Description
Aged Lithograph of Our Lady “Axion Esti”
The icon of Our Lady “Axion Esti” is one of the most famous icons of Mount Athos. It is located in the Church of Protaton in Karyes and serves as the patron image of all the monasteries of Mount Athos.
Initially, the icon of Our Lady “Axion Esti” was kept in a cell of the Holy Monastery of Pantokrator, in a valley called “Adein.” On June 11, 980 AD, the elder was away for an all-night vigil in Karyes, leaving only his novice. The novice continued with his rule as usual that night. Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. He opened it to find a passerby asking for hospitality. The monk continued with his rule until he reached the ninth ode, “The Most Honorable of the Cherubim.” The guest then interrupted him, saying, “First, you shall say: ‘Axion esti as alethos…’ as a continuation of the hymn to the Theotokos.”
The monk, excited, asked the guest to write the hymn so he could sing it too. Since there was no ink or paper in the cell, the mysterious stranger etched the hymn with his finger onto a stone slab. He told the novice that this hymn should now be sung by all Orthodox Christians from then on, and then mysteriously vanished as he had appeared.
The Athonite fathers sent the stone slab to the king and Patriarch Nicholas Chrysoverges, who approved the introduction of this angelic hymn into the liturgical life of the Church.
The icon, in front of which this hymn was first sung, was moved to the Protaton where an annual celebration was established in honor of the Virgin Mary, commemorating this miraculous event.
The Hymn to the Theotokos, now called “Axion Esti” from the first two words, is as follows:
Ἄξιον ἐστιν ὡς ἀληθῶς,
μακαρίζειν σε την Θεοτόκον,
την ἀειμακάριστον και παναμώμητον,
και μητέρα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἠμῶν.
Την τιμιωτέραν τῶν Χερουβείμ
και ἐνδοξοτέραν ἀσυγκρίτως τῶν Σεραφείμ
την ἀδιαφθόρως Θεόν Λόγον τεκοῦσαν,
την ὄντως Θεοτόκον,
σε μεγαλύνομεν.
Aged Lithograph: Characteristics
In this particular icon, the monk iconographer employed the technique of lithography to create a work of exceptional beauty, framed with gold leaf. Using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the monk crafted this image following the traditional method of artificial aging, as taught in the iconography workshops of the Athonite State. Moreover, the artificial aging of the icon is handcrafted, a process to which the monks of Mount Athos attach great importance.
The image is available upon request.
Origin: Mount Athos
