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The iconography of the Mother of God dates back to the first century of Christianity - a number of images are considered to have been painted during the earthly life of the Ever-Virgin. “Softening Evil Hearts” occupies a special place among the icons. Here the Mother of God is depicted without the Child, and daggers are pointed towards her heart.

History of the icon Softening Evil Hearts

The origin remains a mystery - a similar icon exists among Catholics, perhaps it was borrowed from there by southern icon painters. The basis for the plot is the Gospel story about how in the temple Christ’s parents met a righteous elder who wanted to see the revealed Savior. In honor of this event, the Church has a holiday called Meeting (meeting). Saint Simeon predicted to young Mary that she would suffer cruelly - not only for her Son, but for every mortal.

There is also an almost identical icon in Orthodoxy - ““. The composition is very similar, but the arrangement of the weapons is different - by the way, it is more reminiscent of double-edged blades than arrows. In this case, one is drawn from below, three are directed towards the heart from different sides from above. In "Softening Evil Hearts" 4 swords are depicted on the left (of the viewer) and 3 on the right.

Features of the appearance of the Queen of Heaven:

• The head has a slight tilt to the right (less often to the left or no tilt at all).
• Both hands are at the level of the heart: the palms are either folded crosswise or directed inward, as if indicating a deep wound, sometimes folded in a prayer gesture.
• Most often in Orthodox versions the image is half-length, frontal.
• The gaze is directed to the side, less often - at the person praying.
• The face expresses suffering, but this is not a cry for help, but a deep sadness accepted in its entirety.

More ancient versions depicted the Virgin Mary in full height, standing on a cloud. Sometimes swords pierce the heart of the Mother sitting near the body of the crucified Lord. But such hysterical scenes are extremely uncharacteristic for Orthodoxy.

The head and shoulders of St. Mary is covered with a traditional omophorion with stars. Underneath you can see a blue tunic, the cover itself is red. The number of blades means completeness - indicates that the suffering of the Virgin Mary was very strong.

History of acquisition

Tradition has preserved the story of the appearance of the “Seven Shot” (the list on the canvas dates back to the 18th century, but the original was more ancient, it is believed that it is at least 500 years old). One Vologda peasant suffered from a leg disease that prevented him from walking normally. In a vision, he heard a command to climb the bell tower of the church in the name of John the Theologian. Old icons were kept there, among which the man had to find the image of the Mother of God and say a prayer.

It was not immediately that the church authorities blessed the sufferer to begin the search - without permission you can climb the bell tower only on Bright Week. The holy face was right under our feet - one of the steps of the staircase was made from an old icon. Noticing such sacrilege, the priests took out the icon and placed it in the temple. The peasant, having prayed, became healthy. And today the “Seven Arrows” icon is of great importance for believers. She reminds us that every sin, every evil word or even thought painfully wounds the Mother of God to the very soul.

It is believed that today this image is in the Church of Righteous Lazarus in Vologda. The old church where it was found has not survived, only the worship cross remains. Believers make pilgrimages here. In composition and color scheme, both icons are very similar, so the same prayers can be read next to them.

A rather ancient image of “Softening Evil Hearts” was acquired during the 2nd World War. It was on the right bank of the Don, where Italians fighting for Germany fought. The Allied soldiers found an icon in one of the destroyed houses and handed it over to the chaplain. Local residents claimed that the image was previously in the Belogorsk Monastery.

During the retreat in 1943, the priest took the icon to his home. A special chapel was built at home in Venice. Russians still come here to pray to their “Madonna of the Don.”

The meaning of the holy image

Another name for the icon is “Simeon’s Prophecy”, i.e. prediction of St. Simeon. This is connected with the gospel story. Of course, no one literally pierced the Blessed Virgin with either swords or arrows. The meaning of the “Seven Shot” icon is symbolic; the image of a sharp weapon helps to better understand its theological meaning. Through her, the Mother of God herself calls on all people - both believers and non-believers - to become kinder, and this is possible only through repentance.

Although the Savior's suffering on the cross is long in the past, the Most Pure One continues to suffer. After all, there, near the cross, she became the mother of everyone who is born from an earthly woman. How a mother must suffer, seeing that her children continue to kill each other, quarrel, hate, deceive, steal...

