Description

Lithograph of Our Lady of Soumela

According to tradition, the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Soumela is said to be the work of the Apostle and Evangelist Luke. The name Soumela is Pontic and means “to the Mountain of Melas,” referring to Mount Melas.

After the death of the Evangelist Luke, his disciple Ananias brought the icon of the Virgin Mary to Athens and placed it in a beautiful church dedicated to the Theotokos. For this reason, it was initially called the Virgin of Athens.

In 386 AD, the Athonite monks Barnabas and Sophronius founded the monastery of the Virgin on Mount Melas in Trebizond. Hundreds of monks and ascetics lived there until the uprooting of the Greeks from the East.

According to tradition, these two monks responded to the call of the Virgin and followed the path of her icon, which had flown to the Pontus. They passed through Meteora, Chalkidiki, the shore of the Vatopedi Monastery, Maroneia, and Raidestos. They reached Constantinople and then sailed to Trebizond. There, the Virgin appeared to them again to inform them that her icon was headed to Mount Melas.

When they ascended the mountain, they found themselves in front of a cave. At the entrance, they noticed a golden glow. It was the light emanating from the icon of the Virgin.

The monks knelt and thanked the Virgin with tears in their eyes. They promised her that they would build a church in her honor at that spot. Thus, the church of the Virgin was rebuilt, and it became known as Soumela.

Lithograph: Characteristics

Using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the iconographer monk created this work following the traditional method of artificial aging, as taught to him on Mount Athos. In the four corners, the image is embellished with a gold finish, applied between the carvings of the artificial aging.

The icon is available upon order.

Origin: Mount Athos