Before the
second millennium of Christianity, the Spring (Pege) of the Theotokos at
Baloukli in Constantinople was the source of numerous miracles, but it had not
yet received the epithet by which it would become perpetually known -
"Life-giving" (Zoodochos).
The title
"Zoodochos Pege" was coined in the ninth century by Saint Joseph the
Hymnographer in a hymn he wrote to the Mother of God. It became associated with
the icon of the Theotokos at Baloukli and her Spring in the 1000's, when a man from Greece was raised
from the dead through the miraculous power of the holy Spring. This miracle
cemented its renown with the name "Life-giving Spring" (Zoodochos
Pege).
According
to the story, four pilgrims from Thessaly in Greece were journeying to the holy
shrine in Constantinople, but en route one of them died. Before he expired, his
dying wish was not to be left behind, but he begged the mariners to take his
corpse to the Church of the Spring, and when they arrived they were to pour
those holy waters over his dead body. He even specified the amount: three jars
of water. His final request was that they afterwards bury him in the
surrounding forest. The mariners obliged him, and fulfilled his dying wish.
However, after they poured those wonderworking waters over his corpse, the
supernatural power of the Theotokos allowed him to rise up and live again.
Therefore,
since that time, the Spring has officially become known as Zoodochos Pege or
Life-giving Spring. In some icons of the Life-giving Spring, this miracle can
be seen at the bottom of the Spring.
By John Sanidopoulos
Source: johnsanidopoulos.com/2013/05/how-did-life-giving-spring-get-its-name.html
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