Saint Kyriaki – Aged Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Aged Lithograph of Saint Kyriaki

Saint Kyriaki was the daughter of Dorotheos and Eusebia. They were childless and prayed to God to bless them with a child. Indeed, God granted their wish, and this Christian couple was blessed with a daughter. She was born on a Sunday, which is why they named her Kyriaki (Sunday in Greek).

During the persecution under Emperor Diocletian in the year 282 AD, her parents were arrested and, after interrogation, were tortured and beheaded by Duke Justus. Kyriaki was brought before Caesar Maximian and then referred to the governor of Bithynia, Hilarian, who reminded her that her beauty was meant for pleasure, not for suffering.

To this, the virgin maiden replied: “I pay no attention to my youth or beauty. Even the most splendid earthly things are fleeting, like flowers, and hollow, like shadows. Today, governor, I may be beautiful; tomorrow, I will be an old woman. Should I then center my life on my beauty? Its true worth I have come to know in the wrinkles that await it and in the grave that calls it. Did you think I would make the monstrous folly of losing eternal radiance to linger a little longer on earth? That is why I repeat, governor: I am and will remain, in life and in death, a Christian.”

Enraged, Hilarian subjected her to severe torture and ordered her beheading. However, before the sword fell, she surrendered her spirit to the Lord in prayer.

The Church honors her memory on July 7.

Aged Lithograph: Characteristics

In this particular image, the monk-iconographer employed the technique of lithography to create a work of unique beauty. Specifically, using a lithographed replica 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. The artificial aging of the icon is handcrafted, a process to which the monks of Mount Athos attribute special importance.

Origin: Mount Athos