People who have received forgiveness from their evil deeds from the time of Adam have not stopped - they continue to serve their weaknesses. Therefore, every unrighteous act, every harsh word spoken to a neighbor, even a sinful thought - these are the very daggers that wound the innocent Mother of God every day. Such a visual image was chosen so that even the most entrenched in sin heart would tremble and begin to turn to the Lord.

The veneration of the Mother of God has deep theological roots - being an ordinary woman by birth, She was able to accommodate herself as the infinite Lord. Thus, she became a kind of new being - above ordinary human nature. The icon “Softening Evil Hearts” shows the way to God for those who have not yet found Him. She is hope for those who want to ascend from earth to Heaven.

Theologians made associations between the Mother of God and the Church. Just as Christ became incarnate on earth through a woman’s body, so through the body of the Church he continues to dwell here. Sin, which entered paradise through Eve, through the feminine principle, now received complete redemption in the form of the Savior.

Where is the icon

Nowadays, there is a miraculous list of the icon “Softening Evil Hearts.” It is located in Moscow, in the temple on Devichye Pole (Sportivnaya metro station, Church of the Archangel Michael). The icon is sometimes transported around the country.

• In 2004, the list was brought to the Tolga Monastery, where during prayer services an abundant release of fragrant myrrh was observed.
• In 2008, the icon was in Ryazan, where the myrrh-streaming was repeated.

In the village of Bachurino there is a printed image made to order for one woman. After it began to stream myrrh, the owner gave it to the Church, and now the icon of the Mother of God “Softening Evil Hearts” is taken around the cities of Russia.

What do they pray to the icon for?

Usually on icons the Mother of God appears as a prayer book, a protector of sinners, and near this image you want to protect her. And this can be done - if you stop sinning, get rid of at least one of your vices. This is exactly what the “Softening Evil Hearts” icon helps with. Before her they pray for the conversion of those who have stopped going to church or have no faith at all. The image helps to pacify those at war - be it relatives, friends or work colleagues.

The prayer to the icon “Softening Evil Hearts” should be especially warm and sincere. The Holy Fathers advise building communication with higher powers according to a simple scheme:

• glorify God;
• thank Him (for everything that is);
• repent of offenses against the commandments;
• to ask for what is necessary - spiritual needs must come first.

The Gospel also recommends reconciliation with loved ones before turning to the Lord. If a person only verbally demonstrates his faith, then there is something wrong with it. When repentance is real, it requires visible works. You can pray little, but do the right thing. And such a prayer, albeit short, will please God.

Prayer to the icon Softening Evil Hearts

Troparion, tone 4

Soften our evil hearts, Mother of God, and extinguish the misfortunes of those who hate us, and resolve all the tightness of our soul, for looking at Your holy image, we are touched by Your suffering and mercy for us and we kiss Your wounds, but we are horrified by the arrows of ours, who torment You. Do not let us, O Merciful Mother, perish in our hard-heartedness and from the hard-heartedness of our neighbors, for You are truly the Softener of evil hearts.

Prayer

O many-spirited Mother of God, Higher than all the daughters of the earth, in Your purity and in the multitude of sufferings You have transferred to the earth, accept our much-painful sighs and keep us under the shelter of Your mercy. For you know of no other refuge and warm intercession, but since you have the boldness to be born of You, help and save us with Your prayers, so that we may without stumbling reach the Kingdom of Heaven, where with all the saints we will sing praises in the Trinity to the One God, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.

What you need to know about the icon Softening Evil Hearts

In the Orthodox tradition, there are many different iconographic images of the Mother of God. Most of them are little known, being purely local shrines. However, there are also examples marked by general church veneration. Among them, the image called the Seven-Shot stands out for its unusualness. This icon, as well as the prayers offered in front of it, will be discussed in this article.

