We are all in a hurry for miracles (c) ...
Hello! Welcome! Nice to finally meet you in person. Well, yes, it's me - staruha_izergil, in the world - Irina, at work so even Irinvladimirna. But on TurPravda we are without show-offs, right? Therefore - just Irina, or the Old Woman, in general, as you like. Well, maybe immediately to “you”, otherwise we somehow “kick” everything to each other, like strangers.
Well, how do you like my Berdichev? Well, yes, it is small and provincial. But beautiful, right? We even have our own personal globe:
Well, there are other beautiful things too:
Maybe we can sit here on a bench for a bit, take a break from the road?
In general, they say about Berdychiv that it is a city of four cultures: Ukrainian, Russian, Polish and Jewish. We have all this in abundance. Look, even if it is confessional, then here is an Orthodox church, here is a synagogue. And those white turrets in the distance are a Catholic church:
It is correctly and pompously called the Sanctuary of the Mother of God of the Holy Scapular. What does Sanctuary mean? From Latin it is a sanctuary, a sacred place dedicated to a deity. In our case, the Mother of God of Berdichev. And the scapular is such a charm. During the holiday, it is customary to undergo a rite of passage, giving the right to wear it in exchange for worthy Christian behavior. This is what it looks like:
And the celebration will take place right there, on the square in front of the Sanctuary. Still, it's great that you're at the party. I assure you: you will not see this anywhere else in Ukraine. 100%. Well, except that in Poland in Czę stochowa something similar happens. But those who were there claim that our holiday is no worse. So what if you profess Orthodoxy, but the holiday is Catholic? I am also Orthodox and not such a fanatically believing young lady. But I always look forward to summer for these days too.
Come on, while we're walking, I'll give you a short historical digression. About our fortress (although it is correct to call it kLashtor, i. e. monastery-fortress) you already know . So. The miraculous icon is kept in the monastery, because of which once a year our city becomes like a small Vatican. I am not kidding. You will see everything. To make everything immediately clear, our icon of the Mother of God of Berdychiv is the main Catholic shrine of Ukraine. And the main shrine of Polissya. It is revered equally by both Catholics and Orthodox. The one that is now is a remake.
Initially, it was a copy of the Roman icon of Our Lady of the Snow, kept in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. In the sixteenth century The Jesuit Fathers received permission to make several copies of that icon. Some of them ended up in Poland - the Commonwealth. And in the end, one copy ended up in the family of the Polish magnates Tyszkiewicz. A hundred years later, one of the Tyszkiewicz founded in Berdichev a monastery of the monastic order of the barefoot Carmelites (they are figuratively barefoot - it’s just that in this order the monastic charter is very strict. But in real life, the Carmelites really walk in sandals on their bare feet). So, this icon-copy - a family heirloom of the Tyshkeviches - was donated to the monastery. Believers with prayer hurried to the new temple. And from among those who prayed, many began to notice that they were healed of all kinds of ailments. Among them was even a Kyiv Catholic bishop. Therefore, even then the icon was proclaimed miraculous. And at the same time, the tradition of pilgrimage to the Berdichev Carmelite monastery was born.
As miraculous healings increased over the next hundred years, in the middle of the sixteenth century. the miraculous status of the icon of the Mother of God of Berdichev was recognized even by the Vatican. Pope Benedict XIV issued a decree on the coronation of the icon. And two golden crowns with emeralds were sent to Berdichev, which were fixed on the icon in a solemn ceremony. Thus she was crowned for the first time.
Then everything was just like in a detective story. The crowns were stolen, returned back, stolen again, as a result of which in the nineteenth century. the icon was re-crowned with crowns already with diamonds, at the same time it was set in a golden chasuble. Until now, the Orthodox version of the icon of the Berdychiv Mother of God is kept in the Radomyshl Castle, where the Mother of God is depicted in this very riza, but the very first crowns, with emeralds, are painted. No, I have not been to Radomyshl. I read an excellent Golubchik's story on TurPravda. I should go myself, I agree.
