Icon of the Burning Bush: meaning. How does the Burning Bush icon help? What does the icon of the Mother of God the Burning Bush look like?

Those shrines that depict the Immaculate Mother of God with a baby in her arms have powerful force. One of them is “The Burning Bush”. The shrine symbolizes not only the fact that Mary was born in the land of sinners and was not like the people living there, but also the immaculate conception of the Son of God from the Holy Spirit. What is the meaning of the Burning Bush icon, and how does the Mother of God help if you fall before Her face?

The shrine symbolizes the immaculate conception of the Son of God from the Holy Spirit

The icon “The Burning Bush” depicts 2 rhombuses, overlapping each other, in the center of which sits the Mother of God herself and Little Jesus. The red diamonds symbolize the fire that cannot touch Mary and Her Son. In their corners are depicted a calf, a lion, an angel, an eagle, personifying the images of the servants of the gospel, which are spoken of in the revelation of St. John the Theologian.

In addition, the icon depicts archangels holding in their hands various items, symbolizing gifts, and Saints telling people about the miracles performed by the Mother of God.

“Oh, Most Holy and Most Blessed Mother of our Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ! We fall down and worship You before Your holy and most honorable icon, with which You have performed wondrous and glorious miracles, saving our homes from fiery flames and lightning thunder, healing the sick, and fulfilling every good request of ours for the good. We humbly pray to You, O omnipotent Intercessor of our race, to grant us the weak and sinners Your maternal participation and care. Save and preserve, O Lady, under the shelter of Your mercy, the Holy Church, this monastery, our entire Orthodox country, and all of us who fall before You with faith and love, and tenderly ask with tears for Your intercession. She, the All-Merciful Lady, have mercy on us, overwhelmed by many sins and not having boldness towards Christ the Lord, ask Him for mercy and forgiveness, but we offer to You for supplication His Mother in the flesh: But You, All-Good One, stretch out Your God-receiving hand to Him and intercede for us before His Goodness, asking us for forgiveness of our sins, a pious, peaceful life, a good Christian death, and a good answer at His terrible Judgment. At the hour of the terrible visitation of God, when our houses are set on fire, or we are frightened by lightning thunder, show us your merciful intercession and sovereign help: may we be saved by your omnipotent prayers to the Lord, the temporary punishment of God here, and we will inherit the eternal bliss of paradise there: and with everyone let us sing to the saints the Most Honorable and Magnificent Name of the worshiped Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and Your great mercy to us, forever and ever. Amen".

Red diamonds symbolize the fire that cannot touch Mary and Her Son

The multifaceted image of Saint Mary personifies her actions, exploits and maternal care those in need, which unite a huge number of Christians.

The angels depicted on the shrine teach believers courage, wisdom, forgiveness, purification, readiness to take the blows of fate and mercy. The Mother of God herself in the icon symbolizes the “magnet” that attracts all sins and victory over evil.

The angels depicted on the shrine teach believers courage

Undeniable miracles

Meaning of the icon Mother of God The “Burning Bush” and what it helps with are known to all peasants. And by what actions is it considered miraculous? Here are a few amazing stories associated with this shrine.

One day in a small town there was a strong fire that engulfed a huge number of houses and buildings. One of the residents, while putting out the fire, saw a woman in the distance. Her face was unhappy, and tears flowed from her eyes. In the hands of the mysterious woman was an icon. After the fire died down and only embers remained of the houses, one of them survived. It was a building near which that same crying woman stood.

One day in a small town there was a strong fire that engulfed a huge number of houses and buildings.

Another story is also related to fires. In Slavyansk, about 3 centuries ago, houses were constantly burning. Local residents did not know what this was connected with. One day, the Mother of God appeared to one of them in a dream and showed who was committing the arson.

In 2010, when the forest in the village of Most caught fire, the priest took with him the Burning Bush icon from the fire and began to read prayers. The fire soon stopped.

What does the icon help with and what do they pray to the “Burning Bush” for?

To the icon of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush”, the significance of which is enormous in Orthodox Church, fall down to protect themselves and their family from fire, natural Disasters, fires.

