All Topics  
Our Lady of the Sign

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Our Lady of the Sign
 
 
  Topics Our Lady of the Sign Topic Home

The Icon
Icon

An 'icon' is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, ...
 of Our Lady of the Sign (; ; ) is the term for a particular type of icon
Icon

An 'icon' is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, ...
 of the Theotokos
Theotokos

Theotokos is a title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches....
 (Virgin Mary), facing the viewer directly, depicted either full length or half, with her hands raised in the orans
Orans

Orans , is a female figure with extended arms or bodily attitude of prayer, usually standing, with the elbows close to the sides of the body and with the hands outstretched sideways, palms up....
 position, and with the image of the Child Jesus
Child Jesus

The Child Jesus, or Divine Infant, represents the infant Jesus until to the age of twelve. At thirteen he was considered to have become adult, in accordance with both the Jewish custom of his own time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries....
 depicted within a round aureole upon her breast.

The icon depicts the Theotokos during the Annunciation
Annunciation

In Christianity, the Annunciation is the revelation to Mary, the mother of Jesus, by the angel Gabriel that she would Conception a child to be born the Son of God....
 at the moment of saying, "May it be done to me according to your word.".






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Our Lady of the Sign'
Start a new discussion about 'Our Lady of the Sign'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Oranta
The Icon
Icon

An 'icon' is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, ...
 of Our Lady of the Sign (; ; ) is the term for a particular type of icon
Icon

An 'icon' is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, ...
 of the Theotokos
Theotokos

Theotokos is a title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches....
 (Virgin Mary), facing the viewer directly, depicted either full length or half, with her hands raised in the orans
Orans

Orans , is a female figure with extended arms or bodily attitude of prayer, usually standing, with the elbows close to the sides of the body and with the hands outstretched sideways, palms up....
 position, and with the image of the Child Jesus
Child Jesus

The Child Jesus, or Divine Infant, represents the infant Jesus until to the age of twelve. At thirteen he was considered to have become adult, in accordance with both the Jewish custom of his own time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries....
 depicted within a round aureole upon her breast.

The icon depicts the Theotokos during the Annunciation
Annunciation

In Christianity, the Annunciation is the revelation to Mary, the mother of Jesus, by the angel Gabriel that she would Conception a child to be born the Son of God....
 at the moment of saying, "May it be done to me according to your word.". The image of the Christ child represents him at the moment of his conception in the womb of the Virgin. He is depicted not as a fetus, but rather vested in divine robes, and often holding a scroll, symbolic of his role as teacher. Sometimes his robes are gold or white, symbolizing divine glory; sometimes they are blue and red, symbolizing the two natures of Christ (see Christology
Christology

Christology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ, particularly with how the divine and human are related in his person....
). His face is depicted as that of an old man, indicating the Christian teaching that he was at one and the same time both a fully-human infant and fully the eternal God, one of the Trinity. His right hand is raised in blessing.

The term Virgin of the Sign or Our Lady of the Sign is a reference to the prophecy
Prophecy

Prophecy, generally, describes the disclosing of information that is not known to the prophet by any ordinary means. In religion, this is thought to be a divinely inspired revelation or interpretation....
 of Isaiah
Isaiah

Isaiah is the main figure in the Biblical Book of Isaiah, and is traditionally considered to be its author. He was an 8th-century Before Christ Judean prophet who declared that all the world belonged to God and that God will destroy it....
 : "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel
Immanuel

Immanuel or Emmanuel or Imanu'el . It is a theophoric name used in the Bible in and . It appears once in the Christian New Testament: in Matthew's Quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament of Isaiah 7:14....
". Such an image is often placed in the apse
Apse

In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault . In Romanesque architecture, Byzantine architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral and church architecture, the term is applied to the semi-circular or polygonal section of the sanctuary at the liturgical east end beyond the altar....
 of the sanctuary
Sanctuary

Sanctuary has multiple meanings. A sanctuary is the consecrated area of a church or temple around its church tabernacle or altar. An animal sanctuary is a place where animals live and are protected....
 of an Orthodox church above the Holy Table (altar).

As with most Orthodox icons of Mary, the letters ?? T? (short for ????? T???, "Mother of God") are usually placed on the upper left and right of the head of the Virgin Mary.

This type of icon is also sometimes called Platytera (Greek: ??at?t??a, literally wider or more spacious); poetically, by containing the Creator
Creator deity

A creator deity is a deity in a creation myth responsible for the creation of the world .In monotheism, the single God is necessarily also the creator deity, while polytheistic traditions may or may not have creator deities....
 of the Universe
Universe

The universe is defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and physical constants that govern them....
 in her womb, Mary has become Platytera ton ouranon (??at?t??a t?? ???a???): "More spacious than the heavens".

