The Mother of God has always been one of the most revered saints in Russia. She is considered the patroness of Russia, so there are many icons that capture her image. One of them is the Inexpressible Chalice.
No one knows which icon painter created the icon, known as the “Inexpressible Chalice, ” and when it happened, but the icon is known not so long ago - since 1878.
This image belongs to the iconographic type of Orant: the Mother of God is depicted with arms raised in prayer, and the baby Jesus stands in front of her in the bowl, spreading his hands in a blessing gesture.
Finding Icons
About gaining a miraculous image in 1878, she was told in 1910 by Elizabeth, the nun of the Vvedensky Vladychny Monastery, which is located in the city of Serpukhov (Moscow Region). The name of the icon is connected not only with the cup depicted on it, but also with the history of acquisition.
There lived a certain peasant in the Tula province - a bitter drunkard. He drank both the pension which he received as a retired Nikolaev soldier, and all that he had. In old age he came to extreme poverty, and his legs were taken away due to constant drinking. And then an old man appeared to him in a dream, who ordered him to go to the Vvedensky Vladychny Monastery and to serve a prayer service there in front of the icon of the Mother of God "Inexhaustible Chalice". The peasant was in no hurry to carry out the order - because he could not walk, and there was no money, but the old man appeared to him twice more, more and more menacingly repeating the order. In the end, this unfortunate man, somehow crawling around, went to Serpukhov.
It was not easy to get to the monastery, but nevertheless he succeeded, but no one knew about the icon with that name. Nevertheless, the peasant’s words were taken seriously, examined all the icons that were in the monastery, and on the back of one of them, which hung on the passage from the cathedral to the sacristy, they found the inscription “Inexpressible chalice”.
A moleben was served in front of the icon. The peasant was not only cured of leg paralysis, but also quit drinking. Instead of the inexhaustible chalice of sin and drunkenness, this man was bestowed with the "Inexhaustible chalice" of God's Grace.
