Posts in category: Παναγία Γερόντισσα 1 – Παντοκρατορος

According to tradition, the icon had been thrown into a nearby well during an attack by Saracen pirates, but was later recovered with the help of relatives of the offender. As the incident is remembered, the unfortunate barbarian, motivated by foolish contempt for this sacred object of the Christians, wanted to split the icon into pieces in order to light his pipe. At that moment, however, he lost his sight as a punishment for his brashness, and the icon was thrown into a well, where it remained lost for 80 years. Hoping to find some comfort and relief at the end of his life, the barbarian, who had agonized over his actions and repented of them, ordered his relatives to go to Mt Athos after his death without fail, and to reveal the location where the icon had been hidden by him and his companions. His relatives fulfilled his request: They went to the Monastery and led the monks to the hidden icon, which was recovered and treated with great honour.
These types of traditions relating to the miraculous icon are still maintained by the Monastery.

In the contemporary, silver-embossed facing of the icon, a pithos [a two-handled, cone-shaped clay storage vessel] is depicted as a reminder of the day when all the empty olive oil jars in the Monastery were miraculously filled after the Prior had prayed in front of the icon: The Virgin Mary the Prioress provided for her monks, simply and practically. The pithos which overflowed with oil has been preserved as an object of veneration until today, and indicates that the lower area of the wing with the cells of the monks was originally an olive oil production and storage area, with characteristic two-handled clay amphorae held upright by being partially embedded in sand.

... [the icon] was inside the sanctuary. There was once an virtuous, elderly Prior at the Monastery who was ill; shortly before his time had come, the exact hour of his death was revealed to him. He greatly desired to cleanse himself of any sins before he left this world for the eternal life through the life-giving Mystery of our Lord, and therefore begged the priest who was saying the Mass to finish as quickly as possible. The priest paid no attention to the Prior’s request, and continued at a slow pace. Suddenly, the icon of the Virgin Mary, which as we have said was inside the sanctuary, was heard to order the priest to grant the Abbott’s request. Because of this, the blessed sacred icon was given the epithet ‘Prioress’.

The miraculous icon is associated with numerous narratives and references about its interventions to protect and care for the brotherhood, both in the recent and older history of the Monastery. The body of oral tradition relating to the icon was recorded in the book, An Authoritative Overview of Mt Athos, published in Konstantinople in 1861, which explains this unusual epithet of the Virgin. A contemporary edition of the work states, ‘This sacred icon earlier...

The icon is a living presence and constitutes a member of the fraternity, as has been demonstrated on several occasions. One who finds himself in the cathedral feels the presence of the tall silhouette within the space, even when he is not looking at it. According to tradition, when the founders had brought it from Constantinople to lay the foundations of the Monastery, it was placed in a spot chosen by them (which was not the same place where the Monastery is located today), and work was begun. However, the next morning, the icon was found at the spot where the Monastery stands today. The founders had the the icon brought back to the original position, and work was contined. The next day, the icon was once again found in the new location. After a third repetition of this miracle, the founders decided to follow the wishes of the Virgin Mary relating to the location of the Monastery. The original location which had been chosen corresponds with that where the chapel of St Athanasios now stands, about 500 meters northwest of the Monastery.