The Yaroslavl Mother of God is a Theotokos icon and a Tenderness icon. "Theotokos" means "God-bearer" in Greek, a name reminding us of how Mary bore God into the world, and also of how we are all called to be theotokos, to bear God in Christ into the world as members of Christ's Body. Tenderness icons are those in which Mary and Jesus' faces are touching.
Symbolism is rich in this icon. Mary's blue undergarment (covering her hair) represents her humanity, and her red cloak, that she is draped in divinity. The Christ Child's tunic is rough and plain, reminding us of his earthy beginings; his gilded overgarment and cross-inscribed halo a prefigurment of his crucifixion and resurrected glory.
This icon was written in 1999 during a week long silent retreat led by Rebecca Taylor at Emery House, the retreat center for the Society of St. John the Evangelist in West Newbury, MA.
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