy in the middle is depicted the Holy Spirit, surrounded by rays, and a little higher, also surrounded by radiance, God the Father, having an orb in his left hand and blessing with his right; From His mouth come the words: “ I affirmed Her feet" On both sides of the image of God the Father and the Holy Spirit are seven archangels with outstretched wings and with signs of their service in their hands:

Michael has a flaming sword;
Uriel has a lightning bolt pointing downward;
Raphael has alabaster (an alabaster vessel for storing incense, in this case, myrrh);
Gabriel has a lily flower;
Selaphiel has a rosary;
Jehudiel has a royal crown;
Barachiel has flowers, and he himself is located on a white board.

Under a cloud with a crescent moon, which serves as the foot of the Mother of God, an ambo (raise in front of the iconostasis) is depicted, which includes seven steps with inscriptions that carry the deepest meaning for every believer:

Purity (of thoughts);
Glory;
Nobility;
Humility before the Lord;
Love;
Hope;
Faith.

The entire icon is supplemented with the inscription “ Wisdom create for yourself a house and establish seven pillars».

The main purpose of the image is to remind all Christians for what purpose the Savior came to people and from whom He was born.

On both sides of the seven steps are the biblical prophets and forefathers:

Moses with the tablets on which are inscribed the words: “ Rejoice, tablet of God, on it the word of God was written with the finger of the Father»;
Aaron with the rod (Moses' brother, the first Jewish high priest);
King David with the Ark of the Covenant;
Prophet Isaiah (on his charter, which hangs from his left shoulder, the inscription is visible: “ Behold the Virgin in her womb will receive and give birth to a Son»);
prophet Jeremiah with a scroll;
the prophet Ezekiel with the gates closed;
Prophet Daniel with a stone in his hands.

The seven steps of the ambo are established on seven pillars, on which there are images taken from the Apocalypse and their explanations:

on the first pillar there are 7 combs with the inscription: “gift of advice”;
on the second there is a seven-branched candlestick with the inscription: “gift of reason”;
on the third there is a book with 7 hanging seals and the inscription: “gift of wisdom.”
on the left side on the first outer pillar there are 7 trumpets and the inscription: “gift of the fortress”;
on the second - the right hand with 7 stars and the inscription: “gift of knowledge”;
on the third - 7 smoking censers and the inscription: “gift of piety”;
on the fourth and last pillar there are 7 streams of lightning with the inscription: “the gift of the fear of God.”

Thus, in this icon, with the exception of the Mother of God and St. Trinity, all persons and things are adapted to the septenary number and have a symbolic meaning. This is the image of the Kyiv Icon of Sophia - the Wisdom of God.

“Sophia, the Wisdom of God” (Novgorod)

Another image, similar to the Kyiv one, is located in Novgorod in the St. Sophia Cathedral and has its own differences. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that the Mother of God and John the Baptist pray on it, standing before the Savior. Therefore, the type of Novgorod edition is defined as Deesis (Greek word " Deesis" means prayer; this is the name of the icons depicting the Savior, and in front of him the Mother of God and John the Baptist in a prayer position).

Icon of Sophia, the Wisdom of God (Novgorod)

This icon depicts the Lord Almighty in royal clothing, with fiery wings on a fiery throne established on seven pillars. Around the Almighty there is a blue sky speckled with stars. On the sides are depicted the Mother of God and John the Baptist as the closest witnesses to the incarnation of the Word of God. At the top is the Savior, raising his hand in a blessing gesture. Above this is again depicted a blue starry sky and here on a golden throne lies the Gospel, before which six angels (three on each side) kneel.

The Novgorod Icon of Sophia is considered miraculous. According to all those praying in front of the icon “Sophia the Wisdom of God,” the Blessed Mary does not leave a single request unattended; each one receives an answer in the form of a sign, an event, or simply a resolution to the situation. The surviving historical news says that from this icon in 1542 one woman who suffered from an eye disease received healing.

Days of veneration:

“Sofia – the Wisdom of God” (Novgorod)– August 15/28;
“Sofia – the Wisdom of God” (Kiev)– September 8/21.

All images of Sophia - the Wisdom of God - express the thought of the Mother of God, who served as an instrument for the embodiment of the Hypostatic Wisdom - the Son of God. For this reason, the celebration of the icon of Sophia is celebrated by the Orthodox Church on the Days of the Theotokos and mainly on the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, as in Kiev, or on the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as in Novgorod, Vologda, Tobolsk, Moscow and other places where there are icons of Sophia - the Wisdom of God .

Troparion, tone 1: Eternal Wisdom, Christ our God! / With Your divine gaze you bowed the Heavens, / You deigned to dwell in the womb of the Pure Maiden, / Having destroyed the mediastinum of enmity, / You sanctified our nature / and You opened Your Kingdom to us; / for this sake of You, our Creator and Savior, / and who gave birth to You, / who served the mystery of our salvation, the Pure Virgin, we Orthodoxy magnify.

