Difference between revisions of "Panagia Platytera"

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'''Panagia Platytera''' (Gr. the 'Wide wings of Heaven') is an icon of the Theotokos, facing the viewer directly, usually depicted full length with her hands in the orans position, and with the image of Christ as a child in front of her chest. This type of icon is called Platytera (Greek: Πλατυτέρα), literally wider or more spacious); poetically, by containing the Creator of the Universe in her womb, Mary has become ''Platytera ton ouranon'', which means: "More spacious than the heavens". This type is sometimes called the "Virgin of the Sign" or "Our Lady of the Sign", a reference to 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 Emmanuel"). Such an image is often placed in the apse of the sanctuary of an Orthodox church above the altar.
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[[Image:St Nick DC Altar.jpg|thumb|right|This Panagia Platytera icon rises above the [[iconostasis]] in [[St. Nicholas Cathedral (Washington, D.C.)|St. Nicholas Cathedral, Washington, DC]]]]
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'''Panagia Platytera''' (Greek: Πλατυτέρα; "wider" or "more spacious") is an [[icon]] of the [[Theotokos]], facing the viewer directly, usually depicted full length with her hands in the "[[orans]]" position, and with the image of [[Christ]] as a child in front of her chest, also facing the viewer directly. Sometimes the image of Christ is contained within a medallion.
  
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Poetically, by containing the Creator of the Universe in her womb, Mary has become ''Platytera ton ouranon'', which means: "More spacious than the heavens." This type is sometimes called the "Virgin of the Sign" or "Our Lady of the Sign," a reference to [[Book of Isaiah|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 Emmanuel."
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Such an image is often placed in the [[apse]] above the [[altar]].
 
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==History of the icon==
 
==History of the icon==
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==List of monasteries==
 
==List of monasteries==
 
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==External links==
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==External Link==
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*[http://www.insidemani.gr/fresco.html Panagia Platytera fresco] in Mani, Greece
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[http://www.insidemani.gr/fresco.html/ Panagia Platytera fresco] in Mani (Greece)
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*[[w:Our Lady of the Sign|''Our Lady of the Sign'' at Wikipedia]]
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*[http://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/panagia.html The Virgin Orans Great Panagia]
  
 
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Revision as of 16:51, February 1, 2008

This Panagia Platytera icon rises above the iconostasis in St. Nicholas Cathedral, Washington, DC

Panagia Platytera (Greek: Πλατυτέρα; "wider" or "more spacious") is an icon of the Theotokos, facing the viewer directly, usually depicted full length with her hands in the "orans" position, and with the image of Christ as a child in front of her chest, also facing the viewer directly. Sometimes the image of Christ is contained within a medallion.

Poetically, by containing the Creator of the Universe in her womb, Mary has become Platytera ton ouranon, which means: "More spacious than the heavens." This type is sometimes called the "Virgin of the Sign" or "Our Lady of the Sign," a reference to 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 Emmanuel."

Such an image is often placed in the apse above the altar.

External links


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