An exact replica of the icon of Theotokos of the Akathist Hymn from the Monastery of Dionysiou on Mount Athos. Made on a particle board with the use of the most advanced imprinting and production techniques. The background is decorated in a way that gives the impression of glossy gilding.
According to tradition, a work of the Apostle Luke, this icon was brought out in procession by the Patriarch Sergius along the walls of Constantinople in 624 AD, during the siege of the Avars. After a miraculous victory, the faithful conducted an all-night vigil where they chanted together the Akathist Hymn.
In 1592, the icon was stolen from the Monastery during a pirate raid. However, after a storm, the Mother of God appeared to the pirates’ leader, and the icon was returned. The box where the icon was being kept was found overflowing with myrrh. For this reason, the icon also carries the name “Myrovlytissa”, or myrrh-streaming. In 1767, it was stolen again by non-Christians. The Christians who recovered it then brought it to Skopelos, not wishing to hand it return it to the Monastery. In the end, a plague spread through the island, and they were forced to accept its return.
