The holy icon of Panagia Pantovasilissa (Holy Mother, Queen of All) is a reproduction from the historic Byzantine holy icon, which existed among others in the monumental Church of Aghia Sophia (Constantinople). It is said to have been one of the four that the Evangelist Saint Luke painted.
According to legend, when Constantinople was about to succumb to invaders (middle of the 15th Century), holy icons of Aghia Sophia were dropped into the sea to prevent them from falling into the hands of the invaders. The holy icon Panagia Pantovasilissa was found on the opposite coast of Asia Minor on the shore of the town of Triglia (Asia Minor).
Following significant occurrences and miracles, the Christians moved it to the historic Byzantine abbey of Triglia. The abbey was then converted into a church of the Holy Mother and named Panagia Pantovasilissa. The holy icon was later adorned with silver by individual gifts. The miraculous holy icon became a symbol used in worship by the inhabitants of Triglia.
The same was once again saved during the Asia Minor Catastrophe in 1922 and consequently entrusted to the Byzantine Museum of Athens, Greece. Later one group of former inhabitants of Triglia (Asia Minor) resettled at Raphina, Attica, Southern Greece. A new church was built there, named Pantovasilissa where the original famous holy icon is today.
The holy icon was written at the Abbey of Karayae on the Holy Mountain in Northern Greece by the Hieromonk Seraphim Oftalmopoulou, 1956.
