The Savior Not Made by Hands is an icon that appeared during the earthly life of Jesus Christ. The image of the Savior Not Made by Hands depicts only the face of Christ, the meaning and symbolism of the icon focuses on the main goal of a Christian - establishing a personal relationship with God. This is an image that speaks specifically of the person, and not of the activity of Christ. Unlike narrative icons, here Christ is in direct contact, "face to face."
Why Not Made by Hands or the History of the Origin of the Image
The image arose on a towel (plate) with which Jesus Christ wiped his face, seeing that Ananias (Canaan) sent from Edessa was going to paint His portrait. Ananias was sent by the ruler Avgar V Ukhama, who was ill with leprosy, with a request to Jesus for healing. Ananias was also commissioned to paint a portrait of Christ and bring it to Abgar if Jesus could not come.
Important! The Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands has no author: its appearance is one of the most important miracles that took place during the earthly life of Jesus Christ.
Finding Jesus among the crowd listening to His sermon, Ananias stood on a rock and prepared to write. Seeing this, Christ washed himself with water and wiped his face with a cloth on which His face was imprinted.
Image Not Made by Hands (Ubrus) of the Lord Jesus Christ
Ananias took this handkerchief to his ruler, who was healed of leprosy in the way of Christ. But not to the end - traces of illness remained on his face until he converted to Christianity and placed the image given to him by the Savior over the gates of the city, overthrowing the idol that had hung there before.
A descendant of Avgar, who again fell into idolatry, tried to destroy the miraculous image. The icon was preserved by the local bishop: he walled up the board in the city wall. The place where it was kept was forgotten by the inhabitants of Edessa.
Important events or Celebration in honor of the icon
The Church honors the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands annually on August 16, according to the new style. On this day, at the service, an akathist is read to this icon, prayers addressed to it are sung. The date was not chosen by chance: on August 16, 944, the image was transported to Constantinople. It was bought from Edessa by Constantine Porphyrogenitus and Roman I.
400 years earlier, during the siege of Edessa by the Persians, the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands was regained. The place where the icon was hidden was indicated to the local bishop by the Mother of God. When opening a niche in the city wall, it turned out that the image was preserved intact on the board and imprinted on a clay board.
Wooden carved icon "Savior Not Made by Hands"
The inhabitants of the city carried the image along the fortress wall with a prayer. The enemy retreated. Edessa began to honor the holy image every year.
In Constantinople, the relic was in the Pharos Church of the Mother of God. The exact history of the first icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands is unknown: there are only legends. According to one of them, he was abducted by the Crusaders in the XIII century, but the ship that took him away sank. Another legend says that the plates were transported to Genoa in the 14th century.
Now no one knows where the relic is located.
How the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands is depicted
After the events of 544, two canonical ways of depicting the Image Not Made by Hands were formed: ubrus and skull. The Savior on the Ubrus is an icon where the face of Christ is placed against the background of light matter (ubrus). Sometimes angels are also depicted holding the edges of the board. The Savior on a roof (tile, brick) is depicted against a dark background or on brickwork.
Important! In the Orthodox tradition, this image is considered as one of the evidence of the truth of the human incarnation of God and as the main evidence of the need for icon veneration.
The most famous icons of the Savior Not Made by Hands
In the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery there is a two-sided image of the work of the Novgorod masters of the 12th century, on the one hand of which the Savior on the skull, and on the other - the Glorification of the Cross. The Savior Not Made by Hands in the version of the Novgorod icon of the 12th century is one of the most famous copies from the Edessa relic.
The Savior Not Made by Hands is the first work of every graduate icon painter.
Another list of the Image Not Made by Hands, especially revered by the Russian Orthodox Church, comes from the Vyatka land. He was transported to Moscow from the city of Khlynov by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. This happened when a pestilence raged in Russia, from which the city of Khlynov was protected by the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands. The list from the Vyatka image was recreated above the gate of the then Frolovskaya, and later - the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin.
Over the gate icon of the Savior on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin
According to legend, during the train crash near Kharkov, Emperor Alexander III held the collapsing carriage on his shoulders, in which he was helped by the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which he had with him.
You can pray before the icon of our Lord Jesus Christ "Savior Not Made by Hands" about everything that is important for the believer. A full-fledged spiritual life is impossible without prayer, and the soul needs all four of its types: laudatory, pleading, repentant and grateful.
Advice! The simplest prayer that any person can remember is the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands
(3 votes : 5 out of 5 )- St.
Ubrus- 1) boards, linen, towel; 2) Holy (Holy) Ubrus - The Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands; plates with a miraculous image of a face.
Has Holy Ubrus survived to this day?
The legend of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands brings us the story of the origin of this.
When the ruler of Edessa, Abgar Ukhama, who was suffering from a serious illness (leprosy), incurable by conventional medical means, learned about what Christ was doing in Palestine, he sent his servant Ananias (Hannan) to Him, after handing him a message in which he asked for healing . In addition, knowing about the persecution of Christ by the Jews, Abgar offered Him shelter and refuge.
In view of the need to fulfill the main task of the Coming into the world, the Savior refused the invitation, but later promised to send one of His disciples, who would not only heal Abgar from bodily illness, but also heal the citizens of his country from ignorance.
Ananias was a painter and had a commission from Abgar to capture the image in case He refused to come to Edessa personally. When Ananias wanted to take on the task of painting the image, he failed to get close to the Savior, as He was crowded by huge crowds of people. No matter how much he tried to reproduce on matter a face shining with Divine glory, he could not achieve the desired result.
Then the Lord, having comprehended what was happening, commanded to bring him a cloth, after which he washed His face and wiped himself off. Mysteriously and inexplicably, His Divine was imprinted on the board. After Ubrus was handed over to the painter Hannan, he delivered it to Edessa.
Abgar accepted the Image Not Made by Hands with reverence and has since recovered, although the disease still left some traces on his flesh. He was finally healed by the Apostle Thaddeus, who was sent to Edessa by the Apostle Thomas after the Lord, having redeemed the human race and resurrected, ascended to Heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father.
Thomas enlightened the townspeople with the light of the Gospel preaching and Edessa became Christian.
