The Panagia Agiosoritissa or Hagiosoritissa () is the name for a type of Marian icon, showing Mary without the Christ Child, slightly from the side with both hands raised in prayer. The type is known in Latin as Maria Advocata.

Names

The names used for the icon, ''Hagiosoritissa'' and, in Russian, ''Khalkopratiskaya'' (), derive from the church of the Holy Urn (Greek: Ἁγία Σορός, in reference to the urn containing the Cincture of the Theotokos) in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

's Chalkoprateia (Χαλκοπρατεῖα, "copper market") district. In English, the type is also known as ''Madonna Advocate'' (the prayer gesture interpreted as an act of

intercession Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of prayer, praying on behalf of others, or Intercession of saints, asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Saint Timothy, Timothy speci ...

on behalf of the faithful).

History

The appellation Ἁγιοσορίτισσα is first recorded in Byzantine seals of the 11th century, and it appears minted on coins made under

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history o ...

(). The type was widespread in the Byzantine empire and in the Balkans, but less so in Russia.

Examples

Such an icon is known to have been in the Hagios Demetrios basilica in

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area) and the capital city, capital of the geographic reg ...

in the 6th century, but was lost in the

Byzantine Iconoclasm The Byzantine Iconoclasm () are two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial authorities within the Ecumenical Patriarchate (at the time still comprising the ...

. An early Byzantine icon (7th century?) is preserved in the church of Santa Maria del Rosario on the

Monte Mario Monte Mario (English: Mount Mario or Mount Marius) is the hill that rises in the north-west area of Rome (Italy), on the right bank of the Tiber, crossed by the Via Trionfale. It occupies part of Balduina, of the territory of Municipio I, Munici ...

, Rome. The Madonna di sant'Alessio in the Basilica of the Saints Bonifacio and Alexis on the Aventine Hill in Rome is also of the type. An early Russian example is the Theotokos of Bogolyubovo (12th century). The church of Santa Maria in Via Lata in Rome has a 13th-century icon of this type. The treasury of the Basilica of Our Lady, Maastricht has an 11th century enamel decorated plaque intended for a

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''Chasse (casket), chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported ...

, that depicts an image of the ''Panagia Agiosoritissa''. The high-quality enamel work is very colorful in shades of blue, green, red, yellow, and white accented by meticulously shaped gold cloison patterns. The piece was made in a fine imperial workshop that was located in Constantinople. Mary's facial features are accentuated with gold cloison outlines. She is shown wearing a dark blue '' maphorion'', with her hands clasped in prayer and her face turned towards Jesus.

References

Sources

* O. E. Etingof
Агиосоритисса
''Православная энциклопедия'' vol. 1 (2000), p. 254. * David Lathoud, "Le sanctuaire de la Vierge des Chalcopratia", ''Échos d'Orient'' 23 (1924), 36–62. * Tommaso Bertelè, "La Vergine aghiosoritissa nella numismatica bizantina", ''Revue des études byzantines'' 16 (1958), 233f. * M. Andaloro, "Note sui temi iconografici della Deesis e dell'Hagiosoritissa", '' Riv. dell'Istituto Nazionale di Archeologia e Storia dell'Arte'' 17 (1970), 85–130. {{Authority control 7th-century paintings Byzantine icons Eastern Orthodox icons of the Virgin Mary

Names

History

Examples

See also

References

Sources