Seriograph icon crafted in canvas on wood with silver coating, locally gilded. The icon is decorated with European Crystals.

Processing Time: 3 weeks

Virgin Mary Portaitissa

Virgin Mary Portaitissa (Keeper of the Gate) is depicted in the form of Hodegetria and the blood on her face is due to a trauma caused by the knife of an unfaithful pirate.

According to Christian tradition, the icon of Mary, the Keeper of the Gate, was cast into the sea by a godly woman, in order to save it from the iconoclasts. Several years later, in 1004 AD, the icon emerged from the sea near the Monastery of Iviron at Mount Athos, floating on the water. The monks placed it many times in a prominent position in the Holy Temple. However, the next day it was always found near the Gate, an indication that it had appeared there to guard the Monastery and not to be guarded. The monks built a chapel next to the Gate, where the icon is still kept today.

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