Virgin Mary

The hodigitria (guide) genre of icons features Christ sitting on the Virgin's lap. Her hands point to her Son in a gesture of humility, guiding the viewer to look to Him. This particular icon image is from the Vatopedi Monastery on the Holy...

This beautiful fresco is from the Coemeterium Maius catacombs and dates to the mid-4th century. The blessed Virgin holds Christ in her lap and raises her hands in the "Orans" posture of prayer, which is very common in catacomb iconography. In...

In this icon, a variant of the Akthyra type, the Mother of God holds her heart as she looks upon Christ being crucified. In this 18th century Russian icon, she is modeled after the famous Theotokos of Kazan. At the bottom of the icon are...

This icon is found on the back side of the iconostasis at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, overlooking the holy altar. The holy face of the Most Holy Theotokos is surrounded by floral greenery. The unique horizontal orientation of the icon will add a unique and...

Outside the city of Constantinople, there was a sacred spring dedicated to the Virgin Mary. A monastery grew up there in the 5th century, and over time the spring was overgrown by a grove of trees. The Byzantine Emperor encountered a blind man who was...