ostrobramskaya icon

[sufitom]

Can not sleep. Bought a new Icon today. "Ostrobramska" icon.
The woman who sold the icon said it shoudl be put on the front door to keep people away that you do not want. Seems like an unfair use of an icon but I liked the whole story that went with it.

Comments

[gorski]

Nice.

My sister actually just brought one of those back for me from Poland.

I hear it appears on city gates and places like that--though it strikes me that things like "put this icon near your door to keep away people you don't like" is probably more superstition than Christian (and it's probably kind of dangerous to do things like that and expect God to work that way). You're right that it seems an 'unfair' thing to do with the icon.

I *do* keep a couple of icons near my door, but not to keep people away. I heard once that it used to be Russian (?) tradition to say a prayer of thanksgiving for a safe journey when arriving in someone else's home. I don't know if it's true or not, but I liked that enough to put an icon of Christ, an icon of the Blessed Mother, and a small crucifix just inside the door to my house. It's a good place for me to pray for a safe journey before I leave my own home, anyways.

peace,

--me

[sufitom]

Yes it is the same...it grew on me very quickly..the sense of peace...some Theotokos icons are sad looking pre-figuring as it were the crucifixion, but not this one.

Did your sister get to Jasna Gora while there in Poland?
There is an exact full size replica of the Lady of Chestochowa chapel in Doylestown Pa. http://www.czestochowa.us/images/lg-olchapel1.jpg

[gorski]

You know, I tried to suggest Jasna Gora to her before she left, but she just wasn't interested... I wish she'd gone, but I doube I could convince somebody who just wasn't interested on their own. In fairness, it would have been a few hours out of her way, and it was a pretty full study-abroad trip.

There is a replica of the Czestochowa icon at St. Joseph's here in Raleigh, though--not my regular parish, but I do go visit now and again. I don't know if it's the same size as the original or not, but it's pretty big. (I think they have a little tiny thumbnail-sized image of it in their 'brochure'--maybe some day I'll remember to take a picture of it, though I'm never very good at photographing churches--always seems like I should be busy doing something other than photography

[asakiyume]

I like that it has been venerated by so many nationalities--an icon that brings people together.

[mimima]

I've seen it on Ebay, it is nice to know more about it. I do like the multi-national aspect, as the above commenter pointed out.

I also shy away from hanging icons with the express intention of keeping people away. However, I wonder if an icon is outside a home if it keeps door to door missionaries from knocking?

[sufitom]

Are the icons on ebay worth buying?
Are there any handwritten ones?
Is there any way to certify if the handwritten
ones are truly hand written?
Do you know ebay keeps asking me to update my
account information when I never really had an ebay account?
Do you think I will ever run out of questions?

[mimima]

I've been happy with icons bought off Ebay - I've never purchased a handwritten one, though, always a print. There is a seller - Vegasbee that I really like, and he appears to import a lot of stuff from Russia (he's probably Russian himself).

If I were looking for a handwritten icon from Russia, I'd ask someone going there to get one for me (our parish has a few families that are Russian and travel there).

Sounds like you are being Phished using the Ebay name, not fun.

And, nah!