Russian Icons

Christ of the Wrathful Eye

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The Greek word Pantokrator is used to reveal places in the Revelation of St. John and is translated as the Ruler of All or the Almighty.

Inscribed in the halo is the Greek words ‘O’ wn’ the one who is’. “I am the  alprand Omega Say the Lord God Who is (the one who is). And who was. And who is to come” The Almighty (Pantoevator). Rev. 1, 8; Rev 4.8

The Halo placed the Christ in the state of completion and Holiness. The circular mathematical reality that has no beginning nor end, is pointing to the Eternal God. The Cross enclosed by the circle pointing to the redemptive sacrifice.

Pantocrator-Christ the King and Judge

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Appearing in official Lordship position with the hands reflecting authority and the open gospel, in the left hand, indicating the transformation from the Old to the New. Abobe is represented by the Trinitarian formula of the Old Testament and the birth of Christ with the earthly kings in adoration position and submission to the King.

Joining Christ Pantocrator to the top left is a portrait of St. Ciprianus “to whom you pray to be protected from evil Charmness”, as indicated in the writing under the medaglion . Under Ciprianus is represented St.Antipa,“to whom you pray if you have a toothache. To the right, center top, the artist has painted the portrait of St.Nicholas Miracle Worker,” to whom we pray for the protection from drowning” and under him is St.Kharalampius, “to whom you pray against sudden death.”

Below the Transfiguration, Resurrection, and Ascension, the Apostles’ empowerment of the Gospel and Christ sitting at the ‘Right Side’ of the Father–the New Testament Trinitary representation.

Cry Not Over Me, Mother (The Descent from the Cross)

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“In my arms I hold Thee as a corpse,
O living Lord, who has brought the dead to life;
grievously is my heart wounded
and I long to die with Thee’,
Say the All-Pure,
‘for I cannot bear to look upon Thee,
lifeless and without breath.’”

From Good Friday Liturgy

In the icon’s frame are represented St. Sergius to the left and St. Anne to the Right.

Ecclesiastical Liturgical Calendar

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Icons of this type were common in the 19th century and could be seen in practically every church and many homes.They depict the main feasts of the liturgical year. In the middle appeared the “feast of feasts,” Easter (the Resurrection of Christ)-the Holy Day of the salvation of humankind. Around the Resurrection are a series of scenes depicting the major events in the Gospel story arranged to match their order in the ecclesiastical calendar starting from the top left corner and continuing left to right.

Mother of God of Iviron

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Many replicas of this Icon were made. This is attributed to Larinouff from the Moscow school. The history of this icon goes back to the 9th century.

Tradition has it that it was carried by the waves of the sea to the Georgian monastery in the Mount Athos and picked up by a hermit after the Mother of God appeared to him in the dream. In 1648 Tsar Alexis of Russia suddenly fell ill. Compelled by an inner conviction, he asked that the Virgin of the Gate be brought from Athos to heal him. The monks, however, were not willing to separate themselves from the cherished protectress of their gate. They decided that a special copy be made. The copy was carried to Moscow in 1648 and the Tsar was cured instantly.

After that, the holy image was placed in the little chapel on the square before the Kremlin and it became a sign of safety, a place of repose for the people. Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the Moscow chapel of the Iviron Madonna was destroyed, but loving hands saved the icon and for many years it was hidden away in the closed Donskoi monastery. In 1943, it was moved to the Sokholniki Cathedral and Moscow believers pray there, to their beloved protectress.

Mother of God "Hodigitria" of Smolensk

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The Mother of God “Hodigitria” of Smolensk, can be traced back though Byzantine tradition to an original painting by Saint Luke, who sent his icon with the text of the Gospel to Theophilas in Antioch.

During the middle of the 5th century, the Icon was transferred to Constantinople by Empress Endovia.

In 1046, it was brought to Russia, according to the tradition by Anne of Greece, wife of the Monarch Valdemir, and in 1101 placed in the Cathedral of Smolensk by the Monarch.

