Stavropol meets Agathon’s day: Iberian icon, bath traditions and folk signs

On October 26, the Orthodox world remembers one of the most revered images of the Mother of God – the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God, also called the Gatekeeper or Gatekeeper. For Stavropol, this day has a special significance: it is here, in the Assumption Church of the regional capital, that the venerable list of this shrine, which survived the destruction of the Trinity Cathedral and decades of oblivion, is kept for many decades. In the national calendar, the date was called Agathon Banny - the day when in Russia the whole family went to the steam room to drive out ailments and appease the spirit of the bath.

The shrine that found a house in Stavropol

The Iberian Icon of the Mother of God is revered as one of the main Orthodox shrines. According to legend, in the IX century during the iconoclastic persecutions, a warrior struck the image with a spear, and blood flowed from the wound on the face of the Virgin. The widow, who kept the icon, lowered it into the sea, and years later the image miraculously appeared to the monks of the Iberian monastery on Athos. Several times the icon was placed in the temple, but every morning it was over the monastery gate. So the Virgin showed that she would be the guardian of the monastery - hence the name of the Gatekeeper.

In 1648, the list from the Athos shrine was brought to Moscow, and since then the holiday of October 26 has become all-Russian. In Stavropol, the revered Iverian image appeared later - it was written on Athos in Greece and delivered to Stavropol on October 9, 1867, in the name of the rector of the city Trinity Cathedral Vasily Rosaliyev. After the revolution, when in 1930 the cathedral was closed and destroyed, the icon was secretly transferred to the Assumption Church, one of the few churches in the city where church life continued. In late 2022 - November 2023, the image underwent restoration, during which specialists restored the lost salary. On November 12, 2023, the renovated shrine solemnly returned to the Assumption Church. Today, the Iberian icon remains one of the main shrines of the North Caucasus, and believers come to it with prayers for healing, protection of the house and consolation in sorrow.

Bath day: how ancestors strengthened health

In folk tradition, October 26 was called Agathon Banny. In Russia, this day was considered special: the evil spirit, according to legend, became especially active, and protection was sought in the bath. The whole family, from small to large, went to the steam room. Inside were placed vessels with infusions of chamomile, linden, St. John's wort: hot steam with healing herbs was considered a sure remedy for any ailments. The spirit of the bath, Bannik, tried to appease - they left him a grain of bread, water or a piece of soap.

The bans were enough that day. In the steam room it was impossible to make noise, swear and discuss personal affairs - so as not to anger Bannik. To leave the steam room should only face forward, not back: it was believed that otherwise the spirit could throw after hot coal. They were not welcomed on Agathon’s day and money loans were not advised to give or borrow, so as not to incur losses for the whole year. To brag about success and tell outsiders about plans was also guarded: evil forces, according to legend, could overhear and interfere.

What the weather tells us

Our ancestors watched nature on this day. White frost in the morning foreshadowed bad weather and precipitation, scarlet clouds at sunset - rain, and gray dawn without wind promised a clear day. If the cat drank a lot of water, waited for a harsh winter.

According to forecasts, on October 26, variable cloudiness and a temperature of about 10-15 degrees Celsius are expected in the region. The wind is southeast, sometimes with gusts - it's time to remember what our ancestors said about the clouds that float from the south.

Earlier it was reported that “whispered” the first day of autumn in the Stavropol region.