r/ChristianIconography

I'm not Orthodox, so I hope this doesn't come across as disrespectful to the tradition or the art form. I've just found myself really drawn to religious iconography lately.

I grew up very nominally Catholic, but we rarely went to Mass, even on Christmas or Easter. I loved art as a kid and young adult, but for a lot of reasons I eventually fell out of love with it. Iconography is what finally made me want to pick up a brush again.

This is my first fully finished icon in egg tempera, aside from a few watercolor sketches. I know there are certain standards and traditions around creating icons in Orthodoxy, so I'm not really sure how I should treat or think about this piece now that it's finished.

I wanted to share it anyway, and I'd really appreciate any thoughts or guidance from people who know the tradition better than I do.

A couple of years ago I posted an earlier version of this icon corner in a different subreddit, under a slightly different username. I have 12 more icons on the wall now, so I thought I'd share again. Icons are always a source of joy and inspiration to me.

Fifteen of the icons shown are from Orama World, my favorite source. Three are from Orthodox Monastery Icons (not to be confused with the bad place with a similar name). Two are from Legacy Icons. The rest are from various places.

The Byzantine coin is a Class A Byzantine Anonymous Follis minted in Constantinople between 967 and 1028 A.D., during the joint reign of emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII. If you look closely you can see an abbreviation for "Jesus Christ" near our Lord's shoulders in Greek (IC XC).

I would love to own a reasonably priced Holy Sophia Icon - she is very dear to me and has been a pivotal part of my journey as a Chrsitian/ spirtual being.

Does anyone know where I can find a good byzantine icon??

Thank you