Orthodox icon | Mother of God of the Passion | 24733

Orthodox icon | Mother of God of the Passion | 24733.

In the Russian Orthodox tradition, the icon called Mother of God of Perpetual Help or Mother of God of Perpetual Succour holds a revered place. Celebrated on August 13, its initial location was in Nizhny Novgorod before moving to the village of Palitsa.

In 1641, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich commanded its relocation to Moscow, placing it in the Passion Virgin Mary monastery, built to honor the icon. Though the monastery faced demolition post-1928, the icon’s respect persists.

Its prototype, “Mater de Perpetuo Succursu,” is in Rome’s “Church of the Redeemer and Saint Alfonso Liguori.” Gaining traction during the post-Byzantine period within the Roman Catholic Church, this icon style drew inspiration from the “Italo-Cretan” School icons. Andreas Rico (Ritzos) of Herakleion, Crete, active in Italy in the mid- to late-16th century, crafted one of the most celebrated icons of this kind.

The icon displays the Mother of God in the Hodegetria style, with Christ on her left. The child looks upwards, though Gabriel isn’t present.

This child-seeking-comfort theme dates back to a 14th-century fresco in the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos. It resurfaced in the Macedonian monastery of Konce as the “Fearful Mother of God of Hilandar,” indicating the imagery’s existence long before Rico’s contributions.

Source: Orthodox icon | Mother of God of the Passion | 24733 © Ikonen Mautner. Typing errors, other errors or changes reserved. For more information: “Das Synaxarion. Die Leben der Heiligen der Orthodoxen Kirche.” (http://www.prodromos-verlag.de/buecher.html) and Joachim Schäfer: Das Ökumenische Heiligenlexikon – https://www.heiligenlexikon.de