Wooden Icon of the Mother of God Joy and Consolation (Joy and Comfort)
One day, a group of robbers who decided to rob the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos hid in the vicinity of the monastery to wait for the gates to open.
At this time, while the robbers were waiting, Matins ended, and the monks began to disperse to their cells to rest. Only the abbot of the monastery remained in the church. Suddenly he heard a female voice coming from the icon of the Mother of God, which warned of impending danger for the monastery. The abbot turned his gaze to the icon and saw that the faces of the Mother of God and the Infant God had changed. The Vatopedi icon of the Mother of God became similar to the “Hodegetria”, where the Infant of God is always depicted with his hand raised in blessing.
And suddenly the abbot sees Jesus raising his hand to block the mouth of the Mother of God, and says: “No, My Mother, don’t tell them this: let them be punished for their sins.” But the Mother of God, evading His hand, repeats her words: “Do not open the gates of the monastery today, but climb the walls of the monastery and disperse the robbers.”
The amazed abbot immediately gathers the monks. Everyone was amazed at the changes in the icon of the Mother of God. After a prayer of thanks in front of the holy image, the inspired monks climb the monastery walls and successfully repel the attack of the robbers.
Since then, the Vatopedi icon has received the name “Joy” or “Consolation”, since on this icon the face of the Mother of God clearly expresses compassionate love, her gaze radiates mercy and meekness, and a quiet smile of consolation is visible on her lips. The face of the Divine Infant remains stern.
The icon is made by printing on a wooden board. Paints are mineral, do not fade with time. The thickness of the board is 2 cm. The board is covered with primer by hand. The image is covered with wax. Each icon has a metal mount on the back side so that you can hang the icon on the wall.