Icons in the Orthodox world have great significance and a history that goes back to the deep past. The Icon of the Mother of God “Sophia - the Wisdom of God” is miraculous and is especially revered among Christians.

The first icon of the Mother of God “Sophia - the Wisdom of God” appeared in the fifteenth century in Novgorod, while the first temple consecrated in her honor was built in 989. In the Orthodox world there are two icons, one of which is called Novgorod, and the second Kyiv.

History of the icon

The miraculous icon is of great importance in the Orthodox world and is an exact copy of a Greek original from a church in the city of Constantinople. The holy image became famous for many miraculous manifestations, including the power of healing. According to surviving legends from the Novgorod chronicle, the icon healed a woman suffering from an eye disease. She humbly prayed to the Mother of God to gain health, and found it by believing in the Heavenly power of the Mother of God.

Where is the miraculous image located?

This icon can be found in many hamas and churches throughout Russia. In Moscow, Novgorod, St. Petersburg and other cities and villages. This image became widespread back in the 15th century, when a copy of the original was made. This icon became widespread both for the significance of the image present on it and for its miraculous abilities to heal, support and help all Orthodox Christians who turn to it.

Description of the icon

The image of the Kyiv Icon depicts the Mother of God with the incarnate Son of God, who is called Wisdom or Sophia. It is named after the parable of Solomon, in which he said: “Wisdom created for herself a House and established seven pillars”. This is a direct indication of the fulfillment of Divine prophecy, in which He is incarnated in the womb of the Virgin Mary and comes into the world of people. The Mother of God is on a dais in the temple, to which seven steps lead with written prophecies from the Apocalypse. The Eternal Child is depicted with his right hand raised in a gesture of blessing, and in his left hand there is an orb. God is located on top of the Mother of God. On both sides are archangels with symbols of their divine service. The whole picture rearranges the greatness of the prophecies of the Lord and his appearance, foreshadowing changes in the Orthodox world. A skillful icon is painted according to the canons and brings spiritual awe to everyone who venerates it.

The Novgorod icon is different from its sister. It depicts the Savior, in front of whom are the Mother of God and John the Baptist. Both offer prayers to the Lord. The Savior has skillfully painted royal robes, and fiery wings are located behind his back. The Lord sits on the throne, which is supported by seven pillars of eternal wisdom.

How does a miraculous image help?

Anyone can pray in front of the icon whenever the soul requires it, and at any time. The clergy call on every Orthodox Christian to light a lamp or candle in front of the icon during home prayers, a symbol of the inextinguishable fire of true faith and the triumph of Orthodoxy. Prayers in front of the image can pacify raging emotions, prevent quarrels and conflicts between people, unite their thoughts and guide people on the true path, in which there is no place for evil and aggression.

Also, people suffering from various ailments resort to prayers in front of the image in the hope of healing, ask the Mother of God and the Savior for protection and protection from the negativity of the outside world, repent of what they have done and humbly ask for forgiveness of sins. Also, prayers in front of the image help people make the right and important decision if they find it difficult to stand at a fork in the road and don’t know what to do to achieve well-being and happiness.

You can offer prayers not only for yourself, but also for your relatives, as well as for all people living on earth. Words coming from the heart help heal spiritual wounds, fight the evil of temptation and other sins that try to block the path to the Lord for Orthodox Christians.

Prayers before the miraculous image

“The majestic and wise Mother of God, protector and patroness of the entire human race. Do not leave us, sinners, without divine protection and patronage. Grant us wisdom not to follow the shaky path that leads us into the abyss of depravity. Calm our souls that are in confusion. Do not let us, called Sophia, succumb to the temptations of the devil, but establish in our hearts God’s Will, in which You have established yourself with joy and humility, recognizing the Great Power and Grace of God. Amen".

“We magnify You, Eternal One, filled with Wisdom. You, who have let the Lord into your soul and into your womb, be glorified throughout the ages! We offer prayers to You with humility and ask You for protection, protection and healing of our souls and bodies walking on the mortal earth. As we all will come before the eyes of the Lord, let us answer for our sins. With repentance, we ask you to forgive us all our sins, committed voluntarily and involuntarily. Amen".

Dates of celebration of the icon

September 21 (8) marks the date of the celebration of the Kyiv Icon of the Mother of God. August 28 (15) marks the date of the celebration of the Novgorod Icon.

