Icons

Orthodox icon of Saint Ypomoni (Patience) the Righteous.

Commemorated March 13th.

This Orthodox icon depicts Saint Ypomoni who was the mother of the last Emperor of Constantinople, Constantine XI Palaiologos. Her name was Helen Dragash and after she became wife of Manuel II Palaiologos she was "Helen in Christ Gog Augusta and Empress of the Romans, Palaiologos". She was the daughter of Constantine Dragash, one of the leaders of the Serbian kingdom of Stefan Dusan.

She came from royal and blessed generation, because many of her ancestors were Saints. As she grew up, she had the influence of the Byzantine culture. She became Empress at the age 19 and God blessed the couple with eight children. During her days, she helped many Monasteries to be build in Constantinople and she was the "Hope for the Hopeless". After the death of her husband, she became a nun (1425), in the Monastery of Lady Martha with the name Ypomoni (Patience).

Three from their children became monks too. God granted her to not live the last tragic moments of the Empire. He called her close to Him on March 13th of 1450, having lived 35 years as Empress and 25 years as a humble nun in her Monastery.

Orthodox icon of Saint Zacchaeus the Apostle.

Commemoarated April 20.

Apostle Zacchaeus was a rich publican at Jericho. Since he was short of stature, he climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus Christ our Savior passing by. After the Ascention of our Lord, he accompanied St. Peter on his travels. According to the tradition of our Church, he followed St. Peter in Caesarea, where St. peter appointed him Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine. He died in piece.

Orthodox icon of Saint Zoe the Martyr of Attalia.

Commemorated May 2nd.

Orthodox icon of Saint Zosimas.

Commemorated April 4th.

Reference:

Orthodox icon of Saint Amphilochios, Amphilochius Amphilohios, Bishop of Iconium.

Commemorated November 23.

Saint Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, was born in Caesarea in Cappadocia, a city which has given the world some of the greatest Fathers and teachers of the Orthodox Church. He was a first cousin to Saint Gregory the Theologian, and a close friend of Saint Basil the Great. He was their disciple, follower and of like mind with them.

aint Amphilochius toiled hard in the field of Christ. He lived in the wilderness as a strict ascetic for about forty years, until the time when the Lord summoned him for hierarchic service. In the year 372 the Bishop of Iconium died. Angels of the Lord thrice appeared in visions to Saint Amphilochius, summoning him to go to Iconium to be the bishop. The truthfulness of these visions was proven when the angel, appearing to him the third time, sang together with the saint the angelic song: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth.” The heavenly messenger led the saint to the nearest church, where an assembly of angels consecrated Amphilochius bishop.

The saint, on the way back to his cell, encountered seven bishops who were seeking him at the command of God, in order to establish him as archpastor of Iconium. Saint Amphilochius told them that he was already consecrated by the angels.

For many years Saint Amphilochius tended the flock of Iconium entrusted to him by the Lord. The prayer of the righteous one was so intense that he was able to ask the Lord to heal the spiritual and bodily infirmities of his flock. The wise archpastor, gifted as writer and preacher, unceasingly taught piety to his flock. A strict Orthodox theologian, the saint relentlessly confronted the Arian and Eunomian heresies. He participated in the Second Ecumenical Council (381), and he headed the struggle against the heresy of Macedonius. Letters and treatises of Saint Amphilochius are preserved, which are profoundly dogmatic and apologetic in content. The holy Bishop Amphilochius of Iconium departed peacefully to the Lord in the year 394.

Reference: O.C.A.

Orthodox icon of Saint Anna, made with the technique of the silkscreen on a canvas and with real gold foil.

Please note that the photo is just the image of the canvas and NOT the final icon.

Orthodox icon of Saint Demetrios, made with the technique of the silkscreen on a canvas and with real gold foil.

Please note that the photo is just the image of the canvas and NOT the final icon.

Orthodox icon of Saint George, made with the technique of the silkscreen on a canvas and with real gold foil.

