This type of icon is known as the Virgin Eleousa (Virgin of Tenderness) characterized by the touching cheeks of mother and child in a loving moment. The icon signifies Christ’s incarnation, suffering, and death for the sake of humankind. Three ornamental stars on the Virgin’s cloak are traditional symbols of her chastity; a blue cap covers her hair and protects her modesty. The child wears a pale green tunic and deep orange cloak, both highlighted in gold. The Christ Child holds a scroll tied with a ribbon, a symbol of the Gospels. The icon was painted by the Cretan icon painter Akotantos, the preeminent artistic personality on Crete during the 1400s. This icon is from his period of greatest activity and pre-dates the collapse of Constantinople in 1453. The treatment of the faces and draperies is handled with fluency and skill and reveals Akotantos to be a painter of great talent. Given its large scale, the icon was intended for use within an orthodox church, possibly a monastery, and not for a private home.[i]
Christian Meditation | Icons
Icons have been described as windows to the divine. Those who take time to meditate on the divine realities expressed through the paintings do so with the inner eye of the soul. They reach beyond the representation to the truth it represents. Meditation can be simply a quiet observing in silence and wonder. Words are not necessary. Perhaps this is the best meditation of all. Meditation can also inspire prayer to share with others. We invite you to reflect on Our Lady of Tenderness with us.[ii]
Icon of the Mother of God and Infant Christ (Virgin Eleousa) | Angelos Akotantos c. 1425-1450
Praying the Meditation | Mary, Mother of God
Mary, Mother of God,
The gentle tenderness you share with your child is a quiet, strong thing, reflected from your image. There is no distance between his soft, but total embrace and you. He loves you. Yes, there is no doubt! O how this child loves you! You are molded as one. His body from your body, his flesh from your flesh, his heart from your heart. His eyes praise you and thank you for your share in his humanity.
Like a strong, powerful, but peaceful magnet, your gaze holds mine. Quiet, calm, endlessly gazing at me from nine centuries of reflected wisdom. You ask only one thing of me: to share the love you share. Love is not gentle, soft tenderness in the sense of weakness. Love is gentle in the sense of strength: enduring, radical, unbroken unity.
Lady of Tenderness, your gaze is both statement and question: If this is the unity he seeks — a love so strong between God and the human being that nothing can divide it — then can I not at least try to love as he has loved? Can I not at least try to break down barriers that separate the nations? Can I not make my decisions in his presence and under your gaze — the presence of this call to unity from the fulness of tender love?
Mary, perhaps if I would pause long enough to return your gaze, stop long enough to love tenderly for just one moment, I could learn from you what wisdom really means.
This is what our God asks of you, only this: to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.cf. Amos 14-16.[iii]
Learn More About Icons:
Christ the Pantocrator of Roath at the Church of Saint Martin in Roath, Cardiff | Aidan Hart, 2013
[i] Akotantos, Angelos. “Icon of the Mother of God and Infant Christ (Virgin Eleousa), 1420.” WikiMedia Commons, January 21, 2019. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clevelandart_2010.154.jpg.
[ii] Frisk, M. Jean. “Our Lady of Vladimir: Our Lady of Tenderness — The Lady Who Saves Russia.” All About Mary.
University of Dayton, Ohio. Accessed May 20, 2021. https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/o/our-lady-of-vladimir.php.
[iii] Ibid.
Posted for Mary, Mother of the Church | May, 24, 2021
