FEATURED ICONS:
Nativity of Christ,
Virgin Mary "The Inexhaustible Cup"
Virgin Mary "Three Handed"
Guardian Angel,
Baby
Jesus Christ SIZE: 7" tall
Gold ornamentation around
icons may vary - it is hand made.
NATIVITY ICON MATRESHKA 5 NESTED DOLL
An "icon" means an "image" meant to "teach" the faith. The
icon is a "window to the eternal" ushering us into the spiritual world of an event or into the presence of Christ, the Theotokos (the Blessed Virgin Mary), Saints and Angels.
The Matreshka (Nesting) doll is a Russia folk creation from the late 1800s. While some say it is a variation of a Japanese god, others say it was the creation of Russian monks on an island they shared with Japanese. Regardless of the origin the doll it represents a mother having in her other generations.
Russians use the
nested doll to teach a story, for hand and eye cordinntion as well as counting.
This 5 nested doll was hand lathed of linden wood, hand decorated and finished in the area around the St Sergius Holy
Trinity Monastery in Sergei Posad (St Sergius City) Russia.
OUTER DOLL
The icon depicts the Christ Child held by His Mother, the Virgin Mary,
St Joseph pointing with awe to the child set in the cave. This icon is very meaningful in explaining the parallels of His birth with death in out salvation history. The setting is a cave like the cave where Jesus was buried. The Child is wrapped in swaddling clothes life the pure white linen he will be wrapped in for his burial. The manager represents the "tomb" Christ will be laid in. As Christ is God angels with covered hands surround him. The star in the sky contains an eight pointed star - which in classical art represents the person is "divine." Pictured in the back is the City of David along with the animals in the cave.
DOLL NUMBER 2 - THE VIRGIN THE INEXHAUSTIBLE CUP.
The icon pictures the crowned Theotokos with her hands raised in an "orans" (praying) position. The Christ Child Emmanuel is a half figure in a Eucharistic chalice with His hands raised in blessing.
The icon is first known from the late 1800s in Serpukhov, Russia. The icon healed a soldier of his alcoholic addition. Tradition describes the appearance of a Holy Elder to the soldier in a dream showing him this icon exhorting him to walk and even crawl even to the monastery near Tula. There he described to the monks the icon shown him but no one initially remembered seeing this icon. Later an old monk remembered there was an icon as he described which was inscribed as the Virgin The Inexhaustible Cup. The miraculous icon soon was known to heal those suffering from alcoholism, drug abuse and other forms of addiction.
The icon is a variant of Our Lady of Nicea which is known as "Your Womb Becomes the Holy Table." From this variant the icon has also become a popular "Pro-Life" icon.
DOLL NUMBER 3. THE THREE HANDED MOTHER OF GOD ICON - PANAGIA TRICHEROUSA
St John of Damascus was a defender of the use of icons in the church. St John was a monk of the St Sabbas Monastery in the Holy Land. In addition to be the composer of many hymns and services for Pascha he was an iconographer - a painter of icons. The iconoclasts viewed him as an enemy of the state and convinced the Caliph that his hand be chopped off. His right hand was cut off and after appealing to the
Mother of God after a vision he awoke to find his hand reattached. In thanksgiving St John painted an icon to which he added another right hand in the form of a silver votive. This is the source of the attaching silver votives to an icon petitioning for a healing. These Milagros are used in Greece and Spanish cultures.
DOLL NUMBER 4. GUARDIAN ANGEL.
Man is created "in the image of God" therefore according to a Jewish tradition each of us has angels surrounding crying "Make way for the image of God." Christian tradition teaches us from the moment of conception each of us is given a Guardian Angel - this angel is our constant companion throughout our life until we appear at the last judgment. Our Guardian Angel guides us in our actions and constantly implores God for His mercy. In the Russian tradition your birthday is referred to as your "Angel Day."
DOLL NUMBER 5. CHRIST EMMANUEL/LOGOS
This icon of a young Christ Child defines the meaning of the Incarnation - "God Is With Us!" God became man. Christ is portrayed as a beardless youth. The source of the icon is associated with the prophecy of Isaiah
