Symbols in icons: The Theotokos — Hand Painted Icons by Katherine Sanders (2024)

Firstly, she is (almost always) shown holding Jesus or in an icon that would originally be in a screen or deisis, pointing towards Him. Her role is to point us towards Him, direct our prayers to Him and her interaction with us is always within the context of her relationship with Him.

This is why so many of her icon ‘types’ or models are about her reaction to Christ - the most famous is perhaps the “eleousa” - she holds Christ as an infant tenderly, showing the love and care for her child we would hope to see - but also He gazes back at her.

Sometimes Christ is shown on her knee with the Theotokos holding her arms raised in the ancient “orans” prayer position of prayer and praise. This is a very old type, as can be seen here (roman catacomb). Again, she is shown in her relationship to Christ

Let’s identify the constant features of her icons and understand them more fully;

Her Robe:

The Theotokos is (almost always) shown with a dark red or purple ‘maphorion’ or robe covering her head. This was typical respectable clothing for a married mother at the time of Christ. Sometimes we see a little of the scarf beneath it, which would cover her hair (striped blue and white or simply blue). The robe can be trimmed with gold and sometimes has detailed gold fringe decoration, as seen here in the Vladimirskaya icon.

Stars:

Upon her robe, we often see ‘stars’. These can be very simple or ornate and sometimes there are only one or two visible, depending upon her pose. These symbolise her ever-virginity (before, during and after giving birth) as well as the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). This double meaning attributed to the same object is absolutely normal in Orthodox iconography and it’s entirely possible that this meaning was given to the stars years after they had been added - and that makes it no less important or powerful.

Face - Expression

One of the first things people notice in any icon of the Theotokos - or anyone really - is the sombre facial expression. To some it causes a humorous “why are they so sad?” response while others find it really puts them into a state of discomfort.

I’ve heard it said recently that “we are a sad generation with happy pictures” - perhaps the ‘sad’ pictures of the Church indicate an inner happiness that is not expressed outwardly? This calm expression isn’t the same as the torture or misery in some Western religious art - on the Cross, Christ does not twist His face in agony, his Mother does not weep copious tears with an open downturned mouth. Instead of reflecting the human agony or joy of a moment, the icon is almost neutral. It’s been said that this shows the ‘bright sadness’ or ‘harmolipi’ we try to find during Lent - but it is an interesting choice because it’s not a bland calm neutrality either. The state of both the viewer and the iconographer impacts the finished face - if we, as people using the icon in prayer, are feeling sad, we see that aspect of the face so much more. If we are happy or calm, we are more likely to view the expression as calm.

This paradox is most commonly seen in the Sinai Icon of Christ, where the eyes are painted slightly differently. Some iconographers take this to extremes, misunderstanding it as a ‘feature’ and creating wildly contrasting expressions. These are, thankfully, rare on icons of the Theotokos and are a result of misunderstanding the Byzantine system of rhythm and line, creating a theological ‘rule’ out of the ‘repeated whispers’ type of information common around iconography

Lettering on Icons of the Theotokos -

As with most Orthodox icons of Mary, the letters ΜΡ ΘΥ (short for ΜΗΤΗΡ ΘΕΟΥ, "Mother of God") are usually placed on the upper left and right of the head of the Virgin Mary - these can be moved around according to the composition but will rarely change, whatever type of icon is depicted.

What else might you see in an icon of the Theotokos?

Another icon where you will often see her in Church is the Annunciation, usually in dialogue with the Archangel Gabriel. She sits on a throne, or stands calmly, holding a spindle. She was given this to spin scarlet fabric for the curtain of the Temple, where (according to Tradition) she was staying from her childhood (the Feast of the Entry or Presentation of the Theotokos into the Temple is celebrated in November.) Her hand is raised in acknowledgement of the Angelic greeting and acceptance of her divinely appointed role. The raised chair is usually highly decorated and although this does accord with the hymn “more honourable than the cherubim, more glorious than the Seraphim’ it is, also, an indication of status that we could see with Byzantine nobility. The red fabric or draping above indicates that she is indoors during this greeting and her robes have not changed - in Byzantine icons, she is not shown with an uncovered head or as a young girl at any point.

