Axion Estin beeswax icon 9 cm

The icon of Theotokos "Axion Estin" (It is Truly Meet or Right) holds a special place in the life of Mount Athos. It has been the pride of the monks of Karyes since ancient times, protecting the inhabitants of the Holy Mountain.

A miraculous event is associated with the name of the icon. It took place in the 10th century in the cell of the Dormition of the Mother of God. One day a monk living in the cell went to an all-night vigil. In the cell remained a novice, to whom late at night an unknown traveler came asking to spend the night. The novice let him in. When liturgy time came, the two young men began to pray. Their voices were suddenly divided, whereupon the guest explained that where he had come from, it was customary to begin the chant as follows:

It is truly right
to bless thee, O Theotokos,
the ever blessed, and most pure,
and the Mother of our God.

The novice was stunned and asked the traveler to teach him the hymn. As there was no paper or ink in the cell, the novice gave him a small stone tablet, on which the guest began to write with his finger, as if with a pen. He then told the novice to sing the hymn exactly as he had written it and then disappeared. This guest was none other than the Archangel Gabriel.

The miraculous tablet was first shown to the elders in Karyes (the capital of Mount Athos), and then sent to Constantinople. The icon of the Mother of God was transferred to the temple of Protaton and placed on the high place in the altar. There she is kept up to now. The cell in which the miraculous encounter took place was called "It is Truly Meet". The hymn has since become an integral part of the liturgy, gaining recognition not only on Mount Athos, but also throughout the Orthodox world.