The ubrus was laid on a board and fixed in a niche located in the fortress wall above the city gates. All who entered the city through the gate had to pay homage to the Image Not Made by Hands.
When, years later, one of the descendants of Abgar began to plant faith in Edessa, the local bishop, having received, came to the gate at night, lit a lamp in front of the Icon and walled up the niche that contained it, and he did it so skillfully that the place where the icon was stored no longer stood out on the general background of the wall. Over time, the location of the Image was forgotten.
Centuries passed before the Image not made by hands was again revealed to the people.
In 545, when the Persian king Khosroes I (Khosroes I) laid siege to the city of Edessa and was preparing to take it, Bishop Eulavius had a vision: His wife, who appeared to him in Heavenly majesty, pointed to the place of storage of the Image Not Made by Hands and ordered to take this Saint.
Obeying the Divine will, Evlavy opened the immured niche and found the Holy Ubrus that had been lost. The image was undamaged. Moreover, on the stone (ceramic) slab covering it, he found another image of the Savior, miraculously reflecting the one that was imprinted on the Ubrus.
After a prayer was made in front of the Image Not Made by Hands, and then, with a procession of the cross, it was carried along the city walls, the enemy retreated.
When the Arabs captured Edessa in the 7th century, Christians were allowed to worship the Image as a shrine. The fame of this miraculous icon spread throughout the East.
In 944, Emperors Constantine VII Porphyrogenic and Roman I Lekapenos, driven by zeal for the Lord, agreed with the authorities of Edessa to buy the icon. As a gift for the icon, he was sent 12,000 pieces of silver and 200 captive Saracens. At the same time, a promise was given to them that from now on the city would not be attacked by the imperial troops.
The townspeople, of course, did not want to part with their shrine. However, the ruler managed to persuade them to agree: some by exhortations, some by force and coercion, some by threats of death.
On August 15, 944, the Image Not Made by Hands was delivered to the Blachernae Church, from there to the Pharos Temple. On August 16, he was brought into the Constantinople Temple of the Wisdom of God. After honoring and worshiping the Image Not Made by Hands, he was returned to Pharos. In memory of these events, the Church established a special Feast. It is celebrated annually on August 16 (29).
Over time, Saint Ubrus was lost.
According to the most common opinion, he was kidnapped from Pharos after the sack of Constantinople by the crusaders in 1204 and sent to Venice by ship. The ship never reached Venice: it sank in the Sea of Marmara. Together with the ship, Ubrus also went to the bottom.
According to one private legend, the Icon Not Made by Hands did not sink in the Sea of Marmara. In the XIV century, John Palaiologos handed it over to the Genoese as a token of gratitude for their help in liberating some lands from the rule of the Saracens. So the icon came to Europe. True, later it turned out that the image, presented as the original Holy Ubrus, belongs to a later letter.
According to another legend, also private, the Image of the Savior, through complex ups and downs, came to the territory of Georgia. Previously, this image was exhibited for worship. However, it turned out to be man-made.
What is Veronica Plat?
The Holy Ubrus, revered in the Orthodox Church, should not be confused with the well-known in the West Veronica's Placard. The fundamental difference of this icon is that Christ is represented on it in a crown of thorns.
According to the tradition of the Western Church, the origin of this icon is connected with the following tradition. Veronica was that bleeding wife whom the Lord healed (). She accompanied Him during the procession to Golgotha, to the place of His last suffering and sacrificial death. Sympathizing and wanting to somehow help Her healer, she gave Him a cloth so that He could wipe the drops of sweat and blood from His face. As a sign of gratitude, the Savior returned this board with the imprint of His face miraculously manifested on it.
In another version of the story about the origin of the board, it is reported that Veronica, wanting to have the image of Christ with her, asked the Evangelist Luke to write it. But all his attempts were unsuccessful. Then the Lord, knowing about her desire, Himself came to her for the supper, washed himself and put a scarf on her face, after which His holy face was displayed on it.
Also, three relics are claimed for the status of Veronica's Board: in the Cathedral of the Apostle Peter in Rome, in the cathedral of a small village in the Italian province of Abruzzo, in the monastery of the Spanish city of Alicante.
Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands - the first icon of Jesus Christ in history
Holy Tradition tells us the story of this first icon, which was created by Christ Himself. Read about the history of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands - one of the most important in Christianity.
The image of the "Savior Not Made by Hands" - the first icon of Jesus Christ in the history of mankind
Praying before icons, people rarely think about where the icons came from, when and by whom the tradition of icon veneration was established. Prayer before the image is so familiar to us that it seems to be eternal. Meanwhile, in the Gospel Christ never spoke about icons. But Holy Tradition tells us the story of the first icon that Christ created - it was not made by human hands, but has a miraculous origin, which is why it is called the Savior Not Made by Hands (the word Savior is an abbreviation for "Savior", the title of Christ as having saved all people from the slavery of sin) . This image has been preserved by mankind for a long time, it has a long history and deep theological significance.
The Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands is one of the most important in Christianity. In the article, you will learn how the first icon was made, what miracles were created from it, what is its significance for the art of icon painting, and what is the difference between the versions of the “Savior Not Made by Hands” “on the burr” (Mandylion) and “on the neck” (Ceramidion).
The history of the creation and veneration of the Savior Not Made by Hands
In the Gospel and the apostolic letters there is absolutely no description of the appearance of Christ. Nevertheless, all the icons of the Lord show us the same image of the God-man (even the icons of the Mother of God in the image of Her differ more strongly from each other). This is explained precisely by the miraculous creation of Christ's own icon. The history of this amazing event was recorded by the Roman historian Eusebius from Palestine, a Christian, as well as the Monk Ephraim the Syrian, a holy ascetic of the Syrian desert. The document is a real historical source, thanks to the descriptions of Eusebius, many everyday details of the life of the Roman Empire of that period have come down to us.
Eusebius wrote that during the life of Christ, the glory of Him and His miracles spread even to other countries. The ruler of the city of Edessa (now in Turkey), named Avgar, sent a servant and a skilled artist to Christ. Avgar was an elderly man and suffered greatly from a disease of the joints of his legs. He asked to pray for him and heal the disease, and in order to see Christ himself (due to illness, he could not do this, and there were no images of the Lord yet), he instructed the artist to draw Christ from nature. It was common practice in the Roman Empire to make portraits and sculpt busts from life. Art at the time of Christ's earthly life was sufficiently developed to depict with the help of chiaroscuro: many believe that the schematic features of icon painting were the result of insufficient understanding by the creators of the images of painting, but this is not so; icon painting has its own language of drawing, which consists in the techniques of reverse perspective and symbolism.