The shrine also helps in such cases:

• Before being sent to war, soldiers and their commanders invited a priest and prayed in front of the Burning Bush icon of the Mother of God. They were confident that the Mother of God would protect them from death.
• The Face of Mary helps people with dangerous professions - doctors, pilots, military personnel, firefighters, police officers, Ministry of Emergency Situations.
• The icon of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush” protects from committing rash acts and sins.
• The shrine also comes to the aid of those who ask for a cure for mental illness.
• The Burning Bush icon, whose significance is enormous for every believer, protects the house from misfortunes and fires.

The icon of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush” protects from committing rash acts

The shrine protects those people who were born in September and October from the 24th to the 23rd, as well as those who were born from May (from the 21st) to June (before the 21st).

History of the Burning Bush icon

The history of the Burning Bush icon is one of the most ancient. The Old Testament tells about the appearance of the Holy Face to the people.

One day, the shepherd Moses noticed how a thorn bush caught fire. He came closer to look at him. His surprise knew no bounds then, because the plant was engulfed in flames, but did not burn. Immediately, opposite the fire, he saw the Lord, who ordered him to free the Jewish people from the Egyptian shackles. After this, God gave him 10 commandments that true Christians must follow.

The Old Testament tells about the appearance of the Holy Face to the people

Later this phenomenon was called the “Burning Bush”. And not far from the place where it happened, a chapel was built.

The Day of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush” falls on the month of September - the 17th (according to the old style, the miraculous image is venerated a little earlier, but also in September - the 4th). Here we recall the burning of a raspberry bush, which was noticed by the servant of God Moses. On the day of the Burning Bush icon, akathists are read in the church and prayer services are held.

What do they pray for in front of the Burning Bush icon?

We have already talked in detail about the meaning of the icon of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush,” but what do they pray to the shrine for? These are the situations in which the face of the Fragile Mary with Little Jesus in her arms will help.

Just as the bush does not burn without burning, so the Virgin gave birth to you.
Rejoice, Burning Bush.

Stichera for the Feast of the Annunciation

Ancient Sinai. When you look from its top at the intricately twisted rocks, mighty, dark crimson, scorched by Divine fire, you begin to understand that great and terrible, truly cosmic event that has timeless significance.

It was here that the prophet Moses received the tablets of the Covenant from God, and there, not far from Sinai, near Mount Horeb, he saw a bush bush - burning and unburnt - and heard the voice of God, predicting the birth of Christ.

The memory of that fateful event was immortalized by the earth itself in stone: thousands of pilgrims find stones with a crystalline image of the branches of this bush. Nearby, at the foot of Sinai, is the most beautiful monastery in the world in the name of St. Catherine, founded in the 6th century. Neither Muhammad, nor the Arab caliphs, nor Napoleon began to destroy this monastery. It has never been closed, and for one and a half millennia this candle of Orthodoxy has been burning, burning and not burning out.

The altar of the monastery cathedral is located just above the roots of that same burning bush. Behind the altar is the chapel of the Burning Bush. Thousands of pilgrims flock here to visit the shrines. Not far away in the garden, a new powerful bush rose from the same shoot. Here, in the Egyptian desert, the type and the fulfilled prophecy came together.

The bush bush became one of the Old Testament prototypes of the Mother of God. The bush burns and does not burn - the Virgin gives birth and remains Ever-Virgin, born on sinful earth She herself remains eternally Most Pure. Icon " Burning bush“- an image with a truly cosmic sound. It sums up the Orthodox concept of the Mother of God-Church-Sophia in all the beauty of Her timeless and universal significance.

