Odighitria Chilandari

For those who don't know, Mount Athos extends in the shape of a peninsula and is a real autonomous state within the Greek borders. It has been considered a sacred territory for centuries, inhabited by about a thousand monks, divided into 20 Orthodox monasteries and some small hermitages. The entire complex boasts an impressive quantity of wall paintings, mosaics, portable icons and illuminated manuscripts of extreme beauty, belonging to different historical periods and artistic styles, which cover a period of time from the 12th to the 19th century. There are over 20 thousand Byzantine icons alone, of many types: portable, iconostasis, mosaic... a true artistic and spiritual treasure.

Among these we find the icon of the Virgin Hodegetria with the Child, which dates back to the second half of the 12th century, but whose exact place of origin cannot be established. The quality of its workmanship is quite high and, although time has partly damaged it and hidden its origins in silence, it today speaks for itself and communicates by itself, with its austere elegance, typical of Byzantine works, the message it represents. The great dignity and sacredness of the Mother of God who “indicates the way” of life: the very child she holds in her arms, child and at the same time God of the universe who became man to save man, who was crucified to make us rise again with him. In an essentiality and solemnity of gestures that speak to us of a reality that comes from beyond time, from eternity, of a love that is not in a hurry, that asks for a bit of your time, asks your thoughts and senses to be silent, not to seek the usual quick satisfactions but to stop and wait, and look, listen…

From the silence of these images – as from the silence of so many hearts that, hidden throughout the world, continue to pray, to intercede, to love God and man on behalf of all, even those who do not want to “deal” with him – comes this silent and continuous cry, which asks to stop, to be silent, to look to the after, to eternal life, which invites us to return to our origins, to believe in the love of a mother for her child, of a mother crucified by the pain of seeing her son, and with him all her children, who today are killed, mistreated, her children abandoned, neglected.

An image that asks us to believe again in the maternal love of God towards man, the only one who can save us, who can stop us, who can give us peace, if we want it, if we ask for it. Let us be guided, helped by the Mother of God.

Chiara Dal Corso
NP October 2024