Iconography can be an extremely concise way of communicating the
Faith. Therefore, what the Saints hold in their hands in portrait icons
help in identifying them and in telling us about their lives.
I hope to show that what is held in the hands of the Saints in Icons is their instrument of Salvation; i.e. the “tools” by which God saved and glorified these people.
Martyrs Menodora Metrodora and Nymphodora
First, a Cross, which indicates the Saint is a Holy Martyr. The reason martyrs are shown holding a cross is two-fold: firstly, martyr comes
for the Greek for witness, and so these witnesses hold the preeminent
symbol of Christianity: the Cross. Secondly, the Cross symbolizes the
most perfect sacrifice of life for others, Christ’s own crucifixion.
Therefore, any Saints who were murdered for confessing the Faith are
shown with crosses, regardless of how they died. The manner of a Saint’s
execution is not how they gained Sainthood. Multitudes of people suffer
horribly each day, and die in all sorts of gruesome ways and yet are
not called Saints or martyrs for it. It is the confession of Faith that
counts, and so those who confessed Christ and died for it hold a cross
to mark their martyrdom. Saints holding the instruments of their
execution are more common in Renaissance-era art of Europe, but this, I
suggest, reflects a preoccupation with the earthly life, rather than
eternal heavenly reality. Orthodox Icons may sometimes show the
martyrdom itself, but portrait Icons are “windows into Heaven”, and so
the Saints are not shown burdened by the things which killed them.
