Difference between revisions of "Panagia Portaitissa"

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==History of the icon==
 
==History of the icon==
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This icon was the personal property of a devout widow from [[Nicea]]<ref> This town in Asia Minor no longer exists, but in its time it was the venue for two Ecumenical Councils; the first, which composed the first eight articles of Nicean Creed, and the seventh, which reinstituted the veneration of icons after a lengthy struggle with the iconoclast heresy, which had erroneously equated the veneration of icons to idol worship. </ref> in Asia Minor, who kept it and honored it in her private [[chapel]] during the 9th century.  
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During the 9th century, this icon was the personal property of a devout widow from [[Nicea]] <ref> This town in Asia Minor no longer exists, but in its time it was the venue for two Ecumenical Councils; the first, which composed the first eight articles of Nicean Creed, and the seventh, which reinstituted the veneration of icons after a lengthy struggle with the iconoclast heresy, which had erroneously equated the veneration of icons to idol worship.</ref> in Asia Minor, who kept it and honored it in her private [[chapel]].  
  
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The emperor's men who heard of this decided not to carry out immediately the order about icons, but tried to blackmail its rich owner. In the time which they gave her to collect the money they demanded, the widow took the icon and her dearly loved son and, after fervent prayer, took it to the sea and left it on the surface of the waves, so that it should not be defiled by the iconoclasts. The icon stood upright on the water and began to head towards the west, while the widow's son, following her advice, also fled towards the west to escape persecution. Later he became a [[monk]] and died on the north-east coast of Mount Athos near or in the [[Monastery]] of Clement (now [[Iviron Monastery (Athos)|Iviron Monastery]]), and so the [[anchorite]]s round about heard from him the story of the icon.
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It was during the reign of the iconoclast Byzantine emperor Theophilus that soldiers came to the house of the widow. One of the soldiers struck the Icon with his sword, and immediately blood began to flow from the gashed cheek of the Virgin. Shaken by this miracle, the soldier instantly repented, renounced the iconoclast heresy, and entered a monastery. On his advice, the widow concealed the Icon in order to avert its further desecration.  
  
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One evening, when monks from Georgia ([[w:Caucasian Iberia|Caucasian Iberians]]) had started to live at the Monastery of Clement, an amazing phenomenon puzzled all the monks of the area: a column of fire stood upright on the sea and reached to the heavens. This vision continued to be seen for several days, and then the monks saw the icon adrift in the sea. They made their supplications to God that this priceless treasure should be given to them, and the Theotokos appeared to the devout anchorite Gabriel the Iberian and bade him to walk on the water to take the icon and to give it to the [[abbot]] and brethren of the monastery.
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After praying for guidance before the Icon, the widow put the Holy Image into the sea. The icon did not sink and stood upright on the water and began to drift towards the west, while the widow's son, following her advice, also fled towards the west to escape persecution. Later he became a [[monk]] and died on the north-east coast of Mount Athos near or in the [[Monastery]] of Clement (now [[Iviron Monastery (Athos)|Iviron Monastery]]). There he recounted the story of how his mother had set the Holy Icon upon the waves, and this story hes been handed down from one generation of monks to another.
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Many years later, the Icon made its appearance on the Holy Mountain. According to Athonite tradition, an amazing phenomenon puzzled all the monks of the Iveron area: a column of fire stood upright on the sea and reached to the heavens. At that time the holy monk Gabriel was one of the brotherhood in this monastery. The Mother of God appeared to him in a vision and directed him to convey to the abbot and brothers of the monastery that She wished them to have Her Icon as their help and salvation. She told Gabriel to approach the Icon on the waters without fear and take it with his hands. Obedient to the words of the Mother of God, says Athonite tradition, Gabriel "walked upon the waters as though upon dry land," took up the Icon and brought it back to the shore. The icon was then brought into the monastery and placed in the altar.
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Nevertheless, after its reception and installation in the [[church]], the icon repeatedly disappeared and was found above the gate of the monastery on the inside. In a dream, the Blessed Virgin told St. Gabriel that this was the place which she herself had chosen, so that she could protect the monks and not be protected by them. Thus the icon has taken the name of "Portaitissa" and to this day its presence in the monastery and on the Holy Mountain is regarded as a guarantee of the protection of Athonite [[monasticism]] by the Theotokos. Later, a chapel was built near the wall of the monastery in which the icon was placed, while the old entrance was closed and a grander one was built.
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The [[miracle]]s performed by the Portaitissa are unnumbered, and are celebrated especially on [[August 15]] and on Monday of [[Bright Week]], when there is a procession and the finding of the icon is commemorated with a [[liturgy]] in the chapel on the shore, at the exact spot where St. Gabriel took it out of the sea.
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== More recent times ==
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In more recent times, the Icon has come to be known as the "Iveron" Mother of God, in connection with the name of the monastery.
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News of this wonder-working Icon reached Russia through pilgrims who had visited Mt. Athos. In the 17th century Archimandrite Nikon of Moscow (later to become Patriarch) asked the abbot of the Iveron monastery to send a copy of the Icon to Russia, and this request was fulfilled. The copy of this Icon also began to work miracles and a special chapel was built for it next to the Kremlin walls in Moscow, where it was especially revered by the Russian people until the Revolution of 1917. The chapel was destroyed by the Bolsheviks and the fate of the Icon is not known.
  