Righteous faith and sincere prayers will help everyone get rid of heavy thoughts and confusion. On the website you will find Orthodoxy">descriptions of other icons of the Mother of God that will help you solve pressing problems, guide you on the true path and become guides to the Christian world, where there is no place for anger and malice. We wish you happiness, and do not forget to press the buttons and

Memory Icon of Sophia, the Wisdom of God (Kyiv) takes place in the Orthodox Church on September 21 according to the new style.
This iconographic image of Sophia, the Wisdom of God, has its own distinctive features and is widely revered among believers. The holy image depicts the Most Holy Theotokos with Her Divine Son. Sophia or the Wisdom of God in the naming of the icon designates the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is named by these words in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The wise King Solomon in his Proverbs uttered the following words: “Wisdom created for herself a House and established seven pillars” (9: 1). The temple of God and the habitat of the conceived Savior was the womb of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is why the Mother of God is called the House of God. In the apostolic epistles, when speaking about the Savior, He was also called in one place the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians, 30) of Christ. These words contain an indication of Christ, the Son of God, Who in the apostolic epistles is called “the Wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1 , thirty).
The iconographic composition itself is evidence of a fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. On the icon we can see the temple in which the Most Pure Virgin Mary is located. She is wearing a tunic, and the head of the Mother of God is covered with a special veil. The Most Holy Theotokos stands under a canopy that rests on seven pillars. The Lady holds her hands directed in different directions, with her palms turned towards the worshipers. The feet of the Mother of God rest on the crescent moon. In the hands of the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted the Infant Christ, who offers a blessing with his right hand and holds an orb in his left hand. On the cornice of the canopy, under which the Most Pure Virgin stands, are written the words from the Book of Proverbs of Solomon: “Wisdom created for herself a house and established seven pillars.” Above the canopy you can see a non-canonical image of the Holy Spirit and God the Father in the form of an old man, from whose mouth come the words: “I established Her feet.” On both sides of the Mother of God stand seven Archangels of God, whose wings are spread. Each of the Heavenly servants has their distinctive signs in their hands: Archangel Michael holds a flaming sword in his hands, Archangel Uriel has a downward-pointing lightning in his hands. Archangel Raphael is distinguished by the fact that he carries with him an alabaster vessel with fragrant myrrh. The above listed archangels are depicted on the right side of the Most Holy Theotokos and Her Divine Son.
On the left side stands the Archangel Gabriel, in whose hands is a lily flower. According to Church Tradition, it was with this flower, symbolizing the purity and immaculateness of the Most Holy Theotokos, that Archangel Gabriel greeted the Blessed Virgin when he told Her the joyful news of the incarnation of the Son of God from Her. Next comes Archangel Selaphiel, in whose hands are a rosary, denoting a special prayer for the human race. Archangel Jehudiel is depicted with a royal crown in his hands, and Archangel Barachiel holds flowers on a white piece of cloth.
The foot of the Mother of God is a cloud and a crescent moon, and under them there is an ambo, to which seven steps lead. On this staircase stand seven Old Testament righteous men, who symbolize the Church of Christ on earth.
Each step of the pulpit has its own special inscription, which denotes one of the main Christian virtues, the fulfillment of which leads to the Kingdom of Heaven: faith, hope, love, purity, humility, goodness, glory. The seven pillars depicted on this icon also have their own designs associated with the text of the Revelation of St. John the Theologian.

Troparion, tone 1:
Eternal Wisdom, Christ our God, / bowed the Heavens with His divine gaze, / you deigned to dwell in the womb of the Pure Maiden, / destroying the mediastinum of enmity, / you sanctified our nature / and you opened Your Kingdom to us; / for this sake of You, our Creator and Savior ,/ and who gave birth to Thee,/ who served the mystery of our salvation as the Pure Virgin, we orthodoxly magnify.

Kontakion, tone 4:
We are the forerunner, Orthodox people, / to the wisdom of God / and we see the miraculous icon of the Most Pure Mother of God, / And after the appearance we call Sophia, the Wisdom of God, / before the temple was animated by the Only Begotten Son and the Word of God. / This then shines like a ray of light in His most holy temple / and hearts ours rejoices those who come with faith / and look with fear and reverence at this most pure icon, / thinking in our hearts, / as truly the Wisdom of God is the village / and His sacraments, / for the hope of the faithful / we see Her fiery imagination / and we worship , as to Her true and immaculate virginity / at Christmas and after Christmas again; / from the Innocent came the Divine Fire, / scorching corruptible passions / and enlightening our souls and creating pure ones, / with whom the Father created the eyelids, / the same and Wisdom, the Word and The power will be called, / the radiance of glory and the Image of the Father Hypostasis. / And again we pray / and, falling down, we kiss the most venerable icon of the Wisdom of God to the Mother / and we cry loudly: / O Merciful Lady, / save Thy servants from the violence of the devil, / from the presence of foreigners and internecine warfare, / for You are the Giver and Protectress of all good things / to those who flow to You with faith and ask for great mercy.

Magnification:
We magnify You, / Most Holy Virgin / God-chosen Youth, / and honor Your holy image, / through which you bring healing / to all who come with faith.

