When Jesus was a youth 12 years of age, he went with his Mother and Saint Joseph to the Temple. They left him behind by mistake, and three days later, they found him in the midst of the elders. This event is recorded at the end of Luke chapter 2, and it...

Saint Djan Darada was the Ethiopian eunuch baptized by the Apostle Philip. The Book of Acts (8:26-39) relates: Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza...

Saint Basil was born in Caesarea in 329, to a holy family full of saints. He went to complete his education in Athens, where he first met his lifelong friend Saint Gregory the Theologian. Later, after he had spent some time in solitude, Basil...

Saint Mark was born in Constantinople in 1392. He entered the monastic life as a young man, and he became a devoted student of the hesychastic teachings of Saint Gregory Palamas. Hesychasm is an Eastern Orthodox tradition of contemplative prayer, with...

Saint Philip II served as Metropolitan of Moscow (1566-68) during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV "the Terrible." He was born with the name Fyodor (Theodore) in 1507 to a leading Russian noble family. He grew up in close proximity to the royal court, but was...

Saint Païsy was born in 1722 in Poltava in modern Ukraine. He was baptized by his father, a priest, with the name Peter. His father died young, and his mother Irene raised her 12 children in piety. At age 17, Peter decided to become a monk and went...

Saint Sebastian (Dabovich) was born the son of Serbian immigrants in San Francisco, California, in 1863. He studied theology in Kiev and Saint Petersburg, where he was tonsured a monk and ordained a hierodeacon in 1887. After completing his education,...

Saint Olga was born on February 3, 1916, in the Yup'ik village of Kwethluk, Alaska. Her family herded reindeer, and Olga (Arrsamquq, her Yup'ik name) loved spending time in the mountains as a child, playing with her six brothers. She married her...

The renowned Russian Saint Juliana of Lazarevo lived in the 16th century. She was faithful as a noblewoman, spouse, mother, and daughter of the Church, modeling how to live a saintly life in the context of family and everyday concerns. She cared for...

Saint Nino (also spelled Nina or Nune) was born in Cappadocia about the year 280. She was a kinswoman of Saint George. Her parents sold their possessions, moved to Jerusalem, and entered the monastic life, leaving Nino in the care of an old woman who...

Saint Katherine (also spelled Catherine) is celebrated as a Great Martyr of the Orthodox Church. She suffered greatly for her faith in Christ in the year 305 at the hands of Maximinus of Alexandria. She was killed for refusing his marriage intentions,...

Saint Philoumenos was born in Morphou, Cyprus, in 1913. At the age of 14, he and his twin brother entered the monastic life in Cyprus, and at age 20 departed for Jerusalem. There, Fr. Philoumenos became a priest and was raised to the rank of...

From the years 527 to 565, Saint Justinian the Great reigned as the Roman Emperor. During his reign, tens of thousands of pagans were baptized into Christ and the pagan schools of Athens were closed. Some ninety missionary churches were built to...

This glorious icon of Saint John the Baptist and Forerunner is from the iconostasis at Saint Nicholas Anthiochian Orthodox Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was painted by Fr. Theodore Koufos of blessed memory.  The Glorious Prophet, Forerunner,...

The Holy Scriptures are the books written over the course of some seventeen centuries by men under divine inspiration. This collection of books is divided into two sections: the Old Testament, which concerns the time from the creation of the world and...

This contemporary Byzantine icon of Saint Menas the Wonderworker features the holy Saint opening his hands in the orans gesture of prayer. Christ is mystically depicted within the Saint, as the Lord filled him with His divine life. Saint Menas is one of...

This icon from Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Washington, DC, depicts the synaxis (assembly) of the holy Angels and Archangels. At the center is an orb containing Christ as a youth, known in iconography as Emmanuel. Nearest to Christ are the...

In icons of the "Sign" type, the Theotokos directly faces the viewer with her hands raised in the orans (prayer) position. This is the moment of her conception of Christ at the Annunciation, as He is mystically depicted within her. He is shown with...

This exquisite contemporary icon portrays the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) and the infant Christ. The icon’s stunning gold background sets off their vivid colors and loving detail. This traditional icon portrays the Theotokos as Hodegetria (“The...

This icon of the great poet and hymnographer Saint Ephraim the Syrian is by the hand of American iconographer Mark Fiorenzo. It shows the holy saint in his monastic clothing and distinctive head covering. He holds a scroll with the beginning of his...

