Kaspersky Icon of the Mother of God

The Kaspersky image of the Virgin is a small icon painted on canvas pasted on a blackboard. The icon is similar to the Korsun icon of the Mother of God and in modern icon painting these two images are almost indistinguishable.

The icon was brought to Russia at the end of the 16th century by the Serbs who came from Transylvania at the invitation of the Russian government. His ancestor, in the middle of the XVIII century , settled in the Olviopolsky district of the Kherson province ^{[2] [3]} .

The icon was inherited until, in 1809, the landowner, the wife of the staff captain, Iulianiya Ionovna Kasperova, who lives in her estate Kasperovo (currently Kizomys , Belozersky district, Kherson region) acquired it. The icon by that time was significantly dilapidated ^{[2] [3]} .

In February 1840, Kasperova prayed at night with tears in front of the Kasperova icon of the Mother of God with a request to help her in her troubles. Suddenly, Kasperova saw that the icon was updated and the face of the Virgin brightened ^[2] .

The small noblewoman Vera Burleeva, who lived in a neighboring village at the same time, could not cure left hand paralysis. In the spring of 1840, in a dream, she heard the voice of the Mother of God sending her to the icon to pray in the village of Kasperovo. Burleeva was brought to the Kasperovs' house, where after a prayer she recovered ^[2] .

In the summer of 1843, three more outstanding healings occurred. After prayers in front of the image of the Mother of God, Ivan Shumyakov, a 13-year-old peasant boy from the city of Kherson, recovered from a seizure of epileptic disease. Ochakov’s bourgeoisie Maria Smeshnaya recovered, who was brought to the Kasperova’s house with paralysis. Before healing, Ridiculous did not own half of her body and was unable to move independently. After prayer before the image of the Blessed Virgin and the anointing with oil from the lamp, the mind of the Novoivan peasant woman Paraskovya Semipudova returned, who was obsessed for a long time ^[2] .

Six months later, in the last days of January 1844 , the icon was transferred to a rural temple.

Since then, healing began to flow from the Caspian Icon of the Mother of God, and people recognized it as miraculous . In 1846, the commission gathered on this occasion officially recognized the validity of all miracles and pilgrims from Kherson, Ochakov, Odessa, Nikolaev and other places began to flock to the Kaspersky icon ^[2] .

Since 1852, at the request of the residents of Kherson, every year on the Ascension Day of the Lord, the Kasperov Icon of the Mother of God was brought to the city cathedral ^[2] .

During the blockade of Odessa by the British fleet during the Crimean War , city residents turned to Archbishop Innocent (Borisov) with a request to transfer the Kaspersky Icon to the Odessa Transfiguration Cathedral:

... with all our hearts we believe in the miraculous help of the Mother of God and hope that the presence of Her Face in our city will be an irresistible stronghold against enemy attacks and the surest guarantee of our salvation.

After receiving the highest permission, the request was granted. The image was transferred to Odessa by procession and stayed in the city from August 6, 1854 until May 20, 1856. Every Friday before the liturgy, Archbishop Innocent read an akathist in front of the icon, the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos , composed by himself. In front of the icon, sisters of mercy of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross community took a vow.

Archbishop Innocent blessed the troops sent to Sevastopol with a Kaspersky icon. During prayers, soldiers bought candles for copper pennies and dimes. The archbishop made an order to keep this money separately from other donations, and then cast a copper cross from them and install it in the cathedral in memory of future generations. Odessa remained unharmed. On October 1, 1854, the siege was lifted, after which it was decided "to instruct posterity to make this event unforgettable and the day of October 1 a holy holiday." Since then, the miraculous icon began to be brought to Odessa on October 1, where it remained until Wednesday of the Holy Week in the Transfiguration Cathedral ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} .

After the defeat on the Alma River , which opened the way for the Allied forces to Sevastopol and Simferopol, the retreat of the Russian troops began. Archbishop Innocent alone arrived in Simferopol on September 13, 1854. The next day, the archbishop performed a moleben in the cathedral, exposing cowardice and urging to take care of the troops. On September 15, Innokenty sent a letter to the Commander-in-Chief of His Grace, Prince Alexander Menshikov , asking for permission to come to Sevastopol in order to pray with the troops and give them a list from the Kaspersky icon, but was refused. On September 16, the archbishop delivered a sermon in the cathedral, blessing Simferopol and Crimea with the Kaspersky icon ^[4] .

Since 1918, the miraculous image was constantly in the Transfiguration Cathedral. In 1936, after the destruction of the cathedral, the Kaspersky Icon was transferred to the Assumption Cathedral , which later became a cathedral. The miraculous image of the Kaspersky Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary is in it now ^{[2] [3]} .

O Blessed Virgin, the Mother of the Lord of Higher Powers, heaven and earth, the Queen, the city and our country, the omnipotent Intercessor! Receive this laudatory chanting from us, unworthy Thy servant, and offer our prayers to the Throne of God, Your Son, be merciful to our iniquities, and give His grace to those who honor Your pious name and who, with faith and love, worship Your miraculous image. The Germans deserve mercy from Him from being, otherwise You will not propitiate Him for us, Mistress, since all of You is possible from Him. For this sake we resort to you, as if to our undoubted and sooner Intercessor: hear us who pray to you, will fall in your all-powerful cover and ask your God, your Son: with our shepherd zeal and vigil for souls, city governor wisdom and strength, judges can not be truthful , a mentor of reason and humble wisdom, a spouse of love and harmony, a child of obedience, an offender of patience, an offender of God's fear, a sorrowful complacency, a joyful abstinence, all of us a spirit of reason and piety, a spirit of mercy and meekness, a spirit of purity and truth. She, Madam the Most Holy, have mercy on Your weak people: gather up those who are scattered, instruct those who are astray on the right path, support old age, young wisdom, babies, and look upon all of us with the contemplation of Your mercy, bring us up from our heartfelt and unclean to the sight of salvation, be merciful to us here and there, in the land of the earthly advent and at the Last Judgment of Your Son: having ceased in faith and repentance from this life of our fathers and our brotherhood in eternal life with angels and with all saints, make life. Thou art thou, O Madame, the glory of heaven and the hope of the earth. You, according to Bose, are our hope and intercessor of all those who flow to You in faith. We pray to you, and to you, as an almighty helper, we ourselves and each other and our entire belly are betrayed, now and forever and ever. Amen. ^[3]

• A.A. Klimkova. Casper icon of the Mother of God // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church and Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2013. - T. XXXI. - S. 479-480. - 752 s. - 33,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-89572-031-8 .

• Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Kasperovskaya"