Please note that the photo is just the image of the canvas and NOT the final icon.

Orthodox icon of Saint George,  made with the technique of the silkscreen on a canvas and with real gold foil.

Please note that the photo is just the image of the canvas and NOT the final icon.

Orthodox icon Saint Ia of Cornwall. Contemporary icon.

Commemorated February 3.. 

St. Ia or Hya was an Irish virgin of noble birth, who introduced Christianity to this area in the fifth century. She was among the followers of St. Barricius, who was a disciple of St. Patrick.

One day, St. Ia went to the seashore to depart for Cornwall from her native Ireland along with other Sts. Fingar and Piala. Finding that they had gone without her, and fearing that she was too young for such a hazardous journey, she was grief stricken and began to pray.

As she prayed, she noticed a leaf floating on the water and touched it with a rod to see if it would sink. As she looked, the leaf grew bigger and bigger. She realized that God had sent it to her and, trusting Him, she embarked upon the leaf and was carried across the Channel, reaching her destination before the others.

When the King of Cornwall learned that these blessed persons were preaching the Gospel of Christ, he had them put to death by the sword on the same day.

Orthodox icon of Saint Leontius, Leondios, Leontios, Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Commemorated May 14th.

Saint Leontius was Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1223-1261, according to Saint Gregory Palamas (Nov. 14) and Theodore, a monk of Constantinople. His life was similarly described by Theodore, a monk of Constantinople.

This Life was translated from Greek into the Russian language in an abridged form. It was translated a second time more fully by Saint Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain (July 14), who says the death of the Patriarch actually occured in 1175.

Orthodox icon of Saint Sebastian Martyr of Rome.

Commemorated December 18th.

The Holy Martyr Sebastian was a valued soldier having the position of head of the imperial guards. He was a secret Christian, not out of fear, but so that he could provide help to the brethren in a time of persecution. The noble Christian brothers Marcellinus and Mark had been locked up in prison, and at first they firmly confessed the true Faith. But under the influence of the tearful entreaties of their pagan parents (Tranquillinus and Marcia), and also their own wives and children, they began to waver in their intent to suffer for Christ.

So St Sebastian persuaded the brothers to go through with their act of martyrdom. He healed Zoe, the wife of the jailer Nicostratus, had lost her ability to speak six years previousl. Then all who saw the miracle also came to believe in the Savior of the world. Nicostratus removed the chains from Marcellinus and Mark and offered to hide them, but the brothers refused. Then Claudius informed Nicostratus that the Roman eparch Arestius Chromatus wanted to know why the prisoners were gathered at his house.

Nicostratus told Claudius about the healing of his wife, and Claudius brought his own sick sons, Symphorian and Felix to St Sebastian. In the evening the priest Polycarp baptized Tranquillinus with his relatives and friends, and Nicostratus and all his family, Claudius and his sons, and also sixteen condemned prisoners.

The newly-baptized numbered 64 in all. Nicostratus was called to account before the eparch Chromatus and told him how St Sebastian had converted them to Christianity and healed many from sickness. The words of Nicostratus persuaded the eparch. He summoned St Sebastian and the presbyter Polycarp, and was enlightened by them, and became a believer in Christ. Nicostratus and Chromatus, his son Tiburtius and all his household accepted holy Baptism.

The number of the newly-enlightened increased to 1400. Upon becoming a Christian, Chromatus resigned his office of eparch. Tiburtius, the son of Chromatus, desired to accept martyrdom and he remained in Rome with St Sebastian. Of those remaining, St Gaius ordained Tranquillinus as a presbyter, and his sons Marcellinus and Mark were ordained deacons. Nicostratus, his wife Zoe and brother Castorius, and Claudius, his son Symphorian and brother Victorinus also remained in Rome. They gathered for divine services at the court of the emperor together with a secret Christian named Castulus, but soon the time came for them to suffer for the Faith.

