My Ikon Collection

The Bread of Life
(ὁ ἂρτος ὁ ζῶν)
This ikon portrays Christ, our bread of Life (John 6), inside of the Chalice. It brings beautiful Eucharistic imagry in which we receive Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine.

The Bridegroom
(ὁ νυμφίος)
Christ our Lord, the Church's bridegroom, stands here in His most magnificant garb. He wears the most extravagant crown of thorns, the wonderful purple robe, He holds the grand scepter that struck His head, and all these tools were used to slay Him which gives us new life and ushers us into the Marriage feast of the Lamb.

The Good Shepherd
(ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός)
This ikon beautifully portrays Christ as the Shepherd who went to look for the lost sheep. Here it also gives Psalm 23 imagry to Christ with the staff in His left hand, and behind Jesus Christ is the best rod (rood) or cross where we find our comfort.

The Burning Bush
This ikon portrays scenes from the life of Moses; from the reception of the Law to his death, and also the burning bush. But a question must now be asked, why is the Theotokos there? Rev. Fr. Johann Gerhard states in a Christmas serman, "We read in Ex. 3:2-3, as Moses was being sent to rescue the Israelite nation from slavery, that the Angel of the Lord, appeared to him in a fiery flame from a bush and Moses saw that the bush burned with fire and yet was not consumed.....For this fire, which enlightens and inspires, is a sign of the divine nature, just as Deut. 4:24 states: For the Lord your God is a disabling fire, etc. And in 1 Tim. 6:16 The One who lives ikn a light which no one is able to approach, etc. The bush, which grows from the earth, is a symbol of the human nature, with which God's Son personally united Himself; through it appears and shines the fire of the divine nature, and as Paul says in Col. 2:9: For in Him lives the entire fullness of the Godhead bodily [in the flesh]; at the same time the human nature is not hurt by the divine nature. The human nature of Christ, with all its attributes, remains undisturbed even though all the fulness of the divine nature shines through and is reflected by the human nature. By this fiery bush is also indicated that the Son of God wanted to assume His human nature form a pure virgin, without violating her virginity. For, even though the virgin body of Mary became pregnant by being filled with the Holy Spirit and by the overshadowing of the Highest, yet her virginal chastity was not damaged." This ikon tippifies this paradigmatic understanding.

The Life-giving Spring
(ἠ ζωοαόχος πηγή)
Below the spring sinners come to wash themselves in the waters which flow forth from this spring. Within this ikon the distinction between Mary and the Church is blurred. Just as when Christs two natures were blurred at the Last Supper when Jesus ate His own Body and Blood. Here Mary, with Christ, who is the Church's treasure, are the source of the Spring. This spring is the spring of Baptism, which the Church uses to give life to the sinner, that life being Christ.

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My Ikon Collection

	The Bread of Life (ὁ ἂρτος ὁ ζῶν) This ikon portrays Christ, our bread of Life (John 6), inside of the Chalice. It brings beautiful Eucharistic imagry in which we receive Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine.
	The Bridegroom (ὁ νυμφίος) Christ our Lord, the Church's bridegroom, stands here in His most magnificant garb. He wears the most extravagant crown of thorns, the wonderful purple robe, He holds the grand scepter that struck His head, and all these tools were used to slay Him which gives us new life and ushers us into the Marriage feast of the Lamb.
	The Good Shepherd (ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός) This ikon beautifully portrays Christ as the Shepherd who went to look for the lost sheep. Here it also gives Psalm 23 imagry to Christ with the staff in His left hand, and behind Jesus Christ is the best rod (rood) or cross where we find our comfort.
	The Burning Bush This ikon portrays scenes from the life of Moses; from the reception of the Law to his death, and also the burning bush. But a question must now be asked, why is the Theotokos there? Rev. Fr. Johann Gerhard states in a Christmas serman, "We read in Ex. 3:2-3, as Moses was being sent to rescue the Israelite nation from slavery, that the Angel of the Lord, appeared to him in a fiery flame from a bush and Moses saw that the bush burned with fire and yet was not consumed.....For this fire, which enlightens and inspires, is a sign of the divine nature, just as Deut. 4:24 states: For the Lord your God is a disabling fire, etc. And in 1 Tim. 6:16 The One who lives ikn a light which no one is able to approach, etc. The bush, which grows from the earth, is a symbol of the human nature, with which God's Son personally united Himself; through it appears and shines the fire of the divine nature, and as Paul says in Col. 2:9: For in Him lives the entire fullness of the Godhead bodily [in the flesh]; at the same time the human nature is not hurt by the divine nature. The human nature of Christ, with all its attributes, remains undisturbed even though all the fulness of the divine nature shines through and is reflected by the human nature. By this fiery bush is also indicated that the Son of God wanted to assume His human nature form a pure virgin, without violating her virginity. For, even though the virgin body of Mary became pregnant by being filled with the Holy Spirit and by the overshadowing of the Highest, yet her virginal chastity was not damaged." This ikon tippifies this paradigmatic understanding.
	The Life-giving Spring (ἠ ζωοαόχος πηγή) Below the spring sinners come to wash themselves in the waters which flow forth from this spring. Within this ikon the distinction between Mary and the Church is blurred. Just as when Christs two natures were blurred at the Last Supper when Jesus ate His own Body and Blood. Here Mary, with Christ, who is the Church's treasure, are the source of the Spring. This spring is the spring of Baptism, which the Church uses to give life to the sinner, that life being Christ.