AN ICON 'SAINT IGNATIUS THEOPHORUS'

Yaroslavl region, late 19th century tempera, levkas, gold leaf on wood panel 31.8 x 26.5 cm Condition: without restoration, well preserved, crack in the lower part of the icon. Ignatius Theophorus, 'The God-bearing', Bishop of Antioch, given to the wild beasts in Rome in the beginning of the 2nd century for his confession of Christianity. There are several explanations of the nickname 'Theophorus'. According to one of them, Ignatius was one of those children whom was taken in the arms of Christ. Icons with his image are quite rare.