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This icon of Saint Demetrius is mounted on the wood in the way to make the icon look and have three dimensions. The image is mounted on a thin piece of wood and then mounted on a larger and thicker block of hand carved wood. Then we finished it with hand craft details and put a coat of resin for protection. This allows the icon that we used to stand out.
Usually we keep this type of icons in stock, but if we do not, we need 15 to 20 days to make it, because the varnish that we use has to dry well, before we'll sent out the icon.
Sizes are: 12" X 8" X 2"
Demetrius was born to pious Christian parents in Thessaloniki, Greece in 270. As a young man of senatorial family he was run through with spears in around 306 AD in Thessaloniki, during the Christian persecutions.
When Maximian returned from a certain war, he gathered the officers of Thessaloniki in order to offer a sacrifice to the idols. Then Saint Demetrius revealed that he was a Christian, and did not accept hewn stones as gods.
Maximian went into a rage and ordered that he be tried and imprisoned in a bath. While he was imprisoned, the mourning populace ran to hear Demetrius teach the word of Christ. A young lad, Nestor, also went every day and heard his teaching.
During those days, many brave men fought in the stadium and Maximian rejoiced at these spectacles. He even had a certain henchman Lyaeus, a beastly man, brass-knuckled, an idolator and blasphemer, who was brought from some barbarous nation. Nestor, seeing that Lyaeus had defeated all and boasted that he had the strength of Ares, the pagan god of war, and that no native dared wrestle with him, went to the prison and besought St. Demetrius to bless him to defeat and put to shame Lyaeus and Maximian and their religion.
Saint Demetrius prayed and made the sign of the Cross over him, and immediately Nestor ran to the stadium and wrestled with that fierce giant, he threw him down, and slew him. Maximian became beside himself with rage and upon learning that Nestor was a Christian and that St. Demetrius had blessed him, ordered the soldiers to have them both put to death.
The soldiers went to the bath and lanced St. Demetrius with their spears, and thus he received the eternal crown on the 26th of October, 296 A.D., at the age of thirty-six. It is written that when he saw the soldeirs thrusting their spears at him, he raised high his arm and they lanced him in the side, so that he might be deemed worthy to receive the lancing which Christ received in His side, and blood and water ran from the wound. Nestor was beheaded with his own sword the next day (holy Martyr Nestor of Thessaloniki is commemorated in the holy Orthodox Church on the 27th of October) outside the walls at the place of the Golden.
The Christians took the holy remains and buried them side by side, and from the grave of St. Demetrius there came forth holy myrrh which cured many diseases. For this reason he is called Myrovletes. Over his holy grave and the place of his holy martyrdom there was built a church in the form of a basilica which stands to this day.
Constantine and Helen Icon (SP)
Orthodox Icon of Saints Helen and Constantine the Equal of the Apostles. (SP)
Commemorated May 21.
This is a silver-plated icon of Saints Constantine and Helen on a special paper, with decoration. Silver-plated icons are made with the latest and very specific technique. The icon is a copy of a hand painted icon and the background is silver 958.
Saint Helen was the mother of St Constantine the Great. She is responsible for the recovery of the Cross and the building of many Churches. Saint Constantine the Great was the Emperor you reunited the Roman Empire and establishes Christianity as the main religion of the Empire, giving all Christians the freedom to practice their religion. Before he died he was baptized.
Ss. Chrysanthos and Daria icon
Orthodox icon of Saints Chrysanthos (Xrysanthos) and Daria.
Commemorated March 19.
Ss. Constantine and Helen icon (1)
Contemporary orthodox icon of Saints Constantine and Helen (1).
Commemorated May 21.
The Church calls St Constantine (306-337) the Equal of the Apostles,u and historians call him the Great. He was the son o the Caesar Constantius Chlorus (305-306), who governed the lands of Gaul and Britain. His mother was St Helen, a Christian of humble birth. At this time the immense Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern halves, governed by two independent emperors and their called Caesars. Constantius Chlorus was Caesar in the Western Roman Empire.
St Constantine was born in 274, possibly at Nish in Serbia. In 294, Constantius divorced Helen in order to further his political ambition by marrying a woman of noble rank. After he became emperor, Constantine showed his mother great honor and respect, granting her the imperial title Augusta. Constantine, the future ruler of all the whole Roman Empire, was raised to respect Christianity. His father did not persecute Christians in the lands he governed.
This was at a time when Christians were persecuted throughout the Roman Empire by the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and his corulers Maximian Galerius (305-311) in the East, and the emperor Maximian Hercules (284-305) in the West. After the death of Constantius Chlorus in 306, Constantine was acclaimed by the army at York as emperor of Gaul and Britain.
