Mother of Nurturing ~ Protector of Children, Understanding & Wisdom

DescriptionParents pray for their children in her presence, asking the Most Holy Theotokos to take them under her protection, to send them understanding, and to fill their hearts with wisdom.“O All-Holy Lady, Virgin Theotokos, save and keep under your protection my children (names), all boys and girls and infants, both those who are baptized and those who are nameless and those being carried in their mother’s womb. Cover them with your own maternal mantle. Preserve them in the fear of God and in obedience to their parents. Implore your Son and our Lord to grant them what is needful for their salvation. I entrust them to your maternal providence, for you are the divine protection of your servants. Amen.”Feast days March 5th [O.S. March 18]Orthodox Icons were venerated in churches, public places, private homes, and were often believed to offer protection & have healing properties. This veneration split the Church in the 8th-9th century as two opposing camps developed – those for & those against their use in worship – a situation which led to many icons being destroyed and persecution of those who venerated them. Many ordinary believers had their own family icons in their homes or carried them on their person for protection like the earlier representations of pagan gods that had been worshipped in a domestic setting independent of a priest or temple. The practice may have evolved from earlier pagan rituals, as people of the ancient world worshipped statues & figures of their gods. Evidence suggests that they commissioned portraits of their gods for veneration in their own homes, just as in churches home icons were prayed, bowed to, kissed, and had offerings of incense and tapers lit before them.Place in your home to aid in protection or even use as a focal point to give petitions and leave offerings.Vintage 90’s USSR Orthodox Icon ~ If you do not like the writing on the side the two pieces can be gently pulled apart and the hinges removed. When they are gone they are gone.