In the Orthodox tradition, the iconography of the images of the Most Holy Theotokos is widely displayed. This is no coincidence, because the Virgin Mary is the main intercessor and intercessor for humanity before her son Lord Jesus Christ.
Currently, there are many different icons of the Most Holy Lady of the Theotokos. Each of the images is deeply symbolic. The iconography of the Virgin Mary, as well as the depiction of God or the saints, has its own distinctive features. In particular, in almost all the icons of the Most Holy Theotokos, three stars are depicted on the clothes of the Virgin Mary. The arrangement of the stars on the maforia (otherwise omophorion) is as follows: two stars are located on the shoulders and one on the head. This is the most common location for these stars. One may ask the question: "Why exactly three stars"? Does this have its own symbolism, and if so, which one?
The answer to this question is as follows. Three stars on the icons of the Mother of God signify a great miracle. The Most Holy Theotokos is revered by the Church as the Ever-Virgin, that is, in ordinary language, the eternal, constant Virgin. This means that the Mother of God preserved her virginity both before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, so in the birth of the Savior, as well as after the birth of the Messiah.
The Orthodox doctrine says that the Most Holy Theotokos conceived Christ from the Holy Spirit. This immutable truth is reflected in the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. The archangel Gabriel himself announced to the virgin that what was born in her would be from the Holy Spirit. Equally, the symbol of faith (a prayer confession of the foundations of the Orthodox faith, which is still heard in Orthodox churches during the divine liturgy) says that Christ was born "of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary."
The Holy Fathers of the first centuries also wrote, in accordance with the Gospel, about the Immaculate Conception of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The ever-virginity of the Mother of God acquired a special dogmatic meaning during the time of disputes about the natures of Christ (5th century). The Nestorians heretics called the Mother of God the Mother of God, instead of the usual term "Theotokos". However, the holy fathers defended the Orthodox confession, proclaiming that Mary gave birth in the literal sense of the word to God - the incarnated second Person of the Holy Trinity. And already in 553, at the next Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople, it was officially approved that the Most Holy Theotokos is the Ever-Virgin - a virgin before, during and after the birth of Christ.