The composition of the icon is formed by two four-pointed stars, superimposed on one another, in the center of which, in a medallion, is the Mother of God with the Child Christ in bishop's vestments. On the chest of the Most Pure One there are symbolic images: a ladder (the vision of the holy Patriarch Jacob of a ladder “established on the earth and reaching to heaven” as a prototype of the Mother of God) and a chamber (house). In the rays of the first star, blue, are depicted the Angels - the rulers of the elements, in the rays of the fiery red star - the symbols of the holy evangelists: Angel (Matthew), Eagle (John), Taurus (Luke) and Lion (Mark), mentioned in the Apocalypse. Around the stars in two-petalled clouds are Angels - the spirits of Wisdom, Reason, Fear and Piety; Archangels: Gabriel with a branch of the Annunciation, Michael with a rod, Raphael with an alabaster vessel, Uriel with a fiery sword, Selafiel with a censer, Barachiel with a bunch of grapes - a symbol of the Blood of the Savior. In the corners of the icon are visions of the prophets: the appearance of the Burning Bush to Moses in the form of the Mother of God “The Sign” in a burning bush, to Isaiah - Seraphim with a burning coal in tongs, to Jacob - a ladder with Angels, to Ezekiel - a closed gate.

The Mother of God gathered the whole world around the Eternal Child - the forces of earth and heaven. It is precisely this, collected together, that God conceived of the Universe in His Wisdom; it is with this that the chaotic, centrifugal forces of death and decay must be defeated. Thus, another image appears next to Kupina - the image of Sophia, the Divine will, the Creator’s eternal plan for creation.

This sign of the Divine will in the form of an eight-pointed radiance on the icon has been known since ancient times. We see exactly the same eight-ray radiance emanating from the Savior on the Transfiguration mosaic in the altar of the Cathedral of the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai. Many icons of the “Burning Bush” became famous for their miracle-working. One of the oldest is in the altar of the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin and was brought to Third Rome in 1390 by Palestinian monks. According to legend, it was written on the stone of the very rock at the foot of which the prophet Moses saw a burning bush. Another miraculous image, also originating from the Kremlin, from the Holy Entrance of the Faceted Chamber, was kept in the Moscow Church of the Burning Bush, which disappeared in 1930; only its name remained in the name of Neopalimovsky Lane, and lines from Andrei Bely’s poem “First Date”:

It used to be: the gray-haired church
Burning Bush,
Crouching in a white snowstorm,
Flashes at me from the silence;
In front of the thoughtful icon case -
Unquenchable lantern;
And falls lightly
Under the light there is a pink snowball.
Neopalimov Lane
The blizzard is boiling with pearl barley;
And Our Lady in the alley
He looks thoughtful with tears.

There also stood another, small icon of the “Burning Bush”, donated here in 1835: it also depicted a man crouched in prayer before the Mother of God. An ancient handwritten service to the “Burning Bush” was also kept in this temple, with an explanation that in Sinai there is a custom to sing this service during a strong thunderstorm, “when lightning is terrible.” As if in memory of this destroyed temple, a new temple in the name of the “Burning Bush” has now been built in Moscow, on the far northern outskirts of the capital, in Otradnoye. Of the other most revered lists, we will name the images in the Trinity Church in the city of Slavyansk, Kharkov province and in the village of Kubenskoye, Vologda province.

Recently, the chapel of the “Burning Bush” also appeared on Prechistenka, adjacent to Moscow’s Neopalimovsky Lane - it was this image of the Most Pure One that again began to be patronized by Moscow firefighters who had been stationed here for a long time. The very name of this image gave rise to a popular belief according to which it protects those who worship it from fire, and there is a lot of evidence of how the “Burning Bush” kept houses and huts unharmed in the midst of huge conflagrations, “fire storms” that tormented our pious ancestors.

I often remember Sinai, the sunrise on the top of the holy mountain and the stones that every pilgrim takes from there - fiery color and with the silhouette of thorn branches imprinted on them, burning and not being burned. This is a living reminder of that great and powerful Divine fire when God speaks to man - a fire that scorches the infidels and warms the souls of the righteous with a wondrous radiance.

The celebration of the icon of the Mother of God “The Burning Bush” takes place on September 4, old style.

Troparion, tone 4

Even now, as the Creator of miracles and of all creation, the Creator of Her holy icon glorified many miracles, bestowing it on the faithful for healing from illness and for protection from fiery incineration. For this reason, we cry out to the Most Blessed: Hope of Christians, deliver those who trust in You from severe troubles, fire and thunder, and save our souls, as the Merciful.