The first act of the new emperor was to grant the freedom to practice Christianity in the lands subject to him. The pagan Maximian Galerius in the East and the fierce tyrant Maxentius in the West hated Constantine and they plotted to overthrow and kill him, but Constantine bested them in a series of battles, defeating his opponents with the help of God. He prayed to God to give him a sign which would inspire his army to fight valiantly, and the Lord showed him a radiant Sign of the Cross in the heavens with the inscription In this Sign, conquer.
After Constantine became the sole ruler of the Western Roman Empire, he issued the Edict of Milan in 313 which guaranteed religious tolerance for Christians. St Helen, who was a Christian, may have influenced him in this decision. In 323, when he became the sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire, he extended the provisions of the Edict of Milan to the Eastern half of the Empire. After three hundred years of persecution, Christians could finally practice their faith without fear.
Renouncing paganism, the Emperor did not let his capital remain in ancient Rome, the former center of the pagan realm. He transferred his capital to the East, to the city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople, the city of Constantine (May 11). Constantine was deeply convinced that only Christianity could unify the immense Roman Empire with its diverse peoples. He supported the Church in every way. He recalled Christian confessors from banishment, he built churches, and he showed concern for the clergy. The emperor deeply revered the victory-bearing Sign of the Cross of the Lord, and also wanted to find the actual Cross upon which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified.
For this purpose he sent his own mother, the holy Empress Helen, to Jerusalem, granting her both power and money. Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem and St Helen began the search, and through the will of God, the Life-Creating Cross was miraculously discovered in 326. (The account of the finding of the Cross of the Lord is found under the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, September 14). The Orthodox Church commemorates the Uncovering of the Precious Cross and the Precious Nails by the Holy Empress Helen on March 6. While in Palestine, the holy empress did much of benefit for the Church. She ordered that all places connected with the earthly life of the Lord and His All-Pure Mother, should be freed of all traces of paganism, and she commanded that churches should be built at these places.
The emperor Constantine ordered a magnificent church in honor of Christ's Resurrection to be built over His tomb. St Helen gave the Life-Creating Cross to the Patriarch for safe-keeping, and took part of the Cross with her for the emperor. After distributing generous alms at Jerusalem and feeding the needy (at times she even served them herself), the holy Empress Helen returned to Constantinople, where she died in the year 327. Because of her great services to the Church and her efforts in finding the Life-Creating Cross, the empress Helen is called the Equal of the Apostles.
The peaceful state of the Christian Church was disturbed by quarrels, dissensions and heresies which had appeared within the Church. Already at the beginning of St Constantine's reign the heresies of the Donatists and the Novatians had arisen in the West. They demanded a second baptism for those who lapsed during the persecutions against Christians. These heresies, repudiated by two local Church councils, were finally condemned at the Council of Milan in 316.
Particularly ruinous for the Church was the rise of the Arian heresy in the East, which denied the Divine Nature of the Son of God, and taught that Jesus Christ was a mere creature. By order of the emperor, the First Ecumenical Council was convened in the city of Nicea in 325. 318 bishops attended this Council. Among its participants were confessor-bishops from the period of the persecutions and many other luminaries of the Church, among whom was St Nicholas of Myra in Lycia. (The account about the Council is found under May 29). The emperor was present at the sessions of the Council.
The heresy of Arius was condemned and a Symbol of Faith (Creed) composed, in which was included the term consubstantial with the Father, confirming the truth of the divinity of Jesus Christ, Who assumed human nature for the redemption of all the human race. One might possibly be surprised by St Constantine's grasp of theological issues during the discussions at the Council. The term consubstantial was included in the Symbol of Faith at his insistence.
After the Council of Nicea, St Constantine continued with his active role in the welfare of the Church. He accepted holy Baptism on his deathbed, having prepared for it all his whole life. St Constantine died on the day of Pentecost in the year 337 and was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles, in a crypt he had prepared for himself.
Reference: O.C.A.
Ss. Constantine and Helen icon (2)
Contemporary orthodox icon of Saints Constantine and Helen (2)
Commemorated May 21.
The Church calls St Constantine (306-337) the Equal of the Apostles,u and historians call him the Great. He was the son o the Caesar Constantius Chlorus (305-306), who governed the lands of Gaul and Britain. His mother was St Helen, a Christian of humble birth. At this time the immense Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern halves, governed by two independent emperors and their called Caesars. Constantius Chlorus was Caesar in the Western Roman Empire.
