This icon is based on a non-traditional icon of Mary, Joy of All Joys, also know as the “Seraphimo-Diveyevskaya.”

It shows Mary at the moment of the Annunciation. With arms prayerfully folded in submission to the Lord, eyes downcast in humility, she is at the point of uttering her humanity-saving reply to the Archangel Gabriel: “Let it be to me according to thy word.”

The Slavonic inscription around her halo reads: “Rejoice, O Virgin Bride” (Радуйся Невесто Неневестная) which is the refrain of the Akathist Hymn to the Holy Virgin (the most well-loved services of devotion in the Orthodox Church).

The original icon of the Blessed Lady served as an inspiration to St. Seraphim of Sarov, one of the best beloved Russian saints, the great ascetic, Christian mystic, wonder-worker and spiritual father Seraphim (1754-1833).

Egg tempera on wood, 11x14 inch, framed (14x17 inch). Wired and ready to hang.