The Holy Belt (Zóni) of the Theotokos kept at Vatopaídi Monastery

The following is adapted from a pilgrim's guide to the Holy Monastery of Vatopaídi on Mount Athos.

The Belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary, today divided into three pieces, is the only remaining relic of her earthly life. According to tradition, the belt was made out of camel hair by the Virgin Mary herself, and after her Dormition, during her “Translation” (“Metástasis” or “Assumption”) she gave it to the Apostle Thomas. It was subsequently kept by pious Christians at Jerusalem.

During the early centuries of the Christian era it was kept at Jerusalem and in the 4th century we hear of it at Zéla in Cappadocia. In the same century, Emperor Theodosius the Great brought it back to Jerusalem, and from there his son Arkádios took it to Constantinople, placing it in the Chalcoprateíon church. In AD 458 the Belt was transferred by Emperor Leo to the Vlachérnae church.

 
During the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise (AD 886-912) it was again moved, this time to the imperial palace, where it cured his sick wife, Empress Zoe. This healing is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on the last day of the liturgical year, August 31st.

Empress Zoe was afflicted with an unclean spirit, and during this infirmity she had a vision that she would be healed if the Belt of the Mother of God were placed upon her. Emperor Leo then asked the Patriarch to open the reliquary and bring the Belt to his wife. When the Patriarch removed the seal and opened the reliquary the Belt of the Mother of God appeared completely whole and undamaged by time. The Patriarch placed the Belt on the sick empress, and immediately she was freed from her affliction.

As an act of thanksgiving to the Mother of God, Empress Zoe embroidered the whole belt with gold thread, giving it the appearance which it bears today. After singing hymns of thanksgiving to the Most Holy Theotokos, the venerable Belt was placed back in its container and resealed.

During the reign of Manuel I Comnénus (AD 1143-1180), the Feast of the Holy Belt was officially introduced on 31 August. The precious relic of the Theotokos itself remained in Constantinople until it was stolen in the course of a defeat by the Bulgar King Asan (AD 1185) and taken to Bulgaria. From Bulgaria the Belt came into the hands of the Serbs and, finally, it was presented to Vatopaídi Monastery on Mount Athos by the Serbian Prince Lazarus I (AD 1372-1389) together with a large piece of the True Cross.

Since the 14th century the Holy Belt has been kept in the sanctuary of the monastery  katholikón (main church). Under Turkish rule, the brethren of the Monastery took it on journeys to Crete, Macedonia, Thrace, Constantinople and Asia Minor, as a blessing, to strengthen the morale of the enslaved Greeks and to bring freedom from infectious diseases.

At one time, the inhabitants of Aínos called for the presence of the Holy Belt and the Vatopaídi monks accompanying it received hospitality at the house of a priest, whose wife surreptitiously removed a piece of it. When the fathers embarked to leave, although the sea was calm, the ship remained immobile. The priest’s wife, seeing this strange phenomenon, realized that she had done wrong and gave the monks the piece of the Belt, whereupon the ship was able to leave immediately. It was because of this event that a second case was made. The piece in question has been kept in this down to the present.

During the Greek War of Independence of 1821, the Holy Belt was taken to Crete at the request of the people of the island, who were afflicted by the plague. When the monks were preparing to return to the Monastery, they were arrested by the Turks and taken off to be hanged, while the Holy Belt was redeemed by the British Consul, Doménikos Santantónio.

From there the Belt was taken to Santoríni, to the Consul’s new home. News of this quickly spread throughout the island. The local bishop informed the Vatopaídi Monastery and the Abbot, Dionysios, was sent, in 1831, to Santoríni. The Consul asked the sum of 15,000 piástres to hand over the Belt, and the people of the island, with touching eagerness, managed to collect together the money. Thus the Holy Belt was bought back and Abbot Dionysios returned it to Vatopaídi.

What had previously happen with the priest’s wife of Aiíos was repeated in the case of the Consul’s wife. Unbeknownst to her husband, she too cut off a small piece of the Holy Belt before it was handed back to the Abbot Dionysios. Within a very short period her husband died suddenly and her mother and sister became gravely ill. In 1839, she wrote to the Monastery asking that representatives should be sent to take possession of the piece which she had removed.

In 1864, the Holy Belt was taken to Constantinople, since there was a cholera epidemic among the inhabitants. As soon as the ship bearing it approached the harbor, the cholera ceased and none of those already suffering from it died. This strange miracle excited the curiosity of the Sultan, who had the Belt brought to the Palace so that he could reverence it.

During the time when the Holy Belt was at Constantinople, a Greek citizen living in the Galáta district asked that it should be taken to his house, since his son was seriously ill. When, however, the Holy Belt arrived at his house, his son was already dead. The monks, however, did not give up hope. They asked to see the dead boy, and as soon as the Belt was placed on him, he was raised from the dead.

In 1894, the inhabitants of Mádytos in Asia Minor asked that the Holy Belt should be taken there because a plague of locusts was destroying their trees and crops. When the ship carrying the Belt came into the harbor, the sky was filled with clouds of locusts, which then began to fall into the sea, so that it was difficult for the vessel to anchor. The people of Mádytos, seeing the miracle, continuously chanted “Kyrie eleison” as the Belt was brought from the shore into the town.

In our own times the Holy Belt is frequently taken by the fathers from Vatopaídi Monastery to cities in Greece, Russia, and other Orthodox nations where God continues to work many miracles for the faithful who venerate the relic of His holy Mother with faith. The Holy Belt is particularly known as a source for the healing of cancer patients and for granting of children to infertile women, who are given a piece of cord blessed upon the relic in its reliquary.