Post a favorite icon!

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Salibi

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Hey guys,

I think it’s high time we had an icon thread. Let’s use this thread to post pictures of our favorite icons of Jesus, Mary, and the saints.

I’m bad at thread introductions, so I’m gonna cut quickly to the chase: Presenting to you my favorite Byzantine icon of my favorite saint, Elias.

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I have a small paper copy of this that I’ve folded and tucked away in my wallet. I’ve been carrying it around in my back pocket for years now, I first got it from a Greek Orthodox church where I attended Divine Liturgy some 15 years ago.

And now, without further ado, let’s see yours. A small request: please include the name of the icon’s style in your posts (whether Byzantine, Coptic, etc…) I’d like to know which icon comes from which Rite. Thank you, and have a pleasant day!
 
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The first icon I came across was that of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour .

It has been promoted by the Redemptorists since 1865 .


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Some other Byzantine icons:

The Baptism of Our Lord in the Jordan (Byzantine):

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The Entry into Jerusalem (Byzantine):

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A couple of Russian icons from the Our Lady of Lebanon shrine’s icon exhibition:

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This contemporary icon, Storm on the Sea of Galilee, from Mount Angel Benedictine Abbey, has long been a favorite of mine. During stressful times, especially before I retired, I often felt like St. John, huddled in fear, and I implored Our Lord, like St. Peter, to see me through the storm.

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“Iconographer Guillem Ramos-Poqui was commissioned by the Discalced Carmelite Order in England to paint an icon of St. Therese to commemorate the visit of the relics to England and Wales.

The icon will appear at each venue along the tour, accompanied by two Discalced Carmelites, Brs Robert Opala and Noel O’Connor.” (From catholicrelics.wordpress.com; approx. 10 years ago)

I love this one especially because it includes the Holy Face and the Child Jesus. Also her flowers are extra lovely, and he did a wonderful job capturing that softness in her eyes.
 
My favorite icon is the one Rob2 already posted. In USA she is usually called Our Mother of Perpetual Help (OMPH). The Redemptorists are in charge of this icon and promote devotion to her.

She is my favorite because I grew up with her always in the house. For a long time she was the only icon I ever saw because Western Catholic churches in the past haven’t had icons, especially post-Vatican II when they were all getting rid of a lot of old art and old statues etc and making everything “modern” and generic or very plain. The devotion to OMPH was, from what I’ve read, hugely popular in USA during the first half of the 20th century and there were weekly novenas to her everywhere, some of them drawing very large crowds. My mother also grew up with the devotion and she continued to venerate this Mary as an adult, which is why I too grew up with her in our house, in the kitchen right over the sink. (I had to retire that picture of Mary and get a new one because 50 years of Mary getting accidentally splotched with a few drops of water or occasionally falling into the sink or dishpan took their toll, but I’m sure Mary, having been a housewife herself, would understand.)

When I was a child and young teen in the late 60s/ early 70s you could still find OMPH novenas around and we used to go to them. Nowadays they are harder to find, and the most popular Mary novena seems to be the Miraculous Medal Novena (promoted by the Vincentians). But you can still find an OMPH one here and there. Also the Redemptorists had a big anniversary Mass for the image at the National Shrine in DC a few years ago and I went to that.

My second favorite icon is the Panagia of Bethlehem. It’s supposed to be from Russia. I am told it is the only icon of Mary smiling. I have had the lecture on here before about how “icons aren’t supposed to look like actual people” but it’s not hard for me to think that Mary might have actually looked like this.

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Here are some of my favorites.
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Best, most mysterious, soul-penetrating image I have found. The eyes are piercing.

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Icon of the creation of Adam and Eve

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Icon of the expulsion of Adam & Eve from the Garden

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Icon of the Resurrected Christ freeing Adam and Eve.

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I also have a special devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
A few years ago I was in Rome for my birthday and was very blessed to touch my rosary to the icon and receive a special blessing before it.
I wish the perpetual Novena was held in more places.
 
Icons written relating to the Parable of the Prodigal Son .

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This is the Resurrection icon I have at home, and it’s definitely one of my favorites. Whenever I make the mistake of reading one of the threads about hell here on CAF, looking at this icon helps to restore my hope that somehow all shall be well.

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Icons of the First Pentecost

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This Christ Pantocrator (Sinai) is my favorite:

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Pantocrator (παντοκράτωρ) means Ruler (or Lord) of All.

I’m not sure if the next one is, strictly speaking, an icon, but it is also a favorite of mine; it is a Christ Pantocrator mosaic in the dome of the cathedral in Cefalù, Sicily:

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It is more specifically referred to as a “Christ the Teacher” Pantocrator, because the Book of the Gospels is open. (Compare with the Sinai Pantocrator immediately above, in which the Book is closed.)
 
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Somewhat unusual but I love this icon of Our Lady of Walsingham
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Not necessarily this one in particular, but I have a great fondness for Mantle-of-the-Virgin -type icons.

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