Among the large number of icons, there is one that embodies the three most important Christian virtues at once. She is an icon of Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sofia. To understand the meaning of the icon of Faith, Hope and Love, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the lives of the martyrs depicted on it.
The story of the Martyrs Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov and Sophia
The Holy righteous women are revered throughout the Orthodox world as the personification of holiness and purity, devotion to the Lord and courage in serving Him.
In the second century, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117-138), a pious widow, Sophia (the name Sophia means "wisdom"), lived in Rome. She had three daughters who bore the names of the main Christian virtues: Faith, Hope and Love. Being a deeply religious Christian, Sofia raised her daughters in love of God, teaching them not to get attached to earthly goods. The rumor about the Christian affiliation of this family reached the emperor, and he wished to personally see the three sisters and their mother who raised them.
All four appeared before the emperor and fearlessly confessed their faith in Christ, who had risen from the dead and gave eternal life to all who believe in Him. Surprised by the boldness of the young Christian women, the emperor sent them to a pagan woman, whom he ordered to convince them to renounce the faith. However, all the arguments and eloquence of the pagan mentor turned out to be in vain, and the Christian sisters, burning with faith, did not change their beliefs. Then they were brought back to Emperor Hadrian, and he began to insist that they sacrifice to the pagan gods. But the girls indignantly rejected his order.
"We have a heavenly God," they replied, "we want to remain his children, but we spit on your gods and are not afraid of your threats. We are ready to suffer and even die for the sake of our dear Lord Jesus Christ."
Then the angry Adrian ordered the children to be subjected to various tortures. The executioners started with Faith. In front of her mother and sisters, they mercilessly beat her and tore off parts of her body, and put her on a red-hot iron grate. By the power of God, the fire did not cause any harm to the body of the holy martyr. Distraught by the cruelty, Adrian did not come to his senses by the miracle of God and ordered the girl to be thrown into a cauldron with boiling pitch. But by the will of the Lord, the cauldron cooled down and did not cause any harm to the confessor. Then she was sentenced to be beheaded with a sword. "I will gladly go to my beloved Lord and Savior," said Saint Vera. She courageously bowed her head to the sword and thus surrendered her spirit to God.
The younger sisters Nadezhda and Lyubov, inspired by the courage of their elder sister, endured similar torments. The fire did not harm them, then their heads were cut off with a sword. Saint Sophia was not subjected to physical torment, but she was condemned to even greater mental torment from separation from tortured children. The sufferer buried the honest remains of her daughters and did not leave their grave for two days. On the third day, the Lord sent her a quiet death and took her long-suffering soul to the heavenly mansions.
Saint Sophia, having suffered great mental anguish for Christ, was canonized by the Church together with her daughters. They suffered in 137. Vera, the eldest, was 12 years old at the time, Nadezhda was 10, and Lyubov, the youngest, was only 9 years old. Thus, the three girls and their mother showed that for people who are strengthened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, lack of physical strength does not in any way serve as an obstacle to the manifestation of spiritual strength and courage. Through their holy prayers, may the Lord strengthen us in the Christian faith and in a virtuous life.
The icon of Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia appeared in Kievan Rus shortly after her baptism. For many centuries, the names of saints were considered common symbols of the main virtues of Christians, so they were not given to newborn girls. Later, these names gradually began to come into use. Therefore, the family icon became widely known, which depicted the martyrs Sophia, Faith, Hope, and Love. A holiday was proclaimed in honor of the saints, which falls on September 30.