The icon of Theotokos Guarantor or Aschetic is located in the Cave of Saint Athanasios, in Vigla, near the Romanian Skete of Saint John the Baptist. It is a great relic which, according to the Athonite tradition, comes from Jerusalem and has reached Athos in a miraculous way.
In particular, it is claimed that the icon appeared on Mount Athos during the period of iconoclasm. The founder of the Monastery of Great Lavra, Hosios Athanasios the Athonite, saw in his sleep the Virgin Mary, who was calling him to go to Vigla to receive her icon. The Saint went down to the steep point indicated to him and indeed found the holy relic. He then transferred it to the new Katholikon that had been built in the monastery. After repeated disappearances and reappearances of the icon at the original spot where it was found, the Saint understood that it was the will of the Virgin Mary to remain there. Thus, a small nave was built to house it.
As far as its name is concerned, the icon is characterized as "Guarantor", as it represents the Virgin Mary, the patroness of the Athonite state. The Blessed Virgin gave her promise to the first inhabitant of the peninsula, Hosios Petros the Athonite, that she would preserve and protect the land. In fact, Saint Gregory Palamas records her promise in the following words:
"There is a certain mountain in Europe, very beautiful and very large, facing Libya, which enters quite into the sea. This I have chosen out of all the land, and I have decided to donate it to the monastic state. So then, as a special dwelling, I have dedicated it to myself, and from now on it will be called “holy”. And I will defend throughout life those who will fight against the common enemy of men. And I will certainly be to them an invincible ally, a guide for those things which they ought not to do, a protector, a doctor, a nurse, for that food and medicine which concerns both the body, that it may sustain and benefit it, and the spirit, that it may strengthen it and not let it depart from good. Moreover, I will commend them to my Son and God, and I will ask of Him that those who end their lives here well may have perfect forgiveness of their sins."
Thus, the Virgin Mary guarantees her active presence and care for the monks of the Athonite community.
Furthermore, she is called "Ascetic" because, like the monks, she lived an ascetic life of devotion, fasting and prayer. She dedicated herself to God from her youngest age. She lived according to His commandments and transcended them by embodying love. She reached such a high point of practice that the virtues sanctified both her soul and body, making her a temple of God. She was able to contain within herself the Divinity itself, becoming the dwelling place of Christ and the mother of the Father of all. Her ascetic life did not, of course, end with the pregnancy and birth of Jesus. Mary continued to live in holiness, growing and caring for her Son and God. She experienced His Passion ascetically and endured the maternal pain of mourning. Furthermore, after His ascension she continued to exercise herself, pray for the whole world, offer her generous supernal love and care for the human race. Finally, as is mentioned in the Apolytikion of the Dormition, even after her elevation to the Kingdom of Heaven, Mary did not abandon the world. Her maternal gaze remained forever fixed on earth. To this day she prays without ceasing, begging her Son and God to have mercy on us. She graces the lives of her faithful and steadfastly guards their lives.
As far as its iconographic type is concerned, it follows the model of Theotokos Hodegetria. However, she holds Jesus with her right hand, while her left hand is placed at the height of the sternum. Jesus blesses with his right hand, while with his left hand he holds a closed scroll. The inscriptions "Mother of God", "Jesus Christ", "the Hermit" are on the icon.
