Saints Sophia, Faith, Hope, and Love on Naturally Aged Wood

Description

Image of Hagia Sophia and Her Three Daughters on Naturally Aged Wood

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

The three daughters of Hagia Sophia were named after the verse in the New Testament: “Now there remain faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Hagia Sophia, a revered and god-fearing woman, quickly became a widow and, with her three daughters, moved to Rome. There, they were denounced as renowned Christians, and the emperor ordered their arrest.

After isolating the mother, they began interrogating the daughters. First, the 12-year-old Faith was brought before the king. With persuasive words, Hadrian tried to convince her to deny Christ, promising her everything to live a happy life, but she remained steadfast in her faith. Then, after torture, she was beheaded. Similarly, the 10-year-old Hope, when asked whether it was worth undergoing such tortures, responded with words from the Holy Scriptures and an unyielding Christian spirit. She too was immediately beheaded. Not to be outdone, the 9-year-old Love also responded, saying that her life was devoted to the Love of Christ, and soon after, she too was beheaded.

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

Their memory is celebrated on September 17th.

The monk who created this specific image with the beautiful depiction of Hagia Sophia and her three daughters used a piece of wood with natural aging, which resulted from restoration work in a cell at Mount Athos. The naturally aged wood gives the icons a unique aesthetic and collectible value, while also carrying a piece of Mount Athos’ long history beyond its borders.

As the icon is handmade and the woodwork is done by hand, there may be slight variations in the wood, but not in the depiction.

The icon is available upon order.

Origin: Mount Athos

Dimensions: 25.5 x 33 x 2.5 cm