When the king's messengers conveyed to Christ a request for healing, the Lord promised that one of His apostles would visit Edessa and enlighten its people with the light of the New Testament teaching. At this time, the artist of the king tried and could not sketch Christ. Then the Lord Himself took a towel (a handkerchief, in Tserkonov Slavonic “ubrus”) and wiped his face with it - the Face of the Lord was imprinted on the handkerchief. That is why this image is called Not Made by Hands: human hands could not depict Him with the help of paints, but the grace of the Lord, His own energy and power created the image. Probably, this image was similar to the Shroud of Turin, where the Face of Jesus Christ is visible, as in the photograph.
So even during the life of the Savior, the first icon arose. The royal ambassadors delivered a wonderful image on fabric to Edessa. The miraculous Image-Mandylion (in Greek - on fabric) began to be revered as a great shrine by the king. And when, after the Ascension of Christ, the city was visited by the holy Apostle Thaddeus, according to another historian, Procopius of Caesarea, he healed King Abgar, preached Christianity and performed many miracles. Then the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands became a city shrine that protected the Edessians, and was placed above the city gates as the banner of Edessa. For several centuries, through prayers before him, many miracles were performed, and the chronicler Evagrius of Antioch recorded evidence of the miraculous deliverance of Edessa from the siege of enemies thanks to him.
Alas, one of the descendants of Abgar became a pagan and an iconoclast. In order to protect the revered image from destruction, the Christians of Edessa laid the icon with stones in the wall. The image was hidden for so long that the generation of Christians who survived the persecution no longer remembered the location of the shrine. Only during the new war, in the 6th century, after the prayer of the townspeople for salvation, the bishop of the city saw in a dream the place where the image was hidden. When the masonry was removed, it turned out that the face of Christ was also imprinted on the stones (“on the skull”, in Church Slavonic). The small lampada, set up in previous centuries, continued to burn miraculously.
Both images became the object of worship. The icon imprinted on the stones was called Ceramidion and placed in a shrine, and the Mandalion was transferred to the altar of the city cathedral, from where it was taken out for worship by believers only twice a year.
At the end of the 11th century, the Byzantine army laid siege to the city and demanded to surrender to the emperor. In exchange for peace, the people of Constantinople offered to give them the miraculous Image Not Made by Hands - Mandalion. The inhabitants of Edessa agreed, and the icon was transferred to Constantinople. And this day - August 29, according to the new style - is now a church holiday. This is the Third, Bread or Walnut Savior, the day of remembrance of the transfer from Edessa to Constantinople of the Image of Christ Not Made by Hands. On this day in Russia, the harvesting of bread was completed and nuts ripened, for the collection of which the peasants took blessings. After the Liturgy, homemade bread and pies baked from the flour of the new harvest were consecrated.
In 1011, an artist of the Western Church made a list on fabric from the Image Not Made by Hands. It was transferred to Rome under the name "vero eikon" - the true image and became known with the name "Veronica's Plate". Miracles also occurred from this list, it provided the basis for an extensive iconography of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church.
Unfortunately, the miraculous Mandylion has not survived to this day. During the crusade of 1204, he was captured by the crusaders and, according to legend, drowned along with the ship of the kidnappers.
The Mandylion was never brought to Russia, but there were lists glorified by miracles. The oldest Russian icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands dates back to the 12th century and was presumably painted in Novgorod. There is no image of the fabric on it, therefore the image is attributed to Ceramidion (this type of iconography of the Image Not Made by Hands is called “The Savior on the Skull”). According to art historians, this icon is close to the miraculous image of Edessa. Perhaps his list was brought to Russia in the first centuries after its Baptism by Prince Vladimir. The image was a revered shrine of the Moscow Kremlin, and now resides in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Features of the iconography of the Savior Not Made by Hands
The description of the icon, created by Christ for King Abgar and preserved by the Edessians, has come down to us from historical evidence. It is known that ubrus - fabric with the imprint of the Face - was stretched on a wooden frame, as artists today do canvas on a stretcher.
The icon is an image of only the Face of Christ with the hair surrounding Him, without a neck - indeed, as if a person had washed himself and dried himself with a towel up to his chin.
Perhaps this is the only icon that specifically focuses on the Face of Christ, especially His eyes. Recognition and a special impression of the icon are also created by the symmetry of the image of the Face of the Savior. The eyes of Christ in the image often look to the side, indicating God's providence for a person. The slant look makes the facial expression spiritualized, full of understanding of the Mystery of the Universe. Art historians evaluate the Novgorod list of the Savior Not Made by Hands as the embodiment of ideal beauty in Ancient Russia and antiquity, find in it the proportions of the golden section and the ideal of symmetry - such an image indicates the Perfection of the Lord and what He created.
An important role in creating an impression and a prayerful mood when looking at the icon is played by the expression of the Face of the Savior: there are no fleeting emotions on Him, the Face reflects only spiritual peace, purity, sinlessness.
The Novgorod list is a rarity: more often on the icons of the Savior Not Made by Hands, a Mandalion or “The Savior on the Ubrus” is depicted. The face of Christ is revealed in a golden radiance against the background of a white fabric (sometimes even its purpose of a towel is emphasized as stripes along the edges) with various folds, knots at the top and even Angels holding the ends of the fabric. Less commonly, the Face is depicted against the background of the actual brickwork or simply against a golden background.
The meaning of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands for the traditions of icon painting and theology
The miraculous appearance of the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands in the 6th century was a great impetus for icon painting. He appeared precisely during the period of iconoclasm (at that time, Christians were even killed for the veneration of icons, while the icons themselves were ruthlessly destroyed - that is why so few images have come down to us from the first centuries of Christianity), when the memory of the establishment of the tradition of generation of icons by Christ Himself became the most important argument in disputes with heretics. An icon is a window into the spiritual world, an image of the Prototype (Christ, the Mother of God, saints), through which we pay honor and turn to Himself. That is why it is not entirely correct to say “Prayer to the icon” or “Kazan Mother of God”: they pray in front of the icon, and the icons of the Mother of God are called, for example: the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
In the first centuries, the icon, in addition to the theological, also carried the function of the “Bible for the illiterate” - not everyone could buy a book, for many centuries they were very expensive. However, to this day, many images are illustrations of events from the life of the Lord, His saints or the Mother of God.