Mother of God of the Sign

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Mother of God of Kazan

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Deeply rooted in the heart and history of this Country as the Protectress of Russia and of its people, the Icon has been shrouded in mystery and intrigue for five centuries.The original is believed to have been created in the 16th century in Kazan, now the capital of the autonomous Russian republic of Tatarstan. It soon disappeared, most likely hidden by its custodians from invaders. Russian colonization of Tatarstan began in the 16th century after the forces of Ivan the Terrible conquered Kazan.

One legend says that in 1579, a young girl named Matryona Onuchina, after a vision, led people to the missing icon, buried in ashes near Kazan.

By the middle of the 19th century the original Icon was encrusted in diamonds, massive emeralds, and a gold cover. In 1918, the Icon was seized by the new Soviet Government and while being transported to Moscow, it vanished in route, only to turn up in New York. The sacred image was venerated during the World Expo in New York in 1964. In 1993, this Icon was presented to the Pope.

H.H. Pope John Paul II, on the 28 August 2004, Feast of the Dormition, returned the icon to Her homeland and entrusted its care to H. H. Patriarch Alexei II, who received it, on the 1,000-year commemoration of the veneration of the Mother of God of Kazan by the Russian People. Today, this Icon, stands as the symbol of the new Europe.

Mother of the Burning Bush

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The subject of this icon is related to St. John Climacus’ treatise The Ladder (first edition published in 1647). In hymns, the Mother of God is compared with the burning bush which Moses saw on Mount Horeb: “…As the bush was burning but not consumed, so didst thou give birth while yet a Virgin”.

The Mother of God is inside an eight-pointed star formed of two quadrangles. One of the quadrangles is red. Thetokos is with the Pre-Eternal Infant. The Mother of God is holding a Ladder symbolizing the path leading believers to Heaven. According to popular belief, the icon protects houses from the threat of fire, and it is considered to be the defender of fire and the guardian of firemen.

Mother of the Burning Bush

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The subject is based on Saint Gregory of Nyssa’s interpretation of the vision, once seen by the Prophet Moses: the burning, but fireproof bush, as a symbol of the Blessed Virgin, containing the fiery essence of the Son of God in itself. Two four-ended stars placed over one another form the composition. In the center of this 8-pointed star there is The Virgin with The Infant Christin her hands and Christ in the judgment throne on her chest. In the beam of the first blue star, there are images of the angels – masters of nature’s elements. In the beam of the red star, there are the symbols of Saint Evangelists: Angel (Matthew), Eagle (John), Taurus (Lucas), and Leo (Mark). There are angels around the stars, surrounded by two-petal clouds. These are the spirits of Wisdom, Mind, Fear, and Piety. In the corners of the layout, the visions of the prophets are depicted: Moses vision of the Blessed Virgin of the Sign on the Burning Bush, to Isaiah-bottom right, the vision to Jacob – a staircase with angels, and bottom left, Ezekiel- the closed gates and under the sign “The doors are closed and only One can open”. In frame are: to the left the archangel Michael, and to the right the evangelist Mathew.

Mother of God "Unexpected Joy"

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The subject of this Icon comes from “The Bedewed Fleece” by the noted religious writer Dmytro, Metropolitan of Rostov, published in 1680. The author tells of a “wicked” man, as it is written on the Icon, who was in the habit of praying daily before the image of the Mother of God. One day, while reciting his customary prayer, he suddenly saw wounds gaping in the Child, depicted in the Icon and blood streaming down from the cross. Horrified and conscious of his sins, the man prayed for forgiveness to the Mother of God. Three times the Virgin begged the Savior to forgive the sinner, but in vain, and only when she was about to kneel did Christ forgive the sinner, who no longer hoped to obtain forgiveness. The man repented and in his gratitude embraced a life of virtue. Icons inspired by this story began to appear probably in the 18th century. Miracles worked by the icon of the “Mother of God of Unexpected Joy” were recorded in 1885 at the Muscovite Church of the Burning Bush at Devioje Pole. It was from that time that the Icon spread most widely, becoming common especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On the left of the Icon’s frame is a guardian angel and on the right is Saint Philip.

