Byzantine* Icons** are the sacred, visual and spiritual treasures of the Eastern Orthodox Church. They are an integral part of the Orthodox Christian Faith. Many also are a visible sign of the great devotion and love of the Orthodox faithful for the Virgin Mary, the Most Holy Mother of God.
-------------------------------
  * 'Byzantine' refers to the Byzantine Empire, for it was
     during its reign that icons became established.
** Never heard of Byzantine Icons before? Then you
     want to read What are Byzantine Icons?


 • Continue to 'Medieval'... (below blue-lined section)

 






Main text continues here...      Click this line to return

• Medieval and Contemporary Byzantine Icons
Two major pages, or imagebases, are at the core of this site: Medieval Byzantine Icons and Contemporary Byzantine Icons.
     Additional pages highlight one or more different pertinent aspects. Collectively, they explain Traditional Byzantine Icons and the Sacred Art of Icon Painting in the context of the Orthodox Christian Faith and Historical Events.
     All information combined is classified into six (6) chapters. The chapter names appear in the gold-colored menu boxes above. 2. Ancient & Medieval Byzantine Icons  Link* 
The Medieval Byzantine Icons page is one of the most visited pages of the site. It houses links to some 4000 ancient and medieval Byzantine Icons, Frescoes and Mosaics. You will be seeing world famous, ancient icons and mosaics, of Christ Pantokrator and the Virgin of Vladimir for example. Some of these were painted by world renowned Greek and Russian Masters, like Theophanes the Greek and Andrei Rublev.
• Frescoes & Mosaics
A separate section is devoted to Frescoes & Mosaics. This allows visitors access to most of the Frescoes & Mosaics websites published on the Internet to date, from one single location. • Hint: Click link to Familiarize yourself with the site 3. Contemporary Byzantine Icons  Link* 
Or Iconographers' Index-Imagebase  Link
The Contemporary Byzantine Icons page or Iconographers' Index is another popular page. It allows you to visit well over 7000 icons, written by 350 living iconographers (icon painters) including several Masters of our time. Many of the icons are every which way as beautiful as their ancient counterparts. And the message is the same as that of 2000 years ago.
4. Byzantine Icons by Subject  Link*
In this chapter you will find all subjects not mentioned in the previous chapters, like the Iconostasis and the Deisis, the most common Icon Types, Lives of Saints, How to Paint Icons, Understanding Icons, Icon Masters and Icon Schools... • Icon Gallery Center
5. General References  Link* 
General References are proposed to aid better understanding Byzantine Icons and to help placing the Sacred Art of Icon Painting in the appropriate historical and religious context.
      You like history? No empire has been in power longer than the Byzantine Empire. You can read up on it by visiting the references on Byzantium and the Byzantine Empire. Or read up on Eastern Orthodoxy, the History of Icons and Mosaics, Iconoclasm...
6. Miscellaneous Services
In the Miscellaneous Pages you will find useful services, including: Bibliography, Music (see box to the right), and more.
Thank You for stopping by ! and Enjoy your visit !
And a Special Thank You ! to those among you for your help in showing this magnificent Byzantine Art - to the delight of us all !
* The four Byzantine Art pillars of this site :  (1)  (2)  (3)  (4)