Orthodox Icon of St. Maximos the Confessor & St. John Damascene

St. Maximos the Confessor & St. John of Damascus Please do not deep-link to any of our icons.

St Maximos - January 21st
Troparion (Tone 3)
Through thee the Spirit poured forth streams of teaching for the Church: thou didst expound God the Word's self-emptying, and shine forth in thy struggles as a true Confessor of the Faith; holy Father Maximos, pray to Christ our God to grant us His great mercy.

St. John - December 4th
Troparion (Tone 3)
Thou wast a holy instrument and a tuneful harp of godliness. Thy teachings shone forth to the ends of the world; O righteous John. We pray thee to entreat Christ our God to grant us His great mercy.

This icon commemorates two great defenders of the faith who were also hymnographers. St. John of Damascus wrote hymns and organized the Octoechos (8 tones), the Irmologion, the Menologion and the Easter Canon. He reposed in about 749 at 75 years of age. St. Maximus the Confessor defended Orthodoxy against the Monothelite heresy which tried to assert that Christ only had a divine will and thus was not fully man. St. Maximus had to endure persecution from both the Emperor and the Patriarch. He was tortured and ridiculed in unspeakable fashion. His tongue was cut off along with his hand. God miraculously restored his hand. He reposed in the Lord in 662.

This Icon is from the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem. It was painted in the 13th century under the direction of the great Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli, who was responsible for overseeing the restoration of the monastery after the Latin crusaders had been driven out of Jerusalem in 1187. Shota is the tiny figure kneeling in the bottom of the icon. The inscription in ancient Georgian script reads, "Lord, remember your servant Shota, who did all this. Amen."

Order #pdi-17

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