Virgin Mary Axion Esti

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This miraculous icon, which is kept today in the sacred crypt of the Protaton of Karyes, was located at the end of the first century in a cell near Karyes, which today bears the same name "Axion estin" because of the following miracle: While the Elder of Kelios was absent at a vigil of the Protatus, it happened that his subordinate, who was alone in the cell, hosted an unknown passing monk with whom, in fact, he also sang the sequence of the Sunday orthos.

The “Axion Estin” icon (10th century) is the most sacred relic of Mount Athos, kept at the Protaton Church in Karyes.

Its name is tied to a miracle on June 11, 982 AD. An unknown monk visited a remote cell and joined a young novice in prayer. Before this icon, the stranger chanted a beautiful, unknown hymn beginning with the words: “It is truly meet to bless you, O Theotokos...” (Axion estin os alithos...).

Amazed, the novice asked for the text. Lacking paper, the stranger engraved the words with his bare finger onto a stone slab, as if the marble were soft clay, before vanishing. The monks later realized the mysterious guest was the Archangel Gabriel.

The icon was then moved to the Protaton, and this angelic hymn became established throughout the Orthodox Church, where it is still chanted today.