The Icon “Made Without Hands”

Best known as “the Holy Face,” the image of Jesus’s face appears in two accounts of early Christianity, and in both cases the images were created without any human involvement.

Probably the best-known story in the West is that of Veronica’s veil. Tradition teaches that on the way to Golgotha Christ pressed His face, bloodied by the crown of thorns, on the head cloth given to Him by Saint Veronica. The imprint of His face remained on the cloth, preceding the Shroud of Turin, and thus being a vera icon (“true image”), from which the name Veronica is derived. This event is commemorated in the Sixth Station of the Cross.

The account popularly known East is that of King Agbar of Syria, who lived at the time of Christ and wrote to Him asking to be healed of leprosy. Christ sent the reply that He would later send one of His disciples, Thaddeus with a letter, along with a cloth that Christ had pressed to His face, miraculously producing an imprint “made without hands.” After the Ascension Saint Thomas the Apostle sent St, Thaddeus, one of the Seventy, to the King with this letter and cloth.

This story is supported by Saint John of Damascus, the great apologist for the veneration of icons, when he wrote in his book “On the Divine Images” that Jesus “is said to have taken a piece of cloth and pressed it to his face, impressing on it the image of his face, which it keeps to this day.”

Other accounts of King Agbar say that he sent an artist to Israel to paint Jesus’ face. Noticing the artist’s inability to capture His image, Christ pressed a towel to His face and His image miraculously appeared on the cloth.

When the king received the cloth with the holy image he was miraculously cured of leprosy. This is commemorated in a tenth century icon from Saint Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai. The cloth (mandylion, the Greek for “hand towel”) was preserved and treasured, and became the source of many other miracles of heavenly protection, as depicted in the small icons surrounding the center portrait in our new Holy Face Story Icon.

Christmas Gifts Abound at Monastery Icons

With the Christmas season fast approaching, what is the best place to find beautiful, traditional, and economical gifts for friends and loved ones? Monastery Icons, of course! Monastery Icons selection of icons, religious gifts, jewelery, crucifixes, banners, Monastery incense and other sacred art of unsurpassed beauty and affordability makes it easy to find something unique for everyone on your shopping list.

For instance, our new line of embossed icons from Russia combines beauty, ornamentation, and religious inspiration in the perfect manner to grace your home for the coming holy season, or for that matter, at any time!

Explore the Monastery Icons Website to discover new icons and sacred gifts, as well as ever-popular favorites. Now is the time to order your Christmas icons and more to avoid the Christmas rush. And subscribe to the Monastery Icons Newsletter to receive news about unique product offers, special discounts and reduced postage rates. Visit the Monastery Icons Homepage, and add your email address in the subscribe box in the bottom of the left-hand column.

All of us from Monastery Icons wish you a Joyous Christmas!

New Catalog and New Items at Monastery Icons

Those of you who are on our MonasteryIcons.com mailing list have already received our newest free catalog with an impressive selection of new icons and sacred gifts. With over fifty new items of unique beauty, this is one of our best selections of icons and sacred art ever.

For instance, we now offer this stunning Our Lady of Vladimir Triptych, A classic Russian depiction of the Holy Virgin, flanked by smaller icons of her Nativity, Entrance into the Temple, the Annunciation, and the Dormition. Exquisite detail with gold- and silver-foil embossed ornamentation. 4″ high, 7″ wide when open.

Visit our new items page at MonasteryIcons.com to see this and over 50 more new icons and sacred art.

Monastery Icons: Icon Prints of Any Icon We Offer

“The quality of your icon prints is unsurpassed for clarity and color.”
-William L., Pennsylvania

Do you have a treasured picture frame you wish to use, or some other special use that requires an unmounted print? Use our colorful unmounted prints, available for any icon subject in our catalog. These unmounted icons are printed on the finest quality photographic stock, so that Monastery Icons are shown in their richest color and clearest detail, giving a matchless presentation and enhancement that mere lithography cannot achieve.

Every icon subject in our catalog is available as unmounted prints in sizes from 4 inches to 24 inches tall. The sizes and prices can be viewed in the Size/Price pulldown menu that appears beneath each icon on its dedicated page. Larger sizes are available upon request.

Christ and the Virgin Mary	Great Feasts
Holy Angels	Saints of the Bible
Apostles and Evangelists	Saints of the East and West