The Mother of God Hodegetria

The image of the Mother of God with Jesus became popular in Byzantine sacred painting as the Hodegetria. The name comes from the now-lost original, which was housed in a monastery temple in Constantinople (the Greek word "hodigon" means "way"). The original of the Passion variant of the Mother of God Hodegetria was attributed to the Basilian monk St. Lazarus. Others claim that the first icon of this type was painted in Crete in the 9th century. The Passion depiction of the Mother of God, known in Byzantine art since the 12th century, was associated with the Chilandar Monastery on Mount Athos. Icons of this type, known in the Balkans since the 15th century, became widespread in the Russian Orthodox Church from the 17th century onwards. According to legend, one such icon was brought to Europe by a merchant who, during a storm, took the image out of a chest and showed it to the terrified passengers. Their prayers to the Mother of God saved the ship from sinking. Upon reaching Rome, the icon was placed in the Church of St. Matthew. After Napoleon’s forces captured Rome, the image was lost, only to be rediscovered more than half a century later by Father Michael Marchi. In 1865, Pope Pius IX entrusted the miraculous image to the care of the Redemptorists (the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer), with the instruction: "Make this image known throughout the world and loved by all." The Roman icon of the Passion Mother of God Hodegetria, venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, is today the most widespread Marian image in the world. The image was placed in the Redemptorists' Church of St. Alphonsus in Rome. In the icon, the Child Jesus, grasping the hand of the Mother of God with both hands, gazes at the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, who present the instruments of the foretold Passion. On 23 June 1867, the image was solemnly crowned. Since that year, on 27 June, the Roman Catholic Church has celebrated the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967