LITURGY: SATURDAY 4:00 PM | During LENT: Every Tuesday @ 4 p.m.
ICONS
The Chapel Patron Icon
Mary Undoer of Knots
Left, Father Peter Pearson in 2017 Painting a Chapel Patron Icon of Mary Undoer of Knots. Right, The Completed Chapel Patron Icon of Mary Undoer of Knots.
Father Peter Pearson, a Master Iconographer worked for months to create our Chapel Patron Icon. Explore the Photo Gallery Below to learn about the meaning of the painting's icons.
The Shrine of Mary Undoer of Knots is filled with artifacts including some amazing iconography from the worlds masters. Visitors will be amazed at the varied art and what the pieces mean in the Byzantine Catholic Religion. Every piece tells and important story about faith.
The iconography in the chapel is very traditional and created using age-old techniques but employing the modern medium of acrylic paint on prepared panels. Each icon is first drawn, then the darker base colors are applied, on top of these the lighter highlights are added giving dimension to the images before the finishing work and details are applied. For inspiration, we've looked to the work of some contemporary Romanian iconographers as well as the work of the 20th century master, Leonid Ouspensky who was one of the leaders of the Russian exile community in Paris after the Revolution in 1917. The images have a graceful simplicity that echos the golden age of icon painting in the 14th and 15th centuries. Each icon is chosen and placed quite intentionally based upon centuries old tradition in the Eastern Church and every one of them will provide a prayerful link to the Unseen God as well as the "great cloud of witnesses" (the Mother of God, the angels, and the saints) into whose presence we come for worship.
Click on the Artwork below to learn more about the Art and Artist
We have the remaining nine icons chosen to be on our Wall of Knots Made by Human Hands.
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“In the earliest days of the Church, Christians celebrated the manifestations of Christ in the world, the birth, the visit of the three Magi, and the baptism on January 6. This replaced the winter solstice. Instead of worshiping the sun, we worship Christ the Sun of Righteousness. At the beginning of the 4th century, the solstice was brought forward to December 25th and the Church brought forward the birth of Jesus to that date by 354 A.D. in Rome.
In the Western Church, Epiphany means the manifestation of Christ to the world. Jesus was visited by the Magi who followed a star to find Him. They represent the Gentiles. Theophany is the word used in the Eastern Church because the baptism is the manifestation of God, of the Holy Trinity. God the Father spoke, “This is by beloved son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed these words as true, as Jesus came up from the waters of the Jordan River.”
Our Lady of the Sign
Written by Fr. Peter Pearson
The Icon of Our Lady of the Sign (Greek: Panagia or Παναγία Ορωμένη or Παναγία Πλατυτέρα; Church Slavonic: Ikona Bozhey Materi "Znamenie"; Polish: Ikona Bogurodzicy "Znak") is the term for a particular type of icon of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary), facing the viewer directly, depicted either full length or half, with her hands raised in the orans position, and with the image of the Child Jesus depicted within a round aureole upon her breast.
The icon depicts the Theotokos during the Annunciation at the moment of saying, "May it be done to me according to your word."(Luke 1:38). The image of the Christ child represents him at the moment of his conception in the womb of the Virgin. He is depicted not as a fetus, but rather vested in divine robes, and often holding a scroll, symbolic of his role as teacher. Sometimes his robes are gold or white, symbolizing divine glory; sometimes they are blue and red, symbolizing the two natures of Christ (see Christology). His face is depicted as that of an old man, indicating the Christian teaching that he was at one and the same time both a fully human infant and fully the eternal God, one of the Trinity. His right hand is raised in blessing.
The term Virgin of the Sign or Our Lady of the Sign is a reference to the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel". Such an image is often placed in the apse of the sanctuary of an Orthodox church above the Holy Table (altar).[2]
As with most Orthodox icons of Mary, the letters ΜΡ ΘΥ (short for ΜΗΤΗΡ ΘΕΟΥ, "Mother of God") are usually placed on the upper left and right of the head of the Virgin Mary.
This type of icon is also sometimes called the Platytéra (Greek: Πλατυτέρα, literally wider or more spacious); poetically, by containing the Creator of the Universe in her womb, Mary has become Platytera ton ouranon (Πλατυτέρα των Ουρανών): "More spacious than the heavens". The Platytéra is traditionally high above the iconostasis, and facing down the length of the nave of the church.
St. Florian- Patron of Firefighters
by Iconographer Fr. Peter Pearson
The feast of St. Florian is celebrated May 4, coinciding with International Firefighter’s Day. Florian was a 3rd-century centurion in the Roman army. He lived in what is now Lower Austria at the time of the Roman Empire. He organized the army's firefighting brigade and personally trained an elite group of firefighters.
We venerate Saint Florian because he courageously confessed to his faith and did not hide the fact that he was a Christian. At one point 40 of his friends were arrested for being Christians. Saint Florian did not just remain silent, but immediately rushed to the aid of his friends. He was taken prisoner himself and killed for his belief.
Here Saint Florian is depicted as a officer of the Roman army - with lance, armor and the chariot wheel of a Centurion.
The Paul Revere Bell was christened "Florian" on September 24th 2020 at the Shrine's consecration liturgy.