Prayer:
Incomprehensible and All-sung by the Wisdom of God, Sophia the Preeminent, virgin souls, that is, the Only Begotten Son, the Word of God, accept this prayer song from our unworthy and vile lips. Even if the essence is written: the song is not beautiful in the mouths of sinners, but the thief was saved by one word, the publican was justified with a sigh, and the Canaanite daughter was healed with a mother’s petition, because You, O Lord, are Good and Lover of mankind, enlightening those who come into the world, and forgiving the sins of sinners, and with reason You fill the foolish, and make wise, and the souls that thirst for good words with Your teaching, like the Samaritan woman, you water with living water, you make the fornicator chaste, you open paradise to the thief, for You are the Giver of all good things, and the Giver of understanding, and the Guardian of the life, O Christ our God, and We send You glory and praise, honor and thanksgiving and glorification and worship with Your Beginning Father, and with Your Most Holy, and Good, and Life-Giving Spirit, and with Your Most Holy and Immaculate Matter, Our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, now and ever , and forever and ever. Amen.

Mother Sva and Sophia, Wisdom of God (article), © Alena Selivanova, January 2016

Who is this – Sophia, the Wisdom of God? Why was the main temple of Constantinople dedicated to Her? Why were the first Christian churches in Rus' officially, that is, built in the 11th century in Novgorod, Kyiv, Polotsk, dedicated specifically to Sofia?

“The mystery is the Wisdom of God, and because, although it is preached everywhere, it is not comprehended by those without a sound mind, and is not revealed only with the help of wisdom, but only by the Holy Spirit, as far as we can contain it,” - John Chrysostom.

Those without a sound mind cannot comprehend wisdom, says Chrysostom. What is this - a sound mind? Our contemporaries will not find it difficult to answer this question, meaning for the most part ordinary pragmatism by common sense. But it is unlikely that the theologian who lived in the 4th century after the Nativity of Christ had it in mind. (And pragmatism still has nothing to do with health).

A sound mind - as theologians of the first centuries understood it - is a whole mind, not divided, which has overcome the world illusion of duality. It is he who becomes a participant in the integral view of God. The ancient book of the Novgorod Magi – Velesov – teaches the same thing: “Everything created cannot enter a dissolved mind!” (Glorification of the Great Triglav, tablet 11a).

The disintegrated mind, through its ignorance, divides the One into many incoherent fragments. And therefore he himself becomes disjointed, unable to contain the whole. The owner of such a mind believes, for example, in the existence of individual particular cases, the forces of nature acting on their own and, in the end, many individual gods... There has never been paganism in Rus', but there has always been and is Vedism! This is the merit of our primordial Tradition, which originates from Hyperborea - the legendary Polar Kingdom. The Russian Northern Tradition teaches: gods are not something in themselves, existing separately and outside of God - they are God Himself in His address to creation. Orthodox Rus' (the Rule was glorified) has known this from time immemorial. Tablet 11b of the Book of Veles speaks of the “Almighty” - the Great Triglav, God - and immediately after that about the “universal triglavs,” that is, the gods. This is exactly what the creative energies were called in Rus' - pribogi, so that no one would be tempted to think of them as somehow separate.

But if among us “…delusional people appear who begin to count the gods, thereby dividing Svarga. They will be rejected by Rod as atheists. Are Vyshen, Svarog and others really a multitude? After all, God is both one and multiple. And let no one divide that multitude, and let no one say that we have many gods,” - Veles Book, tablet 30.

One of the most famous passages in the Bible telling about Wisdom (Proverbs 8:22-31): “The Lord had me as the beginning of His way before the earth was. I was born when there were no deeps yet, when there were no springs abundant with water. I was born before the mountains were erected, before the hills, when He had not yet created either the earth, or the fields, or the initial specks of dust of the universe. When He prepared heaven, I was there. When He drew a circular line across the face of the deep, when He established the clouds at the top, when He strengthened the sources of the deep, when He gave the sea a charter so that the waters would not cross its borders, when He laid the foundations of the earth: then I was an artist with Him, and I was a joy every day, having fun before His face all the time, rejoicing in His earthly circle, and my joy was with the sons of men.”

What are we talking about here if not the very Beginning of creation?

The entire Creation - the visible and invisible world - unfolds from the Primordial Point. The Word of God creates worlds. “Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:3).

Sophia The Wisdom of God is the divine energy emanating from the incomprehensible nature of the Threefold God. The true light that enlightens every person who comes into the world(John 1:9-10). Through wisdom God creates everything.

The thought of the incarnation of the Son of God is inseparable from the thought of the Mother of God, who is called the House of Divine Wisdom, the true Temple of the Living God on earth.

On the Novgorod icon “Sophia the Wisdom of God” (Fiery), the central figure of Sophia with a fiery face and wings, in red and gold royal robes and a crown, with a scepter and scroll in her hands, sitting on a throne, is the personification of both the Divine creative power and pure Divine Virginity, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit.

O. Sergius Bulgakov in “The Never-Evening Light” writes about Sophia as a boundary, “which is between God and the world, the Creator and the creature, itself is neither one nor the other, but something completely special, simultaneously connecting and separating both.” .

