The icon of the Virgin "The Sign" gained its fame as far back as the 12th century, when there was a terrible war on the Novgorod land. The defenders of these lands understood that power was not on their side, so they began to pray to God and the Theotokos, asking the Higher Powers for help. On the third day of incessant prayers, the archbishop heard a voice saying that it was necessary to take the icon of the Mother of God in the temple and place it on the wall of the city. All directions were fulfilled, but the enemy did not retreat. As a result, one of the arrows hit the icon , and the face of the Virgin Mary turned to the city and watered him with tears. This sign scared the enemies and many of them lost their sight. As a result, they began to shoot each other, and the Novgorodians easily defeated the enemy army. Since that time, this icon was kept in Novgorod, where a separate church was built for it.
There is a holiday, which is dedicated to the icon "The Sign", celebrate it on December 10. The image can be bought in any church shop and placed at home.
How does the icon "The Sign" of the Blessed Virgin help?
To begin with, we will understand the iconography of the image. On the icon of God, the Mother is depicted to the waist and with arms outstretched, directed towards the sky, as well as the Child showing a blessing gesture with his right hand, and in the left he holds a scroll. There are also options where the Mother of God is portrayed as a growth.
Prayers before the icon "Sign" of the Most Holy Theotokos are raised for the cessation of disasters and tragedies. This image is an excellent protection against visible and invisible enemies. If you put an icon in the house, you can not be afraid of fires, enemies and other problems. Prayers before the image help to return lost things and establish relationships in the family. Another special meaning of the icon is the "Sign" of the Blessed Virgin Mary - it helps to protect oneself from conflicts and to establish relations both between neighbors and between countries. Going on a journey, it is recommended to pray before the icon "The Sign". Asking for an image can also be about healing from various diseases. For example, there is evidence that numerous prayers before the icon helped to get rid of blindness and other eye diseases.
Given the large number of icons of the Mother of God, which are similar in composition, many people confuse images. That is why I want to say that the icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God and the "Sign" are different images, which have their own meaning and history.