The Icon of the Mother of God “Desperate One Hope” is the image of the Helper and Intercessor of the entire human race, the Most Holy Theotokos. The Most Pure Virgin helps through prayers in front of Her holy icons in all life circumstances. There is a tradition of praying for various life difficulties in front of different icons of the Mother of God, but you can choose one image that you love - let it be your icon, in front of which you will entrust all your sorrows and joys to the Queen of Heaven.

PRAYER TO THE VIRGIN - AN APPEAL TO THE QUEEN AND PROTECESS ABOUT ALL NEEDS

The Most Holy Theotokos, having conceived the Son of God from the Holy Spirit without male seed, remained a Virgin. Having given birth to the God-man Jesus Christ, She walked next to Him on His earthly path, had compassion for Him at the Crucifixion, and adopted the entire human race in the person of the Apostle John the Theologian. Hanging on the Cross, Christ said to His Mother: “Behold Your son,” pointing to His beloved disciple John the Theologian. From then on, She accepted him as a son, and she accepted all the apostles and all the disciples of Christ as Her children. Now, from Heaven, She looks at us as a kind, fair and merciful Mother.

The Mother of God was not only purer than all people in her earthly life, according to the testimony of the apostles, but she also did many works of mercy, not shutting herself up in a seclusion like a hermit, but helping people.

THE MEANING OF THE ICON “THE DESPERATE ONE HOPE”

The name of the icon translates as “the only Hope of people who despair in life.” These are the words of one of the akathists to the Mother of God. Indeed, the Mother of God performed many miracles: people in the most extreme degree of despair, in a dead end in life, turned to Her and received deliverance from troubles, and found in the Mother of God the only hope for a calm and happy life.

Icons of the Mother of God are divided into different iconographic types depending on the composition: Oranta, Tenderness, Hodegetria... Each icon is beautiful in its own way, and any person can find the image of the Mother of God that best suits his ideas about Her. The image of “Desperate One Hope” belongs to the iconographic type of Tenderness, here the Mother of God gently hugs the Infant Christ.
In the history of art history and church traditions there is no specific information about the place and time of creation of the image, about the icon painter. There are even debates about the canonicity of the image: the Mother of God is depicted as a young girl, with her hair falling out, as if tired from the long rocking of the Baby, and Christ Himself is depicted as a Little One, looking at the Mother. It is more of a painting than an icon. It is known that it was written around the beginning of the 20th century in Ukraine.
However, such iconographic nuances are not so important for believers. It is important that through this icon the Mother of God reveals Her miracles, especially since the image itself is beautiful and evokes a feeling of awe before the Mother of God, tenderness, love for Her, and hope for the help of this caring Mother of the Infant God. On ancient icons it is already difficult to discern the tenderness of the embrace of the Mother of God and the Child, which is in every icon of the “Tenderness” iconographic type, but here their love for each other and pity for all suffering people, expressed in the look of the Mother of God, are very clear. True love and compassion are the main motives of the icon.
Today, anyone can make such an icon with their own hands: embroider it with a cross or beads, or lay it out with a “diamond mosaic.”

WHAT DOES THE “DESPERATE ONE HOPE” ICON HELP WITH?

Every person has a “black streak” in life, it is important to go through it with honor, without sin. Even saints often experienced sorrows, which they correctly perceived as life lessons in which the Lord strengthened them. Through difficulties, a person matures, then grows in spirit in virtues, becomes stronger.

It is important to start praying so that your life difficulties will pass faster, so that you understand the meaning of God’s admonition through them. Start living a spiritual life: visit church, read Orthodox literature, the works and lives of modern saints in order to understand how to live in the modern world according to the commandments of God. Read prayers to God and the Most Holy Theotokos daily.

Prayer to the Mother of God, which will become part of a person’s soul, will grant a truly eternal action of God’s grace in your life and the protection of the Mother of God from any evil and misfortune. Indeed, during times of difficulty, we can also become irritated with loved ones who do not give us sufficient support. Trouble is the time to come to the Only Hope of the Desperate, to the Mother of God. Only She will give her advice to your heart, enlighten you and resolve any life situation miraculously, in a way you could never even dream of.