The angelic image of Sophia is overshadowed from above by Jesus Christ. One of the most famous majestic names of the Son of God is the Sun of Truth. In the minds of the first Christians, the image of the hypostatic Wisdom - Jesus Christ - was never separated from His creatures, visible evidence of His good action, and from ideas about the manifold and inexplicable manifestations of Divine Providence in the world - “the ways of the Lord”.

Pavel Florensky writes about Sophia in the book “The Pillar and Ground of Truth”: “Sophia is the Great Root of the entire creation (the entire creation, and not just the whole), by which the creature goes into the intra-Trinity life and through which it receives Eternal Life from The One Source of Life; Sophia is the primordial nature of creation, the creative Love of God, “which was poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5), which is why the true Self of the deified, his “heart” is precisely the Love of God, just like the essence of the Divine is within-Trinity Love.”

And further in the same place: “In relation to creation, Sophia is the Guardian Angel of creation, the Ideal personality of the world. Forming the mind in relation to creation, it is the formed content of God the Mind, His “psychic content,” eternally created by the Father through the Son and completed in the Holy Spirit: God thinks with things.

Therefore, to exist is also to be thinkable, to be remembered, or, finally, to be known by God. Those whom God “knows” have reality, those whom He “does not know” do not exist in the spiritual world, in the world of true reality, and their existence is illusory.(...)

But let's return to the question of Sophia.

The Eternal Bride of the Word of God, outside of Him and independent of Him, she has no existence and crumbles into fragments of ideas about creation; in Him it receives creative power. One in God, it is multiple in creation and here it is perceived in its specific manifestations as the ideal personality of a person, as his Guardian Angel, i.e. as a glimpse of the eternal dignity of the individual and as the image of God in man.”

One in God, Wisdom is many in creation…

The Veles book of ancient Orthodoxy speaks of the Universal Mother - the All-Mother. And he calls her name: . The Old Russian word SVA means ALL (all, all-). Allegorically, the All-Mother was depicted as the Bird Sva with fiery plumage - the firebird: “The Bird Sva flew to us, and sat on a tree, and began to sing, and each of Her feathers was different, and shone with different colors. And the night became like day.” Tablet 7E (16) describes Her in even more detail:

And so Mother Swa beats her wings on both sides, Like on fire, all shining with light. And every feather of Her is red, blue, light blue, yellow, and silver, and gold, and white. And everything shines like the Sun. And the salting goes around in a circle. And She shines with seven colors [of the rainbow], as was bequeathed to our holy gods...

This is how our distant ancestors imagined the path of wisdom leading from reality to Truth. Before the Nikonian reform of the 17th century, almost all Russians were initiated into the first stage of northern Vedism - the Doctrine of the rebirth of the Twelve Gods. Where it is said that each god was reborn into the next, like the colors of the rainbow, forming a single light of truth. Yes, so strong that at night it became like day.

Dmitry Sergeevich Merezhkovsky said practically the same thing at the beginning of the twentieth century: “Russian gods are baptized. They shimmer into each other like a rainbow, and the Sun behind it is one. All of them are not only baptized, but also baptists. Everyone says: He is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie! (“Atlantis – Europe”, Belgrade, – 1930).

Whole knowledge can bring focus to the incomprehensible mystery of mysteries - the Revelation of the Holy Trinity. (Great Triglav - this is how Russian Vedism has called the Almighty from time immemorial). A person receives personal experience of Communion with God. The one to whom the direct feeling of the Triune has been revealed becomes completely free. Our very word FREEDOM is written in three runes, and they can be read as: wisdom ( matchmaker), which Bo G Yes l.

Let us remember the words of the Savior: you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free! (John 8; 32)

Wisdom creates the minds of men
Wisdom creates worlds
Wisdom reveals the future

From the diaries of Father Sergius Bulgakov:

12/22/1922. On the roadstead in Kovani.

“We have already reached the mysterious waters of the Bosphorus... The pressure of thoughts excited my soul, and these marvelous shores delighted my eyes. Here is the key of European and world history, here is Justinian, here is Constantine the Great, here is John Chrysostom, Photius, Byzantium and its fall, here is the knot of the political destinies of the world, and to this day has not been unraveled, but even more tightened.”

“Yesterday I had the good fortune to visit St. Sophia. (...) This is, indeed, Sophia, the actual unity of the world in the Logos, the connection of everything with everything, the world of divine ideas (...) This is not heaven and not earth, the heavenly light above the earth is not God is not a man, but Divinity itself, the Divine cover over the world. St. Sophia is the last and silent revelation of the Greek genius about St. Sophia, a gesture to the centuries that the theologically languishing Byzantines could no longer and did not fully understand and express, and yet she lived as the highest revelation in their souls, born in Hellenism and manifesting itself in Christianity.(...) And here with a new one with strength, and persuasiveness, self-evidence, one comprehends the meaning of the words of St., unknown to him. Justin the philosopher that Socrates and Plato were Christians before Christ and Plato is the prophet of God about Sophia in paganism.(...)

