Image our Lady the Milk-Giver - Image Necklace

Galaktrofussa, or Mammal is an iconographic type of Our Lady sitting on the throne and breastfeeding the Infant of Christ. Formed no earlier than the XII century, a special spread was not in Byzantium, where it originated, but in the Western Catholic Church. The symbolism of the image is related to the theme of the Incarnation, and also to the Evasion, since the Mother of God parables the Church, which feeds the faithful. "The Divine Bread of Life in your womb, Bogomati, is truly baked. ... It's the same as our feeder, we sing Xia for all eternity "- these lines from the canon to Holy Communion remind of the Savior as the Bread of Life (John 6: 33).
On the icon of the Mother of God, the Mammal, that the image is crowned with a prosperous Cross with the image of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit, acting during liturgical prayers, translates the Holy Gifts into the Body and Blood of Christ, by which the faithful partake in the guise of bread and wine.

The memory of the icon is celebrated on 25 January.