Meaning of the image

Seven-shot also has another name - “Softening Evil Hearts.” Less commonly, it is also called Simeon’s prophecy. At its core, it is an illustration of the event of the Feast of the Presentation, that is, the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, described in the Gospel. When Jesus Christ was still just a baby, his mother, that is, the Mother of God, brought him for the first time to the Jerusalem Temple. There they were met by a righteous man named Simeon. According to legend, this man was one of the translators of the Holy Scriptures into Greek, which took place in Egypt three hundred years before the birth of the Savior. When Simeon was translating the book, he doubted whether it was written correctly that a virgin would conceive and give birth to a son. After hesitating, he finally decided that this was a mistake and wrote the word “woman” in the translation. At that very moment, an angel appeared before him, who told him that the original prophecy about the virgin conception was true, and in order to dispel his doubts, he would be given the opportunity to see this wonderful baby. And so Simeon waited for three hundred years for this meeting (candlemas - in Slavic) at the temple. And finally, he waited. When Mary handed the baby into his arms, a prophetic spirit descended on him, and he prophesied about the newborn Jesus, noting that “a weapon will pierce the soul” of his mother too. This weapon, that is, the suffering of the Mother of God, is symbolically depicted on the “Seven Shot” icon in the form of seven swords piercing her heart. There are exactly seven swords depicted, since in the biblical tradition this number means completeness and completeness.

This legend is, without a doubt, apocryphal in relation to the original Christian tradition. But this does not detract from its moral significance, which gave birth to a second, more practical interpretation. Since Mary is revered in Orthodoxy as the heavenly queen and spiritual mother of all Christians, the weapon that pierces her is not only grief from the torment Jesus Christ accepted on the cross, but also human sins, for the sake of which he endured this crucifixion. Seven swords in this context mean seven with which the loving and grieving heart of the Mother of God is pierced.

Origin of the image

No one knows where this icon came from. According to a pious legend, she was discovered by a peasant from Vologda, who was seriously ill with lameness and partial paralysis. No doctors could cure him. Once in a dream, he was given instructions to climb the bell tower of the local Church of St. John the Evangelist and take an icon from there. Of course, the clergy of the cathedral did not take this revelation seriously and twice refused the old man’s request, knowing full well that there were no icons there. But the peasant was persistent, and in the end he was allowed to climb the belfry to see for himself the meaninglessness of his own words. However, as soon as he reached the top, he recognized an icon in one of the boards, which served as a step on the stairs. The image was immediately taken down, cleaned, and a prayer service was served. Then the first Seven Shot was pronounced, as a result of which the peasant was completely healed. Since then, miracles began to happen from the icon. And this, in turn, led to the spread of fame about the miraculous image. They began to make lists from it, of which there are now a huge number in several varieties. The original image, unfortunately, disappeared after the repressions of the 1930s and has not yet been found.

What do they pray for in front of the Seven-Shot Icon of the Mother of God?

As before any icon, the prayer to the Mother of God of the Seven Arrows can be dedicated to any occasion. However, the specificity of the image has formed a special sphere of needs, mainly in which they turn to Mary in front of this icon. First of all, these are requests for peace and to overcome anger, hatred and vindictiveness on the part of someone. In fact, that’s why she was nicknamed “The Softener of Evil Hearts.” Offended people, stern bosses, strict parents and teachers - in all these cases a prayer can be addressed to the Seven Arrows icon. How to pray to the Mother of God does not really matter. Examples of prayers will be given below, but in general you can address Mary in your own words, as long as they are sincere. What is important is not the beauty of prayer, but the ardent believing heart. If this condition is met, then without a doubt the prayer to the Seven Arrows icon will be heard. When to pray, how, how much - it doesn’t matter.

Text of the prayer before the Seven Arrow Icon

As an example, we will nevertheless cite several generally accepted texts that believers read in churches during public services and in their homes. The main prayer of the Mother of God Seven Arrows in Russian translation sounds like this:

“Oh, much-suffered Mother of God, surpassing all the daughters of the earth in her purity and her sufferings that you endured on earth! Accept our sorrowful prayers and keep us under the protection of your mercy. Because we have no other refuge and such an ardent intercessor as you - We don’t know. You have boldness in your prayers to the one you have born, so help and save us with your prayers, so that we can freely reach the heavenly kingdom and there, with all the saints, sing the praises of the one Trinity - God, now and ever and unto ages of ages! "

This is the usual prayer of the Mother of God of the Seven Arrows. The All-Tsarina of the Christian faith is represented in it as an intercessor, which she is, according to the ideas of Orthodox Christians. There are also shorter prayers dedicated to this image. They have a special liturgical purpose and are called troparion and kontakion.