The Old Believers have a wise belief, as I see now, that Sophia will be restored at the end of the world.(...) This means that Sophia will be realized, will become possible only in the fullness of Christianity, at the end of history, when the most mature and final fruit will be revealed, when the White Tsar appears, and Constantinople will open its gates to him (...) and he will erect Saint Sophia. (...)

History is not internally over, it is in full swing, and away from the fog and fear inspired by the difficult hour of history, heed the voice of St. Sophia, her prophecy, she is not in the past, but in the future, she is a call to the centuries and a prophecy, history will end internally in Constantinople. (...) History has not internally ended until there is no Christian Hagia Sophia in the world, until she has become, at least for a moment, a victorious fact of history, that’s what Hagia Sophia told me.”

Father Sergius Bulgakov wrote this in 1923. Amazing words! How they resonate with current thoughts about current events in the world! The Internet was filled with articles about the return of Constantinople. But it seems to me that first the original Knowledge must return - the fullness of Christianity, which Bulgakov writes about. And this completeness also contains knowledge about Plato and Socrates, as Christians before Christ, and about Sophia, the Wisdom of God, as the Beginning of Creation...

One of the last predictions about St. Sophia appeared on November 26. “The appearance of Elder Paisius the Holy Mountain took place on the 20th of November. He came to the elder in Cyprus, told him to write down a letter and said that he would be here on earth:

“A storm is approaching you, confess, hold the cross in your hands and be with prayer on your lips. (...) Get ready - a thunderstorm is coming. The Word of God will be proclaimed everywhere, just as the sun emerges from the clouds after a thunderstorm. This will be the Light of the Lord, radiant and bright - “with this you will win” will be written in the sky. After a thunderstorm, a terrible thunderstorm, the sun will sparkle, a torch will sparkle again from the small fatherland. This boundless light will ignite millions of hearts, the hearts of the new apostles, in pure souls. And they will become the eyes of the Lord Himself, His Word and His Voice. (...) Holy Sophia is preparing, Her Angels are pouring myrrh, Cherubim and Seraphim are covering her with bay leaves..."

With. 40¦ 1. Sophia the Wisdom of God

Double-sided altarpiece icon
First quarter of the 15th century. Tver (?)
Turnover Crucifixion
19th century recording
Wood, tempera. 69 × 54.5
Comes from the altar of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin Museum, inv. Zh-1413 (480 events)

Painting in the process of unfolding. The undisclosed parts are under partial 19th-century writing and darkened linseed oil. The original light ocher background was replaced during the renovation with gold lying on a brown spacer. In the lower part of the composition, soil patches are visible.

The time of emergence of the complex iconographic type, to which the icon of the Annunciation Cathedral belongs, in scientific literature, starting from the 19th century, was usually attributed to the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. The name of the “Novgorod” version of Sophia of the Wisdom of God was assigned to it, since in the St. Sophia Cathedral of Novgorod an icon of a similar type was revered as a temple image. Allegorical interpretations of the image of Sophia, available in texts of the 16th–17th centuries, led to the contradictory assessments that similar images received in literature, starting from the second half of the 19th century to the present day.

The icon was first published in prorisi by G.D. Filimonov in 1876 as a monument of the 16th century. The same prophecy was used by P. A. Florensky in his extensive essay devoted to the interpretation of the image of Sophia the Wisdom of God. A. I. Yakovleva turned again to the consideration of the Kremlin icon. She dated it to the 60s of the 16th century, noting features reminiscent of 14th century painting 1 . L. I. Lifshits was the first to draw attention to the connection of the icon with a wide range of Byzantine monuments of the 12th–15th centuries and pointed out that such icons were painted not only in Novgorod. In his opinion, the image of the Annunciation Cathedral is included in the circle of monuments of the early 15th century. Based on the peculiarities of color and a number of features of the compositional solution, the researcher attributed the icon to Tver painting, which in the first half of the 15th century acquired features characteristic of metropolitan art and for a short time became equal to the painting of Moscow 2.

1 Yakovleva A. I.“The Image of the World” in the icon “Sophia the Wisdom of God” // Old Russian Art: Problems and Attributions. M., 1977. pp. 388–404. Il. us. 389–391.

2 Lifshits L. I. Angelic rank with Emmanuel and some features of the artistic culture of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' // Old Russian art: Artistic culture of the X - first half of the XIII century. M., 1988.

Among the numerous texts on which the creators of the iconographic version under consideration were based, first of all we should mention the 9th parable of Solomon: “Wisdom built herself a house and established seven pillars...” and the First Epistle to the Corinthians by St. Apostle Paul: “We preach Christ crucified... the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1: 23–24). This understanding of the image of Sophia is confirmed by the seven pillars on which her throne rests, and the image of the “Crucifixion” on the reverse side of the icon. The sources of iconography undoubtedly included the hymns of Maundy Thursday. They glorify the “All-Guilty [i.e. e. being the cause of all things. - E.O.] and giving life, the immeasurable Wisdom of God,” “The uncreated and supernatural Wisdom of God,” who created a temple for herself in the flesh of the Blessed Virgin (Sequence of Matins. Troparions 1–3 cantos 1).

