To view some icons, click on the links below. This page was last modified February 22, 1999. There are six new icons at the bottom of the page.
Icon is a Greek word that means image.
Nowadays, it means a painting of Jesus or of a saint or of a scene from the Scriptures. Icons became popular in the East from the 5th century. During the iconoclast heresy, it was taught that icons are a violation of the First Commandment. The Church decided that icons are allowed since the birth of Christ, because at the Incarnation the Word of God became flesh. Saint John of Damascus was an important defender of this doctrine which was affirmed by the Church at the Second Council of Nicaea.