They pray to the Icon of the Mother of God “Desperate One Hope” for all difficulties and especially in a state of melancholy, sadness, and grief.
Don’t despair, don’t think about forgetting about addiction to alcohol and drugs, don’t look for promiscuous sex, forget about suicide and psychics. All these are things that destroy you. Pray more to the Mother of God, believe in the will of God and the care of the Most Pure One for you - you will not be left without help:

• • in material difficulties, lack of money;

• • in loneliness and melancholy without love;

• • in a long struggle with one’s vices and addictions;

• • in the attack of enemies, intrigues of loved ones, friends, colleagues;

• • in serious illnesses;

• • in difficulties with children's health and upbringing, the Mother of God is often prayed for children in front of icons with the Infant Christ.

REMEMBRANCE DAY AND PRAYER TO THE ICON OF THE “DESPERATE ONE HOPE”

The day of remembrance of the “Desperate One Hope” icon is celebrated on November 18: on this day the image is taken to the middle of the church, after the morning Liturgy a prayer service with an akathist is often performed in front of the “Desperate One Hope” icon.

You can pray to the icon of the Mother of God “Desperate One Hope” in Russian online according to the text:
“Oh, Pure Virgin, Lady Theotokos! To you we, exhausted from despondency and spiritual paralysis, convicted of sins by our conscience, pray with a repentant heart and call with diligence and tenderness: do not take Your grace from us, seeing that we have committed many sins, with which we are many of You and the Lord in the Holy Trinity times upset.

Deliver us, O Mother and Our Intercessor, from bad habits, constant sins and the passions of captivity. Through sin, demons took our will captive, tied us with strong shackles, forcing us to commit sin again and again.
Many times, even of our own free will, we have violated the commandments of our Creator, and therefore, because of our sins, we have lost the grace of Your Son, with which God protects the righteous who love Him from demonic snares.
O Lady, we do not have the strength to get rid of these demonic shackles, our will weakens without the grace of God, and our passions and demons lead us to where we ourselves do not want - like Satan forces us to work for him, committing sins, as his slaves. Do not leave us, Merciful Mother of God, without Your help, for we have no other hope but You, O Virgin Immaculate!
If You do not ask Your Son for our mercy, we will all perish because of our sins. Lead us out of slavery to passions, be our Liberator from demonic networks, enlighten our minds so that we remember: everything that is on Earth is dust and everything is temporary, especially our flesh and its desires, but as if our enemy is forcing it to serve an idol, devil.
Lady, awaken our conscience, which has fallen asleep without repentance, and fill it with the fear of the imminent Last Judgment of God, at which we will have to give an answer about all our deeds, words, and thoughts. Kindle our souls with the fire of diligence in God’s affairs, which burned at the beginning, after the Baptism of our soul. But we did not preserve this gift and, through our negligence, destroyed it: but now, like five careless virgins, we sit in the darkness of sins, not having anything to light in order to meet the Bridegroom Christ.
Oh, Mother of Light, Queen of Heaven, Hope of the desperate and burdened with many sins, send help to us from Your Son and our Lord, pray to the Sweetest Lord Jesus, so that He will not be very angry with us, but will lead us out of slavery to sin, so that He will strengthen our will by grace. Then, having delivered ourselves through Your intercession and the mercy of God from the snares of the enemy, let us glorify the One God forever in the Trinity. Amen".
Through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, may the Lord protect you!

The Icon of the Mother of God of Desperate One Hope is a majestic, but at the same time touching, gentle image of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus Christ in her arms. The Holy Face is filled with pure maternal love, the support of the Great Intercessor for all Christians. It gives hope to those who find themselves in difficult situations. Gives humility and strength to overcome troubles, live righteously, following the Lord's Commandments.

The celebration of the icon of the Desperados of the United Hope is set on November 18th. On this day, everyone who with a heart open to goodness and faith turns to the Mother of God with prayers will be given help and relief. Sinners who have realized their unrighteousness and accepted the love of the Lord and the Mother of God will have a chance to correct themselves and live righteously.

The meaning of the image of Desperados United Hope

In the life of every Christian there are moments of failure, disappointment, sorrow, when the soul rushes about, not seeing a way out of the situation, it seems that nothing will ever change for the better. Suffering, primarily moral and spiritual, becomes so strong that a person is simply unable to cope with it on his own.