The miraculously remaining imprint of the Face of Christ on the fabric reminds of the Divine principle of icon painting. The image of the Face of the Savior instructs every Orthodox Christian: you need to have a personal relationship with God. Prayer, even in your own words, communion with God in the Sacraments of the Orthodox Church, changing your life according to the teachings of Christ - this is what brings us to the Kingdom of Heaven already on earth. No rites and rituals, special words of conspiracy prayers help. To live with Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven, we need to know Him here in our lives. The sight of the Savior Not Made by Hands calls us to follow Him, to imitate the Lord in wisdom, kindness, self-sacrifice - this is the meaning of the Christian life.
It is interesting that the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, as the first Christian icon and as the most important expression of the teachings of Christ, is obligatory for student icon painters. In many schools, this is the first independent work of students.
What do they pray for the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands"
The life of the Son of God on Earth, the mystery of the Incarnation are described in detail in the Gospel, interpreted in many books of the Church Fathers. The Lord gave himself as a sacrifice for human sins and conquered death itself, in His Resurrection returning the entire human race to paradise. That is why, despite the importance of our prayers to the saints - our holy helpers - and the Mother of God, turning to God Himself is a necessary daily prayer. Recall that the Church blesses daily morning and evening prayers, turning to the Lord and the Heavenly Powers.
They pray to the Lord in all needs:
- About recovery from diseases;
- About the mercy of God in the needs of you and your loved ones;
- About your health, relatives and children;
- About help in business, welfare;
- About the right choice, making the right life decisions;
- About getting rid of sins and vices.
Conduct a prayerful dialogue with God, measure your actions with the example of Christ, more often imagine what God Himself would say, seeing your deeds and hearing your thoughts - after all, He is Omniscient. Do not despair of any mistakes, hurry to the temple for Confession and unite with God (with proper preparation, which is better to read in Orthodox literature) in the Sacrament of Communion. In no case should icons be used in conspiracies, divination, in rituals. Communication should be only with God and His saints, His Angels - psychics, "folk healers" and sorcerers communicate only with evil spirits, but no one can order Angels.
Thank God for His help in your life: He responded to your requests, expressed and not expressed - remember many happy occasions in life. The Lord really manages our lives for the better, showing our capabilities, leading to gratitude to God for everything. And humility in the face of difficulties, turning to God with prayer and without malice at this time is the key to our salvation and upbringing of the soul, personal growth. We must strive for a life pleasing to God, visit the church, pray at worship, help people, forgive the sins and mistakes of our neighbors, and behave calmly in conflicts.
The Lord is a great Power and great Love, you only need to believe - and therefore trust Him with your life and your soul. Christ, being the Almighty, voluntarily, in order to erase the past and future sins of mankind from the history of the universe, went to humiliation, torture and terrible suffering on the Cross. The teaching of the Lord Jesus is a call to repentance, to the love of all people for each other, compassion and pity even for terrible sinners.
You can pray to the Lord Jesus Christ in front of the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands both in your own words and in church prayers. It is worth reading more often before this image the Lord's Prayer, recorded in the Gospel from the words of Christ Himself - "Our Father". It can also be read in the morning and at bedtime, before meals and before starting any business.
Prayer to Jesus Christ in front of the icon "Savior Not Made by Hands" can be in Russian online according to the text below:
Our good Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God! You in ancient times, during Your earthly life, Your flesh, Your face was washed with holy water and rubbed with a scrub, miraculously Your Face was depicted on this towel, You blessed him to send Abgar to the King of Edessa to heal the disease.
So now we, Your sinful servants, suffering from mental and bodily illnesses, are looking for Your Face, Lord, and with the king of the psalmist David, we pray with a humble soul: do not turn away from us, but take Your anger away from Your servants, be our Strong Helper, do not reject us and don't leave us alone. O Merciful Lord, our Savior! Settle yourself by Your grace in our souls, so that in holiness and truth living on earth, we become Your true sons and daughters, and heirs of Your Kingdom, where we will not stop glorifying You, all the mercies of our God Who gives us, together with the Beginningless Father and the Holy Spirit forever.
God! I am Your vessel: fill me with the gifts of Your Holy Spirit! Without Your help, I am empty and do not have grace, often full of all kinds of sin. God! I am Your ship: fill me with a load of good deeds. God! I am your ark: instead of passions, fill me with love for you and for your image - my neighbor. Amen
May the Good and Merciful Lord keep you!
It is known that icon painters create holy images. So it has been since the dawn of time. In order to paint an icon depicting the Lord, the Mother of God or any ascetic, an unusual artist needs to come to a certain state of mind, fast and pray before that. Then the face created by him will rightfully serve as a means of communication with the Creator and his saints. However, history mentions the existence of so-called miraculous icons. For example, many people hear such a thing as "". In a similar way, they designate the image of Jesus Christ, miraculously imprinted on the fabric with which the Savior wiped his face. On August 29, Orthodox Christians celebrate a holiday dedicated to the transfer of this shrine from Edessa to Constantinople.
Origin of the Holy Savior
The appearance of the holy image is closely connected with the story of the miraculous healing of one ruler. In the time of the Messiah, a man named Abgar ruled in the Syrian city of Edessa. He was ill with leprosy, which took possession of the entire body of the unfortunate. Fortunately, Abgar heard rumors about the miracles performed by Jesus Christ. Not seeing the Son of God, the ruler of Edessa wrote a letter and sent it to him with his friend, the painter Ananias, to Palestine, where the Messiah was at that moment. The artist had to use a brush and paint to capture the face of the Teacher on the canvas. The letter contained a request to come and heal a sufferer with leprosy, addressed to Jesus.
