The Visitation of Theotokos to Elizabeth, Handmade Greek Orthodox icon of Virgin Mary, Byzantine wood plaque

This wonderful icon has been created with the technique of lithography and has a double varnish to ensure waterproof and duration in time. The creator of this icon has learned the canonization of iconography in workshops of the Monasteries of Mount Athos, where he was taught both the technique of lithography and the process of handmade artificial ageing.

The Meeting of the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Elizabeth. The establishment of this Feast and the composition of the Service are the work of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin (+ 1894), head of the Russian Orthodox Mission in Jerusalem.

The Gorneye Convent in Jerusalem, built on the site of the Meeting of the Theotokos and Saint Elizabeth, celebrates this Feast on March 30. If March 30 should fall between Lazarus Saturday and Pascha, however, the Feast is transferred to Bright Friday.

Meaning of the feast

The thrust of chapters one and two of Luke's Gospel is not simply a family event between Elizabeth and Mary. The Visitation is an event of salvation history. Elizabeth, a model of the Old Testament, meets the New Testament in Mary’s faith in the mystery of her own destiny. But what is most significant is the meeting of their unborn children. John, who leaps in his mother's womb, is already anticipating his role as precursor of the Messiah.

In the Visitation narrative we look to Mary as model of the apostolate of the Church. She brings Jesus and a blessing to the house of Zechariah. The experience of the primitive Church was that the power of the Lord was the greatest gift it had to offer. To bring Jesus will always be the supreme norm of any genuine apostolate. The Church's mission is to show Jesus as wisdom and power in each situation of human need.

While the prayer after communion invites us to recognize the presence of Christ among us in the Eucharist, we must remember that the presence of Christ is discovered not only in the Eucharist. He i