Prayer

O Most Holy and Most Blessed Mother of Our Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, we fall down and worship You before Your holy and most honorable icon, with which you work wondrous and glorious miracles, save our homes from fiery flames and lightning thunder, heal the sick, and fulfill all our good requests for the good. We humbly pray to You, O omnipotent Intercessor of our race: grant us the weak and sinners Your maternal sympathy and care. Save and preserve, O Lady, under the shelter of Your mercy, the Holy Church, this monastery, this city, our entire Orthodox country, and all of us who fall to You with faith and love, and tenderly ask with tears for Your intercession.

She, the All-Merciful Lady, have mercy on us, overwhelmed by many sins and not having the courage to ask Christ the Lord for mercy and forgiveness, but we offer You to Him for supplication, His Mother according to the flesh: But You, All-Good One, stretch out Your God-receiving hand to Him , and intercede for us before His goodness, asking us for forgiveness of our sins, a pious, peaceful life, a good Christian death, and a good answer at His Last Judgment. At the hour of the terrible visitation of God, when our houses are set on fire or we are frightened by lightning thunder, show us your merciful intercession and sovereign help: may we be saved by your omnipotent prayers to the Lord, we will escape God’s temporary punishment here and we will inherit the eternal bliss of paradise there: and with everyone Let us sing to the saints the most honorable and magnificent name of the worshiped Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and Your great mercy to us, forever and ever. Amen.

The Burning Bush icon, which protects a house from fire, is a rather complex composition that sums up the Orthodox believers’ idea of ​​the Mother of God-Church-Sophia. The burning bush is a fireproof bush engulfed in fire, which Moses saw on Mount Horeb. The icon depicts a star with eight corners, which is formed from two intersecting quadrangles with concave sides and sharp corners. The one below is painted red, and this symbolizes the fire that engulfed the bush on Mount Horeb. The other quadrangle is green, which symbolizes the natural color of the bush, which, despite burning, is preserved. There are also options where this object is painted blue or Blue colour. In the center is the Virgin Mary and the Child. In the corners of the red quadrangle are depicted: a man, a lion, a calf and an eagle, which symbolize the evangelists. Another important symbol of the image is that the Virgin Mary holds a ladder in her hands, which leans against her shoulder. This means that it was through the Mother of God that the Son of God descended to earth. It is worth noting one more detail, the “Burning Bush” icon, which has special meaning– on some images, the letters A.D.A.M. are added at the ends of the red quadrangle. According to the Greek legend, the Archangels compiled the name of the first man according to the stars, which were taken from the four cardinal directions. Initially, the “Burning Bush” was simply imagined as a bush on fire, in which the image of the Mother of God was enclosed, and the prophet Moses was kneeling next to it.

History of the Burning Bush icon

They first learned about this image in Rus' in 1390, when Palestinian monks brought it to Moscow. According to legend, it was painted on the rock where Moses saw the burning bush. The priests turn to the icon during severe thunderstorms to protect the temple from fire. When Moscow was on fire, the famous miraculous icon carried around the houses of church parishioners, which helped protect them from fire.

To further understand what the Burning Bush icon means, it is worth telling the story in which it became especially famous. This happened in 1822 in the city of Slavyansk, Kharkov diocese. At this time, huge fires began to break out in this area, and no one could find the culprit of these tragedies. One night, a phenomenon came to the pious old woman in a dream, and a voice said that she needed to paint an image of the Mother of God and serve a prayer service. All this will help stop the spread of fires. The icon “The Burning Bush” was painted and prayers were read in front of it without interruption. On the same day, a new fire broke out, but people managed to detain the culprit, who turned out to be the crazy Mavra. After this, fires no longer tormented the residents of this city and a miracle happened.

How does the Burning Bush icon help?

As already mentioned, this image helps protect the house from fires. They turn to the icon to ask for intercession for those who have dedicated their lives to protecting other people and cities from fires, including military fire. The icon helps protect against evil actions and the intentions of the enemies. In front of the image, people ask for the salvation of the soul from earthly vices. Christians believe that the bush fire can cleanse and burn it out of a person. There is evidence that people who turned to the icon were able to be healed of physical and psychological ailments. Sincere prayers before the image will help you find correct solution and getting out of difficult situations.

