The icon of Theotokos Portaitissa is one of the most important relics of the entire Mount Athos. Both its long history and its powerful miraculous grace have left their imprint on the athonite tradition. The icon is considered to be a work of the Evangelist Luke himself. It is also believed that its existence on the Athos peninsula is interconnected with the life of the Athonite monastic state, since, according to tradition, if the icon disappears, Mount Athos will cease to exist.
As for its origin, the icon belonged to a family in Asia Minor. The widowed woman who owned it, together with her son, lived in the area of Nicaea. During the iconoclastic period, when emissaries of the emperor invaded the region, frantically searching for the sacred icons in order to destroy them, they learned that the icon of Theotokos Portaitissa was placed in a small temple. Trying to negotiate the surrender of the icon, the woman suggested to the soldiers to give them money in order to save both herself and the icon of the Virgin Mary. The soldiers accepted her offer and gave her some time to find all the money. The woman went to the temple together with her son and prayed to the Virgin Mary. Then she took the icon and threw it into the sea. She was surprised to see her holy wood standing upright on the water and floating.
Years later her son went to Mount Athos, where he became a monk. He told the story of the icon to the other monks and after a short time he passed away.
Several years later, some monks of the Monastery of Iviron saw a pillar of fire burning on the sea and reaching to the sky. At first they could not believe in their eyes, but since the event was repeated several times, the brotherhood decided to set sail to approach the fiery light. When they got close they found that it was the icon of Theotokos Portaitissa, which was still floating upright. However, as they got closer to it, the image was moving away. It took many days of prayer for the Virgin Mary herself to reveal and give her blessing so that they could take the holy relic into their hands. Specifically, she appeared to the monk Gabriel, who lived ascetically on the mountain, and asked him to walk on the sea in order to receive the icon, after he would first inform the abbot that the Virgin Mary had decided to stay in their monastery. So he did. After they descended with great honors to the shore, Hosios Gabriel walked on the water, received the icon and came out. The place where he left it gushes holy water until today. The icon was finally placed in the monastery's Katholikon. However, it was miraculously moved. The monks would constantly find it at the gate of the monastery. The Virgin Mary appeared again to Hosios Gabriel and explained to him that it was her decision to remain at the gate and not inside the monastery, as she had come to guard the monks, and not to be guarded by them.
Thus, the chapel was built at the entrance of the monastery where the icon of the Virgin Mary is kept to this day. In its frescoes there are representations of all the events of its history. There are depictions from the soldiers who threatened the woman from Nicaea, the throwing of the icon into the sea, its appearance on the shores of the Monastery of Iviron, the attempts of the monks to approach it, the apparition of the Virgin Mary and the receipt of the icon from Hosios Gabriel. At Easter, Christmas and the 15th of August, the icon is taken out of the chapel to be placed in the Monastery's Katholikon. Even on the third day of the Bright week, a solemn Divine Liturgy and a procession of the icon is held to celebrate its discovery and retrieval from the sea.
As far as its iconographic type is concerned, the depiction follows the model of Theotokos Hodegetria. Jesus is placed on the left side of the Virgin. With his right hand he blesses the faithful, while with his left hand he holds a closed scroll resting on his knee. Theotokos holds the Divine Infant with her left hand, while her right hand stands at breast level. Her gaze is directed above and beyond Jesus.
Finally, the icon is covered with a silver lining, from which only the faces of the two figures are excluded. The relief surfaces of the garments and the elaborate halos highlight the artistic value of the icon. The floral decoration and the richness of the individual details covering the background, as well as the rectangular frame surrounding the figures, constitute exceptional examples of high art.
