On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and spoke loudly, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! From within whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will flow rivers of living water!" He said this concerning the...

Saint Agafya (Agatha) was the wife of Grand Duke Yuri II of Vladimir (1188-1238), and Theodora was their eight-year-old daughter. Grand Duke Yuri's rule saw the Mongols invade the lands of Kievan Rus. In the course of many battles, they gradually took...

Saint Theodora was born in Paphlagonia, along the Black Sea coast in Asia Minor, about the year 815. The daughter of a military commander, she is believed to have been of Armenian descent. When Theodora was about 15 years old, she was selected to...

This glorious icon of the Resurrection and Harrowing of Hades features our Lord emerging triumphant from the depths of Hades, trampling down the gates, locks and chains that forever kept humans trapped after death. He raises from their tombs Adam and...

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,...

On the third day after His death, the Sunday of Pascha (Easter), our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ raised Himself from the dead. This icon celebrates the universe-transforming event known as the Harrowing of Hades, the doctrine laid down in the...

Saint Abigail (also known as Gobnait or Gobnata) was born in Ireland around the beginning of the sixth century. After seeing a vision of white deer, she was granted land to build a women's monastery at Ballyvourney. As abbess, she was known for gifts...

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...

Complete Set Available Here The Stations of the Cross is a powerful Western Christian devotion used during Lent and Holy Week. Also called "The Way of the Cross" (or in Latin, Via Crucis), it follows the journey of Christ from His condemnation by...

This historic Russian icon depicts the three Marys–Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas, and Mary the Theotokos–renowned for their worship of and service to Christ after His death. The Gospel ell us that these three viewed Christ’s burial...

On the third day after His death, the Sunday of Pascha (Easter), our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ raised Himself from the dead. This icon celebrates the universe-transforming event known as the Harrowing of Hades, the doctrine laid down in...

Saint Theodore the Soldier (or "the Recruit," "the Tyro" or Theodore of Amasea) was a soldier and martyr in the early 4th century, enduring the persecutions of the emperors Maximian and Maximus. When it was discovered he was a Christian, a judge...

This beautiful 19th century Russian icon depicts the Lord's Descent into Hades, where he proclaimed the Resurrection to those bound there. He directs them upward, out of the jaws of Death to Paradise, cutting diagonally across the image. In the upper...

This icon depicts scenes from the life of Saint John the Forerunner and Baptist. In the first panel, John's father Zachariah the High Priest receives the word of an angel that he would have a son, after which he was struck mute because of his unbelief...

Saint Tryphon (or Trypho) was born in the early 3rd century in Phrygia of Asia Minor. In his youth, he tended geese. He was a devout Christian, and was granted the power to work miracles and cast out demons. He was offered rewards, but always...

Saint Photeini (also known as Photina, Photine, Photini, or Svetlana) was the Samaritan Woman met by Christ in John 4. Their conversation is the longest recorded dialogue between Christ and a single person.  She had had five husbands and was...

Saint Valentine (or Valentinus) was a 3rd century bishop of Terni in Italy. He was martyred in Rome in 269. He is commemorated on February 14 by Western Christians and on July 30 by the Eastern Orthodox. There is another Saint Valentine, a presbyter of...

Saint Genevieve was born in the village of Nanterre, west of Paris in Gaul (modern France), about the year 420. When she was eight years old, she expressed to Saint Germanus of Auxerre her desire to consecrate her virginity to the Lord. About the age...

Saint Polycarp was a disciple of Saint John the Theologian, the apostle and author of the New Testament books of John and Revelation. He was ordained by Saint John as the fifth bishop of Smyrna in Asia Minor. He suffered in the persecutions of Marcus...

This 21st-century Bulgarian icon, painted by the hand of Georgi Chimev, features Saints Photius the Great, Gregory Palamas, and Mark of Ephesus. Also known as the Three New Holy Hierarchs, these holy Hierarchs had significant roles in guiding the...

