Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Source”

Every year on Friday of Easter week, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God "Life-Giving Spring" The revered image depicts the Mother of God with the baby Jesus, sitting in a baptismal bowl flowing water The symbolism of this icon has a long history, dating back to the Byzantine Empire of the 5th century According to legend, in a shady grove located near Constantinople, a spring of life-giving water flowed But the place was forgotten and unkempt; the life-giving moisture was almost hidden under the mud that covered it One day, the future Emperor Leo drove past the grove and on his way he met a blind old man The blind man asked for a drink, but the Lion did not see water to drink anywhere around Walking around the grove in search of a source, he heard a voice that indicated where to look for life-giving moisture Also, the Mother of God, to whom the voice belonged, suggested not only giving the blind man something to drink, but also putting mud from the source on his blind eyes Leo followed the instructions he heard, and, seeing that the elder was healed, he was convinced of the truth of everything he heard Among other things, the Mother of God predicted the future glory of the emperor to Leo, and also promised her help in the construction of a temple on the site of the source When Leo was lucky enough to wear the royal crown, he hastened to build a cathedral on the site of a forgotten grove Soon, many people coming to the new temple were convinced of the miraculous power of the source, consecrated by the holiness of the Mother of God Several centuries later, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian was saved by the power of healing water, having listened to the Virgin Mary who appeared to him in a dream And even during the reign of Muslim Turkey, the holy place was not forgotten and Christians continued to receive the help of healing water In the 19th century, the source was buried for several decades, but not forgotten The temple was restored and the area around it was cleared Today there is a women's Christian monastery there with a hospital and almshouse, and believers rejoice at the revival of the place of healing power on the fifth day of Bright Easter Week Initially, the icon “Life-Giving Spring” did not have an image of a font of water, since the Mother of God herself was thought of as the source of God’s grace After the 17th century, a wooden treasure with gushing streams of water appears on Russian icons On the sides of the Mother of God and Jesus are archangels, and below are saints with bowls in their hands John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian and Basil the Great draw life-giving moisture and then pass it on to the suffering The weak and sick surround the font, turning with prayers to the heavenly intercessor, awaiting a miracle of healing