Icon Of The Mother Of God Of Mercy ( Vilna )

The icon of the virgin of Ostrobram or Vilna was a part of the icon of the Annunciation.Therefore the blessed virgin is depicted without a baby.
Anyone who has visited Staraya Vilna and stood in the chapel of the Sharp gate in front of the ostrobram icon will never forget its wonderful expression To us, the Orthodox, the icon speaks about the difficult past of Orthodoxy in this region. It is our ancient Orthodox Shrine, and is now in Catholic hands.It was brought to Vilna from the Crimea, namely-from Chersonesos, or korsuny, by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd Gediminovich (1345–1377), who gave this relic to his wife, who brought it as a gift to the Holy Trinity monastery, which arose in Vilna at the place where the court boyars of Olgerd – Anthony, John and Eustathius-suffered from the Lithuanian pagans. The surrounding area was inhabited exclusively by Orthodox people and was named Ostrogo, or Russian end. In 1431, the icon was already in the chapel above the Sharp gate (in Polish, Ostra Brama), hence the name of the icon of the virgin.In 1596, the region was declared a Church Union, and the Holy Trinity monastery, which belonged to the icon, necessarily passed to the Union. The icon with the chapel first passed into the possession of the Uniates, and then went to the Latin Carmelite monks, who still have it.
In 1829 the face of the virgin was renewed in the Catholic spirit. It is said that at that time on the icon you could still distinguish the Church Slavonic inscription: The most honest cherub and the most glorious Seraphim without comparison, We are used to seeing a more Catholic version of the icon,but the Orthodox still pray before this icon for their sorrows.
Since the icon has been "standing on the gate" for centuries, people pray before it for the protection of the house,from enemies and dashing people,for the protection of the hearth,and strong love between spouses .Those who prayed before the icon noted that their longing quickly left them,and long-tormenting problems and situations were resolved .
On the image there is a Crescent in the lower part, and the mother of God is in the glow. The simple symbolism here is clear, but there is also a deeper one that emphasizes the nature of the virgin and the power of this icon. In fact, the Crescent moon is called by the ancient word Allatra and this symbol was used since ancient times to indicate individuals who transcended the physical principle. These souls while in the body ascended to another level and freed themselves from the shackles of the flesh. So they could bring light to other people.
The icon can be written in different sizes and on a Board of both arched and rectangular shape, write, we will discuss .