“To the Queen of Heaven, our Lady, Lady of the Universe, Most Holy Theotokos, undefiled, unblasphemous, incorruptible, most pure, pure Ever-Virgin, Mary Bride of God, Mother of the Creator of creation, Lord of glory and Lord of all! Through you the King of kings and Lord of lords has come and appeared to us on earth. You are God's mercy incarnate. You are the Mother of Light and Life, just as you once carried Him in Your womb and in Your arms You had the Child, the Word of the Eternal, God, and so you have always carried Him with You. For this reason, according to God, we resort to You, as if to unbreakable wall and intercession: look with mercy, all-sung Mother of God, at our fierce bitterness and heal our souls and bodies of illness: drive away from us every enemy and adversary, deliver from famine, pestilence, from plagues, from many waters and harmful airs, and from sudden death; and like the three youths in the cave of Babylon, preserve and keep us, so that, like the people of God of old, all good things will come to us who honor Thee; Let all those who hate us be ashamed and put to shame, and everyone will understand that the Lord is with You, O Lady, and God is with us with You. In the days of autumn, bring us the light of Thy grace, and in the darkness of the night, enlighten us with light from above, making everyone useful: turn our sorrow into sweetness and wipe the tears of Thy servants who have sinned and are in need, fulfilling all their requests for good; You can do everything you want, Mother of the Word and Life. The Father has crowned the Daughter, the Son has crowned the Virgin Mother, the Holy Spirit has crowned the Bride, so that you may reign like a queen, standing at the right hand of the Holy Trinity, and have mercy on us as you wish, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen".

Prayers to the icon Holy Mother of God"Burning Bush" help protect your home from fire, arson and lightning. But the most important meaning of this icon is the protection of our souls from fiery hell and our requests that the Mother of God, with the help of this image, help us burn out with fire all our spiritual sins and passions.
In front of the icon of the Burning Bush, people ask the Mother of God to protect them from enemy attacks, as well as for healing of soul and body.

It must be remembered that icons or saints do not “specialize” in any specific areas. It will be right when a person turns with faith in the power of God, and not in the power of this icon, this saint or prayer.
And .

HISTORY OF THE BURNING BOOK ICON

The story of the birth of the icon is one of the most ancient, which is described in the Old Testament of the Bible.
One day Moses, at that time, being an ordinary shepherd, not far from Mount Sinai ( ancient name Horeb) was tending sheep in the desert and suddenly saw fire in the distance. Coming closer, the shepherd saw a miracle - it was a thorn bush that was burning, but not burning, which later received the name “Burning Bush”. And suddenly, from the very flames, the Lord God himself appeared, who, during a conversation, gave Moses instructions on how to free the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. But the most valuable thing in this conversation was that humanity received God’s covenant, the ten tablets, the commandments, which we still use today.
Having received the gift of prophecy and miracles from the Lord, the prophet Moses fulfilled God's will.

Now the location of the bush from the fire of which the Lord appeared to Moses is on the territory of the monastery of St. Catherine, founded in the 4th century at the foot of Mount Sinai, which pilgrims call the Mount of Moses.
In 324, by order of Saint Helena, who was the mother of Emperor Constantine, a chapel was built on the site where the bush grows. The roots of the famous bush are located directly under the altar of the monastery cathedral, and behind the altar there is a chapel called the “Burning Bush”.
The famous Kupina was transplanted not far from the chapel, where the plant is still located. This is the only case of replanting a bush in the entire Sinai Peninsula. There were attempts to give life to Kupina in another place, but the roots never sprouted!
There is no iconostasis in the chapel that would hide the altar from the believers, and therefore pilgrims can see under the altar the place where the sacred bush was located.
This place is designed in the form of a hole in the slab and is covered with a silver shield with chasing, which depicts the burning bush of Kupina, the Transfiguration, the Crucifixion, the evangelists, St. Catherine and the Sinai monastery itself.

