In the eighth century during the time of the
Iconoclasts, Saint John of Damascus (December 4) was zealous in his veneration
of holy icons. Because of this, he was slandered by the emperor and iconoclast
Leo III the Isaurian (717-740), who informed the Damascus caliph that Saint
John was committing treasonous acts against him. The caliph gave orders to cut
off the hand of the monk and take it to the marketplace. Towards evening Saint
John, having asked the caliph for the cut-off hand, put it to its joint and
fell to the ground before the icon of the Mother of God. The monk begged Our
Lady to heal the hand, which had written in defense of Orthodoxy. After long
prayer he fell asleep and saw in a dream that the All-Pure Mother of God had
turned to him promising him quick healing.
Before this the Mother of God bid him toil
without fail with this hand. Having awakened from sleep, Saint John saw that
his hand was unharmed. In thankfulness for this healing Saint John placed on
the icon a hand fashioned of silver, from which the icon received its name “Of
Three Hands.” (Some iconographers, in their ignorance, have mistakenly depicted
the Most Holy Theotokos with three arms and three hands.) According to
Tradition, Saint John wrote a hymn of thanksgiving to the Mother of God: “All
of creation rejoices in You, O Full of Grace,” which appears in place of the
hymn “It is Truly Meet” in the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great.