Saint Euphemia – Aged Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Aged Lithograph with Saint Euphemia

Saint Euphemia (September 16) lived and martyred during the time of Emperor Diocletian.

She was born in Chalcedon to a devout and noble family. Her parents, Psilophron and Theodoriani, ensured that their daughter developed every Christian virtue. Euphemia grew into a person of rare gifts and strong Christian faith, which she demonstrated when the pagan governor of Asia Minor, Priscus, ordered all the residents of Chalcedon to attend a celebration in honor of the pagan god Ares. Euphemia decided, along with other Christians, to abstain from the pagan festival, for which she was arrested and imprisoned.

During her captivity, the enemies of Christ tried in every way to convince Saint Euphemia to deny her faith and embrace idols. When they realized that Euphemia would not change her faith through words, they tortured her terribly. However, through divine grace, Saint Euphemia was unharmed by the tortures. Finally, the executioners threw her into wild beasts, and she met her death from a bear.

Saint Euphemia has a special connection to the life of Saint Paisios (July 12), who, through his fervent faith and prayer, received the blessed visitation of the saint at his cell. Initially thinking it was a temptation, the saint asked Euphemia to venerate the Holy Trinity. Afterward, Saint Euphemia sat with Elder Paisios and told him about her life and martyrdom.

Aged Lithograph: Features

In this particular image, the iconographer monk used the technique of lithography to create a work of unique beauty. 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 the monks of Mount Athos place great importance on.

Origin: Mount Athos