Orthodox icon | Mother of God of the Passion | 24834

Orthodox icon | Mother of God of the Passion | 24834.

The Russian icon, celebrated on August 13, first stood in Nizhny Novgorod. After a miracle, it moved to the village of Palitsa in the same episcopate. In 1641, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered its move to Moscow, placing it in the newly-built Passion Virgin Mary monastery. This monastery, sadly, no longer stood after 1928.

The original “Mater de Perpetuo Succursu” icon sits in Rome’s “Church of the Redeemer and Saint Alfonso Liguori.” After the post-Byzantine era, its style gained popularity in the Roman Catholic Church, especially in the “Italo-Crethic” School icons.

Notably, Andreas Rico from Herakleion, Crete, made a famous version of this icon. Active in Italy during the late 16th century, Rico’s design features the Hodegetria Mother of God holding Christ in her left arm, with Christ looking at Gabriel.

The motif of the child seeking protection originates from a 14th-century fresco in Mount Athos’ Hilandar monastery. It later appeared in Macedonia’s Konce monastery as the “Fearful Mother of God of Hilandar,” indicating the design’s existence before Rico’s time.

The robes shimmer with exquisite gold (Assist) detailing.

Source: Orthodox icon | Mother of God of the Passion | 24834 © 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