Blachernitissa

Description

Blachernitissa (Greek: Βλαχερνίτισσα), also called Theotokos of Blachernae (Θεοτόκος των Βλαχερνών, Θεοτόκος η Βλαχερνίτισσα) or Our Lady of Blachernae (Παναγία η Βλαχερνίτισσα), is a 7th-century encaustic icon representing the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. It is also the name given to the Church built in honour of the Virgin Mary in the Blachernae section of Constantinople. The name Blachernae possibly derived from the name of a Vlach (sometimes written as Blach or Blasi), who came to Constantinople from the lower Danube.

The Theotokos was considered to be the intercessory protectress par excellence of Constantinople and, indeed, of the entire Eastern Roman Empire (called “Byzantium” by some modern Western scholars). Blachernitissa is unusual among Orthodox icons in that it is not flat, but is formed in bas relief. According to Sacred Tradition, the icon Blachernitissa was made of wax combined with the ashes of Christian martyrs who had been killed in the 6th century. The Church of St. Mary of Blachernae (which hosted the icon) was sited close to the Blachernae imperial palace.

The icon was believed to have been lost after the fire that destroyed the church on February 29, 1434, although in later centuries its disappearance came to be associated with the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Like many holy objects of Byzantine tradition, the Blachernitissa (or a copy thereof) resurfaced on Mount Athos in the mid-17th century.

Whether it is the same icon that was kept in Blachernae is a matter of scholarly debate, as the ancient icon is believed to have been of the Orans type, whereas the Athonite icon is of a style called Hodegetria (literally, “She who leads the way”).^[2]

It has been suggested that the Athonite icon had its origins in the Blachernae quarter and perhaps even resided in the Church of St. Mary before being transferred to Mount Athos for “security reasons”.

It was in 1653 that the icon was sent by the Athonite monks to Moscow as their gift to Tsar Alexis. A Constantinople merchant, Demetrios Costinari, brought it to Moscow on October 16, 1653, with a letter from Patriarch Paisius I that endorsed the icon’s authenticity.^[3] He was met by the Tsar in person,^[4] and Alexis had the icon enshrined in Moscow’s main church, the Dormition Cathedral, opposite Russia’s protectress, the Theotokos of Vladimir.