Pilgrims must enter here without shoes, this is exactly what God commanded the prophet Moses:

“Take off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).

The Monastery of St. Catherine is located close (two hours by bus) from Sharm el-Sheikh, a popular holiday destination among Russians in Egypt. Before the closure of air traffic with Egypt, tourist trips to the monastery were organized from this resort, where you could see with your own eyes the place where a person talked with God!

DESCRIPTION OF THE IMAGE OF THE BURNING BURCH

The image of the Mother of God and her “Unburnt” icon occupies a very important place in Orthodoxy.
Execution options icons There are a lot of bushes. Sometimes we see an image of the icon of the Mother of God in a flame that burns, but does not burn it. But more often the Mother of God in the icon is against the background of an eight-pointed star, which is formed from two rhombuses, one of which is red, denoting fire, and the other green, symbolizing the color of the thorn bush. Sometimes there are quadrangles painted blue or dark blue.

Burning Bush - images on icons

In the center is an image of the Mother of God with her baby. Along the edges of the red quadrangle are depicted a man, a lion, a calf and an eagle, symbolizing the images of the evangelists who are mentioned in the Apocalypse: Angel (Matthew), Lion (Mark), Taurus (Luke) and Eagle (John).
Our Lady is surrounded by those who submit to Her heavenly powers, archangels and angels of the elements - thunder, wind, lightning, rain, dew, frost and darkness. Each angel holds certain “attributes” - cup, lantern, cloud, sword, torch, closed ark (freezing), naked figure (wind) .
The Mother of God holds a ladder in her hands, leaning against her shoulder. This image means that it was through the Holy Virgin that the Son of God came to our earth.
In the corners of the icon, visions of the prophets are shown that are associated with the incarnation of Christ: in the upper left - Moses’ vision of a sign in the form of a burning bush, in the upper right corner - Isaiah’s vision of Seraphim with a burning coal in tongs, below, on the left - Ezekiel’s vision of the closed gates, on the right - to Jacob - ladders with angels.

THE BURNING BUSH IN THE THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION

Many centuries passed after Moses saw the bush bush. Now this event has acquired new meanings.
In the New Testament, the Burning Bush, as the Unmarried Bride of the Immaculate Conception from the Holy Spirit, we honor the Mother of God.
Just as a green bush once shone on the holy Mount Sinai, the same bright Divine Light shone around Her Son during the Transfiguration on the sacred Mount Tabor.

Throughout her earthly life, the Mother of God lived in divine purity. She accepted the Holy Spirit into Herself and remained untouched by His fire, which burned sinners.

The most important idea of ​​this image, crowned with the Burning Bush icon: any person should love God, strive to eradicate his vices, and then he can be under God’s reliable protection, and no satanic attempts will be able to burn it.
Every year in Jerusalem during the Easter holiday, the blessed Divine fire descends to the earth, which, according to eyewitnesses, also has the miraculous property of burning, but not burning.

Once, I () had the opportunity to communicate with a person who, for three years in a row, saw this miracle - the blessed Easter fire! He confirmed that yes, the fire really shines, warms, but does not burn...
But ONLY THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN GOD.

MIRACLES PERFORMED BY THE HOLY IMAGE

In 1390, the icon of Kupina was brought to Moscow by monks from Palestine, and since that time, legends have repeatedly mentioned its miraculous help.

One day, Dimitri Koloshin, groom of Tsar Theodore Alekseevich, innocently fell into disgrace and was helped by the icon of the Mother of God of the Burning Bush. Through his prayers, somehow in a dream, the Mother of God appeared to the king and reported the innocence of the convicted man, after which the case of Dimitri Koloshin was reviewed, as a result of which he was acquitted. In gratitude, Koloshin built a temple at his own expense in 1680, which was named the Burning Bush.

In the Middle Ages, many buildings in Moscow were made of wood, which often caused fires. But the fire did not touch the parishioners of the Neopalimovskaya Church - the icon was carried around the buildings during severe fires.