Theokotos (God bearer) - Madre of God

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The Christian Church at the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus adopted the title of the Mother of God in 431 A.D.

This icon is inspired in early examples celebrated in Russian around the 12th Century. ‘Mother of God of Bogolyubov’ was commissioned by Prince Andrei Bogloyubsky -inspire by the Byzantine icon’ Mother of God Agiosortissa’ (intercessor) – and kept in the monastery of Bogolyubov. According to the icon scholar Kondakov, this type of imagery originally had a votive character and was included in the composition of the ‘Deesis.’

This designation Theokotos use for the Mary, is dated back to Saint Cyril of Alexandria who introduce this term in response to the Nestorian heresy of 428 A.D. Saint Cyril defended that that the Holy Virgin Mary was indeed Theokotos and not Christo-Kotos(the bearer of Christ) as Nestorius has erroneously suggested. Suchan emphasis on her birth giving of the ‘God-man’ would stress and confused the significant doctrinal understanding that Christ was – at His birth- wholly Divine and wholly Human, excepting sin.

Pantocrator

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Pantocrator– means “The All Ruler”- and represents Christ as Creator, Savior, and Judge. The rendition is as a half figure looking frontally with an authoritative but tender expression. His frontal face and open large eyes are looking directly at us to convey an ‘I- me’ relationship and aids in prompting to reflect the spiritual reality. The red tunic and a blue cape – symbolizes Christ’s two natures: human and divine. Covering the right shoulder is the ‘clavus’- shoulder band- indicating His official status. The right hand is in a teaching position and the left holds the New Testament, open. The ‘halo’ surrounding the image is a symbol designating a sanctified state. On Christ’s halo is inscribed the Greek ‘the abiding one or the one who is’ -the transcendent God reveled by Moses as ‘I am who I am’ (Ex. 3, 14)- is here to stay, invisible presence behind the Son for virtue of his name. The three fingers united together are interpreted as the Trinity (the Son and Holy Spirit rest in the thumb Father). The fore and middle fingers open up, are representing to the two natures of Christ as He died on the Cross. The hand position facing us carries the attribute of Teacher.

The Assembly of Archangels

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The Icon shows Michael and Gabriel standing on either side of a ‘Mandylion’ with an infinite army of archangels in the background. The ‘Mandylion’ represents an image not made by hands. The legend dates back to King Abgar of Edesa who was ill. Knowing about Christ’s miracles, he sent an ambassador toJerusalem with the intentions of bringing Jesus home to cure him. Jesus was too busy to go, but seeing his face in the cloth that he had used to wipe his sweat, sent the cloth to the King Abgar and when he received it, the king was healed.

The Greek word Asomatos [a=not, somatos=physical] means here non-bodily or spiritual as opposed to earthly and physical. Various theologians wrote about this. Saint John of Damascus’, writings in the 10th century, stated that “only God is immaterial” though he went on to say that there are in fact two kinds of immateriality: that of God which is part of His essential nature, whereas spirits, such as angels and souls, are incorporeal through grace. Saint Gregory of Nyssa’s, writings in the 4th century, assigned different phases of Creation into in corporeal and corporeal and stated that “the angelic category is asomatos’,the other category is mankind.”

St. Micheal, Archangel Voyevoda

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The imagery is based on Revelations 12:7-9 where a cosmic war takes place between the Archangel Michael and the devil. Michael is shown wearing royal undergarments as the “Arch Strategist” of the Heavenly Hosts (Greek: Archistrategos, Russian: Voyevoda) riding over the devil’s flaming abyss wherein are the fallen cities of the world. He is portrayed as a warrior, riding a winged charger, blowing a trumpet, holding the Gospel Book.. A rainbow arches over his head. In the upper border we see Christ the Logos of the Universe before the Hetymasia (the throne prepared for the SecondComing).

Apostles Peter and Paul

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This Icon depicts Saint Peter, the fisherman, who is on the left and Saint Paul, on the right. Peter was the first of the followers and a member of Jesus’ inner circle along with James and John. His gentleness of mind and spirit are revealed here in his delicate facial features and body language. Peter, a profound paternal role model for the churches of yesteryear, is credited, via the leadership role given to him by Christ (Matt16:18; John 21:15-16), with bringing Christianity to the Roman world. Here, he was crucified upside down at his request.

