Saint Sophia – Aged Lithography – Mount Athos

Description

Aged Lithography with Saint Sophia

In this magnificent image, the artist depicts Saint Sophia and her three daughters—Faith, Hope, and Love—who were martyred during the reign of Emperor Hadrian.

Saint Sophia, a venerable and pious woman, was soon widowed and went to Rome with her three daughters. There, they were denounced as renowned Christians, and the emperor ordered their arrest.

After isolating the mother, they began interrogating the daughters. First to appear before the king was 12-year-old Faith. With persuasive words, Hadrian tried to convince her to renounce Christ, promising her everything to live a happy life, but she remained firm in her faith. After enduring torture, she was beheaded. Similarly, 10-year-old Hope answered with words from the Holy Scripture and unwavering Christian conviction when asked if she thought it was worth undergoing such torture. She too was beheaded immediately. Finally, 9-year-old Love gave a similar response, saying that her existence was focused on the Love of Christ, and she too was soon beheaded.

Proud of her children, Sophia buried them with honors and stayed by their graves for three days, praying to God to take her to be with Him. God heard her prayer, and Sophia gave up her spirit beside the graves of her children.

Their memory is celebrated on September 17th.

Aged Lithography: Characteristics

In this particular image, the iconographer monk used the lithography technique to create a work of exceptional beauty. Specifically, using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the monk created this work following the traditional method of artificial aging, as he was taught in the iconography workshops of the Athonian 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