The Mother of God of Hodigitria

Icon of the Mother of God Three-Handed Hodegetria, 19th century Russia. The 19th century icon depicting the Mother of God Hodegetria (see S.12677MŁ) is called Three-Handed because of the third hand painted in the robes of the Mother of God. For the first time, as a silver votive offering in the shape of a hand, it was placed on the icon of the Mother of God by St John of Damascus in appreciation of the miracle of healing the hand cut off at the wrist. This icon is kept in the Hilandar Monastery on the Athos peninsula in Greece – see S.12818MŁ. A copy of the icon, made based on the original, offered on 11 July (28 June according to the Julian calendar) 1661 to Nikon, the Patriarch of Moscow; it was placed in the New Jerusalem monastery on the river Istra near Moscow, contributing to the spread of the image. However, the legend of the miraculous healing of the hand of John of Damascus was not popularised in Russia, which is perhaps why the third hand was often painted on the icon as the hand belonging to the Mother of God, as can be seen on the icon in question. Already in the 18th century, this aroused resentment among some viewers and was accepted as something unnatural. Therefore, the Orthodox synod held in 1722 in Moscow forbade the creation of images of Hodegetria with three hands. However, the cult of the icon was so widespread that the ban was not respected, as can be seen in the icon in question. Comparing the icons of the Three-Handed Mother of God S.12818MŁ and S.12878MŁ, it is impossible not to notice that she appears both in the variant with the Child on the left and on the right side of the painting. Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967