Saint Paul, on the right, is credited with fourteen canonical Epistles. He is an important interpreter of the teachings of Jesus, also central to the early development and spread of Christianity, particularly west of Jerusalem. He is called the Apostle of the Gentiles, a profound religious thinker. He was converted from Judaism on the road to Damascus. He accepted his martyrdom by decapitation due to his roman citizenship.

Apostles Paul, Mark, and John

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Born at Tarsus, Cilcia, of Jewish parents who were descended from the tribe of Benjamin and was a Roman citizen by birth, Saint Paul, not one of the Twelve, is considered an Apostle by the Church. As a convinced and zealous Pharisee, he was entrusted with a formal mission from the high priest, he departed for Damascus to arrest the Christians there and bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was nearing Damascus, about noon, a light from heaven suddenly blazed round him. Jesus with His glorified body appeared to him and addressed him, turning him away from his apparently successful career. An immediate transformation was wrought in the soul of Saint Paul. He was suddenly converted to the Christian Faith and became an Apostle. He remained some days in Damascus after his Baptism, and then went to Arabia, possibly for a year or two, to prepare himself for his future missionary activity.

Saint Mark wrote the second Gospel, probably in Rome sometime before the year 60 A.D.; he wrote it in Greek for the Gentile converts to Christianity. Both he and his mother, Mary, were highly esteemed in the early Church, and his mother’s house in Jerusalem served as a meeting place for Christians there. Tradition tells us that Saint Mark was requested by the Romans to set down the teachings of Saint Peter. This seems to be confirmed by the position which Saint Peter has in this Gospel. In this way the second Gospel is a record of the life of Fesus as seen through the eyes of the Prince of the Apostles.

Saint John was the “beloved disciple” and the only one of the twelve who did not forsake the savior in the hour of His Passion. He wrote the fourth Gospel, and three Epistles, and the Book of Revelation is also attributed to him. He lived to an extreme old age, surviving all his fellow Apostles, and died at Ephesus about the year 100 A.D.

Apostles Mathew and Jacob

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This large Icon (45” x 25.5”) shows the remarkable craftsmanship of the silversmiths– all hand molded and carved with only the faces, feet, and hands of the Saints showing. Mathew, who was a publican (a tax-collector at Capernaum, the son of Alpheus) on the left, is shown in Roman garb, holding a pointed staff, probably representing military might, with one hand. In the other, more prominent opposing hand, is his large Gospel, for which he is famous for, as it is the only one in Christiandom written in Aramaic, “the Hebrew tongue” (written between 42-50 A.D.–but surely before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D.) For believers it served as a token of his regard and as an encouragement in trial to come; for unbelievers, it was designed to convince them that Messiah had come in the Person of Jesus, our Lord in whom all the promises of the Messianic Kingdom embracing all people had been fulfilled in a spiritual rather than carnal way.

About the time of the persecution of Herod Agrippa I in 42 A.D., he took his departure for other lands, perhaps Eithipia and/or Parthia and Persia.It is uncertain where he died a natural death or received the crown of martyrs.

Smaller, and standing to his right is Saint James, Joshua, the “Greater,”the brother of Saint John the Evangelist (the sons of Zebdee and Salome), who came from Bhsaida in Galilee. The youths were “called” by Jesus while fishing with their father. Such zealousness had they, that the Lord styled them Boarnerges, or “sons of thunder”. Concerned for her sons, their mother requested Jesus that he should assure them a place of honor in His future Kingdom. When He asked if they were able to bear the cup of His sufferings, their answer was typical: indeed they could! And indeed they did! After the dispersion of the Apostles, Saint James preached in Spain, and then returned to Jerusalem to become the first of the Apostles to Martyrdom. There he was beheaded by Herod Agrippa in year 44 A.D., at the time of the Easter feast.

