THE VIRGIN OF THE PASSION "PAMMAKARISTOS".
IN WESTERN EUROPE THIS ICON RECEIVED
THE TITLE " OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP".

The Blessed Virgin Mary is portrayed as Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It was she who was chosen by God, to provide His Son with His Sacred Humanity. She did so in humility and in total cooperation with the Holy Spirit and the Divine will of the Holy Trinity, providing God's Son with the blood He later shed for us on the Cross. The Virgin of the Passion is an icon venerated by Christians of the East and West for centuries. The Child has run to His Mother and jumped into Her arms after seeing two angels holding the instruments of His future Passion. In His haste, one sandal has come off. The Archangels Michael and Gabriel hold in their covered hands the instruments of the Lord's Passion, which frighten the Emmanuel. The Divine Child looks on and clings to His Mother's hand. The Child continues to look, in fear and astonishment, at the angel holding the cross. The Mother of God looks at us with compassion and quiet sorrow in her face. According to Byzantine Christian theology, Christ's Passion and death are not seen as a debt paid to a wrathful Father. Jesus Christ, as a person, is God's answer to the human condition. Christ embraces all suffering and oppression in solidarity with humanity.

The icon by the hand of Janusz Charczuk.
Egg tempera on wood, priming on textile, background
23 K gold leaf. 40.0 x 28.5 cm (15.75 x 11.25 in)
Based on 16th century Cretan icon.