Icons from Places

According to St. Mark’s Gospel, chapter 4, the disciples, terrified by the furious storm that came upon their fishing boat, called out to Jesus for help. His powerful Word stilled the wind and the waves. The disciples asked themselves still...

This miracle of Christ is found in the three synoptic gospels. While He slept on the boat, a storm arose and threatened to capsize the boat. The disciples woke Him in fear, and the Lord rebuked the wind. The storm died down, and He questioned the...

This well-known icon, painted in the 12th century at the Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai, is an allegorical depiction of the Christian ascetic struggle. It is based on Saint John Climacus' seminal work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.

The ancient "IC XC NIKA" cross is very common in Eastern Christianity. An abbreviation that means "Jesus Christ conquers", the pattern is stamped on the holy bread used for the Eucharist, and is frequently used in every kind of decoration. Let this image...

This miracle is recorded by all four of the Evangelists in their Gospels. In the wilderness near Bethsaida, the Lord had compassion on the crowds and miraculously multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed 5000 men, with the women and children besides...

This detail from a large 16th century fresco features a Seraph. The Seraphim, which in Hebrew means "burning ones," are the highest of the nine angelic ranks. Their name indicates their closeness to God: so close that they are eternally burning with...

The Sweet Kissing (or Loving-kindness, or Glykophilousa in Greek) icon is a tender and loving image depicting the love between Christ and the Virgin Mary. The Lord gently touches His Mother's face and she holds Him in her motherly embrace. The icons...

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 there...

This beautiful example of early Christian iconography (2nd or 3rd century) is from the Roman catacombs. It depicts our Lord Jesus as the Sower from the parable in Matthew 23, Mark 4, and Luke 8. Together with the Good Shepherd and Pantocrator...

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...

From the catacombs of Priscilla, dating to the second half of the 3rd century.

This 17th century icon comes from the Hilander monastery on Mount Athos. It features four prominent warrior saints, from left to right, Demetrios the Myrrh-streaming (also spelled Demetrius/Dmitri), George the Trophy-bearer, Prokopios (or Procopius), and...

An angel is a messenger of God, and a being which has stood before God and praised Him from a time before human comprehension. We cannot fully grasp what an angel's exact nature is, but we can understand an angel's function on earth. In icons,...

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...

Saint Andrew was born about the year 650 in Damascus, Syria. At the age of 14 he joined the Monastery of St. Sabbas the Sanctified in Jerusalem. Known for his virtue, he became the secretary of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and attended the Sixth...

This detail from a large 16th century fresco features an angel, titled "Angel of the Lord." He is dressed as a deacon, as Psalm 103 describes the angels as "ministering spirits." He holds a royal scepter and orb, representing the authority given to the...

This detail from a large 16th century fresco features a Cherub. The Cherubim are the second-highest of the nine ranks of angels. The Ark of the Covenant fashioned by Moses, and later the Temple, depicted images of Cherubim. In the icon, the Cherub...

Stunning icon of Jesus Christ. One of the earliest known paintings of our Lord. This image of Christ as the Good Shepherd was painted in the Catacombs of Saint Callixtus in the 3rd century.

One of the world's most famous and oldest icons, the Christ "Pantocrator" (Almighty) of Mount Sinai is housed at the Monastery of St. Catherine. The icon is painted with the ancient encaustic technique, which involves pigments suspended in thin layers of...

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...

St. Gregory lived in the fourth century. A brilliant theologian and teacher, he was consecrated bishop of Nyssa by his older brother, St. Basil the Great. Together the brothers fought against the Arian heresy, and suffered persecution by Arian clergy...

Saint Gregory was born in 329 in Cappadocia. After his studies, he suffered in a shipwreck and feared for his soul, as he was unbaptized. God spared him, and arriving in Athens, he joined his friend Basil the Great. They lived as monastic brothers in...

Saint Sebastian was a native of Milan. He was a member of the Senate and converted many to Christ in his zeal. He was arrested, beaten, and finally shot with arrows, giving up his soul to God in the year 288, together with several other martyrs. His...

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 led...

Cyriacus September 29

Saint Panteleimon lived in the late 3rd century. A native of Nicomedia, his mother wished for him to be raised a Christian. When she died young, his pagan father sent him to be educated as a physician. He was befriended by Saint Hermolaus, a priest, and...

The Elder Simeon the Stylite was born in Cappadocia in the lat 4th century. The son of Christian parents, he was obedient and a dedicated worker. While still a boy, he was struck by the singing of the Beatitudes in church. With the help of a trusted...

This deësis (supplication) icon was painted the 12th century at Saint Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai. Icons of this type usually appear in a row on either side of an iconostasis, with saints facing Christ, Who is enthroned above the holy...

This icon features the Lord's first miracle, the changing of the water into wine, which took place at the Wedding at Cana. From the 10th century Bamberg Psalter.

Saint Alexis (or Alexios/Alexius) was a 4th-century Roman monastic who secretly left the secular world and lived in anonymity for much of his life. He is counted among the saints called "Fools-for-Christ." His feast is celebrated on March 17.

This icon depicts the many saints who shone forth at Mount Sinai and in the surrounding desert. Saint Catherine, the patron of the monastery at Mount Sinai, stands at the center of the fathers at the bottom; the prophet Moses stands at the top, receiving...

Joachim and Anna were the parents of the holy Virgin Mary. They were childless, and for this they were derided by their fellow Jews, who believed they must have been cursed. They both devoted themselves to prayer, and they each vowed to dedicate their...

This detail from a large 16th century fresco features an angel, titled "Angel of the Lord." He is dressed as a deacon, as Psalm 103 describes the angels as "ministering spirits." He holds a royal scepter and orb, representing the authority given to the...

From the 10th century Bamberg Psalter.

This 13th century icon from Mount Sinai depicts Saint Paul, a chief of the Apostles and defining evangelist of the early Church. Originally named Saul, Paul was a Jew and a Pharisee. He was a leader of Christian persecutors, and was responsible for the...

St. Basil was born in Caesarea in 329, to a holy family full of saints. He went to complete his education in Athens, where he first met his lifelong friend St. Gregory the Theologian. Later, after he had spent some time in solitude, Basil became a...

In the image we see Christ enthroned at the top between the Apostles Peter and Paul, who raise their hands in a gesture of prayer and supplication. Christ's halo is like a rainbow, with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega ("the beginning and the end") and...