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

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Saint Nicholas is the most widely revered saint in Orthodoxy. The devotion to the saint began around the 9th century and grew to be, after the Mother of God devotion, the most important one. The Russians have a saying, ‘If anything happens to God, we always have Saint Nicholas.’

In 325 A.D., during the first Council of Nicaea, Saint Nicholas was so filled with indignation by the words of Arius–who had belittled Jesus–that he struck the heretic. For this act Nicholas was stripped of his Episcopal vestments and imprisoned. The legend tells, that night Christ and the Mother of God appeared to him in his cell. Jesus restored the Gospel and the Virgin restored the ‘omoforion’, attributes of Nicholas’ rank as bishop. This vision is often referred to by the miniatures of Christ and the Mother of God depicted on either side of the Saint. Depictions of this miracle in Russian art are known from the13th century and are frequent thereafter.

Four Part Icon

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This four part Icon is a personal Icon and depicts the Mother of God of Kazan, on the top right, and the Mother of God Theodorov, on the top left. This Icon follows the same iconography as the Byzantine ‘Tender Mercy’ type as the ‘Theotokos of Vlademir’ and was painted by Luke the apostle. Mother of God Theodorov, known as ‘Fyodorovskaya Theotokos’, is the patron Icon of the Romanov family and venerated in the Volga region.

Below to the left is represented the burial of Saint Nicholas and to the right the decapitation of Saint John the Baptist.

Also in the frame is depicted a guardian angel and on the right Saint Enlappia.

Four Part Icon

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The top left of the Icon follows the vision granted to Saint Andrew the Holy Fool (956A.D.) and is herewith his disciple Epipalnius. The Mother of God is accompanied by archangels, the twelve apostles, bishops, holy women, monks, and martyrs. She spreads her veil of protection over the congregation.

The figures in the center are Saint Romanos the Melodist and his choir singing attended by the Emperor Leo the Wise together with the Empress Melodisk, and the Patriarch of Constantinople.

Represented in the top right is the Mother of God “unexpected joy” and the bottom right Saint Sergio, who was born in 1315 and became a monk in 1335 A.D. He is revered as the father of the Russian Mysticism and had founded many monasteries, the most notable is the ‘Trinity.’

On the bottom right is depicted Saint Theodor the Martyr and John the Soldier. Flanked in the frame, looking inward, are a guardian angel and Saint Anissia.

Saint Sergius

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Christ the Lord and Judge is present on the top center of this Icon with Saint Sergius officiating the burial of Saint Cyril and Mary the Egyptian.

Saint Sergius of Radonezh is the patron saint of Russia and the father of northern Russian monasticism. He was a great mystic and ascetic whose life spanned much of the 14th century, at the time Russia was occupied by the Mongol Tartars. In Saint Sergius’ great humility, he rejected all honors: only reluctantly did he accept ordination as priest and appointment as abbot of his own monastery; and he flatly refused to accept the office of Metropolitan of Moscow. With Saint Sergius’ spiritual guidance and blessing, Saint Dimitri Donskoi, united the fragmented Russian principalities under Moscow’s leadership, and in 1380 A.D., defeated the Mongol Tartars. As a result, Moscow became the center of Russian life, and Saint Sergius and his Holy Trinity Monastery have been looked at for guidance and support ever since.

Saint Sergius’ original wooden Holy Trinity Church burnt down and was replaced in 1422 A.D., by a white stone church for which Saint Andrei Rublev did much of the iconographic work, including his most famous ‘Holy Trinity’ Icon.

Saint Mary of Egypt

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Saint Mary of Egypt (354-421 A.D.) was given the name “the Penitent.” Mary ran away and for seventeen years she lived as a prostitute in the port of Alexandria. She is joined by a group of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to carry her there for trade.

On the elevation of the Holy Sepulchre day, she wanted to go see the relics displayed to the pilgrims. However, when she tries to enter the church, a strong force holds her back. Mary catches sight of an icon of the Mother of God and she is filled with remorse over the sinful life she has led. She is converted and asks the Mother of God for help. She is then able to enter the church and kneel down before the cross.

