5th century
Deposition of the Sash of the Theotokos
The tradition of the translation of the Theotokos's sash to Constantinople and its miracles, with its only surviving fragment today kept at Vatopedi Monastery.
Biography
According to tradition, the Theotokos's sash was brought from Jerusalem to Constantinople under Arcadius, or his son Theodosius II, and placed in a golden reliquary known as the Holy Soros. It is said that when Emperor Leo the Wise later opened the reliquary for his wife Zoe, who was troubled by a demonic affliction, the sash was found undecayed, and the empress was healed as soon as the Patriarch touched it to her.
Pieces of the sash were later distributed among churches in Constantinople, and one fragment eventually reached the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos through Serbian rulers, where it remains today as the only known surviving portion. The relic is especially venerated by childless women who ask for the Theotokos's blessing in faith.