Commemorated January 21st.
Tradition tells of this icon that the original expression on the faces of the figures and position of the bodies of Christ and the Blessed Virgin changed when the following strange miracle occurred: when pirates had secretly landed on the shore of Mount Athos at the Monastery of Vatopedi and were hiding, waiting for the gates to open in the morning in order to launch an attack, the Abbot, who had remained behind alone after the end of Matins in order to continue his prayer, heard these words from the icon of the Blessed Virgin “Do not open the gates of the Monastery today, but go up on the walls and drive away the pirates.” As he turned to look, he saw the Holy Child stretch out His hand and cover the mouth of His mother, saying “No, Mother, let them be punished as they deserve.” But the Blessed Virgin, taking Her Son’s hand in Hers and turning Her head a little to free her mouth, repeated the same words. This last arrangement of the figures has remained permanently on the icon. The monks, miraculously saved from the pirates, gave thanks to the Theotokos and named this icon “Paramythia”, which means “calming down” or “restrain”, words which equally convey the content of the miracle. The icon is a wall-painting and is on the right choir of the chapel named after it.
A mounted icon is a photograph of an icon which is laminated, glued onto birch fibercore wood, trimmed with three edges on each side, and with the board painted and varnished to match the color on the edge of the icon.
An unmounted icon is simply a laminated photograph of an icon. It is a common practice to frame an unmounted icon, or to use them as a guide in one’s own personal iconography.
We keep Standard Mounted and Unmounted Icons in inventory, and can ship most orders the same or following day.
In addition to our Standard Mounted and Unmounted Icons, which we keep in inventory and can ship most orders the same or following day, we also offer Custom Mounted and Unmounted Icons, made to your specifications.
This store is equipped to allow you to order custom icons according to your specifications, provided you do not require special digital editing of the icons. Icon prices are based on the larger of the two dimensions. I.e., what is normally thought of as an 11x14” icon would be priced at the 14” rate above.
Icons are typically not made to standard photographic sizes. Therefore, if while communicating to us that you would like an 11x14” icon, for example, we will make it to be 14” tall, regardless of what the width works out to be. If the second dimension (usually the width) is important to you, you need to make that clear to us in your initial communication with us. Some icons can be modified to fit size ratios other than what they were originally painted at, but some cannot. Please include your special needs in the comments box when you check out. If you require specific dimensions which require additional digital editing, additional charges may be required.
Icons up to 24” wide (in this case, the smaller of the two dimensions) will be laminated. For example, a 24x36” icon will be laminated. All others will be varnished, like our hand-painted icons.
Unless otherwise requested:
Dormition Skete also has an extensive icon library with over 10,000 icon subjects which we can use to make almost any icon that you might desire. However, it takes time and effort to research the library for icons that we do not offer in our catalogue. They also usually require additional digital editing. Therefore, there will be a $25.00 minimum surcharge for any icon ordered that we do not offer in our catalogue, mounted or unmounted, in addition to the cost of our regular icons. Please feel free to contact us about any icon you may need that we do not offer in our catalog. These icon orders will be handled on a bid basis, and cannot be ordered directly from this store.
Because Custom Icons are made to your specifications, Dormition Skete has no way of reselling them if you are not happy with them. Therefore, custom icons are not returnable.
Most Custom Mounted Icon orders are shipped within ten days to two weeks from when the order is placed. However, since we are a small operation, there may be times when we cannot make them that quickly. Therefore, we ask that you please allow 4 - 6 weeks for delivery.