Troparion, tone 5

Soften our evil hearts, Mother of God, and destroy the attacks of those who hate us, and deliver our souls from oppression, looking at your holy image. By your compassion and mercy towards us we are brought to tenderness and we kiss your wounds, but we fear our arrows that torment you. Do not let us, good mother, perish in our hardness of heart from the cruelty of our neighbors, since you are truly a softener of evil hearts.

Kontakion, tone 2

By your grace, mistress, soften evil hearts, send down benefactors, protecting them from all evil, who fervently pray to you for good before your holy icons.

The kontakion, troparion and official prayer of the Mother of God Seven Arrows reflect her main idea - overcoming evil in the hearts. However, this icon also serves as a symbol of heartfelt sorrow, so any suffering of the soul can be poured out in front of this image. For example, this could be a request for help in creating a happy personal life.

Prayer for loneliness

O Lady and Lady Mother of God, pour out your great mercy on me, giving me the strength to get rid of the heavy burden of loneliness of the soul. Free me from every evil curse, from the influence of unclean spirits, from the evil brought upon my life. Amen!

Since the beginning of iconography, the great creators of graphic art have been able to depict the main characters of the Holy Bible in different ways. However, the artistic image of the “Softening Evil Hearts” icon has a special graphic design, the details of which have a distinctive uniqueness.

Unlike the traditional image of the Mother of God with her child, which is widely known to the Russian Orthodox society, on the sacred canvas Tenderness of Evil Hearts, the mother of Jesus Christ, revered by all, is depicted along with sharp daggers piercing her body.

History of the icon

At present, little is known about the origin of the shrine, and many scientists put forward a variety of points of view on this matter. Among them there is one very common one, according to which the myrrh-streaming icon “Softening Evil Hearts” was created by foreign Catholic believers, who subsequently decided to voluntarily hand it over to the ancient Russian state.

The legend says that once upon a time, one serf peasant had a chance to experience very difficult times that accompanied his life with the manifestation of incessant pain. And one night, while in a deep dream, the elder heard a strange voice that kept coming from different sides of the room. He spoke about the ancient Church of St. John the Evangelist and its bell tower. It was there that the icon of the Mother of God “Softening Evil Hearts” was located, capable of helping the peasant eliminate the unpleasant and terrorizing illness. However, her canvas had to be found among numerous shrines, which were kept from prying eyes in a specially designated place. Having discovered the Softening icon right inside the bell tower, the peasant prayed and was immediately healed.

Many Orthodox believers, in order to honor the memory and pray before the icon of the Mother of God “Softening Evil Hearts,” go to Moscow on Sundays. Since a beautiful temple of the Archangel Michael was erected on the territory of the capital, where this icon is now located. Other exact lists of it can be found by visiting the Church of St. Lazarus, located in Volgograd or in the Moscow region inside the Church of the Mother of God.

Characteristics of the image

The drawn daggers digging into the flesh of the Virgin Mary clearly symbolize the manifestation of topical, immoral and illegal actions that some people are accustomed to constantly commit, based on their own selfish goals. And all these sinful acts, committed from time to time by different representatives of society, traumatize the innocent Virgin Mary, who continues to suffer more and more from this.

Moreover, the exact number of these weapons presented on the canvas of the Most Holy Theotokos “Softening Evil Hearts” is a reflection of the most terrible deadly sins that continue to be committed at the present time. These include the following acts:

• anger and aggression;
• envy;
• gluttony (gluttony);
• treason;
• sadness or despondency;
• greed;
• pride.

The only way to save a living human soul from its ungodly crime is repentance before the Lord God. It is to him that the sacred image of the Mother of God, which is depicted on the myrrh-streaming icon of Softening Evil Hearts, calls upon him.

Orthodox believers need to remember that such biblical compositions as “Softening Evil Hearts” and “Seven Shots” differ from each other in the arrangement of the daggers in the image. In the first version, they can be seen digging into the heart of the Mother of God from three sides, including the bottom. And at the Seven Shot shrine, the daggers are distributed only on the sides.