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Nevertheless, after its reception and installation in the [[church]], the icon repeatedly disappeared and was found above the gate of the monastery on the inside. In a dream, the Blessed Virgin told St. Gabriel that this was the place which she herself had chosen, so that she could protect the monks and not be protected by them. Thus the icon took the name of "Portaitissa," and to this day its presence in the monastery and on the Holy Mountain is regarded as a guarantee of the protection of Athonite [[monasticism]] by the Theotokos. Later, a chapel was built near the wall of the monastery in which the icon was placed, while the old entrance was closed and a grander one was built. The [[miracle]]s performed by the Portaitissa are unnumbered, and are celebrated especially on [[August 15]] and on Monday of [[Bright Week]], when there is a procession and the finding of the icon is commemorated with a [[liturgy]] in the chapel on the shore, at the exact spot where St. Gabriel took it out of the sea.
 
 
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==Her oil lamp==
 
==Her oil lamp==

Revision as of 00:13, March 9, 2009

Panagia Portaitissa (Iviron Monastery, Athos) - original

The icon Panagia Portaitissa ("She who resides by the door" or "Keeper of the gate") also known as Theotokos Iverskaya, and more recently the Iveron Mother of God, is a wonder-working icon of the Theotokos that was, according to traditions, painted by the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Luke.

This icon is considered to be the most famous and most revered miraculous icon icon of the Theotokos on the Holy Mountain [1]. It is a pre-iconoclastic Byzantine icon, with dimensions of 1.37 x 0.94 m. The entire icon is encased by an 1819 gold and silver shirt covering the entire icon except for the faces. The most unique characteristic of the image is what appears to be a scar on the chin of the Virgin.

History of the icon

During the 9th century, this icon was the personal property of a devout widow from Nicea [2] in Asia Minor, who kept it and honored it in her private chapel.

It was during the reign of the iconoclast Byzantine emperor Theophilus that soldiers came to the house of the widow. One of the soldiers struck the Icon with his sword, and immediately blood began to flow from the gashed cheek of the Virgin. Shaken by this miracle, the soldier instantly repented, renounced the iconoclast heresy, and entered a monastery. On his advice, the widow concealed the Icon in order to avert its further desecration.

After praying for guidance before the Icon, the widow put the Holy Image into the sea. The icon did not sink and stood upright on the water and began to drift towards the west, while the widow's son, following her advice, also fled towards the west to escape persecution. Later he became a monk and died on the north-east coast of Mount Athos near or in the Monastery of Clement (now Iviron Monastery). There he recounted the story of how his mother had set the Holy Icon upon the waves, and this story hes been handed down from one generation of monks to another.

