Archangel Michael Holy Mandylion – Handmade Icon – Mount Athos

Description

Iconography with gold leaf on a natural piece of wood, created by the hands of Monks from Mount Athos.

An exquisite icon depicting the Archangel Michael with the Holy Mandylion.

The Archangel Michael (November 8) appears as the Archistrategos and plays a pivotal role in both the Old and New Testaments.

It was he who saved the angelic forces from their fall with the proclamation: “Proskomem! Stomen Kalos, stomen meta phobou” (Let us attend! Let us stand well, let us stand in awe). For this boldness, the Triune God granted him the position of “Prince of the Angelic Hosts,” Archistrategos, and Taxiarch. He, together with all the angels, proclaimed the Trisagion Hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of His glory.” Additionally, it is believed that, by God’s command, the Archangel Michael drove the First Parents out of Paradise.

He was the one who announced to Abraham the need to sacrifice his son Isaac, and who later stopped the sacrifice. He was the one who appeared to Lot and saved him and his family from the destruction of Sodom, as well as to Jacob, when he saved him from his brother Esau, who wanted to kill him. The Archangel Michael was also the one who led the people of Israel in their flight from Egypt, appearing as a cloud by day and as fire by night, guiding them to the Promised Land. In the New Testament, it is he who will announce the second coming of Jesus Christ. He is prophetically depicted as leading a host of angels in a heavenly war against “the great dragon, that old serpent, Satan,” and the demons.

He has been established as the patron saint of the Air Force. He is usually depicted holding a spear; however, in many representations, he also holds a scepter, symbolizing the authority granted to him by God.

The Holy Mandylion is one of the lost relics of the Orthodox Church. It is a piece of cloth upon which the image of Christ’s face was miraculously imprinted (an Acheiropoietos image). According to tradition, the holy image of Christ was imprinted on the cloth that had absorbed His blood-soaked sweat during His agony in prayer at Gethsemane on Holy Thursday. This Mandylion was then given by Christ to His disciples that night.

The remembrance of the retrieval of the Holy Mandylion is celebrated by the Church on August 16th.

The icon is available upon request.

Dimensions: 30x40x3