Icons

This fresco from the Slivnichki Monastery in Macedonia is part of a series based on the Akathist Hymn. The scene depicts the Theotokos standing in the midst of expert orators and wizened philosophers, who are left silent and unable to explain her...

The Playing Child (or Pelagonitissa in Greek) icon features the Christ Child playing actively in the arms of His Mother. His back is to the viewer, with His hand stretched up to lovingly touch the Virgin's face. This icon is also sometimes known...

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...

The details of St. Simon's role alongside Christ are mostly unknown, but he is traditionally said to have joined Christ after witnessing the miracle at the wedding at Cana, Simon's place of birth. His going to Jesus by his own choice, without being...

On the 40th day after His Resurrection, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven in His resurrected body. As the eleven Apostles stood on the Mount of Olives at Bethany, they watched Him disappear from view. An angel declared that He would return in the...

Pantocrator, "almighty," is one of the many names of God used in the Bible. It refers to Christ as Sabaoth, "Lord of Hosts," the ruler of all, and the sustainer of the universe. This image of Christ is the most widely-used subject in all of...

Pantocrator, "almighty," is one of the many names of God used in the Bible. It refers to Christ as Sabaoth, "Lord of Hosts," the ruler of all, and the sustainer of the universe. This image of Christ is the most widely-used subject in all of...

Pantocrator, "almighty," is one of the many names of God used in the Bible. It refers to Christ as Sabaoth, "Lord of Hosts," the ruler of all, and the sustainer of the universe. This image of Christ is the most widely-used subject in all of...

This beautiful Russian icon depicts the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church Calendar, featuring the 12 Great Feasts around its perimeter with Pascha (Easter) in the center. Reproduced from the 18th century original, it faithfully conveys the power,...

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...

Palm Sunday is the celebration of Christ's triumphal entry into the royal city of Jerusalem. Riding on a young donkey, he was met by a massive crowd who publicly hailed Him as king. They waved palm branches and laid their cloaks on the road before Him...

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...

Saint Stephen suffered during the iconoclasm of Emperor Leo the Isaurian (716-41). He defended the veneration of icons, and for this he was put on trial and imprisoned. In prison, he and over 300 other defenders of the icons organized a...

Saint Theodore was born in Constantinople in the year 759. He entered the monastic life at a young age, and by age 35 he had been ordained a priest and became the abbot of the monastery. He later left this monastery and joined the Monastery of...

The Mother of God has long been associated with Moses' burning bush, which held God but was not burned up. This icon is a symbolic representation of this idea. The Theotokos is surrounded by ranks of angels and archangels, as well as various biblical...

The Church has received the tradition of the conception of the Mother of God from the ancient Fathers of the Church. The Virgin Mary was born to her parents about 16 or 17 years before the birth of Christ. Her father Joachim was descended from the...

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

This 17th century icon from Moscow is known as the Unsleeping Eye (Nedremannoe Oko). It depicts Christ Emmanuel, as a youth, reclining on a bed in Paradise, represented in iconography as a white background filled with whimsical trees and plants. He is...

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 historical Byzantine icon depicts The Entombment of Christ. In moving form and vivid color, the anonymous 16th century iconographer captures the emotion and glory of Christ’s blessed body being committed to the earth. After the life-giving...

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...

Saint Boniface lived during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (286-305). He was the servant of a ranking Roman woman named Aglais, but in truth they were living together in a sinful union. Boniface drank heavily and lived in hedonism, yet he was...

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...

The hodigitria (guide) genre of icons features Christ sitting on the Virgin's lap. The mother’s hands point to her Son in a gesture of humility, guiding the viewer to look to Him. This icon is located from the renowned Vatopedi Monastery on the...

This beautiful icon was painted in Constantinople in the mid-to-late 13th century. The Theotokos looks to her Son, Jesus, who gives a blessing with His right hand, and whose stance evokes the idea of a philosopher. This is a sign of His teachings, and...

Saint Alypius was from Adrianople. One of the famous "pillar saints" (stylites), he lived on a pillar for over 50 years. He reposed in the 7th century. His feast is celebrated on November 26.

This beautiful icon of the Crucifixion depicts Christ’s Passion within the context of several other important Scriptural events. At the left, an icon depicts the Hospitality of Abraham (Holy Trinity). At the right, the beheading of John the...

This 15th century Cretan icon shows Jesus Christ being cradled by the Theotokos and Joseph of Arimathea as he is removed from the cross. Mary Magdalene and the other Myrhh bearing women hold his hand in this moment of sadness and reflection...

This icon is found on the back side of the iconostasis at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, overlooking the holy altar. The holy face of Our Lord Jesus Christ is surrounded by floral greenery. The unique horizontal orientation of the icon will add a unique and...

From the 10th century Bamberg Psalter.

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 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...

This historic Byzantine icon depicts Saint Stephen the Protomartyr in his vestments and incense burner of the diaconate. His story is recalled in chapters 6-7 of the Acts of the Apostles.  The Apostle Stephen was the first deacon of the Church. For...

This 18th century icon shows the frontal depictions of the saints full-length. Blasius (or Blaise) is represented dressed as a bishop, with the Gospel book in his hands, martyrs Florus and Laurus are holding the crosses in their right hands.

On the day after Palm Sunday (Holy Monday), the Lord Jesus cursed a fig tree. This tree appeared hardy and covered with leaves, but it was fruitless. At this the Lord said, "May fruit no longer come from you forever!" The tree immediately withered...

  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...

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 stunning historical Russian icon depicts the Archangel Michael in his role as warrior and intercessor for the church. He wears scarlet festal robes and bears a spear in his right hand and orb in his left, symbolizing his authority and power...

Thou hast ascended in glory, O Christ our God, and gladdened thy Disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit, having become confident of the blessing. Verily, thou art the Son of God, and Deliverer of the world. After Jesus rose from the dead, He...