Description
Icon of Virgin Mary Hodegetria on Naturally Aged Wood
An exceptional icon of the Virgin Mary Hodegetria on naturally aged wood, crafted by a monk-iconographer from Mount Athos.
The original icon of the Virgin Mary Hodegetria was initially located at the Holy Great Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos. However, it miraculously disappeared from there.
According to tradition, the Hodegetria icon disappeared twice during 1730. In both instances, there was no sign of intrusion into the Monastery, and the icon was eventually found at the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos. The fathers of Vatopedi Monastery recognized that the icon was miraculously relocating itself and decided not to oppose the Virgin Mary’s will. Since then, the icon has remained in the Catholicon of the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos.
In Christian tradition, the Hodegetria icon is historically considered the first icon of the Church, attributed to Saint Luke the Evangelist. Numerous miracles have been attributed to it, including the salvation of Constantinople from the Arabs in 717 AD.
The piece of wood used for this icon was sourced from restoration work in a cell on Mount Athos. The wood’s natural grain, cracks, knots, and other features remain untouched, reflecting not only its age but also its everyday use. The entire composition respects the wood’s history and faithfully represents the Byzantine tradition of Mount Athos. The result avoids worldly or material opulence, offering instead the value of the wood’s long history on Mount Athos.
As the icon is handmade and the wood is processed manually, there may be slight variations in the wood, but not in the depiction.
The icon is available upon request.
Dimensions: 19×30 cm