How does the icon of the Mother of God “Softening Evil Hearts” help?

Since ancient times, the icon of the Mother of God “Softening Evil Hearts” has been of utmost importance for all religiously believing citizens. It helps people improve relationships with each other and prevent the most unfavorable consequences between spouses, children and loved ones.

This shrine is especially revered on the day of its annual celebration, which is usually celebrated on August 26, as well as on All Saints Week.

Prayer to the icon “Softening Evil Hearts”

The text of the prayer for the icon “Pacification of Evil Hearts” is as follows:

O many-spirited Mother of God, Higher than all the daughters of the earth, in Your purity and in the multitude of sufferings You have transferred to the earth, accept our much-painful sighs and keep us under the shelter of Your mercy. For you know of no other refuge and warm intercession, but since you have the boldness to be born of You, help and save us with Your prayers, so that we may without stumbling reach the Kingdom of Heaven, where with all the saints we will sing praises in the Trinity to the One God, now and ever and forever and ever.

O who will not please Thee, O Blessed Virgin, who will not sing of Thy mercy to the human race. We pray to you, we ask you, do not leave us perishing in evil, dissolve our hearts with love and send your arrow to our enemies, may our hearts be wounded by peace against those who persecute us. If the world hates us - You extend Your love to us, if the world persecutes us - You accept us, give us the blessed strength of patience - to endure the trials that happen in this world without grumbling. Oh, Lady! Soften the hearts of evil people who rise up against us, so that their hearts do not perish in evil - but pray, O Blessed One, Thy Son and our God, may he pacify their hearts with peace, but let the devil - the father of evil - be put to shame! We, singing Thy mercy towards us, the evil, the indecent, will sing to Thee, O Most Wonderful Lady of the Blessed Virgin, hear us at this hour, those who have contrite hearts, protect us with peace and love for each other and for our enemies, eradicate from us all malice and enmity, let us sing to You and Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: Alleluia! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

So that no one can or dare to harm you, turn to the Higher Powers with a request. Yes, a person is able to protect himself, but sometimes situations happen when none of us can explain why this is happening, why, as a punishment for something, or so that a person learns a lesson, understands something for myself. If you see that your enemies are weaving networks into which you can fall if they are hostile against you, do not let the situation take its course, ask the essence of the Subtle Worlds for help, for their great capabilities are incommensurate with the capabilities of man. This is why church simple life exists. prayer Mother of God for taming and humility evil hearts.

A good prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos in front of Her icon Softening Evil Hearts

“O long-suffering Mother of God, Higher than all the daughters of the earth, in Your purity and in the multitude of sufferings You have brought to the earth, accept our much-painful sighs and keep us under the shelter of Your mercy. Do You know of no other refuge and warm intercession, but, since You have the boldness to be born of You, help and save us with Your prayers, so that we may without stumbling reach the Kingdom of Heaven, where with all the saints we will sing praises in the Trinity to the one God, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen".

This Orthodox prayer to soften evil hearts is read in front of the icon with the blessing of the confessor

“Soften our evil hearts. Mother of God, extinguish the misfortunes of those who hate us, and resolve all the tightness of our souls. Looking at Your holy image, we are touched by Your suffering and mercy for us and we kiss Your wounds, but we are horrified by our arrows that torment You. Do not let us, O Merciful Mother, perish in our hard-heartedness and from the hard-heartedness of our neighbors, for You are truly the softener of evil hearts.”

Not only Orthodoxy stands guard over the interests of the believer. In difficult or dangerous life situations, which human paths are full of, magic provides spiritual support. The conspiracy is strong prayer to soften evil hearts very effective when you need to protect your child, any relative or person dear to you from harm from ill-wishers. The plot is read over the poppy, and then this poppy must be poured into the pocket of the person for whom this amulet is placed.

“I’ll sit in a sleigh covered with beavers, sables, foxes and martens. Just as foxes and martens, beavers and sables are majestic between lords and priests, between the world and the village, so my son (name), born in pain, would be majestic between lords and priests, between the world and the village. Judgment - judgment, century - century! Whoever picks my poppy will bring judgment against me. I close my teeth and lips to evil hearts, and throw the keys into the sea-ocean. Judgment - judgment, century - century! Amen".