Silver icon with the Virgin Mary of Blachernae and the Twelve Apostoles. Handmade silver icon on natural wood, made with 925ο silver. The natural wood used for the synthesis of the icon is beech (fagus) from Mount Athos, a wood that is receptive to aging techniques that give the appearance of vintage to the wood, without altering the depicted image.
The depictions of faces, hands, halos or other representations are hand-painted on canvas by specialized iconographers, according to the traditional techniques of Byzantine Iconography. The silver frame of the icon is held by nails to resemble the original icons. On the back side, the icon has a small metal ring made of horseshoe nails so that it can be hung.
Dimensions: 26 x 31 cm.
The Twelve Apostles are the people that Jesus Christ chose to be the core of the Church and become the followers of His work. These illiterate and poor people, with the grace and illumination of the Holy Spirit, opened the post-Christ period in the history of the world.
The miraculous icon of the Virgin is located in the church of Panagia of Blachernae in Constantinople. During the siege of Constantinople by the Avars in 626 AD. Virgin Mary saved the city from great danger. That night, the faithfuls sang the Akathist Hymn in the temple. Theotokos is depicted standing, in a posture of praying and her hands are raised to the sky. On her chest, she has an engolpion with Jesus Christ blessing. The icon of Virgin Mary of Blachernae is also associated with the Miracle of the Veil, which was lifted from her face, depending on the occasion.