In such difficult times, a sick soul needs special participation, support, and help. Close people are not always able to fully understand this pain and heal it. The Mother of God can understand everything, because who, if not her, knows true love, humility, and perseverance. So that, knowing about the lot prepared for God and her Son, with gratitude and self-denial to follow the destined path, helping Jesus Christ to carry his cross. The Most Holy Theotokos Icon of the Desperate One Hope comes to the aid of those who suffer, opens their hearts to faith in goodness and goodness. With her, the most hopeless situations are miraculously resolved, sorrows and illnesses recede.

Origin of the Desperado Icon One Hope

The Icon of the Desperate One Hope appeared relatively recently - in the last century. Unfortunately, exact information about the time, place, and author who created the face has not been preserved. The image first appeared on the territory of Ukraine, so we can assume that it was created here. Despite the fact that Orthodox priests did not come to a consensus on whether this creation is an icon, a new type of image of the Mother of God with the Child Jesus spread widely, gained the love of people, and even lists were made from it.

For example, in the Church of the Nativity of Christ in the city of Krasnodar, next to traditional icons there is an image of the Desperate One Hope.

Image on the icon of the Desperados United Hope

The first icons of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared more than 2000 years ago, during the life of the Virgin Mary. According to legend, the authorship of almost 70 of them belongs to the apostle, evangelist Luke. The saint was a contemporary of Jesus and Mary; his thoughts, knowledge, and understanding of images were imbued with the ideas of early Christianity. Needless to say, later, based on these, as well as other temple images, canons for painting holy images were established.

Today, theologians, priests, and isographers continue to debate about the inconsistency of the image of an icon with the established requirements - the canons. They pay attention to the peculiarities of the writing of the Virgin Mary: her dark, untidy hair, the absence of signs, symbols, etc. All known images of the Ever-Virgin are beautiful and, it must be said, they have quite a lot of differences.

Young Mother Mary holds the Son of God in her arms, hugging him tenderly. Baby Jesus clung to the head of the Virgin Mary, seeking warmth and protection. Full of humility, joy and at the same time sorrow, the gaze of the Most Pure Virgin is fixed on those praying. The main meaning of this iconographic image is the true love of the Mother for the Son, pure, devoted, ready to walk the whole path next to the savior, no matter how difficult it may be.

It should be noted that when painting some copies of the first icon of the Mother of God of Desperation, the One Hope, the artists deliberately make changes that bring the image of the Most Holy Theotokos closer to Orthodox church canons.

Who can be helped by prayer in front of the icon of the Desperate One Hope?

People pray before the holy Mother of God icon for all life’s sufferings, but especially often they turn to it in a state of deep confusion, sadness or grief. The Queen of Heaven hears everyone, she helps:

• defeat laziness and idleness;
• get rid of the sin of love of money;
• increase love, faith, Christian benefactors;
• cleanse the body and soul, eradicating fornication;
• hide from enemies;
• soften the heart;
• protect yourself from envy;
• get rid of bad thoughts;
• gain patience and humility;
• cure drug, alcohol and tobacco addiction.

Both the suffering person and his loved ones can ask the Mother of God for help and protection. Mother’s prayers are especially strong for delivering children from sorrows, passions, illnesses, for help to lead them to the right path in life.

They pray before the icon of the Mother of God of Desperados for one hope in various sorrows and when a person is in despondency. Those whose faith has weakened ask the Mother of God to return to their former state of mind and bestow spiritual vigor.

They pray to the icon for deliverance from enemies, for the admonition of quarreling people (especially neighbors), for the eradication of envy. The Mother of God of Desperados is the only hope - an assistant in the treatment of modern diseases - alcoholism, smoking, gaming and computer addiction.

Our Lady of Desperate One Hope

Desperate one hope

Prayer of the Desperate One Hope Listen

Desperate One Hope Prayer

Oh, most pure Lady Theotokos! To you, exhausted from despondency and relaxation, and convicted by our conscience, we fall with a contrite heart and cry out to You with tenderness: do not depart from us, many sinners, in sight of our countless sins, in the image of the most bitter God of the Trinitarian God and to you, the Queen of Heaven.

