The figure of the Mother of God instils compunction in the soul and appeals to generation after generation of faithful who revere Her grace, entrust Her with their lives and receive Her blessing.

The origins of the icon of the Virgin Portaitissa go back to the troubled times of the iconoclast controversy. It was then that a pious widow from Nicaea in Bithynia placed the icon on the sea to safeguard it from iconoclast rage. The icon stood upright on the waves and began to travel in the direction of Mount Athos. Many years later it appeared off the coast of Iveron Monastery as a resplendent figure identifiable by a column of light that reached the sky. Yet when the dazzled monks attempted to reach it, the icon moved farther away. Only one monk, Saint Gabriel, was able at the Virgin’s behest to walk on the waters, reach the icon, receive her Holy figure and bring it ashore A spring of holy water immediately started flowing at the point where the icon landed. Ιt has flowed uninterruptedly since then, sanctifying those who approach it with faith.

Excerpt from the Holy Monastery Iveron, Mt. Athos website link to full article below…