Agia Irini – Handmade Hagiography – Mount Athos

Description

Iconography on a natural piece of wood by the monks of Mount Athos

An exquisite icon depicting Saint Irene.

This particular icon has been crafted based on Byzantine standards of iconography. The depiction of the saint is painted entirely by hand. The coating of the icon with pure beeswax ensures that the colors remain unchanged over time.

Saint Irene the Great Martyr lived until the 4th century. She was from Magdalen, the daughter of the local ruler Licinius.

Her original name was Penelope. However, upon embracing Christianity, she was baptized as Irene. Christian tradition states that she was of exceptional beauty and education, with remarkable eloquence and strong religious zeal. She undertook missionary duties in Persia during the reign of Shapur I, where she faced severe persecution.

Eventually, Irene fled to Ephesus, continuing to teach with even greater zeal and achieving brilliant results until her death in that same city. The Orthodox Church proclaimed Irene as a saint and great martyr, designating May 5th as her feast day each year.

She was the patroness of the Greek Gendarmerie and is currently the patron of the Cyprus Police.

The Honorable Relic of the Saint is preserved in the Church of Saint Irene in Riganokambos, Patras.

As the icon is handmade and the processing of the wood is done by hand, there may be slight variations in the wood, but not in the depiction.

Dimensions: 28X19X3