Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Hodegetria”

The Theotokos “Hodegetria” is one of the oldest and most venerated images of the Most Holy Virgin in the Christian world. It helps in difficult life situations, drives demons away from people, and shows the right path in life. The first depiction of the icon was painted by St. Luke the Apostle and Evangelist. The icon was transferred from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the 5th century by Empress Eudocia, wife of the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II. Specifically for the icon, the emperor’s sister, St. Pulcheria, founded the main female monastery “Odigon.”

Its name comes from this, as “Hodegetria” in Greek means “She who Shows the Way.” The icon became the protector of Constantinople, and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims went to venerate it and seek help. After the fall of Byzantium in 1453, the original icon was lost for centuries.

In the 18th century, the “Hodegetria” reappeared on Mount Athos, initially at the Vatopedi Monastery, and later it chose the Xenophontos Monastery, moving there several times in a miraculous way.