Saint Haralambos Silk Screen Icon – Gold & Engraved Wood

Description

Saint Haralambos, also spelt Charalambos, is a Holy Martyr who lived during the second and third century AD. According to tradition, Saint Haralambos was a priest, although in Russian Orthodox tradition he is noted to be a bishop, in Magnesia, Thessaly. During his lifetime, Saint Haralambos evangelized many pagans, bringing them into the Christian faith. He openly preached the gospel up to his martyrdom at the age of 113, when he was arrested by Lucian, the governor of the region.

Angry due to Haralambos’ success in converting pagans to, Lucian arrested him, demanding that Saint Haralambos recognize the pagan gods and forsake his faith. Saint Haralambos refused, further angering Lucian, who decided to start torturing him using a tool that would shave off his skin. However, Haralambos continued to pray throughout his torment, giving thanks to Jesus. His steadfast belief in his faith and the Lord overtook the executioners, who too converted to Christianity. Lucian had the two officers executed for their conversion to Christianity, and further executed three women who had also converted. After these executions, Lucian’s hands were miraculously severed from the elbow-down and appeared in Haralambos’ hands. This led Lucian to beg for mercy from Haralambos, and when he did the Lord’s voice was heard by all and those with injuries were healed. Lucian decided to stop persecuting Christians until such time that he could contact Emperor Severus and inform him of what had happened.

Upon hearing of the events from Lucian, Emperor Severus sent three hundred soldiers to kill Saint Haralambos. The soldiers failed to execute Haralambos, who was then brought before Emperor Severus who ordered he be staked through the chest and hung over a fire. But during this attempt, the emperor’s sister was overcome and begged Haralambos to receive her as a Christian. He accepted and the fire dissipated, revealing that Haralambos had not been affected by its fury. The emperor later brought Haralambos to meet someone who had been possessed by a demon for over 30 years to see if he could exorcise the demon. Haralambos successfully exorcised the demon, leading the emperor to exclaim, “Truly, great is the God of the Christians.” Haralambos later performed the miracle of resurrection, causing many more to convert to Christianity. However, these miracles were not enough to save Haralambos from execution. After numerous attempts to kill Haralambos, the emperor was eventually successful. Before his execution, Haralambos chanted hymns and prayed to the Lord, causing the sky to open to the heavens.

The icon depicts the old Saint Haralambos, holding the Gospel in his hands, referencing his holy work. Saint Haralambos is commemorated by the Greek Orthodox Church on February 10.