Saint Tryphon (or Trypho) was from Lampsacus (modern Lapseki). He tended geese and was filled with the Holy Spirit, able to work powerful miracles of healing and exorcism. He became a bold preacher of Christ during the reign of Emperor Decius, about...

After the Resurrection, the Myrrh-bearing Women came to the tomb. They found the soldiers fallen as dead, the stone rolled away, and an angel sitting on it. He showed them the Lord’s empty grave clothes, and told them to tell the Disciples of the...

This icon is a beautiful contemporary Byzantine portrayal of the Old Testament Prophet Zechariah. He is renowned for his visions of coming events, including the coming of the Messiah and the angelic intercessions for God’s people. As such, the...

The Harrowing of Hades is the icon most often used to represent the Resurrection of Christ: the Feast of Feasts, Pascha (Easter). In this scene, Christ is seen coming out of the dark pit of Hades, bringing with Him all of the righteous Old Testament...

Also known as Iverskaya and Portaitissa, this 1880 Russian icon is based on an original from an iconoclastic period in the 10th century. The icon of the Theotokos was kept by a pious widow. When it was discovered by a group of soldiers, one of...

After the Resurrection, the Myrrh-bearing Women came to the tomb. They found the soldiers fallen as dead, the stone rolled away, and an angel sitting on it. He showed them the Lord’s empty grave clothes, and told them to tell the Disciples of the...

On the third day after His death, the Sunday of Pascha (Easter), our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ raised Himself from the dead. This icon celebrates the universe-transforming event known as the Harrowing of Hades, the doctrine laid down in...

Saint Brigit (also spelled Brigid or Bridget) was an Irish abbess of the convent of Kildare-Kil Dara, which means Cell of the Oak. She was well-known for her generosity and kindness, and for the many miracles she worked for those in need. Together with...

Eight days after the Resurrection, we celebrate the "excellent unbelief of Thomas," in the words of one Vesperal hymn for the feast. This unbelief led the Lord to offer proof, which brings all of us to the knowledge of the risen Savior as Lord and God.

Saint Susanna  is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke as one of the women-disciples who followed the Lord and paid for his expenses throughout His ministry. She was one of the Myrrh-bearing Women who followed Christ, and saw the angel at the tomb...

Saint Raphael was born in Beirut in 1860. He spent the first decades of his life traveling throughout the Middle East and Russia, gaining knowledge and experience as a clergyman. Father Raphael was called to America and established a parish in...

Saint Porphyrios (or Porphyrius, or Porphyry), was the Bishop of Gaza 395-420, known from the account in his Life for Christianizing the recalcitrant pagan city of Gaza, and demolishing its temples. His feast day is celebrated on February 26.

When the Forerunner was beheaded by Herod, his head was placed on a platter and given to his daughter at the request of her mother. This 19th century Russian icon depicts the Forerunner's sacred head, which is commemorated on several feast days during...

Forty days after the birth of Jesus, his mother Mary and Joseph the Betrothed took him to the Temple in Jerusalem. As faithful Jews who observed the Law of Moses, they brought thank offering of two turtledoves for sacrifice. There they were met by...

Christ is seen among the Jewish scholars, teaching them. The Theotokos and Saint Joseph are seen on the left, having searched for the young Jesus after He disappeared from their traveling party. This event is commemorated on Mid-Pentecost, twenty-five...

After rising from the tomb, Jesus is met by Mary Magdalene, who kneels in worship before Him. This icon is also known as Noli me tangere, Latin for "Do not hold on to me," which were Christ's words to Mary when they met.

This historic Russian icon depicts the meeting of St. Thomas the Apostle and the Risen Christ a week after the Resurrection. According to the Gospel account, Thomas said that he would not believe in Christ’s resurrection until he touches his...

Mid-Pentecost is celebrated on the Wednesday 25 days after Pascha, the halfway point between Pascha at Pentecost. This feast celebrates Christ as the Holy Wisdom of God, as the Gospel describes Him teaching in the temple to the astonishment of the...