Icons

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...

Saint Menas the Wonderworker is one of the best-known Egyptian saints throughout the world. He was a soldier in the Roman army, and died a martyr about the year 309 when he refused to renounce his faith in Christ. His feast is celebrated on November 11...

This 13th century fresco, from the Mileševa Monastery in Serbia, shows the angel announcing the Resurrection to the myrrh-bearing women. The tomb is shown empty, with only Christ's burial clothes remaining. The icon demonstrates a transition...

This historic icon of the Temptation of Christ movingly depicts Christ's three temptations in a panoramic scene.    Painted by an anonymous iconographer, the original icon resides in the ancient Orthodox monastic community of Mount Athos,...

Like St. Mark,  St. Luke was not one of the Twelve Apostles, but was one of the the four Evangelists. He was a Gentile, not a Jew, born in Antioch. He was a physician by profession. Luke became a disciple of St. Paul and traveled with Paul and...

The Apostle and Evangelist Luke was not one of the Lord’s twelve original disciples. A Gentile physician from Antioch, he is counted among the Seventy Apostles. He was a follower of Saint Paul, and traveled with him and Saint Peter throughout 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...

This beautiful is from the Monastery of St. Nicholas, one of the clifftop monasteries in Meteora, Greece. It depicts the scene from Genesis 2:19-20, where Adam the first-formed man named the animals which God had created. "Out of the ground...

After the Resurrection, Christ met Luke and Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. They did not recognize His resurrected body, and they invited Him to come and eat with them. At the table, Christ broke bread and gave it to them, and they recognized Him as...

This ancient icon is a stunning reproduction of one of the earliest depictions of Jesus Christ. Found in the Catacombs of Saint Callixtus and painted in the 3rd century during the later persecutions of the church, the anonymous iconographer portrays...

This matching set of icons is found on the back side of the iconostasis at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, overlooking the holy altar. The holy faces of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Theotokos are surrounded by floral greenery. The unique horizontal...

"Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ And taking Peter and the two sons of Zebedee he began to grow sorrowful and distressed. Then Jesus said to...

This historic Greek icon depicts the events of the days leading up to the Great Food of Genesis 7-9. Noah and his family are depicted preparing to board the ark, together with animals of every kind. Above, God the Father and accompanying angels are...

This exquisite 19th century fresco is from the Church of St. John the Baptist in Kratovo, Macedonia. It depicts the Angelic Host of Heaven of  archangels, cherubim, and seraphim, from the visions of Ezekiel. The iconographer captures the glory and...

The Prophet Jonah (or Jonas) lived in the 8th century before Christ. He prophesied to the Israelites and the Ninevites, calling all to repentance. He also foretold of the coming Messiah. Jonah was eaten by a sea creature and spent three days in...

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...

The Prophet Jonah (or Jonas) lived in the 8th century before Christ. He prophesied to the Israelites and the Ninevites, calling all to repentance. He also foretold of the coming Messiah. Jonah was eaten by a sea creature and spent three days in...

This incredible icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai is a depiction of the Theotokos as the "flower of Jesse's Tree". The Prophets are seen among the branches growing from Jesse, with the Theotokos at their center, as the Mother of the...

This 17th century icon from Crete features Christ Pantocrator (Almighty) in the center, with the Theotokos Virgin Mary and John the Baptist on either side. These holiest of saints are always nearest to our Lord Jesus, praying for the peace and...

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

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 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...

The Apostle and Evangelist John was especially loved by Christ for his love and purity, and with Peter and James, was one of the closest Apostles to Him. He witnessed the Transfiguration and was the only Apostle to follow Christ to the very Cross, where...

This stunning Russian icon of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Assumption) captures the beauty and glory of Christ receiving the repose of his mother.  The Church has received the tradition of the Dormition (sleeping) and receiving into heaven of...

This incredible Russian icon is a stylized map of Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, featuring numerous Old and New Testament scenes as well as famous saints who lived near Jerusalem. Dominating the center is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,...

After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And...

This beautiful icon from Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai is a depiction of the Theotokos as the Burning Bush seen by Moses—as she held within herself the Fire of Divinity, Christ, without being consumed. The Bush is interpreted as a...

This late 3rd century fresco is from the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome. It is an allegorical icon, depicting a shepherd carrying a sheep on his shoulders. Two other sheep look up to him, and in the background are two trees with birds of paradise...

The Lord's restoration of sight to the Blind Man, as described in John 9:1-41, is celebrated on the fifth Sunday after Pascha (Easter) in the Orthodox Church. According to many of the Church Fathers, the man was not merely blind, but he was born...

John the Evangelist did not only author a Gospel, but was a much-beloved Apostle and minister of Jesus. He and his brother James were both fishermen and both called by Jesus at the same time and place. Jesus also gave him the surname Boanerges,...

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 famous Hagia Sophia mosaic features Christ, the Theotokos, and Saint John the Baptist in a Deesis (Supplication) scene. The Lord Jesus is enthroned while his Mother and Forerunner pray in behalf of the world. The mosaic was completed in the 13th...

Matthew the Evangelist was also called Levi. As one of the Twelve Apostles, he witnessed the works and miracles of Jesus, and is traditionally held to have described those in the Gospel of his name eight years after the Ascension. When he was called...

In this beautiful detail from a massive 17th century fresco at Slivnichki Monastery in Macedonia, the Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove, perched on a royal throne. He holds the Holy Gospel, and is surrounded by the instruments of the passion: the...

This historic icon depicts Christ on Holy Friday as He prepares to leave his trial and travel to the Cross. Painted on the Holy Mountain (Mount Athos), it captures the glory and humility of “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world...

The Three Holy Youths Ananias, Misael, and Azarias were among the Jews who were taken to Babylon in the sixth century BC. King Nebuchadnezzar took them into his royal household where they served, along with the Prophet Daniel. They were given Persian...

This historical icon of The Great Commission powerfully displays Christ's command to His disciples to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Depicting the words of Matthew 28:19-20,    Therefore go and make disciples of all...

According to Church tradition, after the bodily death of Mary the Theotokos, she was buried by the Apostles. But Thomas was delayed, and he desired to look upon her face one last time. When the tomb was opened, her body was gone (for Christ had already...

The first Great Feast of the ecclesiastical year, the Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8) is also the first Great Feast of our salvation. The Mother of God is born to Saint Anna, after a miraculous conception following a lifetime of barrenness.

The Seven Sleepers were a group of young soldiers who confessed their faith in Christ before the Emperor Decius. They were allowed to go free, and they fled to the caves to hide. As they prayed in preparation for martyrdom, they were discovered by...