Saint Isidore of Chios – Aged Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Antiqued Lithograph of Saint Isidore the Chian

Saint Isidore (May 14) was born in Alexandria and was a sailor in the royal fleet during the reign of Emperor Decius.

One day, when the fleet was anchored at Chios, it was reported to Admiral Numerius that Isidore was a Christian. Numerius soon heard the same from Isidore himself when he invited him to confess his faith. They then beat him severely and threw him into prison.

When his father learned of this, he immediately traveled to Chios, deeply upset that his son had abandoned the ancestral pagan religion. When Isidore saw his father, he embraced him with great piety and affection, deeply moved. His father did the same, but he soon expressed his sorrow and begged him to return to paganism. Angry at Isidore’s refusal and steadfast faith, he cursed him and urged Numerius to execute him as soon as possible. Indeed, after undergoing various tortures, Isidore was beheaded.

His holy relic was thrown into a ravine to be devoured by vultures, while a few soldiers were stationed to prevent the Christians from taking it. However, a Christian woman named Myrope came during the night and, with the help of two servants, took the sacred relic and buried it while the soldiers were resting. The next day, Numerius, having learned of the event, imprisoned the soldiers, thinking they had been bribed by the Christians. He also spread the news that he would kill them unless they revealed to whom they had handed over the relic. Myrope judged that it would be unjust for the soldiers to be executed, so she appeared before Numerius and told him the truth. He ordered her to be imprisoned and tortured. After her martyrdom, the Christians buried the relic of the Virgin Martyr with great reverence, near the grave where she had previously placed the relic of Saint Isidore.

Antiqued Lithograph: Characteristics

This image was created using the lithography technique, which is taught in the iconography workshops of Mount Athos and is also used by many monks to create exceptional works of art. In this particular case, the monk used a lithographed copy of Byzantine art and created this work following the traditional method of artificial aging. The technique of lithography in iconography is essentially a printing technique.

Origin: Mount Athos