St. Stamatios the new Martyr of Chios icon

$ 40.00

Orthodox icon of Saint Stamatios the new Martyr of Chios.

Commemorated February 3.

Saint Stamatios iived during the Greek revolution of 1821 and worked as an importer along with his brothers John and Nicolas. They were betrayed by a fellow Christian when their boat was stranded on Asia Minor. He , seized and led to the pasha of Chios. He, after questioning them, ordered the two younger brothers, Stamatios (18) and John (22), to be put in prison. T

hey tried to convert Nicholas to islam to save his life. He refused and they beheaded him. They tried to covert the two younger brothers using many different methods for a week, sometimes with promises and sometimes with threats. The pasha, having thought for a while, told them, these heathen are stubborn, it's easier to cut off their heads that defiance.u Before their martyrdom; they received Holy Communion from the Bishop of Chios, who sent it with a pious woman.

On the day of his martyrdom, the saints confessed Christ, crying out: We were born Christians and we will die Christians. We will never deny Christ, even if you cut us into pieces. At that moment they were beheaded Feb.3.

We find this name of our God in two Biblical Books. The first is in the Book of Daniel and it was a vision that Daniel's had: "I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire."A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened”.

The second is in the book of Revelation 1/A 12-18: "I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands and among the lamp stands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

In the art of the orthodox iconography, sometimes Christ portrayed as an Elderly, as the “Ancient of the Days”, to symbolically show His existence in eternity and some times like a young “person” to demonstrate His incarnation. This tendency of hagiography appeared in the 6th century AD, especially in the Eastern Byzantine Empire.

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