Mary Multiplied: The Devotion to Mary Three-Handed in Bulgaria and the Mechanism of Sacred Multiplication
Mary Multiplied: The Devotion to Mary Three-Handed in Bulgaria and the Mechanism of Sacred Multiplication

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to examine in detail the concept of multiplication of a sacred prototype (sacred multiplication), according to which the sacred prototype is continually reproduced across a multitude of images that replicate the original. The focus is on a specific Marian image – Mary Three-Handed – and its cult in Bulgaria. To this end, I follow a chain of replicas: from the legendary first Marian icons and associated miracle narratives, through the emergence of the Three-Handed type with its variants, to contemporary manifestations of its cult in Bulgaria. I employ an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on historiography, art history, cultural anthropology, ethnology, and folkloristics. For recent developments, I rely on my own fieldwork conducted between 2019 and 2025, supplemented by media publications and online sources. The analysis of a series of images associated with the veneration of the Three-Handed Mary demonstrates that the multiplication of a sacred prototype is a central mechanism in Marian devotion and, more broadly, in Orthodox piety, preserved through centuries. It bears witness to the enduring potency of icons to mediate grace across time, space, and media, as lived by believers. Through sacred multiplication, the universal Christian image becomes embedded in the sacred geography and history of local communities. In this process, it acquires distinctive features and shapes communal identity, while devotees continually reaffirm their personal bond with the holy.

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