Deliver us, O our Intercessor, from sinful habits and captivity of passions, in which the enemies have captivated our will, tied us with strong bonds, forcing us to work in sin.

By our desire we have transgressed in great numbers the commandments of our Creator, and for our sins we have also lost the grace of Your Son, with which God protects those who love Him from the snares of the evil one. The imams, O Lady, do not have the strength to free ourselves from this demonic rope, for our will is exhausted without the grace of Your Son and we know that we do not want to, and like our slaves the enemy forces us to work for him.

Do not leave us, O All-Merciful One, without Your help, for the Imams have no other hope except You, Most Immaculate. If you do not implore Your Son to have mercy on us, we will all perish in our sins.

Deliver us from this sinful slavery, be a Liberator for us and a Resolver of demonic bonds, enlighten our minds, so that the memory of the imams, like all that is on earth, is dust and ashes, especially our mortal flesh, which, like an idol, the enemy forces us to serve .

Awaken, O Lady, our sleeping conscience to repentance, fallen with the fear of the present Terrible Judgment Seat of God, where the imams will give an answer about all our deeds and words and thoughts.

Kindle our souls with the fire of zeal for God, which God kindled in us in the beginning. We did not observe this gift and destroyed it through negligence; Now, like five foolish virgins, we sit in darkness, not having anything to burn at the meeting of the Bridegroom Christ.

Oh, Mother of Light, Queen of Heaven, Hope for those who are desperate and burdened with many sins, send us help from Your Son and our God, pray to the Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, may he not be angry with us, but lead us from the slavery of sin, may he strengthen our will with grace With our own, as having been delivered by Your intercession from the network of the enemy, let us glorify in the Trinity the glorified God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

They say that history goes in circles - situations are repeated, only the faces of the characters and the surroundings change. Also, icons of new times, although they bring new images, in reality they turn out to be familiar, just in a modified form. The “United Hope” icon is very reminiscent of one very well-known miraculous image to Russians.

History of the icon

Recently, a lot of icon painting workshops have appeared. Some of them offer people to custom-make the “United Hope” icon, although it is a “remake” and has not been tested by church authorities. But is it really that scary? Let's try to figure it out on our own - it's not as difficult as it seems at first glance.

Judging by the information available on the Internet, the image appeared in Ukraine several years ago. During difficult trials, people want to believe that the Queen of Heaven does not leave this country under her care. Perhaps that is why the Virgin Mary on the “United Hope” icon acquired national facial features. The differences are easy to notice if you put next to any classical icon of Byzantine (or even Western) writing.

Description and meaning of the holy image

• St. Mary's hair is visible from under the scarf;
• The tunic is red and the cape is blue, usually the other way around - a blue tunic, outerwear is dark red;
• There is a white scarf on the head;
• The Western style of the image itself - this was especially evident in the Baby;
• There are no 3 stars on the omophorion (outerwear).

Indeed, these differences exist and greatly confuse those who support the idea that one can only pray in front of “permitted” icons. The Western style in this case should not be surprising, since the influence of Catholicism has now increased in Ukraine, and it has always been more noticeable there than in Russia. But in Orthodoxy there are icons in the Western style. For example, the “Three Joys” icon originally belonged to the pen of Raphael.

By the way, if you look carefully, it will become clear where the “Desperate One Hope” icon was copied from. The figures of St. were removed from Raphael's composition. Joseph and John the Baptist. Only the Queen of Heaven remained, tenderly hugging the Baby to her. In the original, by the way, the child is also on the left hand (in the Russian version of “Three Joys” - on the left). But in both cases we have before us the type of Mother of God icon “Eleusa” - merciful, tender.

All that remains is to replace the colors, instead of the scarf wrapped around the head, draw a cape, complete the crown - and here we have a new image! Since Raphael’s “Three Joys” are considered not only a canonical, but also a miraculous icon, many questions immediately disappear.

How does the United Hope icon help?

When the type of image is determined, it immediately becomes clearer how the “Desperate One Hope” icon helps. "Eleusa" shows not only the love of a mother for her Son. Also here Christ expresses his tenderness, humility, readiness to do anything for the sake of a loved one. And Mary is not the only one who is the object of His love - the Lord accepts all humanity.

