Where the icon of the Virgin Mary Antifonitria is located
At the Holy Monastery of Konstamonitou on Mount Athos is found the icon of the Virgin Mary Antifonitria, meaning ‘She Who Retorts’. The exact time and occasion of how this holy icon appeared in the monastery remain unknown. However, the miracle associated with the holy icon of the Theotokos, which took place in 1020 AD during the reign of Constantine the Great, is widely known.
The great miracle of Theotokos Antifonitria
On the first day of August in the year 1020 AD, Agathon, the church leader of the Monastery, was filled with great sorrow as the Monastery was lacking oil and other essential supplies.
On the eve of the removal of the holy relics of Saint Stephen, who is the patron saint of the Monastery, Agathon was deeply saddened and prayed in front of the holy icon of Panagia Antiphonitria. He spent the entire night in prayer, beseeching the Most Holy Theotokos for her help.
Why the icon of the Virgin Mary was named Antiphonitria
At some point, Agathon fell asleep, hungry and exhausted as he was, and then found himself in a state of ecstasy. In this state, he heard the icon of the Virgin Mary talking to him, namely assuring him not to be sorrowful, as she takes care of everything on Mount Athos. For this reason, the icon was named Antiphonitria, from the Greek word “αντιφωνώ”, meaning “talking loudly”).
Indeed, at that very moment, the containers were filled with oil, as were all the other storage with the necessary supplies! When Agathon woke up and was informed of the joyful news, he cheerfully moved towards the church.
When he saw with his own eyes that the containers were indeed full of oil, he was astonished and loudly announced the miracle that had just occurred to all the monks.
