Icons

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...

This is an iconographic representation of the Akathist Hymn. The Prophets surround the Virgin Mary with scrolls of praise, and on the outer border there are feasts and scenes from the Theotokos' life. The Akathist Hymn is chanted on the fifth Saturday...

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...

This historic Byzantine icon of the Myrrh-bearers at the Tomb recall the scene as reported by the Four Gospels.  After the Resurrection, the Myrrh-bearing Women came to the tomb. They found the soldiers fallen as dead, the stone rolled away, and an...

This unique icon of the Resurrection of Christ is from the 10th century Bamberg Psalter. It is a glorious depiction of Christ's completion of his efforts in conquering his people's mortal enemies--sin, the evil one, and death itself--and stepping back...

This 15th century icon features the typical style of the Vologda school of Russian iconography. Unique in this icon is the prominence of the Angels binding the demons in Hades, with a large symbolic lock in the center. The original of this icon is...

In the Orthodox/Byzantine tradition, the five Sundays after Pascha (Easter) are dedicated to five special commemorations: The Examination of Christ by Thomas (Doubting Thomas) The Myrrh-bearing Women at the Tomb The Healing of the Paralytic The...

The Lord appears as the just Judge of the world, with a sword in his mouth (Revelation 19:15). Below, humanity rises from the dead and faces judgment by the angels: some go to heaven, others into hellfire. From the 10th century Bamberg Psalter.

This 19th century Russian Old Believer icon depicts the Exaltation of the Cross. Commemorating the miraculous discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine, in 326. The great feast is celebrated on September 14 each year, and...

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...

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...

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...

This stunning icon of the Harrowing of Hades includes many scenes not typically included in icons of the Resurrection. In the center, Christ can be seen standing on the Gates of Hades, pulling Adam and Eve with the Old Testament saints up out of the...

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...

We now offer a much higher quality version of this icon, click here. The Feast of Orthodoxy (also knowns as the Sunday of Orthodoxy or the Restoration of the Icons) is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent(six...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...