Icons

The equals-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine, who legalized and defended Christianity in the Roman Empire, and his mother Helen, who discovered the precious Cross of the Lord, are celebrated together on May 21.

In this 16th century Cretan icon, the Theotokos is praised by Old Testament figures, from the Patriarch Jacob (holding the ladder), to Moses, the Prophets, and finally John the Forerunner, the last of the Old Testament prophets. The iconographer...

Barbara, born in the third century in Syria, was so beautiful that her pagan father placed her in an isolated tower to keep her innocent of any influence except his own until she could be married. Like St. Christina, Barbara also came to realize...

The Prophet Joel lived some 800 years before Christ. One of the Minor Prophets, he prophesied of the coming of the Holy Spirit. He is commemorated on October 19.

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...

Saint Agnes lived in Rome, the child of Christian parents. She dedicated herself to a life of virginity for the sake of Christ, and refused the proposal of the son of a Roman official. After confessing Christ, she was arrested, tortured, thrown into...

Elisha (or Elisseus) succeeded Elijah, and throughout his life performed similar wonders and miracles. After he watched Elijah’s being accepted into Heaven, Elisha went on to provide wholesome land, food, and water for cities stricken with famine...

The holy prophet Joshua, the Son of Nun (in Greek, Jesus of Navi), was called by Moses to survey the Promised Land. He urged the people to trust in God as they prepared to enter the land. He was chosen to succeed Moses, and after Moses' death, Joshua...

Elijah (or in Greek, Elias) lived under the rule of Ahab, “who did evil before the Lord, more than all who were before him” (3 Kgd. 16:38). Through Elijah, God gave the world a voice of justice in an unjust time. But the miracles and signs...

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 Cassiani was a nun and eminent poet who lived in the 9th century. She established a convent in Constantinople, and excelled as a theologian and musician, composing hymns for her nuns.  Dozens of her hymns endure in the liturgical life of the...

Aaron was the brother of Moses. While God assigned the task of Israelite leadership directly to Moses, Aaron became an important leader in his own right.  At his first encounter with God, Moses expressed concern that he was not well-spoken enough...

This icon is a beautiful contemporary Byzantine portrayal of the Old Testament Prophet Micah. Renowned for his prophecies of the coming Messiah and God’s redemption of His rebellious people, the Prophet Micah holds an important place in the...

Ruth lived about the 13th century before Christ. She was the great-grandmother of David, the King of Israel. During a time of famine in Israel, Elimelech and Naomi of Bethlehem took their sons and traveled to the nearby country of Moab. Elimelech died,...

Saint Lydia was a first-century “seller of purple,” an expensive, wine-colored fabric.  As described in Acts 16, Saint Paul received a vision in which a man pleaded with him to come to Macedonia. When he awoke, he immediately set out...

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 incredible icon of Saint Elias the Prophet is from the iconostasis at Saint Nicholas Anthiochian Orthodox Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It features Saint Elias being taken up to heaven in the chariot of fire, while his disciple, the Prophet...

This icon is a beautiful Byzantine portrayal of the Old Testament Prophet Jonah. Called to prophecy the imminent destruction of the wicked Assyrian empire, Jonah famously disobeyed God and fled across the Mediterranean Sea. After being caught in a...

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,...

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...

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...

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 icon is a beautiful Byzantine portrayal of the Old Testament Prophet Zephaniah. A contemporary of the Prophet Jeremiah, he lived during the time of King Josiah and was instrumental in helping to eliminate idolatry and prepare Israel for its...

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 icon is a beautiful Byzantine portrayal of the Old Testament Prophet Habakkuk. Living between the destruction of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, Habakkuk received visions of the destruction of Jerusalem and the eventual return of a remnant in...

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 Phoebe was a deaconess in the church of Cenchreae in Corinth. She was mentioned by Saint Paul in the Book of Romans as a benefactor of many, including Paul himself. He sent Phoebe to Rome to gain support for his missionary work. Her feast is...

These martyrs were from Iconium in Asia Minor. When her husband died, Julitta was left to raise her three-year-old son Cyricus (or Quriaqos) alone. During the persecutions of Diocletian, they fled to Tarsus, but were arrested in the year 305...

In this radiant icon, we see Moses and Aaron standing within the Tabernacle of Witness. Moses holds a chalice and a text of the Law, while Aaron the high priest holds a censer and the budded rod. The orb with the seven-branch candle stand contains an...

Saint Ia Wen was a Chinese Orthodox Christian school teacher. She was martyred at the age of 56 on the night of June 10, 1900. She was among about a dozen Orthodox Christians who were slain while sheltering in the house of their priest, Fr. Mitrophan...

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...

Saint Thekla (also spelled Thecla) was born into a pagan noble family just sixteen years after the Ascension. When she was eighteen, she became a disciple of St. Paul against the wishes of her mother and fiancé. Despite the objections of her...

Saint Matrona lived in the fifth century. After the death of her husband, she entered the monastic life and founded a women's monastery in Constantinople, which became known for its strict rule of life and the holiness of the women who lived there...

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 Tatiana lived in Rome in the early 3rd century. She was raised a Christian and served as a deaconess. After her prayers resulted in the miraculous destruction of various idols and pagan temples, she was arrested and brutally tortured. 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 Larisa (or Larissa) was one of the 26 Martyrs of Crimea slain by the Goths in the year 375. They are commemorated together on March 26.

Saint Katherine (also spelled Catherine) was a Great Martyr who suffered in the year 305 at the hands of Maximinus of Alexandria. She is commemorated in the Slavic churches on November 24, the date of her martyrdom. In the Byzantine churches, she is...

Saint Zlata (also known as Saint Chryse; both words mean "gold") was born in the 18th century in the village of Slatena, Ottoman Bulgaria (modern Chrysi, Greece). She came from a poor peasant family of devoted Orthodox Christians, despite the...

Saint Ludmila was born about the year 860 to the ruling family of Bohemia in the modern Czech Republic. At the age of about 13, she was married to Borivoy, the first Christian Duke of Bohemia. They worked together to enlighten their subjects with the...