Panagia Gerontissa

The nickname <<Old lady>> it was given after a miracle of the Virgin Mary. A very virtuous and elderly abbot was counting the last hours of his earthly life and wanted to receive communion of the Immaculate Mysteries. For this reason, he begged the vicar priest who officiated on that particular day, to shorten the Divine Liturgy, so that he could have time to communicate. The hieromonk, however, did not obey and continued to work at a slow pace. Suddenly, the voice of the Virgin Mary was heard from the icon, which ordered the hieromonk to finish the Divine Liturgy quickly, so that the abbot could have time to receive communion. So it happened. As soon as the Elder took communion, he fell asleep and because of this incident, the icon acquired the nickname “Old Woman”. The Holy icon of the Virgin Mary “Gerontissa” is located in I. M. Pantokratoros and according to tradition it is a gift from the Byzantine emperor Alexios I of Komnenos to the monastery. Excerpt TranslationEnglish