Saint Joasaph, Bishop of Belgorod. Wooden orthodox icon.
Original icon: 19th century
Saint Joasaph of Belgorod (1705-1754), Bishop of Belgorod and Oboyan, was a strict and fair guardian of the Orthodox Faith. He personally traveled around the diocese entrusted to him, not excluding remote regions. In order to raise the moral level of the population, he visited the homes of his wards, both rich and poor, and taught them lessons in Christian morality.
He made many efforts to raise the spiritual and moral level among the clergy, vigilantly monitoring not only how the divine service was performed, but also the inner disposition with which the pastors performed the sacred rites. One of his requirements, for example, obliged priests who were in a quarrel with other priests not to begin the divine service until they came to reconciliation.
For violating the church charter and personal orders, the saint could subject the disobedient to severe punishment.
Thus, one day, while surveying the diocese, he stopped at the house of a priest. At night, the saint suffered from insomnia and inexplicable fear. Suddenly, looking closely, he discovered that on the shelf, next to the kitchen utensils, in one of the paper wrappers, were the Holy Gifts. The bishop was horrified by what he saw. Carefully placing the holy relic on the table, he prayed all night, asking God to avert the terrible punishment from the priest. The next morning, Saint Joasaph explained to the pastor what he had done wrong, and then deprived him of his rank.
Saint Joasaph left behind a short autobiography, family notes, a verse dialogue "The Battle of the Seven Virtues with the Seven Deadly Sins", one sermon (Word), several letters and encyclicals. Even during his lifetime, he enjoyed the respect of his flock for his pious and ascetic life. Two years after the death of Joasaph, some of the clergy of the cathedral, knowing the holy life of the archpastor, secretly went to his tomb and opened the coffin, finding not only the body of the saint incorruptible, but also his clothes, shroud and the coffin itself were not touched by even the slightest decay, although there was a sufficient dampness in the air when the crypt was opened.
The icon is made by printing on a wooden board. Paints are mineral, do not fade with time. The thickness of the board is 2 cm. The board is covered with primer by hand. The image is covered with wax. Each icon has a metal mount on the back side so that you can hang the icon on the wall.
You can buy the icon in three sizes:
- 13 х 10 centimeters (5,1 x 3,9 inches)
- 19 х 15 centimeters (7,5 x 5,9 inches)
- 26 х 21 centimeters (10,2 x 8,3 inches)
Our icons are made by Orthodox craftsmen. You can read more about the technology here.
We hope it will be a good gift for you and your loved ones.