He not only accepts, but first of all gives his love; for Him it is an effective force, always ready to work. Every sinner, as soon as he repents, will not only be pardoned, but also treated kindly, just like in the parable of the prodigal son. The best bull was slaughtered for him, although he squandered his entire fortune and returned home with nothing. So people, neglecting the spiritual gifts that the Lord gives them at birth, serve their passions all their lives. They are literally wasting their talents (the ancient measure of gold).

The meaning of the “One Hope” icon is to remind us of what man is called to as a creation of God. He must seek the Father, be imbued with His spirit, which is Love. Give up all evil, serve people - not only relatives, although the majority cannot do this.

I remember the thief crucified next to Christ. He repented in time, for which he was seated in heaven next to Jesus. A Christian should never give in to despondency! The icon of the Mother of God is called “Desperate One Hope”, this is an indication that no matter how many times a person falls, there is always refuge for him. You just have to put aside pride and admit: “I need You, Lord! Queen of Heaven, help!”

Prayer to the Lord and the Mother of God is a powerful weapon - the righteous opened the sea waters for them and brought down fire from heaven. You just need to use it more often to acquire the necessary skill. Before the icon of “Desperate One Hope” you can say any prayers addressed to Christ and the Mother of God. The image is especially helpful during a spiritual crisis, but requests for health, success in business, etc. are also accepted. As with any icon, there are no restrictions - the Lord will always hear.

Prayer to the Mother of God in front of the icon “Desperate One Hope”

Oh, most pure Lady Theotokos! To you, exhausted from despondency and relaxation, and convicted by our conscience, we fall with a contrite heart and cry out to You with tenderness: do not depart from us, many sinners, in sight of our countless sins, in the image of the most bitter God of the Trinitarian God and to you, the Queen of Heaven. Deliver us, O our Intercessor, from sinful habits and captivity of passions, in which the enemies have captivated our will, tied us with strong bonds, forcing us to work in sin. By our desire we have transgressed in great numbers the commandments of our Creator, and for our sins we have also lost the grace of Your Son, with which God protects those who love Him from the snares of the evil one. The imams, O Lady, do not have the strength to free ourselves from this demonic rope, for our will is exhausted without the grace of Your Son and we know that we do not want to, and like our slaves the enemy forces us to work for him. Do not leave us, O All-Merciful One, without Your help, for the Imams have no other hope except You, Most Immaculate. If you do not implore Your Son to have mercy on us, we will all perish in our sins. Deliver us from this sinful slavery, be a Liberator for us and a Resolver of demonic bonds, enlighten our minds, so that the memory of the imams, like all that is on earth, is dust and ashes, especially our mortal flesh, which, like an idol, the enemy forces us to serve . Awaken, O Lady, our sleeping conscience to repentance, fallen with the fear of the present Terrible Judgment Seat of God, where the imams will give an answer about all our deeds and words and thoughts. Kindle our souls with the fire of zeal for God, which God kindled in us in the beginning. We did not observe this gift and destroyed it through negligence; Now, like five foolish virgins, we sit in darkness, not having anything to burn at the meeting of the Bridegroom Christ. Oh, Mother of Light, Queen of Heaven, Hope for those who are desperate and burdened with many sins, send us help from Your Son and our God, pray to the Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, may he not be angry with us, but lead us from the slavery of sin, may he strengthen our will with grace With our own, as having been delivered by Your intercession from the network of the enemy, let us glorify in the Trinity the glorified God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Icon of United Hope - meaning, what it helps with was last modified: July 8th, 2017 by Bogolub

The “Desperate One Hope” icon is the great intercessor of all believers, who gives hope in the most difficult life situations. It becomes part of a person’s soul and gives him the strength to go further on the righteous path and continue to believe in the miracles of the Lord, for only true faith can heal, help and protect from everything evil and unfaithful that exists on earth.

The meaning of the icon “Desperate One Hope”
Every person in life experiences times of special sorrow, the causes of which are a variety of circumstances. At the same time, mental suffering is so strong that it is often simply impossible to cope with it on your own, no matter how hard a person tries and no matter how much effort he makes. Healing the soul is very difficult.

