"Self-Written" Icon of the Mother of God

 

The "self-written" icon of the Mother of God is located in the skete of St. John the Baptist Lavra of St. Athanasius on Mount Athos. She was named so after the following event. In 1863, the abbot of this skete, Niphont, ordered an icon of the Mother of God for the monastery from the elderly pious icon painter Georgy Nikolaev from the city of Yassy in Moldova. George easily painted the clothes, but when he started writing the Divine faces, the work stopped: he could not depict them the way he should. The elder put aside his work and, after spending the night in fervent prayer to the Mother of God, in the morning he was going to finish painting the icon, but was surprised to find that the faces, on which he had been working unsuccessfully for so long, were already ready. Embraced by awe, the artist did not dare to touch the icon with his brush, but only varnished it. The news of the miracle spread quickly throughout the city, and a multitude of sick people began to flock to the icon, who received healings. On the way to Athos and in its monastery, the icon also became famous for many miracles.