The image of the Virgin of all those who mourn

I have painted this large icon for six years. Having returned from a trip to Italy, having visited the best collections of paintings of the late Renaissance (Renaissance), I went to work in an icon workshop near Moscow. It was there, making icons in the classical Byzantine style, I came across the words of Anthony the Great: Faith is unchanging like a stone, and the church grows like a tree. This thought haunted me for a long time and finally I understood the meaning. A modern person, free to move and receive any information, still needs clothes, housing, livelihoods and fear of the uncertainty of the day to come. Needs are not changed and the help of the Creator, the Virgin and angelic powers became even more necessary for us in connection with the loss of orientation. Growing spiritual illiteracy leads to the fact that living with our blindfolded eyes, we see when the trouble is on the doorstep and do not understand that we could have avoided it by being awake on joyful days and thanks for Joy and Health.
 A large old frame was found and I understood that the language of the canvas should be understood by all the church and lay people, it became clear what the size of the new hymn should be to the forces that gave birth to us, the forces that love us more than anything else, the forces of Love and Care.
  Based on modern realities, I painted an icon in the European style in order to show the identity of the great saints and modern people. Mary of Egypt and the Apostle Paul, Nicholas the Wonderworker and Alexander the Great, the Archangel Gabriel and the strong man Samson stood on a par with simple beggars. Mother Mother of God gives us the gold of Faith and the keys to all the earthly doors, you just need to ask about it. Freedom of Mans Will is sacred and silence is the rejection of help, but as soon as the request sounds, all the forces go to our aid! Hail Virgin, rejoice!