The 40 Holy Martyrs icon, Handmade Greek Orthodox icon Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, Byzantine art wall hanging icon wood plaque, religious gift - 40

Bring the spiritual elegance of Byzantine art into your home with this exquisite, handmade Greek Orthodox icon of The 40 Holy Martyrs. Crafted with reverence, this piece makes a profound addition to any prayer corner or a deeply meaningful religious gift.

Product Specifications

• Craftsmanship: This byzantine icon is a lithography with a double layer of varnish for vivid colors and water resistance depicting The Holy 40 Martyrs of Sebaste in a God inspired artwork following the Athonite technique, which gives the icon its religious and aesthetic value.

The Significance of The 40 Holy Martyrs

The holy, glorious and right-victorious Forty Martyrs of Sebaste are a group of Roman soldiers who became martyrs for their Christian faith in 320. Ss. Cyrion (Quirio), Candidus, Domnus, Hesychius, Heraclius, Smaragdus, Eunoicus, Valens, Vivianus, Claudius, Priscus, Theodulus, Eutychius, John, Santhias, Helianus, Sisinius, Angius, Aetius, Flavius, Acacius, Ecdicius, Lysimachus, Alexander, Elias, Gorgonius, Theophilus, Dometian, Gaius, Leontius, Athanasius, Cyril, Sacerdon, Nicholas, Valerius, Philoctimon, Severian, Chudion, Aglaius, and Meliton are commemorated by the Church on March 9.

St. Constantine the Great issued an edict in the year 313, granting Christians religious freedom, and officially recognizing Christianity as equal with paganism under the law. But Licinius, his co-ruler and a pagan, continued to persecute the Christians of the East. He also purged Christians from his own army, fearing mutiny.

According to St. Basil, forty soldiers who had openly confessed themselves Christians were condemned by the prefect to be exposed naked upon a frozen pond near Sebaste on a bitterly cold night, that they might freeze to death. Among the confessors, one yielded and, leaving his companions, sought the warm baths near the lake which had been prepared for any who might prove inconstant. One of the guards set to keep watch over the martyrs beheld a supernatural brilliancy overshadowing them and at once proclaimed himself a Christian, threw off his garments, and placed himself beside the thirty-nine soldiers of Christ. Thus the number of forty remained complete. At daybreak, the stiffened bodies of the confessors, which still showed signs of life, were.