Jan 15 – Blessing of Icons

Thanks to the generosity of Christmas donors we have procured three new icons for the monastery. Fr. Mark blessed the icons after Mass today and they were then hung in the sacristy and the main stairwell.

  • The 19th century icon of the washing of the feet now hangs between the tables in the sacristy.
  • The 14/15th century eleusa icon by Russian master iconographer Saint Andrei Rublev (died c. 1430) now hangs above the sacristy book stand.
  • The 21st century Bulgarian eleusa icon now hangs on a landing of our central staircase. The color red, like gold, represents holiness and divinity.

Theotokos: The eleusa (tenderness) genre of icons has Christ embracing His Mother tenderly in a gesture of love. Her hand points to her Son in a gesture of humility and deference to Him as God.