The pagans arrested St Zoe first, praying at the grave of the Apostle Peter. At the trial she bravely confessed her faith in Christ. She died, hung by her hair. The priest Tranquillinus was the next to suffer: pagans pelted him with stones at the grave of the holy Apostle Peter, and his body was also thrown into the Tiber. Sts Nicostratus, Castorius, Claudius, Victorinus and Symphorian were seized at the riverbank, when they were searching for the bodies of the martyrs. They were led to the eparch, and the saints refused his command to offer sacrifice to idols. They tied stones to the necks of the martyrs and then drowned them in the sea. The false Christian Torquatus betrayed St Tiburtius.

When the saint refused to sacrifice to the idols, the judge ordered Tiburtius to walk barefoot on red-hot coals, but the Lord preserved him. Tiburtius walked through the burning coals without feeling the heat. The torturers then beheaded St Tiburtius, and his body was buried by unknown Christians. Torquatus also betrayed the holy Deacons Marcellinus and Mark, and St Castulus (March 26). After torture, they threw Castulus into a pit and buried him alive, but Marcellinus and Mark had their feet nailed to the same tree stump.

They stood all night in prayer, and in the morning they were stabbed with spears. St Sebastian was the last one to be tortured. The emperor Diocletian personally interrogated him, and seeing the determination of the holy martyr, he ordered him taken out of the city, tied to a tree and shot with arrows. Irene, the wife of St Castulus, went at night in order to bury St Sebastian, but found him alive and took him to her home.

St Sebastian soon recovered from his wounds. Christians urged him to leave Rome, but he refused. Coming near a pagan temple, the saint saw the emperors approaching and he publicly denounced them for their impiety. Diocletian ordered the holy martyr to be taken to the Circus Maximus to be executed.

They clubbed St Sebastian to death, and cast his body into the sewer. The holy martyr appeared to a pious woman named Lucina in a vision, and told her to take his body and bury it in the catacombs. This she did with the help of her slaves. Today his basilica stands on the site of his tomb.

Reference: O.C.A.

Orthodox icon of Apostle Titus, one of the Seventy and first Bishop of Crete.

Commemorated August 25.

Saint Titus, Apostle of the Seventy was a native of the island of Crete, the son of an illustrious pagan. In his youth he studied Hellenistic philosophy and the ancient poets. Preoccupied by the sciences, Titus led a virtuous life, not devoting himself to the vices and passions characteristic of the majority of pagans. He preserved his virginity, as the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer (December 20) testifies of him.

For such a manner of life the Lord did not leave him without His help. At age twenty Saint Titus heard a voice in a dream, suggesting that he abandon Hellenistic wisdom, which could not provide salvation for his soul, but rather to seek that which would save him. After this dream, Saint Titus waited yet another year, since it was not actually a command, but it did guide him to familiarize himself with the teachings of the prophets of God. The first that he happened to read was the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Having opened it to the 47th Chapter, he was struck by the words, speaking as it were about his own spiritual condition.

When news reached Crete about the appearance of a Great Prophet in Palestine, and about the great miracles He worked, the governor of the island of Crete (an uncle of Titus) sent him there. This Prophet was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, incarnate of the Most Holy Virgin Mary Who came into the world for the redemption of the race of mankind from the oppression of ancestral sin.

At Jerusalem, Saint Titus saw the Lord. He heard His preaching and believed in Him. He witnessed the suffering and death of the Savior on the Cross, His glorious Resurrection and Ascension to Heaven. On the day of Pentecost the future apostle heard how the Twelve Apostles, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, spoke in various languages, among which was the Cretan language (Acts 2: 11).

Saint Titus accepted Baptism from the Apostle Paul and became his closest disciple. He accompanied Saint Paul on his missionary journeys, fulfilling the tasks entrusted to him. He was involved in establishing new churches, and was with Paul in Jerusalem.

