Revelation of the Axion Estin by the Archangel Gabriel (II)

When the hieromonk heard the story of the apparition and saw the engraved slate upon his return, he understood that the stranger could have been none other than the Archangel Gabriel, and he went to share the story of the miracle with the Protos of the Holy Mountain and the Elders. They sent the slate to the Patriarch and the Emperor, so that the anthem would be disseminated throughout the Orthodox world, and he transferred the icon in front of which the miracle took place to the Church of Protaton, where it is still exposed to veneration behind the altar, as "Sovereign, Higoumene, and Protector of the Holy Mountain." The icon of the Axion Estin and the Portaitissa are the most famous miraculous icons on Mount Athos, "the Garden of the Mother of God." The icon has only left the mountain on three occasions: to be venerated by the people in 1963, 1985 and 1987, when it received the honors due to a head of state. On Easter Monday, it is carried in solemn procession through Karyes and its vicinity, in order to sanctify nature and protect the people from all evil and calamities.