MOTHER OF GOD "SERAPHIM - DIVEYEVO"
St. Seraphim of Sarov, a 19th-century Russian monk ... is said to have practiced a devotion nearly identical to the Rosary ... St. Seraphim would pray this devotion daily, kneeling in his cell before an icon of the Theotokos. This Tenderness icon is very unusual, in that it depicts the Blessed Virgin alone, without her son. In fact, it was possibly not a traditional Orthodox icon at all, but a Western image of Our Lady. This image, which St. Seraphim called "Joy of All Joys," represents Mary's feelings of tenderness at the Annunciation. With oil from the lampada that burned before this holy icon, St. Seraphim would anoint the sick and they would be healed. He was praying in front of this icon when he died on 2 January 1833. After his death, the abbot gave the holy icon to the sisters of the monastery at Diveyevo. The icon is sometimes known as the Seraphim-Diveyevo icon of the Theotokos, after the convent where it now resides. Note : Weather or not the icon depicted above is the exact one before which St Seraphim prayed is questionable. What is known is that he kept a "similar" icon in his cell. Source : Joy of All Joys : Two Natures Blog |
