Mount Athos weathered lithography (icon) of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in pine wood with carved decoration.

The Nativity of the Virgin Mary is a feast that celebrated by the Orthodox Christian Church on September 8 of each year. According to the First Gospel of James, the Virgin Mary was born in Jerusalem to a virtuous old woman named Anna. At that time, childlessness was considered a disgrace in Jewish society. Anna and her husband Joachim prayed incessantly for God to give them a child, as it did.

The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos was established for the first time in Jerusalem at the end of the 5th century AD. and in the 11th century had prevailed throughout Christendom. In Greece, many churches are dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and the feast occupies a prominent place in the hymnography of the Orthodox Christian Church and in ecclesiastical painting.

Apolytikion of Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Fourth Tone

Your birth, O Theotokos, brought joy to the whole world, for from you dawned the sun of righteousness, Christ our God. Freeing us from the curse, He gave us His blessings. Abolishing death, He granted us eternal life.