Hodegetria

Hodegetria or Hodigitria (from Greek Οδηγήτρια, Wegweiserin ) denotes a certain type of representations Marie, who had first encountered on Byzantine icons of the 11th century. Mary holds the Child on her left arm. The type of spread, and icons of the Virgin and later other images in this type are among the faithful as the " most sublime representation of the Mother of God ".

Origin

The term comes from the Greek word Hodegetria hodegos ( "leader", pl. Hodegoi ) back. This ' hodegos ' was a leader, the blind pilgrims led to a position located on the road to Constantinople Opel monastery church with a miraculous image is preserved. According to legend, it was a painted by Luke the Evangelist Icon of Mary. For church and icon itself, hence the name Hodegonkirche and Hodegetria had spread. The icon of the Hodegonkirche went with the conquest of Byzantium lost by the Ottoman Empire. About Originials copies of the representation type, however, has survived to this day.

Importance

Icons and Images of Hodegetria be considered as protection against enemy attacks and other disasters.

Iconography

In the representation of the Hodegetria Madonna wears on her left arm, the blessing Child, perched upright on her arm, and often holding a scroll in his left hand. The Child Jesus is characterized as the Incarnate Word of God. Mary's right hand typically has on the child. Often the child's face shows the traits of an adult man, so that the representation of the child but is intended to indicate the entire life of Jesus.

Succession

Hodegetria as a type of Marie representations has numerous successor to the original icon, both in the East, but also in the Western Church. Among the well-known, still designated as places of pilgrimage representations

• The icon of Our Lady of the gate at orthodox monastery Iviron on Mount Athos in Greece.
• The icon of Our Lady of Smolensk Smolensk in Russia
• Salus Populi Romani, the picture of grace, in the Catholic church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, Italy
• The miraculous image of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa in the shrine of Czestochowa in Poland

Our Lady of Smolensk, 1482

Black Madonna of Częstochowa

Modifications

• The Mother of God of Kazan also corresponds to the type of Hodegetria, but is designed only as a header image, so that the right hand of the Madonna is not shown.
• In Byzantine mosaics in Italy like in the Basilica of Torcello in Venice sometimes the image of a standing Hodegetria is depicting.

Hodegetriakirchen

The Hodegetria are dedicated to, inter alia, the churches

• Santa Maria d' Itria, Rome
• Hodegetriakirche ( Mistra )
• Hodegetriakirche ( Wjasma )
• Hodegetriakirche ( Konstantin Opel )

Related representations

As the " antonym " is Dexiokratusa, a type of Marie representations, in which the Madonna, the child points to the right arm, such as

• Eleusa that fellow sufferers, Erbarmerin