Spiritual development, Christianity
"Indestructible wall" - an icon of intercession
Soon after the baptism of Rus supposedly the son of Prince Vladimir Yaroslav the Sophia of Kiev was built - a temple that for a long time was the main religious structure of a young Christian state. The icons of this cathedral are still considered a certain standard of writing Orthodox icon images. The exact date of the foundation of the temple is unknown.
One of the main shrines of the temple is the "Indestructible Wall" - the icon of Our Lady of Oranta. This mosaic pattern is made of slices of smalt. The icon is located under the vault, above the main altar in the temple. Orans are called the Blessed Virgin, written without a baby and stretching out their hands in a defensive gesture. Such icons were always considered to be intercessors of humanity before God.
Sometime for the decoration of Sophia by the Kiev prince Yaroslav the Wise from Constantinople, Byzantine masters were specially summoned.
Icon of the Theotokos "Unbreakable Wall" is named according to the ninth song of the Moleben Canon to the Blessed Virgin. There is such a phrase: "... Devo, and the wall is unbreakable ...". There is another explanation for this name. Over the centuries, Sophia of Kiev repeatedly suffered destruction during the raids of Polovtsy and Pechenegs. And never once did the wall with the image of Oranta suffer. The icon has reached our days in the form in which it was created by ancient masters.
Icon painters created a huge number of icons based on the original version of the original Oranta. If you want you can buy a similar image in our days. Today it is believed that the "Indestructible Wall" is an icon that can protect the house from any enemy. They hang it opposite the front door. Any ill-wisher, having entered the apartment and seeing the face of the Virgin, will for sure forget about his ungodly intentions and embarrassed to leave the house.
Also, knowledgeable people advise to address to the Theotokos of Orante those who are going to leave their dwelling unattended for a while. "Indestructible wall" - an icon that is hung in this case also opposite the door and praying, looking at it for several days in a row. You can say in this case any well-known prayer - "Theotokos", "Our Father", etc. Every time after pronouncing such words, you should ask the Virgin about the safety of the apartment in the absence of the owners.
These are the attributes that the Orthodox icon "The Unbreakable Wall" is endowed with. The photo on the top of the page is the original of Ornata in Sofia, Kievskaya.
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