This icon by American iconographer Mark Fiorenzo depicts the great 20th century luminary Saint Nektarios in his black monastic habit. He holds the Gospel and raises his hand in a gesture of blessing, proper to his role in the Church as a bishop. Saint...

The Apostle and Evangelist Matthew (also named Levi) was the brother of James Alphaeus. He was a tax collector until he was called by Christ. He was the first to write a Gospel, and he wrote in Hebrew. The theology of his Gospel is aimed at the Jews,...

The Apostle Andrew "the First-Called," was the brother of Saint Peter. He had been a disciple of Saint John the Baptist, but went to follow Christ when Saint John called Him "the Lamb of God," becoming the first disciple. After the Lord's ascension into...

One of the first who Jesus called to be Apostles, St. Andrew was the brother of St. Peter and a fisherman by trade. He and Peter were fishing in the sea of Galilee when Jesus called them to become “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19, Mark 1:17)...

While not himself one of the Twelve Apostles, the Evangelist St. Mark is said to have been present at Jesus’ arrest. In the Gospel of Mark, the “young man” who ran away from the scene, and apparently watched the Crucifixion from afar,...

St. Matthew the Evangelist, also called Levi, also appears both among the icons of the Apostles and beneath the dome. As one of the Twelve Apostles, he witnessed the works and miracles of Jesus, and is traditionally held to have described those in the...

St. Peter, a chief Apostle along with St. Paul, was originally called Simon. The names "Peter" and "Cephas" both mean rock, and were both given by Jesus. He was first called alongside his brother Andrew.   Peter is known for committing a great...

The educated St. Philip plays a relatively minor role in the Gospels, but his actions as a disciple while Jesus was alive show his practical nature and logical mind. He is commemorated on November 14. He was close friends with the Apostle Bartholomew,...

This beautiful contemporary Byzantine icon depicts St. Tatiana of Rome. Living under the pagan Roman emperor Severus in the 3rd century, Tatiana was from a wealthy family who had secretly converted to Christianity. After dedicating herself as a holy...

This contemporary Byzantine icon commemorates the Holy Prophet Micah. One of the minor prophets, he is renowned for his prophecies of the coming of St. John the Forerunner and the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He is commemorated onJanuary 5 and August 14. His...

Saint Olga was born on February 3, 1916, in the Yup'ik village of Kwethluk, Alaska. Her family herded reindeer, and Olga (Arrsamquq, her Yup'ik name) loved spending time in the mountains as a child, playing with her six brothers. She married her...

Saint Olga was born on February 3, 1916, in the Yup'ik village of Kwethluk, Alaska. Her family herded reindeer, and Olga (Arrsamquq, her Yup'ik name) loved spending time in the mountains as a child, playing with her six brothers. She married her...

Saint Seraphim is one of the Orthodox Church's most beloved holy elders. This icon was painted in the 19th century, featuring beautifully embossed gold and colored inlays. He was born in western Russia in 1754. According to tradition, he was sickly as...

This beautiful Byzantine icon of Saint Andrew the First Called Apostle depicts the faithful disciple called by Christ at the Sea of Galilee along with his brother Peter and close companions, James and John (John 1:35-42). According to Holy Tradition,...

This contemporary Byzantine icon depicts Saint Gabriel (Urgebadze) the Fool for Christ. A renowned Georgian saint, he endured brutal persecution during Soviet rule and lived a long faithful life as an ascetic. His relics and intercessions have long been...

This contemporary Byzantine icon depicts the renowned Russian St. Juliana of Lazarevo (and Murom). Faithful as a spouse, mother, and daughter of the Church, she cared for the needs of her family and the poor in her community. She bore hardship and...

Saint Hilda was born in 614 in the north of modern England. She was a relative of King Edwin of Northumbria, who became a Christian about 627. At the age of 33, Hilda became a nun under the guidance of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne. She learned the...

This icon is a reproduction of the Cathedral Shrine to St. Raphael. Originally commissioned prior to his becoming a saint, the icon was later corrected after his glorification in 2000. An interesting feature of this icon is the engolpion (panagia) that...

This icon of Saint Raphael of Brooklyn is from Saint Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Brooklyn. It depicts Saint Raphael in his full ligturgical vestments. Surrounding him is a vine sprouting from the seeds of Orthodoxy he planted in North...

This is an original and unique icon from Saint Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral. It depicts Saint Raphael of Brooklyn, the founding cleric of the Cathedral community in 1895, and Saint Tikhon of Moscow, who actually consecrated the old Saint...