It is said that the icons, by the divine grace they have, choose their own places from where they can manifest their powers of blessing and consolation. It so happened that one icon of the Mother of God has remained on our lands from the end of the 18th century, when the battles of the Russo-Turkish war of 1787-1791 took place here. The circumstances of the appearance of this icon in Bessarabia are confirmed by several historical references, from which it follows that the Russian officer N.A. Albaduev, a participant in the military campaign, brought this icon here with him, and after his death his relatives – the colonel’s wife or his mother – gave this icon to the monastery, where he suddenly died when he came there on Christmas to receive communion. The icon of the Mother of God was initially placed in the old wooden church, where the officer’s grave was located, and then was placed in the new Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, built and consecrated in 1816.
Soon the icon became very popular, and its fame increased enormously thanks to the healings that occurred thanks to the intercession of the Mother of God; the names of the healed people, their place of residence and sufferings were described in periodicals. Archimandrite Seraphim, hegumen of the monastery in from 1805 to 1827, mentioned the special veneration of the icon of the Mother of God from the Hârbovăţ Monastery by Orthodox people who are always looking for help and intercession from this icon of the Empress of The World. Believers called it a wonder-making icon even before the Holy Synod issued Decree No. 526 of January 26, 1859, signed by Emperor Alexander II, proclaiming the icon of the Our Lady of Hârbovăţ as the Wonder-Making. Recognizing the miraculous properties of this icon, the Holy Synod also organized religious processions with the delivery of the icon to Chişinău on October 1 and its subsequent return to the monastery on April 23.
The icon of the Mother of God of Hârbovăţ is one of the earliest and most popular types of the Theotokos icons, that of Hodegetria. In this iconographic depiction, the Mother of God and the Child are presented in a frontal position, looking at the one who is praying. The Mother of God holds the Child on Her left hand, and with Her right hand points to Him, the Child blesses with His right hand, holding in His left hand a sacred scroll – a symbol of the Gospel. Regarding the images, it should be said that the icons of the Herbovets Mother of God differ from the traditional icons of the Hodegetria type in a special relationship between the characters, their mutual affection is expressed in poses, in the tilt of the heads, in the gentle expression of the Child’s face. We can say that in the iconography of the Mother of God of Hârbovăţ, features of two different types of Theotokos are harmoniously combined: the Mother of God Hodegetria, or Our Lady of the Way, and the Mother of God Eleusa, or the Virgin of Tenderness.
Exact copies of this icon are still kept in the summer church of the Noul Neamţ Monastery in the village of Chiţcani (Căuşeni), in the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Church in the village of Sîrcova (Rezina), in the All Saints Church in Chişinău (early 20th century), in the Transfiguration Cathedral in Bolgrad, in the Transfiguration Monastery in Tatarbunary, in the Saint Paraskeva Church in the village of Furatovka (Odessa Oblast), in the Saint Archangel Michael Monastery in Odessa, in the Ascension Monastery in Teplodar (Ukraine), in the Holy Trinity Monastery in the village of Mramor, near Topolovgrad (Bulgaria), in the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tyron Cathedral in Chişinău, in the Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Ungheni, and other churches.
Victor Andreev: “And when the Motherland will regain freedom ...”
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2015
Abstract
The history of anti-Soviet and anticommunist resistance in postwar Bessarabia is rich in facts and names of fighters. This article tells about the fate of brothers Victor and Ion Andreev, natives of the village of MănoileТti, who in the spring of 1949, together with other young people, decided to establish an underground organization to fight against the Soviet occupation.
Most members of this organization were intellectuals, mostly rural teachers, who, for reasons of professional and intellectual training, perhaps better than others intuited the harmful effects of Sovietization and Bolshevization of Bessarabia.
The main goals of the organization, organizational criteria, rights and obligations of the members have been for- mulated in the "Freedom Party" Charter developed by Victor Andreev, who at the time had been a primary school teacher in the village of Băcioi in the Kotovski District. The first lines of the Charter contain an appeal to all patriots of Bessarabia for the struggle against the authorities, which emphasizes that only concrete action and self-sacrifice can help to gain freedom. "And when the Motherland will regain freedom, do not come to seek protection" - it was Victor Andreev's message to those who "recognized the vile enemy flag".
Statutory documents, correspondence between members of the organization, literature confiscated during arrests, records of interrogations to which they were subjected are irrefutable evidence of the thirst for freedom and courage of these young patriots.
Sons of unified Romania, being raised and educated in the spirit of Romanian traditions, these young people were unable or unwilling to accept a different way of life, a different social system, collectivization, mass deportations, repression, famine... For them it was "a great misfortune to live in a country other than that of their ancestors". Soviet justice qualified the brothers Andreev's activities as terrorism and treason; on January 27, 1951, by the verdict of the Military Court of the Odessa Military District Victor Andreev was sentenced to death by shooting and Ion Andreev was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment in labor camps.
Gratitude for the sacrifices of these fighters against communism came much later. On 23 August 2010, in a sign of high appreciation of tenacity, courage and patriotic spirit manifested in the struggle against the totalitarian Communist regime, by Decree of the President of the Republic of Moldova brothers Victor and Ion Andreev were posthumously awarded the Order of the Republic.
List of illustrations: 1. Photo of Victor Andreev with a dedication to his brother Ion, 1948. 2. Ion Andreev with his wife and son, 1948. 3. Ion Andreev with his son Grigore, 1949. 4. Certificate of Ion Andreev's release from prison, where he stayed from June 6 to 28 March 1960. 5. Third category driver's license in the prisoner Ion Andreev's name, 1956. 6. Ion Andreev's Certificate of Rehabilitation issued by the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova, 02.20.1992.
It is said that the icons, by the divine grace they have, choose their own places from where they can manifest their powers of blessing and consolation. It so happened that one icon of the Mother of God has remained on our lands from the end of the 18th century, when the battles of the Russo-Turkish war of 1787-1791 took place here. The circumstances of the appearance of this icon in Bessarabia are confirmed by several historical references, from which it follows that the Russian officer N.A. Albaduev, a participant in the military campaign, brought this icon here with him, and after his death his relatives – the colonel’s wife or his mother – gave this icon to the monastery, where he suddenly died when he came there on Christmas to receive communion. The icon of the Mother of God was initially placed in the old wooden church, where the officer’s grave was located, and then was placed in the new Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, built and consecrated in 1816..
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
