ΝΕΚΡΟΣ ΓΙΑ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟ: The Orthodox Icon of Black Madonna of Częstochowa (Poland)

The Black Madonna of Częstochowa

Wikipedia

The Black Madonna of Częstochowa (Polish: Czarna Madonna or Matka Boska Częstochowska, Latin: Imago thaumaturga Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae Conceptae, in Claro Monte), also known as Our Lady of Częstochowa, is a revered icon of the Virgin Mary housed at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland.

The icon

The origins of the icon and the date of its composition are still hotly contested among scholars. The difficulty in dating the icon stems from the fact that the original image was painted over, after being badly damaged by Hussite raiders in 1430. Medieval restorers unfamiliar with the encaustic method found that the paints they applied to the damaged areas "simply sloughed off the image" according to the medieval chronicler Risinius, and their solution was to erase the original image and to repaint it on the original panel, which was believed to be holy because of its legendary origin as a table top from the home of the Holy Family. The painting displays a traditional composition well known in the icons of Eastern Orthodoxy. The Virgin Mary is shown as the "Hodegetria" ("One Who Shows the Way"). In it the Virgin directs attention away from herself, gesturing with her right hand toward Jesus as the source of salvation. In turn, the child extends his right hand toward the viewer in blessing while holding a book of gospels in his left hand. The icon shows the Madonna in fleur de lys robes.

History

Lucan tradition

The icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa has been intimately associated with Poland for the past six hundred years. Its history prior to its arrival in Poland is shrouded in numerous legends which trace the icon's origin to St. Luke who painted it on a cedar table top from the house of the Holy Family.^[1]^[2]

The image of the Holy Virgin of Częstochowa (before 1714). The collection of Radomysl Castle, Ukraine^[3]

Arrival in Częstochowa

One of the oldest documents from Jasna Góra states that the picture travelled from Jerusalem, via Constantinople and Belz,^[2] to finally reach Częstochowa in August 1382 by Władysław Opolczyk, Duke of Opole. However more recent Ukrainian sources state that it was taken by Władysław Opolski from the Castle of Belz, when the town was incorporated into the Polish kingdom and that earlier in its history it was brought to Belz with much ceremony and honors by king Lev I of Galicia.^[4] The golden fleur-de-lis painted on the Virgin's blue veil parallel the azure, semee de lis, or of the French royal coat of arms and the most likely explanation for their presence is that icon had been present in Hungary during the reign of either Charles I of Hungary and/or Louis the Great, the Hungarian kings of the Anjou dynasty, who probably had the fleur-de-lis of their family's coat of arms painted on the icon. This would suggest that the icon was probably originally brought to Jasna Gora by the Pauline monks from their founding monastery in Hungary.

Coronation as Queen and Protectress of Poland

The Black Madonna is credited with miraculously saving the monastery of Jasna Góra (English: Bright Mount) from a 17th-century Swedish invasion,^[2] The Deluge.
The Siege of Jasna Góra took place in the winter of 1655 during the Second Northern War / The Deluge — as the Swedish invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is known. The Swedes were attempting to capture the Jasna Góra monastery in Częstochowa. Their month-long siege however, was ineffective, as a small force consisting of monks from the Jasna Gora monastery led by their Prior and supported by local volunteers, mostly from the szlachta (Polish nobility), fought off the numerically superior invaders, saved their sacred icon and, according to some accounts, turned the course of the war.
This event led King John II Casimir Vasa to "crown" Our Lady of Częstochowa ("the Black Madonna") as Queen and Protector of Poland in the cathedral of Lwów on April 1, 1656.

Black Madonna of Częstochowa

(at National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, Philippines).

Legends about the Madonna's appearance

Another legend concerning the Black Madonna of Częstochowa is that the presence of the holy painting saved its church from being destroyed in a fire, but not before the flames darkened the fleshtone pigments.
The legend concerning the two scars on the Black Madonna's right cheek is that the Hussites stormed the Pauline monastery in 1430, plundering the sanctuary. Among the items stolen was the icon. After putting it in their wagon, the Hussites tried to get away but their horses refused to move. They threw the portrait down to the ground and one of the plunderers drew his sword upon the image and inflicted two deep strikes. When the robber tried to inflict a third strike, he fell to the ground and squirmed in agony until his death. Despite past attempts to repair these scars, they had difficulty in covering up those slashes (as they found out that the painting was painted with tempera infused with diluted wax).^[1]
Another legend states that, as the robber struck the painting twice, the face of the Virgin Mary started to bleed; in a panic, the scared Hussites retreated and left the painting.

Present day

Because of the Black Madonna, Częstochowa is regarded as the most popular shrine in Poland, with many Polish Catholics making a pilgrimage there every year. Often, people will line up on the side of the road to hand provisions to the pilgrims as those who walk the distance to Częstochowa walk the entire day and have little means to get things for themselves.

Devotion to the image of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa and other traditions

An Eastern Orthodox Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, copied right down to the two slash marks on her right cheek.

As evidenced from the icon on the right, it appears Orthodox Christians were not unaware of the Black Madonna. They too venerate her. The icon is popular in Ukraine and Belarus as the former parts of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and even in Russia. Moreover, this icon has Orthodox origin. But Polish historians found out it was repainted at least twice and there's almost nothing left from the previous Byzantine manner of painting.^[5]
Ukrainians have a special devotion for the Madonna of Częstochowa. The icon is often mentioned in Ukrainian folk songs from XVI-XVII cc.^[2]
In Vodou, it is believed that a common depiction of Erzulie has its roots in copies of the icon of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, brought to Haiti by Polish soldiers fighting on both sides of the Haitian Revolution from 1802 onwards.^[6] In her Petro nation aspect as Erzulie Dantor she is often depicted as a scarred and buxom woman, holding a child protectively in one hand and a knife in the other [what knife?]. She is a warrior and particularly a fierce protector of women and children. In Santeria, this image is referred to as Santa Barbara Africana.

Polish Orthodox Church (official site)

References and sources

References

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Duricy, Michael P (2008-03-26). "Black Madonnas: Our Lady of Czestochowa". The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio - University of Dayton. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Zenon Zawada (2008-01-26). "EASTERN APPROACHES - The Black Madonna". Ukraine Observer. Archived from the original on 2008-01-26. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
Jump up ^ http://www.radozamok.com.ua/en/ The Official Site of Radomysl Castle
Jump up ^ (Ukrainian) uk:Ченстоховська ікона Божої Матері (Wikipedia)
Jump up ^ A. Różycka-Bryzek, J. Gadomski, Obraz Matki Boskiej Częstochowskiej w świetle badań historii sztuki, "Studia Claromontana" 5, 1984, s. 27-52
Jump up ^ "Re Polish presence in Haiti : Judson comments"—Discussion on webster.edu.^{[citation needed]}

Sources

Kurpik, Wojciech (2008). "Częstochowska Hodegetria" (in Polish, summary in English, Hungarian). © Wydawnictwo Konserwatorów Dzieł Sztuki, Wydawnictwo Bernardinum, Łódź-Pelplin. p. 302.