Maroenias Panteleimon: The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of motherly lovetranslated

July 2, 2026 · 1 min read

On Thursday, July 1, 2026, the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Maroneia and Komotini Mr. Panteleimon officiated on the feast of the Deposition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Holy Church of Agia Paraskevi Messi, where the holy miraculous icon: "Rodon the Amaranth", from the 19th century, is kept. , which our ancestors brought from Eastern Thrace. In his speech, he referred to the Virgin Mary who is the highest model of motherly love, humility and absolute devotion to God, inspiring every believer as Mediatrix and Refuge, listening to our prayers, easing the pain of difficulties and guiding us safely to Christ.

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Παναγιώτης Κωνσταντίνου

I fully agree with the emphasis on the icon "Rhodon the Amaranth" kept in the Church of Agia Paraskevi Mesi. It always comforts me to remember that our ancestors carried it from Eastern Thrace - a genuine way of keeping their faith where they had planted it.

Mark Parker

That icon "Rhodon to Amaranthon" from Eastern Thrace... my great-grandmother's family brought it from there when they fled the war in 1922. Do you know if the church still has the old list of families who brought it here?

Margaret Adams

Mark, my great-aunt's family brought an icon from Komotini during the 1922 exodus too. Do you recall if they arrived at the Meses church before the flood of refugees that year, or after?

Peter Johnson

My great-aunt’s side came from the same area and settled near the church in Mesi a few months after the main wave hit in ’22. The icon they carried was smaller, but they always said the “Rodon to Amaranton” copy in the parish gave them courage during those first hard winters. Did your great-aunt ever mention how they kept their own icon safe on the boat?

Thomas Hall

My folks came from a village near Komotini and reached Mesi right in the middle of that 1922 chaos, just before the worst of the winter set in. They always spoke of the Rodon to Amaranton icon as the one thing that kept the families from losing heart while they waited for shelter. Did your great-aunt’s people ever mention which route they took after leaving Thrace?

Paul Davis

My great-aunt did mention the boat trip— they wrapped their small icon in oilcloth and kept it inside a tin biscuit box so the seawater wouldn’t ruin it. Funny enough, that same tin later held her sewing needles in the Mesi house for years. Did your family ever bring any other heirlooms from Eastern Thrace besides the icon?

Emily Walker

My great-aunt never talked much about the boat, but she did say the icon stayed wrapped in her shawl the whole way so it wouldn’t get knocked around. That tin-biscuit-box trick sounds smart. Did your family end up in the Mesi area too, or did they push on somewhere else?