Day of the Icon of the Mother of God "Leaping of the Child"

The Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery is active today; one of the Orthodox holidays of the Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God, “The Leaping of the Baby,” is associated with its glorious past The date of the holiday is November 20 according to the new style or November 7 according to the old style It was on this day that the monastery found the miraculous icon back in 1795 The plot of the icon was formed more than a thousand years ago in Byzantium and is one of the traditional ones The Baby Jesus, sitting on his mother's lap, is depicted in a moment of joyful, playful animation His head and hand gesture turn to the bowed face of the Virgin Mary There is a lot of earthly, lyrical, humaneness in this image Apparently, this is why it was easier for parishioners to turn their secret prayers and requests to the icon The icon of the Leaping Baby began to be revered by women preparing for childbirth or wishing to achieve motherhood The rumor about the miraculous power of the image spread far beyond the monastery and was confirmed more than once Thousands of women prayed for the health of their newborns, for a happy conception, for the safe birth of babies into the world The beneficial influence of the icon did not go unnoticed The Bolsheviks' rise to power became a bitter time for many holy monasteries Monasteries and temples were destroyed and looted Many relics and spiritual values ​​were lost This sad fate did not spare the wonderful icon with the playing Savior and the sadly smiling Mother of God The image was lost, and there was not a single thread leading to its finding But this shrine was destined to return to people again and further spread its miraculous power In 2003, the ministers of the revived Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery learned about the donation of an unknown woman, whose name remained secret Her gift was an icon, the description of which was very similar to the missing image It was decided to place the newfound shrine “The Leaping Baby” in the place of the lost icon When the image of the playing baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary was in its original place, the last doubts of all those present disappeared It became obvious that the icon had returned to its native monastery and its proper place In the Orthodox tradition, one should turn to the revered image shortly before giving birth; a special prayer service is served with akathists to the Mother of God The intercession of the Mother of God will protect the process of childbirth from negativity and protect the health of mother and baby In front of the “Leaping Baby” icon, it is correct to pray any prayer addressed to the Mother of God, with a pure heart and deep faith in the soul