The Virgin Mary of Myrtidiotissa is an icon of the Virgin Mary, believed to have been found in Kythira possibly in the 14th century. It is known by the nickname Myrtidiotissa, because tradition states that it was discovered by a shepherd in a location filled with myrtle bushes. Today, churches, monasteries, and generally icons depicting the Virgin Mary with myrtles are referred to by this name. The icon is kept at the Holy Monastery of Myrtidia in Kythira.
On September 24 – 40 days after the Dormition of the Theotokos – the Virgin Mary appeared to the shepherd and told him to search for the icon, which had come to that place many years prior.
The shepherd fell to the ground in awe, praying to the Theotokos. When he got up and turned around, he saw the icon in the branches of a myrtle. Crying with joy, he took the icon home and told all his friends and relatives the story of its discovery.
When he woke up the next day, the icon was missing, and he feared it had been stolen. With a heavy heart, he returned with his sheep to the place of discovery, but there he saw the icon again, in the branches of the myrtle where he had first found it. Praising God, he took it home again, but that night the icon disappeared, just as it had the first time. When the disappearance and reappearance of the icon occurred a third time, he realized that it was the will of the Mother of God for the icon to remain where it had first been found.
A small church was built where the icon was found and was named Myrtidiotissa. The building grew over the years, and many miracles are said to have occurred there.
At the end of the 16th century, Theodoros Koumbrianos, a descendant of the shepherd who found the icon, lived in the village of Kousoumaari. He was paralyzed but firmly believed that the Mother of God would heal him. Every year, on September 24, he would send a family member to light a candle at Her Grace for him. One year he requested to be taken to Her Grace, so he could venerate her himself. During the vigil, a loud noise was heard from the direction of the sea. The congregation ran to escape, believing they were being attacked by pirates. The paralytic asked for the Virgin Mary’s help, and suddenly he heard a voice from the icon telling him to get up and run to save himself. He stood up, walked; soon he started running and caught up with his relatives, who were overjoyed to see the miracle. The noise did not come from a pirate raid; and everyone then understood that the noise was a sign of Divine Providence, so that the paralytic could be alone in the church with the icon. Since then, Koumbrianos’ family has celebrated the day of the Myrtidiotissa’s feast with particular splendor in memory of the miracle.
But many other miracles are attributed to the icon, such as the protection of the island from a plague epidemic, the cure of infertility of a Jewish woman from Alexandria, and the salvation of many people from certain death.
The finding of the icon is celebrated on September 24. On the same day, those named Myrto or Myrsini celebrate their name day in Greece. The seaside Monastery of the Virgin Mary of Myrtidiotissa in Chios is referred to by the locals as “Mersinidi,” from the name “myrsini” = myrtle.
In Kythira, on September 24, a festive celebration takes place at the Monastery of Myrtidia, where the icon is kept, with a large crowd from Kythira, as well as Kythirian expatriates.
The Virgin Mary of Myrtidiotissa is the patron saint of Pylos