This unique icon aims, for the first time, to present Carmelite Marian spirituality in a strongly Orthodox religious and cultural context. It takes into account the Byzantine approach and the Carmelite tradition in its origins. It goes hack to the tradition of the garment/mantle (mophorion)of the Mother of God, at one time kept in the apposite chapel in the Blacherne Basilica in Constantinople. For a dweller in Constantinople, the Shrine of Blacherne denoted the motherly protection of the Virgin, guaranteed by Our Lady’s garment. It is not out of order to"suppose that the first Carmelites knew the Byzantine tradition and translated it as the "Scapular" when they returned to the West. This would be an evolution from the Eastern mantle to the Western scapular The Virgin's right hand holds a mantle, which, more than a covering. denotes a welcome to "the faithful servants" who have benefited by her influence. They are the men and women who represent members of the Carmelite family of the 20th century: Blessed Titus Brandsma, Blessed
Isidore Bakanja, St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Annie Zelikova, a Carmelite tertiary. The four of them resisted evil in its modern forms. The guidance of the Mother begins on the Mount, on Mount Carmel. where she has set her throne. It is the place where arid superficiality is left behind, a place loved by those who are seeking God, a place loved by God. From there she spreads her mantle of her protection, of her mercy on her children who are on pilgrimage towards the holy mount of glory.