Mother of God Eleusa, Our August Mother

An image of the Mother of God Eleusa called “Our August Mother” also goes by the name of the Arabian Mother of God or the Mother of God of Avars. The original icon is unknown; according to researchers, it dates back to early 4th century. The earliest mentions of this iconographic variant in the Russian Orthodox area date back to 2nd half of 17th century and were included the pattern book of the Sya Monastery, located south of Arkhangelsk on the Great Mikhailovsky Lake, from which the Sya River flows. The pattern books, called “hermeneia” in Greek and “podlinniki” in former Ruthenia, contained the instructions and rules for painting icons in graphic or descriptive form. The distinctive feature of this presentation is the maforion (Mary’s headdress) decorated with clouds (symbol of heaven) and the images of the archangels placed on her shoulders and forehead (symbol of the Holy Trinity). The terms “Dignified”, “Glorious” or “Mother Worthy of All Glory” derive from the liturgical hymn in honour of the Mother of God, from the words: “Indeed, you are worthy, Mother, of all glory”, “O vsepietaya Mati” in Russian. They are written on the edge of the robe of the Mother of God (poorly legible on the exhibited icon). A hymn in honour of the Virgin Mary, attributed to sixth-century Melodos, was composed in Constantinople and sung solemnly as a thanksgiving song for saving the Byzantine capital from Avars in 626 and from the Arab siege in 677. Indirectly, this fact links the image containing the stanzas of the Marian hymn to the terms “Arab” or “Avar”. The icon became popular in the Russian Orthodox Church in 18th century.

Teresa Bagińska-Żurawska https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-3967