Theotokos Iverskaya

Iviron is the name of the monastery on Mount Athos where the icon was from 999. According to church tradition, this icon was of the type painted by the Apostle and Evangelist Luke on a table which, The Lord Himself, The Theotokos, and Saint Joseph had their meals. This icon is of the Hodegetria type from the Greek meaning Pointer of the Way and is usually depicted with the Christ Child in Her arms giving His blessing. This icon is a prototype of an icon that according to tradition holds that during the iconoclastic controversy in the 9th. Century, a widow from Constantinople hid the icon in her home to preserve the icon from destruction. Fearing that she would be caught she placed it in the waters at Nicea where it eventually was found floating in the sea near Mount Athos. It was found by the monks from the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos and placed there. A copy was made and sent to Russia in 1648, where a chapel was built for it. Almost immediately this copy became highly venerated because of the many miracles which have been attributed to it. The feast day of this icon is February 12, the day on which it appeared to the monks at Mount Athos and on October 13 to commemorate the replicas arrival in Russia on that day. This icon is also referred to as the Iberian and Iverskaya icon as well.