History

The depiction of the Virgin Mary with her hands upraised in prayer ("orans") is of very ancient origin in Christian art
Christian art

Christian art is art produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of Christianity. Virtually all Christian groupings use or have used art to some extent....
. In the mausoleum of St Agnes
Sant'Agnese fuori le mura

Sant'Agnese fuori le mura is a churches of Rome Rome, in which Saint Agnes's bones are reputed to rest. The underground area and built a large private mausoleum over it which is now known as the "mausoleo di Santa Costanza" , while the church of Saint Agnes was then built aside....
 in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
 is a depiction dating to the fourth century which depicts the Theotokos with hands raised in prayer and the infant Jesus
Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
 sitting upon her knees. There is also an ancient Byzantine icon
Icon

An 'icon' is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, ...
 of the Mother of God "Nikopea" from the sixth century, where the Virgin Mary is depicted seated upon a throne
Throne

A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many terms such as "power behind the throne"....
 and holding in her hands an oval shield with the image of "Emmanuel".

Icons of the Virgin, known as "The Sign", appeared in Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
 during the eleventh to twelfth centuries. The icon became highly-venerated in Russia because of what Orthodox Christians believe to be the miraculous deliverance of Novgorod from invasion in the year 1170.

Veneration

Panagia
There are a number of different feast days during the liturgical year
Liturgical year

The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgy seasons in Christianity churches which determines when Calendar of saints, Memorial s, Commemoration s, and Solemnity are to be observed and which portions of Scripture are to be read....
 which commemorate Our Lady of the Sign. The main feast is on November 27. Other feast days normally commemorate specific copies of the icon to which wonderworking power has been ascribed by the Orthodox Church. Many of these have special titles which help to distinguish them. Some of the icons have more than one feast day. The accounts of a number of these may be found in the External links
Our Lady of the Sign

The Icon of Our Lady of the Sign is the term for a particular type of icon of the Theotokos , facing the viewer directly, depicted either full length or half, with her hands raised in the orans position, and with the image of the Child Jesus depicted within a round aureole upon her breast....
, below.

  • March 8—"Kursk-Root"
  • July 20—"Chukhloma" and "Abalaka"
  • September 24—"Mirozh" Icon
  • November 9—"Quick to Hear"
  • November 27—Weeping Icon at Novgorod, "Tsarskoe Selo", "Kursk-Root", "Seraphim-Ponetaevka" and "Abalaka"


Among the more famous variants of this genre are the Icons of the Mother of God of Abalatsk, Kursk-Root
Our Lady of Kursk

Our Lady of Kursk is an icon of Theotokos, apparently painted in the thirteenth century and discovered in a forest near Kursk ca. 1300. It has been preserved in the Black Hermitage of the Roots , an abbey founded on the spot of its discovery....
, Mirozh, Novgorod, Sankt Petersburg, Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo

Tsarskoye Selo is a former Russian Empire residence of the Romanov and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg....
 and Vologda
Vologda

Vologda is a city in Russia and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast. Population: 293,700 ; Vologda takes its name, of likely Finno-Ugrian origin, from the Vologda River which flows through the city....
.

The Church of St. Stanislaus Kostka
St. Stanislaus Kostka in Chicago

St. Stanislaus Kostka in Chicago, referred to in Polish language as 'Kosci?l Swietego Stanislawa Kostki' is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located in, Chicago, Illinois, Illinois....
, one of Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
's famed Polish Cathedrals is home to a nine foot wide Iconic Monstrance
Monstrance

A monstrance is the vessel used in the Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, and Anglican Churches to display the consecrated Eucharist Host , during Eucharistic adoration or Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament....
 of Our Lady of the Sign as part of the planned Sanctuary
Sanctuary

Sanctuary has multiple meanings. A sanctuary is the consecrated area of a church or temple around its church tabernacle or altar. An animal sanctuary is a place where animals live and are protected....
 of The Divine Mercy
Chaplet of Divine Mercy

File:Divine Mercy 2007-08-16.jpgThe Chaplet of the Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic Catholic devotion based on the visions of Poland nun and canonized saint, nun Mary Faustina Kowalska , known as "the Apostle of Mercy." The chaplet is often said as a Rosary based prayers with the same set of rosary beads used for reciting the rosary...
 that is being constructed adjacent to the church. The Monstrance will be found within the sanctuary's adoration chapel
Chapel

A chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large Church , a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds....
 which will be the focus of 24-hour Eucharistic Adoration
Eucharistic adoration

Eucharistic adoration is a practice in the Roman Catholic Church and in some Anglican churches, in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed to and adored by the faithful....
 and where there will be no liturgies or vocal prayers, either by individuals or groups as the space will be strictly meant for private meditation and contemplation.

See also

  • Panagia
    Panagia

    Panagia , also transliterated Panayia or Panaghia, is one of the titles of Mary, the mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Orthodox Church....
  • Worship
    Worship

    Worship usually refers to acts of religion devotion typically directed to one or more deity. It is the informal term in English for what sociology of religion call cult —traditional beliefs and practices, the individual study of which is one of the chief concerns of theology....


External links