Address by the Head of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan, Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan on the occasion of the arrival in Alma-Ata of the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Healer”

Your Eminence Archpastors!
All-honorable fathers! Dear brothers and sisters!

CHRIST IS RISEN!

On bright Easter days, filled with jubilation about the Resurrection of Christ, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', the southern capital of Kazakhstan, Alma-Ata, is visited by the famous Orthodox shrine - the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Healer”.

This ancient image of the Queen of Heaven, glorified by numerous manifestations of the power of God, resides in the Alekseevsky Stavropegial Convent in Moscow. Pilgrims from all over the world flock to the monastery to venerate the shrine, ask the Most Blessed Lady for mental and physical health, and pray for the healing of family and friends. For the first time, the miraculous icon left the Alekseevsky Monastery in order to travel to the borders of Kazakhstan - in order to please the believing people here with the great and rich mercy of the Most Holy Theotokos, to grant people, through touching the shrine, liberation from illnesses, consolation in sorrows, deliverance from everyday adversities. Meeting the miraculous face of the Mother of God, each of us can exclaim in the gospel like the righteous Elizabeth: “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43).

At the dawn of the Christian era, the Holy Church called the Mother of God “Healer.” In the very first Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos (VI century), we exalt Her with these words: “Rejoice, healing of my body; Rejoice, salvation of my soul.” Every day in our morning prayers we turn to the Mother of Christ, the true Healer of souls and bodies: “Thou who has given birth to a physician, heal the long-term suffering of my soul.” The image of the Mother of God with the name “Healer” was first mentioned in the 4th century. The icon that is visiting Kazakhstan depicts the miracle of the Most Holy Theotokos healing a seriously ill man. This event, which became the basis of the iconographic plot, was described in his book “Irrigated Fleece” by St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, in the 17th century. An ancient legend tells how the Queen of Heaven Herself appeared at the bedside of a suffering clergyman and, in response to his fervent prayers, granted him complete recovery. The healed man, who was a well-known person in the city, immediately rose from his bed, went to the temple and began to chant prayers, glorifying the Most Holy Theotokos, which amazed all the townspeople. Reading these lines, one may wonder: why was this man honored with such a miracle? It was not an angel or a saint who brought him the long-awaited healing, but the Most Pure Virgin Herself, higher in honor than the Cherubim and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim. The sick man was granted a merciful visit to the Mother of God because, as St. Demetrius relates, this clergyman had a good custom - every time he heard the chimes strike a new hour, he gave praise to the Most Holy Theotokos and proclaimed the Archangel greeting “Rejoice, O Blessed One!” and added the words of his own prayers, “doing this day and night.” Love for the Queen of Heaven, remembrance of Her benefits to the human race, faith in the Mother's intercession made this amazing event possible. The tradition captured in church memory and depicted on the icon is not just an instructive story about the affairs of days long past, but the voice of the Church of Christ addressed to us, calling us to honor and glorify the Blessed Virgin - the Mother of our Life and to receive from her various grace-filled gifts. “You did not live for Yourself and were not born for Yourself. You lived for God, for Him you entered into life in order to serve universal salvation,” this is how St. John of Damascus (8th century) admires the spiritual greatness of the Mother of God. From Gospel times to the present day, the care of the Mother of God for believers has not ceased. The icon of the Mother of God “Healer” visiting us, which by the special providence of Christ survived the years of godless persecution of the twentieth century, is a visible reminder to all of us of the reality and closeness of the spiritual world, and a vivid symbol of the mercy that the Lady of Heaven and earth is ready to pour out on everyone who turns to her with a heartfelt request, with sincere, fervent prayer. The Mother of the Savior in Her earthly life experienced pain and suffering, poverty and human cruelty, and now, being in heavenly glory, She sees every tear, hears the lamentations and prayers addressed to Her.

“Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you” (1 Cor. 6:19), the Apostle Paul instructs us, emphasizing the holiness and significance of our physical nature. Any sin, whether at the level of desires, thoughts or actions, distances us from God - the Source of life, deprives the soul of grace and destroys the body. “Are all illnesses really from sins? - asks Saint John Chrysostom (IV century) and answers. – Not all, but most of it. Some come from carelessness.” The Lord revealed to us the truth in the Gospel - healing from bodily ailments must necessarily be preceded and accompanied by deliverance from sinful ailments, that is, repentance. “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14), the Savior warns the paralyzed man he healed. A necessary condition for liberation from disease is strong faith in God. Christ speaks about this when addressing the bleeding woman: “Your faith has healed you” (Luke 8:48) and to the father of the demon-possessed youth: “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). Therefore, before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, called the “Healer,” we will ask the Queen of Heaven not only for the return of physical health, deliverance from illnesses and sorrows, but, above all, for the granting of faith and spiritual health to us, the removal of cruelty and coldness from our lives , callousness and indifference, an unmerciful and dismissive attitude towards people. Let us pray to the all-powerful Mother of God and our good Mother for cleansing us from passions, bad habits and inclinations that poison our lives, divide us from our neighbors, alienate us from Christ, deprive us of God’s grace, and make us spiritually sick. Changing the reality around us for the better, returning joy and prosperity to life - all this begins with the correction of the soul, with cleansing from sins, with a return to God.

May the bringing of the miraculous image of the Most Holy Theotokos “Healer” to the borders of Kazakhstan on the days of Holy Easter heal the sick, strengthen the weak, comfort the saddened, sanctify the natural elements and encourage us all to do good deeds.

Christ, who rose from the dead for three days, save us through the prayers of the Mother of God!

CHRIST IS RISEN! CHRIST IS TRULY RISEN!