Many years later, the Icon made its appearance on the Holy Mountain. According to Athonite tradition, an amazing phenomenon puzzled all the monks of the Iveron area: a column of fire stood upright on the sea and reached to the heavens. At that time the holy monk Gabriel was one of the brotherhood in this monastery. The Mother of God appeared to him in a vision and directed him to convey to the abbot and brothers of the monastery that She wished them to have Her Icon as their help and salvation. She told Gabriel to approach the Icon on the waters without fear and take it with his hands. Obedient to the words of the Mother of God, says Athonite tradition, Gabriel "walked upon the waters as though upon dry land," took up the Icon and brought it back to the shore. The icon was then brought into the monastery and placed in the altar.

Nevertheless, after its reception and installation in the church, the icon repeatedly disappeared and was found above the gate of the monastery on the inside. In a dream, the Blessed Virgin told St. Gabriel that this was the place which she herself had chosen, so that she could protect the monks and not be protected by them. Thus the icon has taken the name of "Portaitissa" and to this day its presence in the monastery and on the Holy Mountain is regarded as a guarantee of the protection of Athonite monasticism by the Theotokos. Later, a chapel was built near the wall of the monastery in which the icon was placed, while the old entrance was closed and a grander one was built.

The miracles performed by the Portaitissa are unnumbered, and are celebrated especially on August 15 and on Monday of Bright Week, when there is a procession and the finding of the icon is commemorated with a liturgy in the chapel on the shore, at the exact spot where St. Gabriel took it out of the sea.

More recent times

In more recent times, the Icon has come to be known as the "Iveron" Mother of God, in connection with the name of the monastery.

News of this wonder-working Icon reached Russia through pilgrims who had visited Mt. Athos. In the 17th century Archimandrite Nikon of Moscow (later to become Patriarch) asked the abbot of the Iveron monastery to send a copy of the Icon to Russia, and this request was fulfilled. The copy of this Icon also began to work miracles and a special chapel was built for it next to the Kremlin walls in Moscow, where it was especially revered by the Russian people until the Revolution of 1917. The chapel was destroyed by the Bolsheviks and the fate of the Icon is not known.


The Moscow Version

In 1648, Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, while he was still Archimandrite of Novospassky Monastery, commissioned an exact copy of the Iviron icon to be made and sent to Russia. Almost immediately upon its arrival on October 13, the icon was glorified with numerous miracles attributed to it by the faithful. The Iverskaya Chapel was built in 1669 to enshrine the icon next to the Kremlin walls in Moscow. The chapel was the main entrance to Red Square and traditionally everyone, from the Tsar down to the lowest peasant would stop there tovenerate the icon before entering the square. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the chapel was destroyed by the Communists and the fate of the icon is unknown to this day.

The Montreal Version

The Myrrh-streaming icon from Montreal in Canada is another newer version of the famous Portaitissa [3]. For the fifteen years (1982-1997), as myrrh continued to flow from the Icon, Brother Jose Muñoz-Cortes devoted himself to its care, accompanying it on numerous trips to parishes all over the United States and Canada, to South America, Australia, and Europe. A new Copy of the Montreal Myrrh-Streaming Iveron Icon began streaming Myrrh at the Russian Orthodox Church in Hawaii in 2007.[4] Several feast days during the liturgical year celebrate a few of these miracles.

Notes

  1. ↑ The official icon for Mount Athos is the Panagia Axion Estin
  2. ↑ This town in Asia Minor no longer exists, but in its time it was the venue for two Ecumenical Councils; the first, which composed the first eight articles of Nicean Creed, and the seventh, which reinstituted the veneration of icons after a lengthy struggle with the iconoclast heresy, which had erroneously equated the veneration of icons to idol worship.
  3. ↑ Brother Jose Muñoz Cortez, Guardian of the Hawaiian Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Mother of God
  4. ↑ The Myrrh-Streaming Icons of Hawaii

Sources

External links

Feast Days

Other sites

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