Description

Virgin of the Life-giving Spring – The Origin of the Theotokos’ Epithet

Virgin of the Life-giving Spring is celebrated on the Friday after Pascha, during the Friday of Bright Week. This feast was established during the Byzantine period, in the 5th century.

In Constantinople, a sacred spring of the Theotokos was discovered by Emperor Leo I (457-474). Nearby, he built a magnificent church dedicated to the Zoodochos or Life-giving Spring, referring to the Virgin Mary. She is called the Zoodochos Pigi because she received in her womb the giver of life, Jesus Christ. Therefore, there could be no more fitting name for the spring that continuously flowed with healing properties for the faithful.

The consecration of the church near the spring took place on the Friday of Bright Week. Since then, the Church has established the celebration of this memory every year on the same day.

This church suffered significant damage from natural disasters as well as enemy invasions. It was completely destroyed during the Ottoman period. It was rebuilt in 1833-1834 during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II and Patriarch Konstantios. The construction was completed in just fifteen months. This is the well-known church of Panagia Zoodochos Pigi in Balukli.

From the memory of the consecration of the church of Panagia Zoodochos Pigi, it was established that the feast of the Life-giving Spring would be celebrated annually on the Friday of Bright Week. This is the first Marian feast after the Resurrection of the Lord. This celebration is not so much a commemoration of an important event as a reminder and celebration of the living reality that the Virgin Mary is the source of life. She brought into the world the life-giving Christ, the Savior of the world.

Lithograph of Panagia Zoodochos Pigi

Using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the gifted iconographer created this work following the traditional method of artificial aging, as taught in Mount Athos. The image is adorned with gold finishing at the four corners, placed among the carvings of the artificial aging process.

Origin: Mount Athos