The inscription at the top gives the title for this icon, the “Unexpected Joy Most Holy Mother of God.” The image is of a man kneeling before a large icon of the Mother of God, holding the child Jesus, who bears the wounds of the crucifixion. The lettered panel below the image of the Mother of God provides a short narrative regarding the appearance of the prototype. It begins: “A certain lawless man had a daily rule to pray to the Most Holy Mother of God with the words of the Archangel’s greeting, ‘Hail Blessed One…’ ” The story is that one day, as the man prayed before going out to do more sinful deeds, he saw the image of the Mother of God begin to move. Wounds appeared on the hands, feet and side of the child Jesus, and blood poured from them. Trembling with fear, the man fell to the floor and (the words that extend in a strip from his mouth like a cartoon bubble) cried out, “Oh lady, who has done this?” The Mother of God’s reply, written on another strip is “You and other Sinners, who crucify my Son anew with your sins.” The man repented and was filled with an “unexpected joy” for having repented. On the right border is the Holy Great Martyr Procopius. On the left is the Venerable Martyr Evdokia.
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