Upon arrival in Palestine, Ananias saw the Son of God surrounded by a large number of people. There was no way to approach him. Then Ananias stood in the distance on a high stone and tried to paint a portrait of the Teacher. But the artist failed. By that moment, Jesus noticed the painter, called him, to the surprise of the latter, by name, called him to him and handed over the letter to Abgar. He promised the ruler of the Syrian city to send his disciple soon so that he healed the sick and instructed in the true faith. Then Christ asked the people to bring water and a towel - an ubrus. When the Savior's request was granted, Jesus washed his face with water and wiped it with a rag. Everyone saw how the Divine Face of the Teacher was imprinted on the canvas. Christ gave the ubrus to Ananias.
The painter returned home to Edessa. He immediately gave Avgar an ubrus with the face of the Son of God imprinted on it and a letter from the Messiah himself. The ruler reverently accepted the shrine from the hands of a friend and was immediately healed of his serious illness. Only a few traces remained on his face until the arrival of the disciple, about whom Christ spoke. He really soon arrived - he turned out to be the apostle from the 70 Saint Thaddeus. He baptized Abgar, who believed in Christ, and all the people of Edessa. The ruler of the Syrian city, in gratitude for the healing received, wrote the following words on the Image Not Made by Hands: "Christ God, everyone who trusts in You will not be put to shame." Then he decorated the canvas and placed it in a niche above the city gates.
Transfer of the shrine to Constantinople
For a long time, the townspeople respected the Image of Jesus Not Made by Hands: they worshiped it every time they passed the city gates. But this ended through the fault of one of the great-grandchildren of Avgar. When the latter himself became the ruler of Edessa, he converted to paganism and began to worship idols. For this reason, he decided to remove the Image of the Messiah not made by hands from the city wall. But this command failed to be fulfilled: the Bishop of Edessa had a vision in which the Lord ordered the miraculous image to be hidden from human eyes. After such a sign, the clergyman, together with the clergy, went to the city wall at night, lit a lampada in front of the ubrus with the face of the Divine, and laid it with bricks and clay boards.
Many years have passed since then. The inhabitants of the city completely forgot about the great shrine. However, the events of 545 changed the situation radically. At the indicated moment, Edessa was besieged by the Persian king Khozroy I. The inhabitants were in a hopeless situation. And then the Mother of God herself appeared to the local bishop in a thin dream, who ordered to get the Image of Jesus Not Made by Hands from the immured wall. She predicted that this canvas would save the city from the enemy. The bishop immediately hurried to the city gates, found a niche blocked with bricks, dismantled it and saw the Savior Not Made by Hands, a lamp burning in front of him and the image of the Face imprinted on a clay board. A religious procession was made in honor of finding the shrine, and the Persian army was not slow to retreat.
After 85 years, Edessa was under the yoke of the Arabs. However, they did not create obstacles for Christians who worshiped the Savior Not Made by Hands. By that time, the fame of the Divine Face on the Ubrus had spread throughout the East.
Finally, in 944, Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus wanted the unusual icon to be kept from now on in Tsargrad, the then capital of Orthodoxy. The Byzantine ruler bought the shrine from the emir, who at that time ruled in Edessa. Both the Image Not Made by Hands and the letter addressed to Abgar by Jesus were transferred with honors to Constantinople. On August 16, the shrine was placed in the Pharos Church of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The further fate of the holy image of the Lord
What happened to the Savior Not Made by Hands afterwards? Information on this subject is highly controversial. One legend says that the crusaders stole the ubrus with the Divine Face of Christ when they ruled in Constantinople (1204-1261). Another legend claims that the Icon Not Made by Hands migrated to Genoa, where it is still kept in the monastery in honor of the Apostle Bartholomew. And these are just the brightest versions. Historians explain their inconsistency very simply: the Savior Not Made by Hands repeatedly gave imprints on the surfaces with which it came into contact. For example, one of them appeared “on ceramics” when Ananias was forced to hide the ubrus against the wall on the way to Edessa, the other appeared on a cloak and ended up in Georgian lands. According to the Prologues, four Savior Not Made by Hands are known:
- Edessa (King Abgar) - August 16;
- Camulian - the date of the phenomenon is 392;
- an image that appeared during the reign of the emperor Tiberius - from him Saint Mary Synclitikia received healing;
- the above-mentioned Spas on ceramics - August 16.
Veneration of the shrine in Russia
The feast of August 29 is celebrated on the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God and is also called the “Third Savior” or “Savior on Canvas”. The veneration of this Image in Russia began in the 11th-12th centuries, and became most widespread in the second half of the 14th century. In 1355, Metropolitan Alexy brought a copy of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands from Constantinople to Moscow. Especially for the storage of this canvas, a temple was laid. But they did not limit themselves to one church: soon the construction of temples and monastic cloisters dedicated to the Image of the Lord Jesus Christ not made by hands began all over the country. All of them received the name "Spassky".
More than 1000 years ago, in 988, Russia, having received Baptism, saw the face of Christ for the first time. By this time, in Byzantium - its spiritual mentor - for several centuries there had been an extensive iconography of Orthodox art, rooted in the first centuries of Christianity. Russia inherited this iconography, accepting it as an inexhaustible source of ideas and images. Images of the Savior Not Made by Hands have appeared in Ancient Russia since the 12th century, first in the murals of churches (the Savior-Mirozh Cathedral (1156) and the Savior on Nereditsa (1199)), later as independent images.
Over time, Russian masters contributed to the development of icon painting. In their works of the 13th - 15th centuries, the image of Christ loses the harsh spirituality of Byzantine prototypes, the features of kindness, gracious participation and good will to man appear in it. An example of this is the oldest Russian icon of the Yaroslavl masters of the 13th century Savior Not Made by Hands from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, which is currently kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery. The face of Jesus Christ on the icons of Russian masters is devoid of severity and tension. It contains a benevolent call to a person, spiritual exactingness and support at the same time.
The icon of Jesus Christ the Savior Not Made by Hands by the icon painter Yuri Kuznetsov maintains the traditions of ancient Russian masters. Encouraging trust emanates from the icon, a spiritual power akin to man, allowing him to feel his involvement in divine perfection. I would like to include the words of N.S. Leskov: “A typical Russian image of the Lord: the look is straight and simple ... there is an expression in the face, but there are no passions” (Leskov N.S. At the end of the world. Works in 3 vols. M., 1973. P. 221).
