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 1840.
Moscow.
The miraculous original of this copy owes its name to the 7th century
tale «On the Penitence of Theophilus, Church Cellarer in the City of Adan».
Theophilus prayed before the icon of the Virgin named by him «The hope
of the sinners». Russia learned the tale after St. Demetrii of Rostov
included it in the Great Menology compiled by him and first published
in 1689 (entry for June 23). The Church tradition relates several miracles
performed by icons of The Hope of Sinners in 18th century Russia. The
19th century considered the icons of St. George Church at Bolkhov and
the Church of the Nativity of Christ at Palashi, Moscow, the oldest and
best-known among these images. The latter, an ancient miracle-working
icon, is at present in the church at Uspensky Vrazhek, Moscow.
 The
iconography has the following essential characteristics: the Virgin, seated,
is represented about knee-length, with the Child standing on Her lap,
His right arm wound round the Mother, cheek pressed to Her face. Mary's
arms, encircling the Child with the fingers interlocked, represent a rather
rare iconographic type. The 19th century tradition knew several lasting
iconographic variants of this icon, with the Virgin's head now covered,
now bared. Some variants had other positions of the arms. Sometimes there
is a window on the left with a landscape in it. All these variants ascend
to one of the worshipped originals whose iconographic characteristics
they follow.
 The
service to this image was compiled in Moscow in the 19th century on the
basis of general prayers to the Virgin and the Candlemas liturgy. The
prayer to Our Lady the Hope of Sinners was taken from a Russian translation
of the Tale of Theophilus. The icon is commemorated on February 5.
The Tretyakov Gallery icon must be an abbreviated copy of the image in
the Resurrection Church at Tver, whose iconographic characteristics it
repeats, with Mary's head bared and the hair hanging loose down the shoulders,
and a window to the left. The image is encircled in an oval — a specific
feature of this particular icon. The oval is inscribed in large lettering
at the bottom: «Be brave, and I shall hearken and intercede for thee».
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