Panagia Axion Esti – Engraved Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Engraved Lithograph with Panagia Axion Esti

Panagia Axion Esti is one of the famous icons of Mount Athos. It is located in the temple of Protato in Karyes and is the patron icon of all the monasteries of Mount Athos.

Originally, the icon of Panagia Axion Esti was located in a cell of the holy monastery of Pantokrator, in the valley called “Adin”. On June 11, 980 AD, the elder was away at a vigil in Karyes, leaving only his submissive. The submissive made his rule normally in the evening. Suddenly he hears a knock on his door. He opens and sees a passerby asking him for hospitality. The monk continues his rule until he reaches the ode “The Most Holy Cherubim of the Cherubims”. Then the guest interrupts him and says, “First you will say: Axion estin as true…” as a complement to the magnificence of the Virgin Mary.

The monk excitedly asks the guest to write him the hymn so that he can sing it too. Because no ink and paper were found inside the cell, the mysterious stranger engraved the hymn with his finger on a stone slab. He told the submissive that this is how this hymn should be sung from now on by all the Orthodox and mysteriously disappeared as it appeared.

The Mount Athos fathers sent the plaque to the King and Patriarch Nikolaos Chrysovergis, who approved the introduction of this angelic hymn into the liturgical life of the Church.

The icon in front of which this hymn was sung for the first time was transferred to Protato where it was established to hold an annual festival in honor of the Virgin Mary in memory of this miraculous event.

Engraved Lithography: Features

The work is crafted entirely by hand, without machinery, in carved natural wood. It is the work of hagiographer Athanasios, a student of the Athonite Ecclesiastical Academy, who remains faithful to Byzantine art as he was taught it on Mount Athos. His works are covered with pure beeswax so that they remain unchanged over time.

In this particular icon, the hagiographer monk used the technique of lithography to create a work of unique beauty. Specifically, using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the monk created this work following the traditional method of artificial aging, as taught in the hagiography workshops of the Athonite State. In fact, the artificial aging of hagiography is handmade, a process to which the monks of Mount Athos pay particular attention.

As the image is handmade and the wood is processed entirely by hand, there may be slight variations in the dimensions of each image.

Image available upon request.

Origin: Mount Athos