Icons

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...

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...

Gideon was appointed by God as one of the Judges of Israel during the Old Testament. His feast is celebrated on September 26, and he is also remembered among the Old Testament righteous on the Sunday of the Forefathers in December.

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...

This beautiful Hagia Sophia mosaic features Christ Enthroned, standing between Emperor Constantine IX and his wife Empress Zoe, holding symbols of donations. The 11th century mosaic is contemporary with Zoe's lifetime and has a colorful history. As Zoe...

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...

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 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...

In this 12th century icon from the Sinai region, we see Christ extending his hand to his beloved friend Lazarus, who comes out of his tomb after being dead for four days. This miraculous event happened just before Palm Sunday. By this action, Christ...

According to Christian tradition, when the Virgin Mary was about nine months old, her mother Anna wanted to see if she was able to stand. To her amazement, the infant was able to take seven steps into her mother's arms. This beautiful 16th icon of this...

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...

Saint Nilus (or Neilos/Neil/Nil) was a disciple of Saint John Chrysostom and one of his greatest defenders when he was persecuted by the Empress Eudoxia. About the time of Chrysostom's exile, Nilus and his son went to live at Mount Sinai. There he...

In his ministry, our Lord Jesus many times cast demons out of those who were afflicted. In this fresco from Decani Monastery, we see his miraculous work for the Gergesene (also called the Geresene or Gadarene) demoniacs. This event is recorded in all...

This fresco from the Slivnichki Monastery in Macedonia is part of a series based on the Akathist Hymn. The scene depicts the Incarnation of Christ by the Theotokos. Her arms are open in a gesture of prayer and acceptance of the Holy Spirit. The Lord...

In this fresco from Decani Monastery, we see our Lord's miraculous work for the ten lepers, as recorded in Luke 17. Under the Jewish law, the men were unclean and had to live apart from the community to protect others from suffering a similar fate. When...

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...

This beautiful fresco from the Stavropoleos Monastery in Romania, depicts the Fathers of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, where the Nicene Creed was written. Emperor St. Constantine the Great sits in the center, surrounded by the holy bishops, who...

This icon, known as the Holy Face, Holy Napkin or Mandylion, portrays the face of Christ on a piece of cloth. According to Christian legend, King Abgar of Edessa wrote to Jesus, asking him to come cure him of an illness. Jesus declined the invitation,...