Saint Christina Silk Christian Icon – Gold & Engraved Wood

Description

Saint Christina, also referred to as the Great Martyr of Tyre or Christina of Bolsena, was born to a wealthy pagan family in the third century. According to tradition, Saint Christina’s father desired for his daughter to become a priestess and placed her in a private residence where he set up many pagan idols for her to attend to. However, while in the solitude of her new home, Saint Christina began to question how the universe came to be and was visited by an angel. The angel shared with Christina the tenets of Christianity and informed her that she was a bride of Christ. Overwhelmed by this revelation, Christina smashed all of the pagan idols her father had left for her. When her father learnt of her newfound faith and what she had done to the pagan idols, he had her tortured. With the help of God, Christina survived the numerous forms of torture her father and his successor used on her; these methods included the use of iron hooks, snakes, arrows, and grilling by fire. After numerous failed attempts, Christina was eventually beheaded.

In the icon, Saint Christina is seen holding a cross, which is used to represent martyrs in iconography. The cross is used to represent martyrs as it symbolizes giving one’s life for others, as Jesus did on the cross. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church commemorate Saint Christina on July 24.