Theologians of the 13th–14th centuries showed particular interest in the image of the hypostatic Sophia as the creative principle of the consubstantial Trinity and its action in the world. The Patriarch of Constantinople Philotheus, an author of the mid-14th century, calls the Wisdom of God and Christ, and “the Divine natural action and grace-filled gift of the great and consubstantial Trinity, through the Holy Spirit from generation to generation given to holy souls.”

Revealing the teaching of the Church about the action of Divine Providence in the world, the creators of the “Novgorod” version built the composition of the icon in three registers, which are equally read from top to bottom and bottom to top. The topmost one is occupied by an image of heaven with a throne erected on it - Etymasia - with the instruments of the passion of Christ, which are worshiped by angels. In the center in the round “glory” is depicted Christ Pantocrator, God the Word incarnate, and below him is a kind of deesis, which occupies the main part of the composition: the Mother of God and John the Baptist stand before Christ, the Angel of the Great Council, the Wisdom of God, seated on the throne.

The tradition of depicting Christ the Wisdom of God in the form of an angel is based on the text and interpretations of the prophecy of Isaiah: “For unto us a Son was born unto us, and was given unto us, and his principality is upon his frame: and the name of his Great Council is called Angel, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Prince peace, Father of the age to come” (Isaiah 9:6). Among the earliest images of Christ the Angel of the Great Council are miniatures of manuscripts of the Words of Gregory the Theologian of the 9th–12th centuries. They illustrate Word 2 for Holy Pascha: “I stood and looked: and behold a man ascended on the clouds, a very tall man, and his image was like the image of an angel (Judg. 13:6), and his clothing was like the flash of fleeting lightning . He raised his hand to the east, exclaimed with a loud voice... now is salvation for the world, the visible and invisible world! Christ from the dead, rise with Him you too; Christ in His glory, you too ascend; Christ from the grave - free yourself from the bonds of sin; the gates of hell are opened, death is destroyed, the old Adam is put away, the new is made: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).

The Angel with red wings sitting on the throne is dressed in royal robes of a soft fawn color, decorated with a shoulder and a crown, and a jagged crown - a symbol of the anointed one on whom the Holy Spirit “rests”: “God reigned over the nations. God is seated on His holy throne” (Ps. 46:9). The invisible presence of the third person of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit, its incorporeality is indicated by the wings of Sophia, but the face of the Angel and the blond hair falling on the shoulders in two strands are reminiscent of images of the Youth Christ. In his right hand the Angel holds a red staff ending in a cross, and in his left hand there is a rolled up scroll. His figure is surrounded by a three-part “glory”, which symbolizes the light of the Trinity. It is dark blue on the inside and two shades of light blue around the edges. And from within it comes a radiance in the form of eight blue rays - a sign of eternity, attributed to the hypostasis of God the Father. The symbol of the incarnation of God the Word is the face and hands of an Angel, painted in a soft pink color: “just as a pomegranate shell is enveloped in ruddy skin, so the Only Begotten Son of God and the Father was clothed in flesh having blood in it” (Interpretation of the “Song of Songs” by King Matthew Cantacuzina, late 14th century 3). The light illuminating the face of Sophia testifies to the unmerged and inseparable union of human flesh and divine nature: “When the Word of God becomes clear and bright in us, and His face shines like the sun, then His clothes appear white, that is, the sayings of the Holy Scripture [ are in us] clear, transparent” 4.

3 See in the book: Psell M. Theological works. St. Petersburg, 1998. P. 323.

4 Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. M., 1993. Book. 1–2. Chapters on theology. 2 hundred. Ch. 14.

The light, decorated clothes of the Angel indicate that He is not only the King, but also the Bridegroom of the heavenly palace, whose throne in the person of the Mother of God will be With. 40
With. 42¦ Bride-Church: “He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He clothed me with the robe of righteousness, as he placed a crown on a groom, and adorned me with finery as a bride” (Isaiah 61:10). The chamber of the wedding feast - the Eucharist - is designed to resemble the throne of Wisdom, which has four carved legs and is supported on seven brown supports - pillars, according to the words of the Book of Proverbs quoted above. The Angel's feet rest on an oval stone of a smoky blue tone, indicating that the House of Wisdom - the Church has “Jesus Christ Himself as the chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20), “For no one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid. Christ" (1 Cor. 3:11).

The Mother of God and John the Baptist, convening the faithful to the feast of Wisdom, stand in front of the throne on special stools decorated with a golden assist. Their figures are partially included in the radiance surrounding the Angel, just as in the scene of the Transfiguration into the “glory” of Christ the figures of the Old Testament prophets - Elijah and Moses - are often included. “You should know,” wrote the Monk Maximus the Confessor, “that there are differences among those standing with the Lord, since the words are important for those with an inquisitive mind: “There are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God coming in power.” (Mark 9:1). To those who can follow Him, the Lord is revealed in the image of God, in which He was before the creation of the world" 5 .