The image of Christ immediately took a central place in the art of Ancient Russia. In Russia, the image of Christ was originally a synonym for Salvation, Grace and Truth, the highest source of help and comfort to a person in his earthly suffering. The value system of ancient Russian culture, which unites its religious meaning, the image of the world, the human ideal, ideas of goodness and beauty, is inextricably linked with the image of the Savior Jesus Christ. The image of Christ illuminated the entire life path of a man of Ancient Russia from birth to the last breath. In the image of Christ, he saw the main meaning and justification of his life, embodying his Creed in images high and clear, like the words of a prayer.
Hopes for help and protection from enemies were associated with the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands. It was placed above the gates of cities and fortresses, on military signs. The miraculous image of Christ served as protection for the Russian troops. So, the troops of Dmitry Donskoy fought on the Kulikovo field under the princely banner with the image of the Holy Face. Ivan the Terrible had the same banner when he took the city of Kazan in 1552.
Prayers are addressed to the Savior Jesus Christ before his image not made by hands with prayers for healing from deadly diseases and for giving greater vitality.
Meaning of the Image Not Made by Hands
In the early Christian (pre-iconoclastic) period, the symbolic image of Jesus Christ was widespread. As you know, the Gospels do not contain any information about the appearance of Christ. In the painting of catacombs and tombs, reliefs of sarcophagi, mosaics of temples, Christ appears in the Old Testament forms and images: the Good Shepherd, Orpheus or the Servant Emmanuel (Is. 7, 14). Of great importance for the formation of the "historical" image of Christ is His image not made by hands. It is possible that the Image Not Made by Hands, known since the 4th century, with its transfer to Constantinople in 994, became “an immutable model for icon painting”, as N.P. Kondakov (Kondakov N.P. Iconography of the Lord God and Our Savior Jesus Christ, St. Petersburg, 1905, p. 14).
The silence of the evangelists about the appearance of Jesus Christ can be explained by their concern for the spiritual rebirth of mankind, the direction of their gaze from earthly life to heavenly life, from material to spiritual. Thus, silent about the historical features of the face of the Savior, they draw our attention to the knowledge of the personality of the Savior. “Depicting the Savior, we do not depict either His divine or His human nature, but His personality, in which both these natures are incomprehensibly combined,” says Leonid Uspensky, an outstanding Russian icon painter, theologian (Uspensky L.A. Meaning and language of icons / / Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy, 1955, No. 6, p. 63).
The gospel story also did not include the story of the Image of Christ Not Made by Hands, this can be explained by the words of the holy apostle and evangelist John the Theologian: “Jesus created many other things; but if we were to write about it in detail, then I think that even the world itself could not contain the books that were written” (John 21:25).
During the period of iconoclasm, the Image of Christ not made by hands was cited as the most important evidence in favor of icon veneration (the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787)).
The miraculous image of the Savior Jesus Christ, according to Christian tradition, is one of the proofs of the truth of the incarnation in the human image of the second person of the Trinity. The opportunity to capture the image of God, according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, is associated with the Incarnation, that is, the birth of Jesus Christ, God the Son, or, as the believers usually call Him, the Savior, the Savior. Before His birth, the appearance of icons was unreal - God the Father is invisible and incomprehensible, therefore, indescribable.
Thus, God himself, His Son, “the image of His hypostasis” (Heb. 1.3), became the first icon painter. God took on a human face, the Word became flesh for the sake of man's salvation.
How the Image Not Made by Hands Was Revealed
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There are two versions of the legend about the origin of the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands. We will cite the Eastern version of the legend about the Image of Jesus Christ Not Made by Hands according to the book of the spiritual writer, church historian Leonid Denisov “The History of the True Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands Based on the Testimony of Byzantine Writers” (Moscow, 1894, p. 3–37).
During the years of the earthly life of Jesus Christ in Osroene (the capital of this miniature kingdom was the city of Edessa), Augar V the Black reigned. For seven years he suffered unbearably from "black leprosy", the most severe and incurable form of this disease. The rumor about the appearance in Jerusalem of an extraordinary person performing miracles spread far beyond the borders of Palestine, and soon reached Abgar. The nobles of the King of Edes, who visited Jerusalem, conveyed to Abgar their enthusiastic impression of the amazing miracles of the Savior. Abgar believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and sent the painter Ananias to him with a letter in which he begged Christ to come heal him of his illness.
Long and unsuccessfully Ananias walked in Jerusalem for the Savior. The masses of the people surrounding the Lord prevented Ananias from fulfilling the task of Abgar. Once, tired of waiting, and, perhaps, despairing that he would be able to fulfill the order of his sovereign, Ananias stood on a ledge of a rock and, watching the Savior from afar, tried to copy him. But, despite all his efforts, he could not depict the face of Christ, because his expression was constantly changing by divine and incomprehensible power.
Finally, the Merciful Lord commanded the Apostle Thomas to bring Ananias to him. He had not yet had time to say anything, as the Savior called him by name, asking for the letter written to Him by Abgar. Wishing to reward Abgar for his faith and love for Himself and fulfilling his fiery desire, the Savior ordered water to be brought and, having washed His holy face, wiped himself off with the ubrus given to him, that is, with a four-pointed handkerchief. The water miraculously turned into colors, and the image of the divine face of the Savior was miraculously imprinted on the urn.
Having received the ubrus and the message, Ananias returned to Edessa. Avgar prostrated himself before the image and, with faith and love, venerated him, received, according to the Savior, instant relief from his illness, and after his baptism, as the Savior predicted, complete healing.
Avgar, honoring the ubrus with the miraculous image of the face of the Savior, overthrew the statue of a pagan deity from the city gates, intending to place the image miraculously there for the blessing and protection of the city. A deep niche was built in the stone wall above the gate, and the holy image was installed in it. Around the image was a golden inscription: “Christ God! None of those who trust in You will perish."
For about a hundred years, the Image Not Made by Hands protected the inhabitants of Edessa, until one of the descendants of Abgar, having renounced Christ, wanted to remove it from the gate. But the Bishop of Edessa, mysteriously informed by God in a vision, came at night to the city gates, reached the niche by the stairs, placed a lighted lamp in front of the image, laid it with a ceramide (clay board) and leveled the edges of the niche with the wall, as was told to him in a vision.
