Icon of Our Lady of the Sweet Kiss

Icon of Our Lady of the Sweet Kiss

Greek icon made on gold using the silkscreen method.
This is a method characterised by the direct printing of the icon on the board.
Thanks to this method, the icon retains its durability. It will not lose its appearance when exposed to sunlight and other atmospheric conditions.
A support is included with the icon, so that the icon can also be stood up.

Dimensions of the icon: 25 x 19 x 1,5 cm.

175.00 

Out of stock

Description

The Icon of Our Lady of the Sweet Kiss is one of the greatest sanctities of the monastery of Philoteu on Holy Mount Athos. It was glorified in the first half of the 9th century.

At the time of the iconoclasm, a man wanted to burn this icon in order not to be accused of supporting the cult of icons, as this was forbidden at the time. His wife was a secret Christian and had this one icon in her chamber to which she prayed. And it was she who, wishing to avoid the icon being burnt or falling into the wrong hands, went with it to the seashore and laid it on the water.

After some time, the same icon miraculously reached the shores of the Holy Mount Athos near the port of Philoteu. The Ihumens and the friars welcomed it and carried it into the Orthodox church. A spring gushed out at the spot where the icon came ashore, and it was named Hagiasha.

Many miracles happened at the icon, only a few are presented below.

* Once, when the monastery was ruled by Serbs, a procession to the Hagiashma was traditionally organised on Passover Monday, during which the monks exaggerated in showing their Paschal joy. When the monks were already about to return to the monastery, it turned out that the icon could not be moved from its place, which lasted for three days. The monks realised their sin, repented in it and began to beg the Mother of God in prayer for forgiveness. Only then did Our Lady allow them to bring Her miraculous icon back to the monastery.

* In 1801, one of the monastery’s pilgrims turned out to be a sacrilegious thief and stole the miraculous icon of the Mother of God from its golden ornaments. Unnoticed by anyone, he quickly made his way to the ship and sailed away. However, he did not get far and his ship suddenly stopped and he could not sail on in any way. The monks noticed the theft and the ship standing near the shore. The monk swam the boat to the ship. The thief realised his sin and gave the valuables to the monk himself. After this, they both sailed off in their own directions.

The icon can still be found today on the Holy Mount Athos in the place where it arrived.