Saint Titus was numbered among the Seventy Apostles and was made Bishop of Crete by the Apostle Paul. Around the year 65, not long before his second imprisonment, the Apostle Paul sent a pastoral epistle to his son in the Faith (Tit. 1: 4).

When the Apostle Paul was taken like a criminal to Rome to stand trial before Caesar, Saint Titus left his flock in Crete for a time and went to Rome to be of service to his spiritual Father. After Saint Paul’s death by martyrdom, Titus returned to Gortyna, the chief city of Crete.

Saint Titus peacefully guided his flock and toiled at enlightening the pagans with the light of faith in Christ. He was granted the gift of wonderworking by the Lord. During one of the pagan feasts in honor of the goddess Diana, Titus preached to a crowd of pagans.

When he saw that they would not listen to him, he prayed to the Lord, so that the Lord Himself would show to the mistaken people the falseness of idols. By the prayer of Saint Titus, the idol of Diana fell down and shattered before the eyes of all. Another time Saint Titus prayed that the Lord would not permit the completion of a temple of Zeus, and it collapsed.

By such miracles Saint Titus brought many to faith in Christ. After bringing the light of faith to the surrounding regions, Saint Titus died peacefully at the age of 97. At the time of his death, his face shone like the sun.

Reference: O.C.A.

Orthodox icon of the Saints Menodora, Metrodora and Nymphodora, the Virgin-Martyrs of Nicomedia.

Commemorated September 10.

The Holy Virgins Menodora, Nymphodora, and Metrodora (305-311), were sisters from Bithynia (Asia Minor). Distinguished for their special piety, they wanted to preserve their virginity and avoid worldly associations. They chose a solitary place for themselves in the wilderness and spent their lives in deeds of fasting and prayer.

Reports of the holy life of the virgins soon spread, since healings of the sick began to occur through their prayers. The Bithynia region was governed at that time by a man named Frontonus, who ordered that the sisters be arrested and brought before him.

At first he tried to persuade them to renounce Christ, promising great honors and rewards. But the holy sisters steadfastly confessed their faith before him, rejecting all his suggestions. They told him that they did not value the temporal things of this world, and that they were prepared to die for their Heavenly Bridegroom, for death would be their gateway to eternal life.

Flying into a rage, the governor took out his wrath on Saint Menodora, the eldest sister. She was stripped of her clothes and beaten by four men, while a herald urged her to offer sacrifice to the gods. The saint bravely endured the torments and cried out, “Sacrifice? Can’t you see that I am offering myself as a sacrifice to my God?” Then they renewed their torments with even greater severity. Then the martyr cried out, “ Lord Jesus Christ, joy of my heart, my hope, receive my soul in peace.” With these words she gave up her soul to God, and went to her Heavenly Bridegroom.

Four days later, they brought the two younger sisters Metrodora and Nymphodora to the court. They showed them the battered body of their older sister to frighten them. The virgins wept over her, but remained steadfast.

Then Saint Metrodora was tortured. She died, crying out to her beloved Lord Jesus Christ with her last breath. Then they turned to the third sister, Nymphodora. Before her lay the bruised bodies of her sisters. Frontonus hoped that this sight would intimidate the young virgin.

Pretending that he was charmed by her youth and beauty, he urged her to worship the pagan gods, promising great rewards and honors. Saint Nymphodora scoffed at his words, and shared the fate of her older sisters. She was tortured and beaten to death with iron rods.

The bodies of the holy martyrs were to be burned in a fire, but a heavy rain extinguished the blazing fire, and lightning struck down Frontonus and his servant. Christians took up the bodies of the holy sisters and reverently buried them at the so-called Warm Springs at Pythias (Bithynia).

Part of the relics of the holy martyrs are preserved on Mt. Athos in the Protection cathedral of the Saint Panteleimon Russian monastery, and the hand of Saint Metrodora is on the Holy Mountain in the monastery of the Pantocrator.

Reference: O.C.A.