Our Lady of Paramythia – Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Lithograph of Our Lady of Paramythia

A lithograph depicting Our Lady of Paramythia. According to Christian tradition, in 807 AD, pirates secretly landed on the beach of the Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos and hid, waiting for the monastery gates to open in order to attack. However, after the conclusion of Matins, the abbot heard the Virgin Mary saying to him: “Do not open the gates of the Monastery today, but go up to the walls and drive out the pirates.”

Turning his gaze to the icon, he saw the Divine Infant extending His hand to cover His mother’s lips, saying: “Do not, my Mother, let them be punished as they deserve.” But the Virgin Mary, holding the hand of Her Son, repeated the same words. Indeed, the monks were saved from the pirates, and as tradition states, the expressions on the faces, as well as the posture of the Virgin and Jesus, changed in the icon from that moment on.

Lithograph: Features

This particular icon was created using the technique of lithography. The monk who created this work studied in the iconography workshops of the Monasteries of Mount Athos, where he was taught both the technique of lithography and the process of handmade artificial aging, which is present in the image of Our Lady of Paramythia. Lithography in iconography is essentially a printing technique.

Origin: Mount Athos