The Icon of the Mystical Supper A common icon found in our dining rooms is that of The Mystical Supper. The West calls it ‘The Last Supper’, and its iconography focuses on the tragedy of the crucifixion, and the end of Christ’s earthly ministry surrounded by deceit and betrayal. In contrast the Orthodox icon does not simply capture Christ’s last meal with his disciples, but it also focuses on the institution of the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Through this mystery, Christ marks the beginning of a New Covenant which is to be repeated in remembrance of Him and offered [...]

St Nicholas the Wonderworker In the old days (ie. Old Testament), the incorporeal and infinite God was never depicted. Now, however, when God has been seen clothed in flesh, and talking with mortals, I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake, and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked out my salvation through matter. It is fitting that we remember St John of Damascus on December 4, three weeks before the Incarnation of our Lord. St John, the defender of icons during [...]

Entrance of the Theotokos On November 21 our Church commemorates the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos. This event is not mentioned in the Holy Gospels, so our source is Holy Tradition, being drawn from the hymnology and iconography of the feast, as well as the writings of the Fathers. When the blessed Virgin was three years old, Joachim and Anna fulfilled their promise to dedicate their child to the Lord. Her father gathered a procession of young pure virgins, each carrying a lit candle. The holy Maiden outran her attendants in her great zeal to enter [...]

The Holy Icon of the Dormition   “From the moment Christ is born of a Mother who can be depicted, He naturally has an image which corresponds to that of His Mother. If He could not be represented by art, this would mean that He was not born of a Mother who can be depicted, but was born only of the Father and that He was not Incarnate. But this contradicts the whole divine economy of our salvation.”   These inspired words of St Theodore the Studite help us in two ways. Firstly, they emphasise the importance of the Theotokos [...]