About this icon

This icon describes the verse:

"All creatures, the assembly of Angels and the human race rejoice in You, O Blessed One."

The Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel are gathered here to rejoice in the Word. It is an icon of great joy and blessings.

The Assembly of Angels

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Without the Eastern Christian tradition, icons would simply be religious pictures. It is the tradition surrounding this art that creates their elevated nature. Religious and theological value of icons cannot be separated from the art of iconography. Eastern tradition preserves the pure form of icon art; it is strictly defined to maintain fundamental characteristics. A central belief among Eastern Christians is that since man is created in the image of God, he thus carries the icon of God Himself within his soul. The holy images, painted in accord with scriptural tradition, feed the soul as does passages of sacred scripture.

Early Church theologians defined icons as a window into heaven. They realized that divine realities became more accessible by the presence created through sacred icons. Their writings expressed the illumination of spirit experienced by believers who contemplate the transcendent prototype of the sacred image. The Church exists to perpetuate the participation in divine life by Christians, and icons are a testimony to this reality. Icons came to be visual images of the religious faith which embodies the ultimate hope of salvation and victory over death. Thus Eastern Christian theology holds up the icon as a true key to understanding its doctrine.