Well, yes, more about our icon. In the 19th century, she was crowned for the third time (a new riza was celebrated and the crowns were renewed). Then, under the tsars, the monastery was closed. Then they reopened. Then the Soviet authorities came, and the proletarians, led by the call: "Who are temporary here? Get off! Your time is over" the monastery was closed again. And the icon was exhibited in the Museum of Revolution and Atheism. Well, then the Great Patriotic War began... Then either the temple was set on fire on purpose, or a shell hit it, but as a result of the fire, the icon burned down, even at the very beginning of the war. . Well, yes, the Germans entered the city on July 8.1941. Can you imagine? "That's all. Four years of occupation. Remind me later, I'll show you a monument to the executed Jews. We had a Jewish ghetto, 38 thousand of them died, because before the war the city was a Jewish town. But less than two dozen people survived...
I got distracted. So, the icon burned down, although as a child, I remember, we told each other an amazing story about how the icon was stolen even earlier, and along the underground passage stretching under the river straight to Poland, they were taken away on four black horses to unknown distances...
Well, after the war for 40 years, there was nothing on the territory of the monastery. For example (at the time when I was not yet the Old Woman Izergil) I went to the sports school, located in the current lower church : ) But over time, everything fell into place. The monastery returned to the Carmelites. And in 1990, a Polish artist-restorer painted an exact copy of the icon of the Mother of God of Berdychiv.
And in 1997, she was blessed and consecrated in a church in Krakow by Pope Jan (John) Paul II. A year later, the icon was crowned. And in 2001, during the visit of Pope Jan (John) Paul II, the icon of the Mother of God of Berdychiv decorated the altar during a service in Kyiv.
Every summer on July 16, the Day of veneration of the icon is celebrated. Well, the main celebrations are celebrated on the weekend closest to this date. And we have a city-wide celebration.
Oh, the monastery (and the city, of course) begins to prepare for the celebration, as the priests themselves joke, immediately after the departure of the last pilgrim from the previous holiday : ). In general, all this action is always characterized by a very clear organization and colossal discipline. Special monastic services prepare the courtyard for receiving guests and holding festive events. The choir and orchestra are rehearsing. The nuns decorate the impromptu altar with natural flowers and create floral arrangements to decorate the courtyard and the arch.
There is a medical service in the monastery courtyard, and a security and order service in the square in front of the Sancruary. No homeless people, beggars, beggars and other asocial elements. It cannot be said that they are not allowed into the square - they somehow do not come there themselves.
Saturday evening is the most noteworthy in all this festive fuss. In the holiday schedule, this is my favorite day and hour. At this time, pilgrims begin to converge on the Sanctuary. The most real pilgrims, on foot who overcome 50, who 180, and who and all 250-300 km (depending on where the pilgrimage comes from). A group of bike pilgrims from Kharkov has been coming for several years in a row.
In addition to the "distant", there are also local pilgrims. For example, every year 2 groups go from Zhytomyr: one goes 2 days, with an overnight stay on the way. The second - in 10-12 hours on foot travels a distance of 45 km (just a minute! ). Most often we meet them when on Saturday you need to urgently turn to Zhytomyr, and you go by car, and they walk along the highway in columns, they carry a common rope in their hands, protecting them from the roadway. This is grandiose, true: each group includes several priests and nuns, pilgrims of different ages, sometimes over 500 people in number. As a rule, there are young guys with guitars in the group, the whole column goes and at the same time sings various songs of religious content, yes, but they are rhythmic, modern, by no means archaic, and without any mournfulness and recitatives. And so they go, and all the cars passing by honk their horns with all their might and the passengers wave their hands to the pilgrims, and those - in response. And such a festive atmosphere throughout the road while they are walking along it.
Now you will see everything. Here, do you hear? Music booming? Oh, look the wrong way, to the left, yeah, you see flags appearing at the end of the street?
Already people are visible! Oh, look, there's a funny padre, with a water pistol at the ready:
No, well, can you stand it? ! Serious people, like, at serious work, but what they spit out. Oh, here they are announcing: the Kiev pilgrimage, as part of a group of pilgrims from Ukraine, Belarus, and the USA. They walk all the time. Do you understand? Four days.
Now-now they will come closer. Each group specially prepares in advance some kind of trick, “trick”. The chips are different every year. Last year there was a group that brought with them a huge flag of the state flag, 40 meters long.
I also remember there was a group that simultaneously released a hundred multi-colored balloons into the sky (moreover, they got them out of nowhere before that, like magicians, and this was long before the start of mass patriotic manifestations).
