The icon of the Most Holy Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” is remarkable, unusual, and distinctive. It combines things that might seem impossible to reconcile. On the one hand, its iconography originated in the West; yet, reinterpreted on Russian soil, it became extraordinarily widespread among the Old Believers. Among cast-metal icons, this type seems to be the most common. Although this iconographic type took shape very late, the service texts for its feast are, by contrast, among the most ancient. This is because the moleben canon consists mostly of stichera taken from the liturgical book Octoechos, which contains some of the oldest texts, dating back to the ninth century. Although the icon had become widespread before the Schism of the seventeenth century, it was officially proclaimed wonderworking only in 1688, that is, after the Schism.
This iconography most likely arose from the blending of two distinct images that are nevertheless similar in meaning: the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” itself and another icon known as “Tenderness and Visitation of Those Suffering in Affliction.” There are many different versions and variations of this icon. Much depended on the iconographer, and on the time and place where the icon was painted. Yet there are common features that characterize this iconographic type. The Mother of God herself is always depicted full-length at the center of the image. She may hold the Christ Child in her arms, or be shown without Him. The pose in which the Virgin Mary is depicted is likewise not prescribed. She may stand upright or lean slightly toward those who pray. Various objects may be shown in her hands. Usually these are a rod or royal scepter, a lestovka, or a scroll bearing the kontakion for this feast or listing the petitions that the faithful address to the Mother of God. These lengthy written scrolls may be repeated in the scene among those who pray. They often bear such phrases as “Protectress of the wronged,” “Provider for the hungry,” “Clothing for the naked,” “Healing for the sick,” and “Consolation for strangers.” Bread may also be depicted, symbolizing both Christ, the Bread of Life, and the ordinary bread so desperately needed by the hungry who ask the Virgin Mary for it. The Mother of God herself is dressed in royal robes, and wears a crown on her head. The crown, however, must be placed over the crimson veil-maphorion, which symbolizes the motherhood of the Virgin Mary; it was precisely because She became the Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ that She received Her royal dignity.
Christ may be depicted above the head of the Most Holy Mother of God, holding a scroll in His left hand and blessing with His right, or the Holy Trinity may be shown there. Two Angels hover beside the Virgin Mary, one on either side. Two Angels are also depicted among those who pray. The Angels symbolize swift help and the hearing of the prayers and petitions addressed to the Most Holy Virgin. To the left and right of the Virgin Mary stand or kneel people who raise their hands to Her in prayer, addressing the Mother of God with their petitions and sorrows. It is these petitions that gave the iconographic type its name: “Joy of All Who Sorrow.”
Various objects symbolizing natural disasters, catastrophes, and other misfortunes may also be depicted along the edges of the icon or among those who pray. They ask the Most Pure Virgin to deliver them from these afflictions.
Figures of various saints may be depicted among those who pray. No one prescribes a specific list of saints; the choice depends entirely on the iconographer or the person who commissioned the icon. Figures of the venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Varlaam of Khutyn, and any other saints may be painted. Standing among those who pray, they too offer their prayers to the Mother of God, asking Her to hear and grant all the petitions of those who suffer.
The official feast in honor of the icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow” was established in 1688, after Yevfimiya, the sister of Patriarch Joachim, was healed of a wound in her side after praying a moleben before this icon. Since then, October 24, the day of this miracle, has been the feast day of the icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow.” The specific icon in question was painted by Ivan Bezmin, a court iconographer and master of the Armory Chamber, in 1683. But we do not know exactly when this image first appeared in Rus’. It is known that an icon of the same name once existed at the Kiev Caves Monastery. We do not know what it looked like, either. The only thing known is that it was brought to the monastery in the twelfth century by St. Nicholas Svyatosha and placed in the hospital church. Afterward, people began to notice that a mysterious Woman visited the sick at night, and that after such a visit one of the sick would invariably be healed. One day, someone asked Her who She was. She answered: “I am joy to those who sorrow.”
The icon that became renowned in 1688 was moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg in the early eighteenth century by Princess Natalya Alexeyevna, along with the court as it relocated there. No one knows which icon she took with her: the original or a copy. Nevertheless, both images—the one in Moscow and the one in St. Petersburg—were lost after the Revolution.
It is no wonder that this image became so widespread. There have always been more than enough sufferers, sick people, and infirm. And who, if not the Mother of God, is the Swift Helper, Mighty Protectress, and Intercessor for us all before the face of Her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ? Therefore, petitions offered before this image to the Virgin Mary will never cease, and any icon may become wonderworking through the faith of those who pray and the grace sent from above.
Translated from the original article in Russian.
