Saint Irene Chrysovalantou - Silver icon on wood, locally gold plated - Mount Athos

Seriograph icon crafted in canvas on wood with silver coating, locally gilded. With this icon you will receive a free stand.

Saint Irene Chrysovalantou

Saint Irene was Abbess at the Monastery of Chrysovalantou during the second half of the 9th century and early 10th century. During her childhood, the 100 years of the Iconoclastic period were reaching the last phase. Her father was the patrician Philaretos the Cappadocian, favorite of the Emperor Theophilos, and confidant of his wife Theodora. In the winter of 843 AD, the Empress Theodora, widow and trustee of her son Michael III, invited Philaretos in Constantinople and offered to marry her son Michael to his daughter. The 15 years old Irene was not moved by this proposal because she had decided to follow the monastic life since childhood. She denied once again her father's request to be married however after a serious illness, her father no longer objected to her decision and took her to the Monastery of Chrysovalantou, where she became a nun and Abbess until the age of 104. The reputation of her holy life brought many people on pilgrimage to her sacred relics. The original icon, the source of inspiration for the hagiographer, is housed at the Holy Monastery of the Saint Raphael, Saint Nicolaos and Saint Irene in Mytilini.

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