More than four centuries have passed...
The place where the Miraculous Image was located was no longer known to anyone. In 545, Justian the Great, who then ruled Edessa, fought with the Persian king Khosroes I. Edessa constantly changed hands: from the Greeks to the Persians and back. Khozroi began to build a wooden wall near the city walls of Edessa, in order to then fill up the space between them and thus create an embankment above the city walls so that arrows could be thrown from above at the defenders of the city. Khozroy put his plan into execution, the inhabitants of Edessa decided to lead an underground passage to the embankment in order to make a fire there and burn the logs holding the embankment. The fire was kindled, but had no exit, where, having got out into the air, it could cover the logs.
Bewildered and desperate, the inhabitants resorted to prayer to God, on the same night, the Bishop of Edessa, Eulalius, had a vision in which he was given an indication of the place where, invisible to everyone, was the Image of Christ Not Made by Hands. Having dismantled the bricks and taken away the ceramide, Eulalius found the most holy image of Christ whole and unharmed. The lamp, lit 400 years ago, continued to burn. The bishop looked at the ceramide, and a new miracle struck him: it miraculously depicted the same likeness of the face of the Savior as on the ubrus.
The inhabitants of Edessa, glorifying the Lord, brought the miraculous icon into the pit, sprinkled it with water, a few drops of this water fell on the fire, the flame immediately engulfed the firewood and passed to the logs of the wall erected by Khozroy. The bishop carried the icon onto the city wall and performed a litia (prayer outside the church), holding the icon in the direction of the Persian camp. Suddenly, the Persian troops, seized with panic fear, fled.
Despite the fact that Edessa was taken by the Persians in 610, and later by the Muslims, the image not made by hands remained with the Christians of Edessa all the time. With the restoration of icon veneration in 787, the Image Not Made by Hands became the subject of special reverent veneration. The Byzantine emperors dreamed of acquiring this image, but they did not succeed in bringing their dream to fruition until the second half of the 10th century.
Roman I Lekapen (919-944), full of ardent love for the Savior, wished to bring to the capital of the monarchy the miraculous image of His face at all costs. The emperor sent envoys outlining his demand to the emir, since Persia at that time was subjugated by the Muslims. The Muslims of that time oppressed the enslaved countries in every possible way, but often allowed the indigenous population to peacefully practice their religion. The emir, out of attention to the petition of the Christians of Edessa, who threatened with indignation, refused the demands of the Byzantine emperor. Enraged by the refusal, Roman declared war on the caliphate, the troops entered the Arab territory and devastated the environs of Edessa. Fearing ruin, the Christians of Edessa, in their own name, sent a message to the emperor with a request to stop the war. The emperor agreed to stop hostilities on the condition that the image of Christ be given to him.
With the permission of the Caliph of Baghdat, the emir agreed to the conditions proposed by the emperor. Crowds of people surrounded and brought up the rear during the transfer of the Image Not Made by Hands from the city to the banks of the Euphrates, where the galleys were waiting for the procession to cross the river. Christians began to grumble, refusing to give up the holy image, unless there was a sign from God. And a sign was given to them. Suddenly, the galley, on which the Icon Not Made by Hands had already been carried, swam without any action and landed on the opposite shore.
The silent Edessians returned to the city, and the procession with the image moved further by land. Throughout the journey to Constantinople, miracles of healing were continually performed. In Constantinople, jubilant people flocked from everywhere to bow to the great shrine. The monks and hierarchs accompanying the Icon Not Made by Hands, with a magnificent ceremony, traveled all over the capital by sea and installed the holy icon in the Pharos temple.
Exactly 260 years the Image Not Made by Hands was preserved in Constantinople (Constantinople). In 1204, the crusaders turned their weapons against the Greeks and took possession of Constantinople. Together with a lot of gold, jewelry and sacred objects, they captured and transported to the ship and the Image Not Made by Hands. But, according to the inscrutable fate of the Lord, the image not made by hands did not remain in their hands. When they sailed along the Sea of Marmara, a terrible storm suddenly arose, and the ship quickly sank. The greatest Christian shrine has disappeared. This, according to legend, ends the story of the true Image of the Savior not made by hands.
In the West, the tradition of the Savior Not Made by Hands has spread as a legend about the Payment of St. Veronica. According to one of them, Veronica was a student of the Savior, but she could not accompany him all the time, then she decided to order a portrait of the Savior to the painter. But on the way to the artist, she met the Savior, who miraculously imprinted his face on her board. Veronica's robe was endowed with the power of healing. With its help, the Roman emperor Tiberius was cured. Later, another option appears. When Christ was led to Golgotha, Veronica wiped the face of Jesus, covered with sweat and blood, with a cloth, and it was displayed on the matter. This moment is included in the Catholic cycle of the Passion of the Lord. The face of Christ in a similar version is written in a crown of thorns.
Which icons are the most famous
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Church historian L. Denisov mentions one of the oldest icons of the Savior Not Made by Hands (XIV century). The icon was brought to Moscow by the holy Metropolitan Alexy from Constantinople and from 1360 stood in the iconostasis of the cathedral church of the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery. In 1354 Metropolitan Alexy of Kyiv was caught in a storm on his way to Constantinople. The saint vowed to build a cathedral in Moscow in honor of that saint or feast day on which he would safely reach the shore. The day fell on the celebration of the Savior Not Made by Hands, in honor of him the metropolitan built a monastery. Visiting Constantinople again in 1356, Alexy brought with him the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands.
Chronicles and monastic records for centuries have noted the presence of the Constantinople icon in the monastery. In 1812, she was evacuated from Moscow and then returned safely. According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta on June 15, 2000, “... in 1918 this icon disappeared from the Andronikov Monastery and was found in one of the Moscow storages only in 1999. The painting of this icon was repeatedly rewritten, but always according to the old drawing. The small size and rare iconography put it among the few exact repetitions of the Constantinople relic. We were not able to trace the further fate of this icon.