And it is during this period that real support is needed. And it does not always come from an ordinary person or is not strong enough to keep away everything unclean and give hope for the best. And when human help disappears, the Most Holy Theotokos shows her intercession in the form of the icon of “The Desperate One Hope.” She comes to the rescue - and very soon the most hopeless situations in life are resolved in some amazing and unrealistic way.

All the faces of the Most Holy Theotokos are amazing and beautiful in their own way. But this one is especially sophisticated and beautiful. The Young Mother very tenderly hugs the Son of God to Herself, and he, in turn, reverently hugs her. True love, pure and true, is the main motive and deep meaning of the icon.

In the history of Orthodoxy there are no confirmed facts about where and under what circumstances this image was painted. There is only brief information that this happened at the beginning or middle of the last century somewhere on the territory of modern Ukraine. Today, he is also revered by many Christians around the world, even though disputes among famous scientists and researchers in this area about his canonicity (compliance with a certain church canon) are still ongoing.

How does the “United Hope” icon help the Desperate?
Before the holy icon they pray for all life’s sufferings, but especially often they turn to it in a state of deep sadness, and it helps:

In deliverance from the sin of idle talk and love of money;
- in the fight against laziness, when there is no one’s own strength for this;
-increase love, faith, Christian benefactors;
- in eradication from fornication;
- in case of adversity from enemies, both external and invisible;
-soften the heart and rid it of evil thoughts;
-gain patience in suffering;
- protect yourself from envy;
-in recovery from alcohol and tobacco addiction;
-see your own sins.

You can contemplate the face in many Orthodox churches around the world. His celebration was set for November 18th. This is the day when believers come to church to turn to the Mother of God with prayers for hope and faith that they will grant God’s grace and righteous life to every sufferer who has realized and accepted the power of the Lord, remained faithful to it to the end and managed to lift it up in their heart to the highest level of spirituality.

They turn to the image for help with the following prayer:

Oh, most pure Lady Theotokos! To you, exhausted from despondency and relaxation, and convicted by our conscience, we fall with a contrite heart and cry out to You with tenderness: do not depart from us, many sinners, in sight of our countless sins, in the image of the most bitter God of the Trinitarian God and to you, the Queen of Heaven.
Deliver us, O our Intercessor, from sinful habits and captivity of passions, in which the enemies have captivated our will, tied us with strong bonds, forcing us to work in sin. By our desire we have transgressed in great numbers the commandments of our Creator, and for our sins we have also lost the grace of Your Son, with which God protects those who love Him from the snares of the evil one.

The imams, O Lady, do not have the strength to free ourselves from this demonic rope, for our will is exhausted without the grace of Your Son and we know that we do not want to, and like our slaves the enemy forces us to work for him. Do not leave us, O All-Merciful One, without Your help, for the Imams have no other hope except You, Most Immaculate.
If you do not implore Your Son to have mercy on us, we will all perish in our sins. Deliver us from this sinful slavery, be a Liberator for us and a Resolver of demonic bonds, enlighten our minds, so that the memory of the imams, like all that is on earth, is dust and ashes, especially our mortal flesh, which, like an idol, the enemy forces us to serve .
Awaken, O Lady, our sleeping conscience to repentance, fallen with the fear of the present Terrible Judgment Seat of God, where the imams will give an answer about all our deeds and words and thoughts. Kindle our souls with the fire of zeal for God, which God kindled in us in the beginning.
We did not observe this gift and destroyed it through negligence; Now, like five foolish virgins, we sit in darkness, not having anything to burn at the meeting of the Bridegroom Christ.
Oh, Mother of Light, Queen of Heaven, Hope for those who are desperate and burdened with many sins, send us help from Your Son and our God, pray to the Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, may he not be angry with us, but lead us from the slavery of sin, may he strengthen our will with grace With our own, as having been delivered by Your intercession from the network of the enemy, let us glorify in the Trinity the glorified God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
The icon of “Desperate One Hope” is a majestic image of the Mother with the Divine Baby in her arms, which symbolizes the essence of all life, since it is in it that the Heavenly principle, which gives life, illuminates with hope that has no end, because it is eternal and unshakable, like itself life.