This is the famous “Ustyg Annunciation” of the 12th Century and shows the red skein or spindle clearly, along with Christ present as an infant blessing the viewer. He is not shown as a baby or within a womb though. In the Mandorla, it is said we can see the “Ancient of Days” on a throne surrounded by fiery seraphim and cherubim, while the Angel Gabriel greets her. I’d like to add that this original icon is over 1 metre wide and over 2 metres tall - 66 x 94 inches - so reproducing it at a more ‘domestic’ size is a real challenge!

Most common types of icon of the Theotokos

• Eleousa (Tender Mercy) - One of the most often seen icons, this type shows the Theotokos and Christ embracing with His infant face gently pressed against hers, often with an arm around her neck, while she supports his body and sometimes his feet or arm. This icon is called “Eleousa” because of the tender love and compassion shown, and is the same “eleos” that we pray for in the litanies “Lord have mercy” Ἐλεούσα – tenderness or showing mercy. There are so many different examples of this type it is impossible to list them, but among the most famous are the Vladimirskaya, Donskaya and Pochaev.

• Hodegitria (The Guide) - In this icon, the Theotokos supports Jesus and points with her right hand towards Him. She looks at the viewer and sometimes there are angels in the upper corners of the icon, but more often just Christ and the Virgin Mary. In the west, I’ve heard this described as “Our Lady of the Way”, as she shows us that Christ is the way to salvation. This is possibly one of the oldest types of icon and there are endless examples and variations, all with the same basic features. One of the most well known is the “Portaitissa” icon, from the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos.

• Oranta (Our Lady of the Sign) - The Theotokos faces the viewer and is either full or half length, with Christ as a child inside a heavenly Mandorla. I’ve heard it described as ‘the moment of conception’ but that seems overly literal, especially for an Orthodox icon. Instead, I prefer the explanation that it is a reference to the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel". Such an image is often placed in the apse of the sanctuary of an Orthodox church above the Holy Table (altar).

This type of icon is also sometimes called the Platytéra (Greek: Πλατυτέρα, literally wider or more spacious); poetically, by containing the Creator of the Universe in her womb, Mary has become Platytera ton ouranon (Πλατυτέρα των Ουρανών): "More spacious than the heavens". The Platytéra is traditionally depicted on the half-dome that stands above the altar. It is visible high above the iconostasis, and facing down the length of the nave of the church. This particular depiction is usually on a dark blue background, often adorned by golden stars.

(Well known examples of this icon include the Kursk-Root Icon, The weeping icon of Novgorod, Tsarskoe Selo, the “Quick to Hear” - all of these are based on this simple model.)

• Panakranta (All-Merciful) as shown below, this type shows the enthroned Theotokos holding Christ on her knee, indicating both her majesty and position of honour, as well as her role containing within her the Uncontainable Creator.

The constant features of these icons do not vary much and although sometimes there are innovations (most recently one showing the Theotokos holding a walking toddler Christ, which is not seen before the last 10, 20 years and is very sentimental rather than theological) or indeed the fashion of “Christ as a fetus in the womb”, they do not last.

One example of Christ as a baby - unclothed, with just a small cloth and seeming to be in the womb is the Ustyg Annunciation shown above in the Novgorod school - an amazingly high resolution image can be found here- but there is no umbilicus, no floating around, no womb around Him and as always, He is shown blessing, a miniature child-adult, God-man from the beginning.

What can we say about these innovations? Although it is worth questioning their intention or style - more often the execution is poorly done - if the Church as a body decides against their being used within the cycle of worship, and icons are primarily Liturgical objects, then they would normally eventually disappear. This fading away would have happened faster before the internet allowed everyone to share the image around the world but I have faith that the mind and heart of the Church, which even the gates of Hell won’t prevail over, can cope with a few well intended if misguided icons.

How to Commission an Icon