Prayers to the All-holy Theotokos before Her Icon Known as “She Who Nourisheth with Milk”
Prayer I
O Lady Theotokos, accept the tearful supplications of thy servants who have recourse unto thee. We gaze upon thee on the holy icon, holding in thy hands and feeding with milk thy Son and our God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And though thou gavest birth to Him without pain, yet didst thou know a mother’s sufferings, and thou seest the infirmities of the sons and daughters of men. Wherefore, falling down with fervor before thy healing image and kissing it with compunction, we entreat thee, O most merciful Mistress: Compassionately help and mercifully have pity on us sinners, who are condemned to give birth in pain and to feed our children in grief, and deliver our children, and those who have given birth to them, from grievous sickness and bitter sorrow. Grant them health and goodly strength, that those who are nourished may increase from power to power, and those who nourish them may be filled with joy and consolation, that now, through thine intercession, the Lord may perfect His praise out of the mouths of babes and sucklings. O Mother of the Son of God, look with loving-kindness upon the mothers of the sons of men and upon thy weak people: swiftly heal the sicknesses which overtake us, ease the sorrows and griefs which beset us, and disdain not the tears and sighs of thy servants. Hearken unto us who on the day of tribulation fall down before thine icon, and on the day of joy and deliverance receive the grateful praises of our hearts. Bear our supplications to the throne of thy Son and our God, that He may be merciful to our souls and weaknesses, and may extend His mercy unto those who know His name, that we also, thy children, may glorify thee, the merciful helper and sure hope of our race, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer II
O all-holy Lady Theotokos, our Mistress, our heavenly Queen, who didst feed Christ our God with milk, with thy rich mercy thou dost also nourish us, the unworthy and greatly sinful. Save and deliver us, thy sinful servants, from unexpected slanders, from misfortunes, perils and sudden death. Have mercy on us during the hours of our days—in the morning, in the evening, and at every hour preserve us. Preserve us—those who stand, and those who sit, those who walk every path—and protect and help those who sleep in the hours of the night. Defend us, O Mistress Theotokos, from all our enemies, visible and invisible, and from every evil circumstance. In every place and at every time, O all-good Mother, be for us an invincible rampart and a mighty aid, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Icon of the All-holy Theotokos Known as “She Who Nourisheth with Milk”
This icon is found on Athos, in the chapel of a kellion at Karyes, which belongs to the Monastery of Khilandar. Originally, this icon was at the Lavra of Sabbas the Sanctified, twelve miles from Jerusalem. When he was dying, the holy founder of the only lavra in the East foretold to the brethren that in time the lavra would be visited by his namesake, a royal pilgrim from Serbia, and that the wonder-working icon of the Theotokos, “She Who Nourisheth with Milk”, was to be given him by the lavra as a blessing. Saint Sabbas peacefully passed on to the Lord in the 6th century. His prophecy was fulfilled more than six centuries later. In the 13th century, Saint Savva of Serbia arrived in Palestine, and to him was given the prophetic legacy of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified: the lavra blessed him with the icon of the Theotokos, “She Who Nourisheth with Milk”. Returning to Serbia, Saint Savva gave it to his Monastery of Khilandar. It is noteworthy that, contrary to the usual practice, Saint Savva had this holy icon set into the iconostasis not to the left of the royal doors, but to the right, where the icon of the Holy Trinity or the Savior is usually set. The Almighty is located on the left side, where the icon of the Mother of God is usually placed.