Saint Mary lived in the fifth century. As a girl, she left her Christian family in order to follow her pleasures in unbridled sinful living. At one point she joined a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem, selling herself in exchange for passage. When they...

This stunning icon of Saint George is from the iconostasis at Saint Nicholas Anthiochian Orthodox Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It features Saint George on horseback outside a city, famously slaying the dragon while an angel places the crown of...

This unique icon of Saint George is a portrait-style icon, featuring a close-up view of his face. Saint George "the Trophy-bearer" was born in Cappadocia, Asia Minor (modern Turkey), in the third century and raised as a Christian. About age 20, he...

This beautiful example of Western iconography is part of the Lindisfarne Gospel illuminated manuscript, which was produced in England in the early 8th century. We see Saint Mark writing his Gospel. The text at the top reads Imago Leonis, "Image of...

The Apostle and Evangelist Mark (also called John Mark) is the author of the Gospel of Mark. According to Church tradition, he was the young man who was seized by soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane and fled away naked (Mark 14:51-52). He was a...

This depiction of the Throne of God is often found in icons of the Last Judgment, but can also be seen by itself in a simplified form, as in this icon. The blue circle surrounding the Throne is known as a Mandorla. This represents transcendence and the...

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. James, the brother of St. John the Evangelist, was with his brother among the second of the Apostles to be called to Jesus. With John as well, James was given the surname "Boanerges," Sons of Thunder, by Jesus, and with John and Peter James was...

This historic 11th century icon of the Vision of Saint Romanos commemorates the moving story of this saint’s devotion and gift. Born in the 5th century, this Eastern saint desired to write music for the Church. Serving as a new singer in...

This beautiful Byzantine icon depicts Saint Athanasia of Aegina, Greece, who lived in the 9th century. Besides serving as an advisor to the Byzantine empress, she was an abbess known for her healing of the sick and those who suffered demon possession...

The Sunday before the beginning of Lent is known in the Orthodox Church as Forgiveness Sunday. On this day, we commemorate the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. Through this, we remember that we are far from God because of sin, but we can be...

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...

This instructional icon depicts the Second Coming and the Last Judgment. At the top Christ is seen coming in glory, flanked by the armies of the heavenly host, his Mother, and the Prophet John. In the next row are the Twelve Apostles, sitting as judges...

This historic icon depicts the Holy Cross in a symbolic form, with the crown of thorns at its center. Below is a skull, representing the Cross’s victory over death. The Cross is surrounded by angels, cherubim, and seraphim. Two are holding...

Saint Mary lived in the fifth century. As a girl, she left her Christian family in order to follow her pleasures in unbridled sinful living. At one point she joined a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem, selling herself in exchange for passage. When they...

Outside the city of Constantinople, there was a sacred spring dedicated to the Virgin Mary. A monastery grew up there in the 5th century, and over time the spring was overgrown by a grove of trees. The Byzantine Emperor encountered a blind man who was...

The Feast of Orthodoxy (also knowns as the Sunday of Orthodoxy or the Triumph of Orthodoxy) is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent (six Sundays before Pascha) in the liturgical calendar of...

This historic Russian icon depicts St. Theodore of Russia saving a princess who had been imprisoned by a demonic serpent monster. Several scenes from the story are included that show the saint overcoming evil.  This early 17th century icon captures...

Saint Theodore was born in Constantinople to wealthy and pious Christian parents. When he was old enough, he left everything behind and entered a monastery in Thrace, west of Constantinople. He rejected his former comfortable lifestyle and wore only an...

Saint Theodore was born out of wedlock in Sykeon of Galatia. When he was a child, his mother gave him a soldier's belt, and told him he would be a soldier. The Great Martyr George then appeared to her and told her that God had a different plan for her...

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...

This Saint Valentine lived in Silistria (modern Bulgaria) in the 3rd century. He was a soldier in the Roman army, and when he was 30 years old, he confessed his faith in Christ, together with his brother Pasikrates. They were tortured and martyred...

  Saint Gabriel was born on March 22, 1684, in Zvierki (Zwierki, Poland). His parents, Peter and Anastasia, maintained their Orthodox faith despite the growth of Uniatism in the region. As a child, Gabriel preferred prayer and solitude rather than...

This icon, specially commissioned by Legacy Icons, features all the key commemorations of Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. One priest enthusiastically said of it, "This is an icon that waited 2,000 years to be painted!" St. Theodore the...

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is part of our annual preparation for Great Lent. We have all squandered our Heavenly Father's inheritance, but He is waiting with open arms for us to return to Him through repentance.

Father Roman Braga was born in 1922 in a small village in central Moldova. His mother was a devout Orthodox Christian, and she raised him in a religious environment centered around the monastery of Condrita. During World War II, Roman attended seminary...

Saint Zacchaeus was a tax collector (publican). His encounter with the Lord is recorded in Luke 19, which resulted in Zacchaeus turning from his greed and following Christ. After the Ascension, he traveled with Saint Peter, becoming one of the Seventy...

This icon features the Theotokos offering a flower to Christ. According to tradition, the flower represents the Virgin's purity and sweetness, offered as a sacrifice in order to give birth to the Son of God. This icon is celebrated on April...

The Feast of Orthodoxy (also knowns as the Sunday of Orthodoxy or the Triumph of Orthodoxy) is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent(six Sundays before Pascha) in the liturgical calendar of...

This 19th century Russian icon features the Cross being lifted up by Saints Constantine and Helen, who discovered the True Cross in the 4th century. Depicted with them are a number of prominent saints, clockwise from the top: the Holy Trinity...

Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was...

Outside the city of Constantinople, there was a sacred spring dedicated to the Virgin Mary. A monastery grew up there in the 5th century, and over time the spring was overgrown by a grove of trees. The Byzantine Emperor encountered a blind man who was...

Saint George, sometimes called “the Trophy-bearer,” was born in the province of Cappadocia, Asia Minor (Turkey), in the third century and raised as a Christian. About age 20, he joined the Roman army under the emperor Diocletian,...

This 17th century icon comes from the Hilander monastery on Mount Athos. It features four prominent warrior saints, from left to right, Demetrios the Myrrh-streaming (also spelled Demetrius/Dmitri), George the Trophy-bearer, Prokopios (or Procopius),...

Saint George, sometimes called “the Trophy-bearer,” was born in the province of Cappadocia, Asia Minor (Turkey), in the third century and raised as a Christian. About age 20, he joined the Roman army under the emperor Diocletian,...

Saint Tikhon was the first Patriarch of Moscow after the patriarchate was restored in 1917. But before this, he served as Bishop of the Aleuts and North America, and became an American citizen. He worked tirelessly to establish new churches in America,...

This 18th century icon depicts the Second Coming and the Last Judgment. At the top Christ is seen coming in glory, flanked by the armies of the heavenly host, his Mother, and the Prophet John. In the next row are the Twelve Apostles, sitting as judges...

Saint Mary lived in the fifth century. As a girl, she left her Christian family in order to follow her pleasures in unbridled sinful living. At one point she joined a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem, selling herself in exchange for passage. When they...

This 19th century Old Believer icon of the great penitent Saint Mary of Egypt comes from Mstera, Russia. She stands in the center, surrounded by scenes of her meetings with Abba Zosimas. She is commemorated on April 1, and in the Orthodox Church, the...

Saints Cyril and Methodius were 9th-century Greek brothers born in Thessalonica in Macedonia, in the Byzantine Empire. They dedicated their lives to the evangelism of the Russian peoples, and they are known as the Apostles to the Slavs. Saint Cyril is...