Well, or all the pilgrims just wave their multi-colored ties at the same time, or something else, some kind of slogan or something like that:
Don't be shy, here you can sing along with them, and clap your hands as hard as you can, and it's not even a shame to cry looking at them:
They're just so cool!
Oh, and over there, over there, you see the flags of Odessa, our LaFif’s hello:
Well, and later, pilgrims are already going to the monastery courtyard and to the temple itself to bow to the icon.
And then they rightfully, after a long journey, in anticipation of the evening service, rest on the square in front of the temple:
or just nearby lawns:
But that gray building, near which they lie down on the lawns - this is the district administration : ):
Well, the townspeople also come with bedspreads, benches. You see, Saturday evening is, as it were, still such an unofficial day. Tomorrow - yes, everything will be serious here, like in a temple, only under the open sky. Well, for the locals, this is such an informal holiday. And the alien people today are just resting after a long journey. But among the participants of the holiday there are those who, having overcome a long journey on foot, spend the whole night from Saturday to Sunday under the vaults of the church, in the silence of marble slabs, in prayer and repentance. . .
Well, this year is certainly not a record - only 18 pilgrimages. There were more, of course. This year, the largest group is from Kyiv, as many as 648 pilgrims! Well, they again announce that the youngest pilgrim this year is 13 months old, and the oldest is 77 years old. And the geography of the places where the pilgrims came from is as follows: Ukraine, Italy, Belarus, Brazil, Georgia, Poland, USA.
Yes, 20 minutes after the arrival of the last group of pilgrims, the first open-air festive service will begin. The next day there is the usual Sunday morning mass in Polish in the church building, and around noon there is a solemn Sunday festive service in Ukrainian and Latin again in the square in front of the Sanctuary. It is usually led by guests - this year it will be the archbishop who heads the Riga Archdiocese (well, or the episcopate). And today the rector of the Iberian province of Discalced Carmelites in Spain will rule the Saturday evening service.
Well, let's stand quietly and listen.
No, kneeling down is completely optional. And you can overshadow yourself with the sign of the cross in the Orthodox way. Nobody here pays any attention to it. You participate in the process exactly as much as you consider possible for yourself.
That's it, the service is over. No, we're not leaving yet.
Now you will see what they are doing here: those who, in the heat or in the rain and with a rather vigorous step, with their legs worn out in blood and burnt noses, have passed their difficult kilometers. It is already such a tradition that in the time remaining after the evening service, night vigils near the miraculous icon have not yet begun, and those who do not spend the night in the temple have not yet dispersed for the night. So, for some time they just have fun, fool around, generally enjoy life.
Nuns and children, elderly priests and young people, and even adults - they all lead some kind of intricate round dances, sing songs, flash mob and just fool around.
Energy Chumacchechchaya. And you can see that people are just fine. And from their "good" and your soul becomes lighter and warmer. Oh, now you are trampling with one foot and patting your knee : )). No, I don't know the words of the songs either, so I mumble something to the beat of the music. Well, huh?
Of course, somewhere you regret, yes, that you are not one of them. But I think that this is not even the easiest test physically, and not everyone will find in themselves not only spiritual, but also bodily strength to decide on such a journey. What makes these people (many from year to year), in the heat and downpours, come here, what faith, what strength - I do not understand. They don't look like religious fanatics. They are normal and cheerful, it is pleasant and easy to communicate with them. But here they are capable of such a feat, sorry for the pathos. And we are not. From year to year they come to our city to bow to the miraculous icon, to ask her for protection for themselves and their loved ones. The pilgrimage itself can already be someone's vow fulfilled.
It is also customary to invite pilgrims to stay for the night. And many, having once hosted absolutely strangers (and not even being of the Catholic faith), then annually wait for guests and meet as close relatives. Those who are not lucky enough to find "relatives" in the Berdichev land, and who do not participate in night vigils at the miraculous icon, are accommodated for the night in kindergartens and schools. Well, since young people, even despite the pedestrian crossing, still begin to “fun tricks”, now they are somehow especially strict with discipline, and the priests and nuns accompanying the pilgrims are closely watching this.
