Saint Alexandra – Aged Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Aged Lithograph of Saint Alexandra (April 21)

Saint Alexandra was the wife of Emperor Diocletian (284 – 305 AD). In contrast to her husband, she was known for her calm demeanor, compassion, and philanthropic life. The grace and mercy of God illuminated her so that, during the martyrdom of Saint George the Great Martyr, she pleaded with the emperor to order an end to the torturous martyrdoms, saying that such a scene was inhumane and unworthy of the crown. When the emperor blasphemed the Name of Christ, she boldly declared that she condemned the persecutors of Christians before the true God and confessed her own faith in Jesus Christ. The emperor, enraged, ordered her imprisonment.

In prison, Saint Alexandra spent the night in prayer for herself and interceding for the Church, which was being violently shaken. She was not concerned about her own life; she even desired a martyr’s death but hesitated because she did not want to burden Diocletian’s guilt with her own murder. She prayed to the Most High to take her soul from that prison. The Lord heard her prayer and, two days before the martyrdom of Saint George, she breathed her last in prison.

Three of her followers, Apollos, Isaac, and Codratus, followed the queen’s example. One day, they also confessed their faith and were executed: Codratus was beheaded, and Apollos and Isaac endured the painful martyrdom of hunger and thirst. The Church honors them on the same day as Queen Alexandra.

Aged Lithograph: Features

In this particular image, the iconographer monk used the technique of lithography to create a uniquely beautiful work of art. Specifically, using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the monk crafted this piece following the traditional method of artificial aging, as taught in the iconography workshops of the Athonite State. Moreover, the artificial aging of the icon is handmade, a process that monks from Mount Athos place great importance on.

Origin: Mount Athos