St Constantine was born in 274, possibly at Nish in Serbia. In 294, Constantius divorced Helen in order to further his political ambition by marrying a woman of noble rank. After he became emperor, Constantine showed his mother great honor and respect, granting her the imperial title Augusta. Constantine, the future ruler of all the whole Roman Empire, was raised to respect Christianity. His father did not persecute Christians in the lands he governed.
This was at a time when Christians were persecuted throughout the Roman Empire by the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and his corulers Maximian Galerius (305-311) in the East, and the emperor Maximian Hercules (284-305) in the West. After the death of Constantius Chlorus in 306, Constantine was acclaimed by the army at York as emperor of Gaul and Britain.
The first act of the new emperor was to grant the freedom to practice Christianity in the lands subject to him. The pagan Maximian Galerius in the East and the fierce tyrant Maxentius in the West hated Constantine and they plotted to overthrow and kill him, but Constantine bested them in a series of battles, defeating his opponents with the help of God. He prayed to God to give him a sign which would inspire his army to fight valiantly, and the Lord showed him a radiant Sign of the Cross in the heavens with the inscription In this Sign, conquer.
After Constantine became the sole ruler of the Western Roman Empire, he issued the Edict of Milan in 313 which guaranteed religious tolerance for Christians. St Helen, who was a Christian, may have influenced him in this decision. In 323, when he became the sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire, he extended the provisions of the Edict of Milan to the Eastern half of the Empire. After three hundred years of persecution, Christians could finally practice their faith without fear.
Renouncing paganism, the Emperor did not let his capital remain in ancient Rome, the former center of the pagan realm. He transferred his capital to the East, to the city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople, the city of Constantine (May 11). Constantine was deeply convinced that only Christianity could unify the immense Roman Empire with its diverse peoples. He supported the Church in every way. He recalled Christian confessors from banishment, he built churches, and he showed concern for the clergy. The emperor deeply revered the victory-bearing Sign of the Cross of the Lord, and also wanted to find the actual Cross upon which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified.
For this purpose he sent his own mother, the holy Empress Helen, to Jerusalem, granting her both power and money. Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem and St Helen began the search, and through the will of God, the Life-Creating Cross was miraculously discovered in 326. (The account of the finding of the Cross of the Lord is found under the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, September 14). The Orthodox Church commemorates the Uncovering of the Precious Cross and the Precious Nails by the Holy Empress Helen on March 6. While in Palestine, the holy empress did much of benefit for the Church. She ordered that all places connected with the earthly life of the Lord and His All-Pure Mother, should be freed of all traces of paganism, and she commanded that churches should be built at these places.
The emperor Constantine ordered a magnificent church in honor of Christ's Resurrection to be built over His tomb. St Helen gave the Life-Creating Cross to the Patriarch for safe-keeping, and took part of the Cross with her for the emperor. After distributing generous alms at Jerusalem and feeding the needy (at times she even served them herself), the holy Empress Helen returned to Constantinople, where she died in the year 327. Because of her great services to the Church and her efforts in finding the Life-Creating Cross, the empress Helen is called the Equal of the Apostles.
The peaceful state of the Christian Church was disturbed by quarrels, dissensions and heresies which had appeared within the Church. Already at the beginning of St Constantine's reign the heresies of the Donatists and the Novatians had arisen in the West. They demanded a second baptism for those who lapsed during the persecutions against Christians. These heresies, repudiated by two local Church councils, were finally condemned at the Council of Milan in 316.
Particularly ruinous for the Church was the rise of the Arian heresy in the East, which denied the Divine Nature of the Son of God, and taught that Jesus Christ was a mere creature. By order of the emperor, the First Ecumenical Council was convened in the city of Nicea in 325. 318 bishops attended this Council. Among its participants were confessor-bishops from the period of the persecutions and many other luminaries of the Church, among whom was St Nicholas of Myra in Lycia. (The account about the Council is found under May 29). The emperor was present at the sessions of the Council.
The heresy of Arius was condemned and a Symbol of Faith (Creed) composed, in which was included the term consubstantial with the Father, confirming the truth of the divinity of Jesus Christ, Who assumed human nature for the redemption of all the human race. One might possibly be surprised by St Constantine's grasp of theological issues during the discussions at the Council. The term consubstantial was included in the Symbol of Faith at his insistence.
After the Council of Nicea, St Constantine continued with his active role in the welfare of the Church. He accepted holy Baptism on his deathbed, having prepared for it all his whole life. St Constantine died on the day of Pentecost in the year 337 and was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles, in a crypt he had prepared for himself.
Reference: O.C.A.