Mary then sets out for the desert and endures 47 years of absolute solitude. A monk called Zosimus visits her every year on the first day of Lent and brings her the eucharist. When Zosimus left, Mary died suddenly. At his return the next year, Zosimus, with the help of a lion, buries her body. The body was found later by two disiples of Saint Cypriacus, a 6th century hermit, and she becomes part of this popular legend.

Saint Eudokia

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The name Eudokia was a common name in Byzantine times and means “goodwill.” Scholars have placed Saint Eudokia as living in the 5th century. Peter the Great’s first wife (1670-1781 A.D.) was named after her: Eudokia Lopukhina.

In the upper left side of this Icon we see Christ “the Word” presenting a Saint with the Gospel. The Saint is portrayed with one hand (right) extended in an intercessory gesture and with the other holding her finger as a ‘teacher’ of the ‘Word.’ Her virtue is of a person that was compatiated to the service. The three fingers in the trinity position and the other two extended represents the true nature of Christ.

Saint Theodosius and Saint Paisius

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Facing each other and gesturing in the most kindly and reverential manner are Saint Theodosius, the Cenobiarch (529 A.D.), and Saint Paisius. These two monks both came from religious families, setting the tone for their pious lives.

Theodosius lived in a cave for thirty years, fasting, watching, praying, and crying, as tears almost continually flowed from his eyes. His food was coarse pulse and wild herbs; he never tasted so much as a morsel of bread. So reverential was he that followers were attracted and subsequently built a spacious monastery of four churches, with three infirmaries, one for the sick, one for the aged and feeble, the other for the mental and social out casts of society. This was like a city of saints in the midst of a desert, and in it reined regularity, silence, charity, and peace.

Saint Paisius, born 1722, in Bansko received monastic tonsure (cutting of hair) after he went to his brother in the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos. In 1762, he wrote The History of Savo-Bulgarians, a book uphold-ing the Christian Faith and awakening the national self-awareness. He is holding a scroll, depicting his literary achievements.

Abobe Saint Theodosius and Saint Paisius, is the “Mandylion” – ‘no human hand ever painted’- held by two winged angels.

Four Saints

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This Icon depicts the following Saints: Justinea, Nikifor, Andrew, and Lukuov.

Facing each other and gesturing in the most kindly and reverential manner are Saint Theodosius, the Cenobiarch (529A.D.), and Saint Paisius. These two monks both came from religious families setting the tone for their pious lives. Theodosius lived in a cave for thirty years, fasting, watching, praying, and crying, as tears almost continually flowed from his eyes. His food was coarse pulse and wild herbs; he never tasted so much as a morsel of bread. So reverential was he that followers were attracted and subsequently built a spacious monastery of four churches, with three infirmaries, one for the sick, one for the aged and feeble, the other for the mental and social outcasts of society. This was like a city of saints in the midst of a desert, and in it reined regularity, silence, charity, and peace.

Saint Paisius, born 1722, in Bansko received monastic tonsure (cutting of hair) after he went to his brother in the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos. In 1762, he wrote The History of Savo-Bulgarians, a book upholding the Christian Faith and awakening the national self-awareness. He is holding a scroll, depicting this achievement.

Abobe Saint Theodosius and Saint Paisius, is the“Mandylion” – ‘no human hand ever painted’- held by two winged angels.

Raising of the Holy Cross

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After the conversion of Emperor Constantine the Great to Christianity, his mother, Empress Helen, travelled to Jeruselum in search of the true Cross of Christ. After lengthy excavations in 326 A.D., the Holy Cross was found beneath the pagan Temple of Zeus. To house the relic of the true cross, St.Helen had a church built over the Holy Sepulcre.

On the Icon is represented Emperor Constantine and Empress Helen and in the center is Saint Mackarious, Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Angels Michael and Gabriel holding the Holy Cross, elevation of the Holy Cross of the Lord. To the right are citizens of Jerusalem along with the saintly bishops, deacons, and monastics.

The city of Jerusalem is shown in the background; above the cross is the domed Church of the Resurrection.