In addition to the canonical texts of the Bible, officially recognized by the Church Fathers, there are a large number of apocrypha (from the Greek ἀπό-κρῠφος — “secret, hidden”). These texts contain information from Sacred History, which was for some reason deemed questionable. They are strictly forbidden for church reading; however, they often become stories that are not condemned by the Church and can even serve as an iconographic source for some images.
One of these apocrypha describes a story of a miracle at Chonae, performed by Archangel Michael. Archangel Michael holds the title of Archistrategos: he stands above the entire angelic host. Michael is the victorious opponent of the devil and the keeper of the scales on which human souls are weighed.
Two miracles that occurred in the 4th century and combined into one story are connected with the presented image.
The legend names Phrygia as the place of events. It was located in the vicinity of the city of Hierapolis. An unbaptized man who had a deaf daughter lived in the city of Laodicea. Appearing to him in a dream, Archangel Michael pointed to a spring and revealed that the girl would find the gift of speech by drinking water from it. The miracle happened, after which this man and his whole family were baptized and erected a church near the spring in the name of Archangel Michael. Soon people were drawn to the wonderful place, and many pagans converted to Christianity.
For 60 years, the pious Archippos served as a sexton at the church and led many to the faith by preaching and being an exemplary Christian.
The pagans who inhabited those places decided to destroy both the church and its zealous servant. Having broken two dams, they diverted the flow of two powerful rivers towards the church, and Archippos turned Archangel Michael with a plea for help. The latter answered the prayer, appeared before the righteous man and with a fiery spear pierced a cleft in the rock, where the water funneled. The place where the archangel appeared was called Chonae, which means “cleft, hole”, and the miracle itself began to be referred to as “The Miracle at Chonae”.
The iconography of this plot was formed in Byzantium by the 10th century; in Russian iconography it has been known since the 13th century. The icon surface is conventionally divided into two parts: on the left stands Archangel Michael with a spear, on the right — the kneeling Monk Archippos; the church is in the background. The water stream crosses the image in the middle, without harming either the man or the church.
The icon comes from one of the churches in Balakhna. It entered the Museum of Local History in 1977, and in 1993 the monument was restored in the Moscow Interregional Scientific and Restoration Art Department.
One of these apocrypha describes a story of a miracle at Chonae, performed by Archangel Michael. Archangel Michael holds the title of Archistrategos: he stands above the entire angelic host. Michael is the victorious opponent of the devil and the keeper of the scales on which human souls are weighed.
Two miracles that occurred in the 4th century and combined into one story are connected with the presented image.
The legend names Phrygia as the place of events. It was located in the vicinity of the city of Hierapolis. An unbaptized man who had a deaf daughter lived in the city of Laodicea. Appearing to him in a dream, Archangel Michael pointed to a spring and revealed that the girl would find the gift of speech by drinking water from it. The miracle happened, after which this man and his whole family were baptized and erected a church near the spring in the name of Archangel Michael. Soon people were drawn to the wonderful place, and many pagans converted to Christianity.
For 60 years, the pious Archippos served as a sexton at the church and led many to the faith by preaching and being an exemplary Christian.
The pagans who inhabited those places decided to destroy both the church and its zealous servant. Having broken two dams, they diverted the flow of two powerful rivers towards the church, and Archippos turned Archangel Michael with a plea for help. The latter answered the prayer, appeared before the righteous man and with a fiery spear pierced a cleft in the rock, where the water funneled. The place where the archangel appeared was called Chonae, which means “cleft, hole”, and the miracle itself began to be referred to as “The Miracle at Chonae”.
The iconography of this plot was formed in Byzantium by the 10th century; in Russian iconography it has been known since the 13th century. The icon surface is conventionally divided into two parts: on the left stands Archangel Michael with a spear, on the right — the kneeling Monk Archippos; the church is in the background. The water stream crosses the image in the middle, without harming either the man or the church.
The icon comes from one of the churches in Balakhna. It entered the Museum of Local History in 1977, and in 1993 the monument was restored in the Moscow Interregional Scientific and Restoration Art Department.