5 Ibid. Ch. 13.

The Mother of God holds in front of her, like a medallion, a round “glory”, inside of which is depicted the seated infant Christ in robes decorated with an assist. His right hand is extended in a gesture of blessing, and in his left is a rolled scroll. That is, the infant Christ himself, Wisdom, testifies that He “built for Himself a material and animate house, that is, His bodily temple, from the immaculate blood and flesh of the all-holy Virgin Mother of God, by the good will of the Father and with the assistance of the All-Holy Spirit, one of two, one and the same perfect in Divinity, and the same perfect in humanity” 6. The “glory” around the figure of the infant Christ is painted in two colors - dark blue inside, like the “glory” of the Angel in the middle of the deesis, and pink around the edge, but it is also surrounded by a radiance of eight blue rays, indicating that Christ is “dual in nature , is singular in hypostasis.”

6 Arseny Bishop Philotheus, Patriarch of Constantinople in the 14th century, three speeches to Bishop Ignatius with an explanation of the saying in parables: Wisdom created a house for herself, etc. Novgorod, 1898.

John the Baptist is dressed in a mantle and a short cloak. His right hand is raised with a gesture of prophetic testimony, and in his lowered left hand there is a scroll with the text of the prophecy. Perhaps the text preserved in the recording repeated the original, traditional for images of the Forerunner: “Behold the lamb of God...” (John 1: 29). “For he is the one about whom it is written: “Behold, I send My angel before You, who will prepare Your way before You” (Matthew 11:10).

The half-figure of Christ Pantocrator, presented in two-part “glory,” is directly related to the theme of the Eucharistic meal-feast. It combines shades of lilac-pink inside and pink outside, which, like the pink face of the Angel, speaks of the mystery of the incarnation of God the Word, and eight blue rays of star-shaped radiance, the same as in the other images, indicate his consubstantiality with the Father . The outer lower edge of the “glory” of Christ intersects with both the halo and the blue radiance of Sophia’s “glory,” partially covering it, which is a sign of the commonality of the trinitarian light emanating from them.

The Almighty, dressed in a tunic with a golden clav and himation, like a bishop, blesses the Mother of God and John the Baptist with both hands: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven: whoever eats this bread will live forever; And the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). The image of the Prepared Throne established in heaven is also intended to remind us of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The triple arc of heaven “bent to the earth” and the throne are in contact with the edge of Christ’s “glory”: “The throne of glory, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctification” (Jer. 17:12). The throne is presented both as a royal throne and as a church meal. On it lie the red-brown robe of Christ, the closed Gospel, and at the foot in front of it are symbols of Christ’s voluntary sacrifice on the cross, which he made for the salvation of mankind, and the instruments of passion - the Calvary Cross, a vessel with bile, into which a spear, a cane and four nails are inserted: “so that now through the church the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and powers in heaven, according to the eternal purpose which He fulfilled in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph. 3:10–11).

At the same time, the Gospel lying on the throne indicates the inseparable presence of Christ with the Father in heaven: “Everything below [on earth with people. - E.O.], and the indescribable Word departed from the highest” (Akathist to the Mother of God. Ikos 8); “He who descended, he is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, to fill all things” (Eph. 4:10). Thus, Christ, depicted three times on the icon “Sophia the Wisdom of God” in the form of the Angel of the Great Council, the Child and the Pantocrator, is here revealed as a victim and sacrifice-bearer and as a Trinitarian God who accepts sacrifice.

The complex composition of the icon acts as a kind of poetic commentary on the image of the “Crucifixion” on the other side of the icon, which was completely rewritten in the 19th century.

Literature

Census book of the cathedral church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Annunciation... 1680 // Collection for 1873, published by the Society of Ancient Russian Art at the Moscow Public Museum. M., 1873. P. 17.
Ignatius, archbishop. About the icon of St. Sophia in the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral // Notes of the Imperial Archaeological Society. St. Petersburg, 1857. T. XI.
Filimonov G. D. Essays on Russian Christian iconography. Sophia the Wisdom of God // Bulletin of the Society of Old Russian Art for 1874–1876. M., 1876. Research. P. 20 (shine the icons).
Meyendorff J. L" Ikonographie de la Sagesse divine dans la tradition byzantine // Cahiers archéologiques. Paris, 1959. Vol. 10.
Byzantium. Balkans. Rus': Icons of the XIII–XV centuries: Exhibition catalogue. M., 1991. No. 86. P. 250–251.
Lifshiz L. Die Ikone "Sophia - Weisheit Gottes" aus der Moskauer Kreml". Haustein-Bartsch E. Munchen, 1999. S. 29–42.

E. Ostashenko With. 42
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