Well, let's go? Maybe we can have some ice cream? Come on, I can't stop smiling myself, it's all so cool :
It's Sunday. How do you like the night storm? No, no one doubted that the weather would still be great, even though I tirelessly monitored all kinds of weather sites. Actually, I don't believe in mythical miracles. But she herself witnessed how one Sunday, before the service (traditionally held under the open sky), in the morning the sky was not just overcast, it was dark purple. And the rain was about to fall. But at 10.50 (ten minutes before the start of the service), as if someone took and pushed this dark purple, the sun came out and shone exactly until it ended. And right after that it started to rain. I do NOT believe in the supernatural. But I can’t explain what happened logically either.
Yes, today everything is solemn and pompous, like in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. Dressed up crowd in front of the Sancruary, restrained voices and coughs. Chorus, music - it's always like that. Well, this year, before the start of the solemn mass, the monument to Pope Jan (John) Paul II will also be consecrated. After all, the Poles are terribly proud that it was he, Karol Wojtyla, who deserved the highest Catholic clergy and became the first Slavic pope in history, as well as the first non-Italian pontiff, starting from the 16th century. Wojtył a was a very active Pope and, having held this post for 26 years, he managed to do a lot to popularize the Catholic Church throughout the world. During his pontificate, he visited all continents, and more than 300 million (think about the number) people around the world became Catholics thanks to him.
Let's stand here. Then we will see how the icon is solemnly carried out:
See, right? Why not the Vatican?!
Yes, the icon is carried through the crowd, brought to a makeshift altar, and there it is placed on a special pedestal. And at the end of the service they also take it away. And on ordinary days it hangs in the upper temple.
Well, the service has begun. She is traditional. Only long. Oh, and it's hot today. Good thing you took an umbrella. At least some shade. Yes, and many are worth it.
Pilgrims, high-ranking priests and neophytes, nuns, believing townspeople and just curious people pray together, some aloud, some silently about the world, about health, about well-being. These are the moments when a whole square reads a prayer aloud to the people - so heartfelt and at the same time solemn. Those who do not "fit" in the square - pray next to it:
Well, during the service (since this is a service according to the Catholic rite) there are such moments when Catholics are sitting, if it happens in a church. And in the open air - they also sit, only not on benches, but on their karemats or just whatever they need.
At this time, right at the walls of the district administration, the priests, as expected, confess the believers:
Just like that, on the green grass, on ordinary chairs they sit and listen to people.
Yesterday I didn’t have time to take a picture: there are twenty or thirty of these chairs, and all of them are already empty, and on their backs there are such purple ribbons with which the holy fathers cover their faces, thereby preserving the secret of confession and their pastoral word. And the priest sits on only one chair. In a monastic cassock, in sandals on bare feet. In the pose of Rodin's The Thinker. And such a burden of human sin on his face, such sadness! Oh, it's still a pity that I "clicked" such a moment!
Oh, I also love this moment, when during the service the priest announces: "Give each other the sign of peace. " And you just need to shake each palm extended to you with the words "Peace be with you. " This is such a beautiful ceremony, especially now, isn't it?
Well, now the priests will hand out the sacrament, they will take away the icon, those who wish will consecrate their “shocks” (scapulars, if in a correct way; shkAplezh - then in the Polish manner). And that's it. The holiday will end.
How did you like it? And then all “Once upon a time”... I knew that I would like it. It's nice that now you understand: even if you've never been a Catholic, and in general, perhaps, you don't consider yourself to be a believer, it's worth looking at all this at least once in your life. It's just that the feeling you get standing there in the crowd is like no other. Are you coming next summer? Necessarily? And in the fall, in order to visit the inside of the church and take a closer look at the icon? No problem, I'm waiting. You know the email. Yes, no, it's better to write a message on TurPravda in a personal. I'll see it sooner : ).
Well, "on the road" to you:
When you draw the ground
Free from resentment
Dress her in color and green,
In blue tan
}
And the most transparent dew,
And someone's silent question. . .
Add a golden Sun,
And the sky in the bed of the day.
And the house, and there, in the window, -
Attentive, me.
Let the waterfall curl
A flirty river.
And an angel, lonely
Flying in the clouds. . .
And the wind over the white steppe,
And the path goes far....
When you paint the sky
Don't forget about the angel. . .
(Sergey Moskalenko. Draw)
PySy. Thank you for the idea of such a format for the story Kolia_oro. egor'a (see http://www.turpravda.com/ru/moskva/blog-108403.html)
PyPySy: The report is illustrated with photos from different years