Widely known is the Image of Christ the Savior Not Made by Hands, erected by no one knows who and no one knows when in the city of Vyatka on the porch of the Ascension Cathedral. The image became famous for the numerous healings that took place before him. The first miracle happened in 1645 (this is evidenced by the manuscript stored in the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow) - one of the inhabitants of the city was healed. Pyotr Palkin, having been blind for three years, after fervent prayer before the Image Not Made by Hands, received his sight. The news of this spread widely, and many began to come to the icon with prayers and petitions for healing. This icon was transported to Moscow by the then reigning sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich. On January 14, 1647, the miraculous image was transferred to the Kremlin and placed in the Assumption Cathedral. The gates to the Kremlin, through which the image was brought in, were called Frolovsky until that time, began to be called Spassky.
The icon remained in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin until the reconstruction of the Transfiguration Cathedral in the Novospassky Monastery was completed. On September 19, 1647, the icon was solemnly transferred to the monastery in a procession. The miraculous image won great love and reverence among the inhabitants of the capital; icons were resorted to for help in cases of fires and epidemics. In 1670, the image of the Savior was given to help Prince Yuri, who was going to the Don to pacify the rebellion of Stepan Razin. Until 1917, the icon was in the monastery. The location of the holy image is currently unknown.
In the Novospassky Monastery there is a preserved copy of the miraculous icon. It is installed in the local row of the iconostasis of the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Savior - where the miraculous icon itself was previously placed.
Another miraculous image of the Savior Not Made by Hands is located in the Transfiguration Cathedral of St. Petersburg. The icon was painted for Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by the famous icon painter Simon Ushakov. It was handed over by the tsar to her son, Peter I. He always took the icon with him on military campaigns, and he was with her at the laying of St. Petersburg. This icon saved the life of the king more than once.
Emperor Alexander III carried a list of this miraculous icon with him. During the crash of the royal train on the Kursk-Kharkovo-Azov railway on October 17, 1888, he got out of the destroyed car, along with his whole family, unharmed. The icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands was also preserved intact, even the glass in the icon case remained intact.
The meaning of the icon and miracles from it
The veneration of the image began in Russia as early as the 11th-12th centuries and became widespread from the 14th century, when Metropolitan Alexy of Moscow brought a list of the Image Not Made by Hands from Constantinople. Churches and temples in honor of him began to be built in the state. The icon "Savior the Fiery Eye", also ascending in type to the original Image Not Made by Hands, was on the banners of Dmitry Donskoy, a student of Metropolitan Alexy, in the battle on the Kulikovo field with Mamai. It was located above the entrance of new temples and churches, regardless of whether they were built in honor of the Lord or other holy names and events, as their main protective protection.
The further history of the all-Russian glorification and transfer of the miraculous icon to Moscow begins in the 17th century. On July 12, 1645, in the city of Khlynov, now the city of Vyatka, a miracle of insight happened to a resident of the city, Peter Palkin, who gained the ability to see after praying before the icon of the Savior in the Church of the All-Merciful Savior. Prior to that, he had been blind for three years. After this event, recorded in church documents, miracles of healing began to happen more and more often, the fame of the icon expanded to the limits of the capital, where it was transferred in the 17th century: see the section “In which churches is the icon located”.
An embassy was sent to Khlynov (Vyatka) for a miraculous image, the head of which was appointed hegumen of the Moscow Epiphany Monastery Pafnuty.
On the day of January 14, 1647, almost all the townspeople came out to the Yauza Gates of the capital to meet the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands. As soon as the congregation saw the icon, everyone knelt down on the cold winter pavement, and from all the Moscow bell towers there was a festive chime for the beginning of the thanksgiving service. When the prayer service was over, the miraculous icon was brought to the Moscow Kremlin and placed in the Assumption Cathedral. They brought the icon through the Frolovsky Gates, which are now called the Spassky Gates, as well as the Spasskaya Tower that towers above them - now many, coming to the Red Square of the Kremlin, know the origin of the name of this sacred place for every Russian person. At that time, the transfer of the image was followed by a royal decree that every male who passes or drives through the Spassky Gate should take off his hat.
The Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral of the Novospassky Monastery was then in the process of reorganization, after its completion, on September 19 of the same year, the image was solemnly transferred to the place where the list from it is now located.
The history of the image is replete with many testimonies about the active participation of the Lord in the fate of Russia. In 1670, the icon was given to Prince Yuri to help suppress the revolt of Stepan Razin on the Don. After the end of the Troubles, the saving image was placed in a gilded frame, richly decorated with diamonds, emeralds and pearls.
In mid-August 1834, a severe fire broke out in Moscow, which spread at an incredible speed. At the request of the Muscovites, the icon was taken out of the monastery and stood with it against the blazing place, and everyone saw how the fire could not cross the line along which they carried the miraculous image, as if stumbling against an invisible wall. The wind soon died down and the fire curled up. Then the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands began to be taken out for prayers at home, and when a cholera epidemic broke out in Moscow in 1848, many received healing from the icon.
In 1812, when Napoleon's troops entered Moscow, the French, who were marauding in the deserted capital, tore off the 17th-century robe from the miraculous image. In 1830, it was again enclosed in a gilded silver frame, decorated with precious stones. In the summer, the icon was in the Transfiguration Cathedral, and in the winter it was transferred to the Church of the Intercession. Also, exact copies from the miraculous image were in the Nikolsky and Catherine's churches of the monastery.
The Savior Not Made by Hands, according to some historians of the Russian Orthodox Church, has become the main part of the Christian tradition along with the Crucifixion. It is included in the top row of the home iconostasis; together with the image of the Mother of God, it was taken out as a wedding couple to bless the young for a happy and settled life together. On the feast of August 6/19 of the Transfiguration of the Lord, blessing the harvested crop, they celebrated the Apple Savior, on the first day of the Dormition Fast on August 14/29 they celebrated the Honey Savior - it was believed that on this day the bees no longer take bribes from flowers.
After the revolution of 1917, for some time the icon was in the monastery, but now the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands has been lost, and a list from that early icon has been preserved in the Novospassky Monastery. But this image is loved and revered to this day, and, as it was said at the VI Ecumenical Council: “The Savior left us His holy image according to Himself, so that we, looking at him, constantly remember his incarnation, suffering, life-giving death and the redemption of the race human."