In 1822, large fires began to break out frequently in the city of Slavyansk (Donetsk region). No one could find the cause of the fires. One night, in a dream, one of the parishioners of the church had a vision that in order to protect against fires, an icon of the Burning Bush should be painted and a prayer service would need to be served. The icon of the Mother of God was painted and prayers began to be constantly read in front of it. Almost immediately, during another fire, a local madwoman was detained, who turned out to be the culprit of these tragedies. After her arrest, the fires stopped immediately.

GREATNESS

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.

VIDEO

In Orthodoxy, icons of the Mother of God are the most common, because the Mother of God always protects us. Icons are, first of all, the protection of your home from all evil and evil spirits.

The image of the “Burning Bush” should be in every home. It will save you from problems of any kind, strengthen your faith and give you happiness. This great gift for birthdays, weddings, name days. If someone close to you is moving to new apartment or a house, “The Burning Bush” will also be very useful.

History and description of the icon

“The Burning Bush” is one of the most complex icons in terms of artistic execution. She is unique and recognizable from general set all icons with the Mother of God. The Virgin Mary is depicted with the baby Jesus Christ, but this image is unusual. To understand why, we must turn to the Old Testament.

Moses received the 10 commandments at the foot of Mount Sinai. He saw a burning bush that did not burn, but was engulfed in flames. This flame was so bright that it was painful to look at. An angel of the Lord came out of this flame and told the prophet about the 10 commandments, as well as what he needed to do, what his purpose was.

The image of a fireproof bush (this is how “Burning Bush” is translated) is expressed in a large content of red. Mother Intercessor and Baby Jesus are depicted in the middle, at the intersection of two rectangles forming an eight-pointed star. The corners of this star depict Mount Sinai, Jacob's Ladder and several other important places and events from Old Testament. Directly on the “fiery” side are angels, reminiscent of how Moses saw one of them emerging from the flames. By the way, now in the very place where, according to legend, Moses met an angel and saw a burning bush, there is a monastery. This is one of the most ancient monasteries in the world, and it is still active. A huge number of pilgrims come from all over the world there in order to look at the bush, which, as the abbots say, grows from shoots belonging to that very fireproof bush.

It is unknown when the icon was acquired or created, but historians are absolutely sure that it was the 4th or 5th century, that is early period spread of Christianity. In Rus' it became known only in the 15th century. This image of the Virgin Mary is shrouded in mystery and is one of the most unusual.

What does an icon help with?

The Burning Bush is a miraculous image. Throughout history, this icon has saved people from imminent death or the evil eye. It is believed that this icon should be in any home, because it saves the home from fires. She helps families become stronger and stronger. “The Burning Bush” strengthens faith and gives people hope for a bright future.

Where is the icon

You can pray before this icon for the health and salvation of the soul in any church where it is available. There is a temple dedicated to the “Burning Bush” in Ivanovo, four churches in Moscow, one each in Syzran, Bryansk, Kyiv, St. Petersburg, and Arkhangelsk.

Date of celebration of the icon

Icon celebration day church calendar— September 17, new style. This is an immovable date, so it remains the same every year. Be sure to read the prayer for sleep before the “Burning Bush” on this day, if you are unable to visit the temple.

Prayer before the icon

“Most Holy and Blessed Mother of God, I fall before You and pray to You before Your holy icon, which is known for its miracles, saving our house from fire and thunder, healing ailments and fulfilling our requests. We humbly pray to You, Virgin Mary: help us and take part in our life, keep us under your protection, the Orthodox Church, the city, our entire Orthodox land and all of us who come to You with faith and love, asking for Your help. We ask You, Mother, to pray for us to Jesus Christ, Your Son. Blessed One, beg him for forgiveness for us sinners, for peace in our home. When the time comes for the Last Judgment, be with us and help us avoid eternal torment for our deeds. Help me inherit eternal bliss in Paradise, next to all the holy fathers. Amen".

Happiness and spiritual strength will not leave you if you have this icon at home, if you believe in its power. There are many icons that should be in your home, but on this list, perhaps, one of the first lines is occupied by the “Burning Bush”. Good luck and don't forget to press the buttons and

17.09.2017 05:32

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