Panagia Eptaspathi – Iconostasis Aged with Lithography – Mount Athos

Description

Ikonostasi Lithograph with Virgin Mary Eptaspathi

In this most unusual image, the Virgin appears with her heart pierced by seven swords. In the most common pictorial type we see four swords to her left and three to her right.
Because Catholics have adopted the cult of the “heart of the Mother of God”, many believe that the Virgin of Seven Swords icon is of Catholic origin. In reality, however, the image is related to the prophecy of Saint Simeon the Theodosius, recorded by the evangelist Luke, “and a sword shall pass through her soul…” (Luk. 2.35).

The passage in question refers to the pain that the Virgin would feel at the moment of separation from her beloved Son, when before her eyes He would be led to death on the cross.
Panagia Epta Spathia is also known as “the prophecy of Simeon the Righteous”. He is honored by the Church on August 13.

Lithography: Characteristics

Using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the hagiographer monk created the specific work following the traditional method of artificial aging, as taught on Mount Athos. The artificial aging of the iconography is a hand-made fact that gives the work with the representation of Panagia Gorgoipikou a collector’s value. The technique of lithography in iconography is a printing technique, which was invented in 1798.