Item 45
Saint Antipas
19th century
Egg tempera, gold leaf on wood panel
Silvered metal riza, 12.25” x 10.5”
James and Tatiana Jackson Collection

This icon depicts St. Antipas delivering a blessing with his right hand in the manner favored by the “Old Believers.” His left hand holds the Gospels, a sign that he is a teacher in the church. The elaborate inscription reads, “The Holy Priest-Martyr Antipas Bishop of Pergamum.” Antipas is mentioned in the Book of Revelation as “Antipas My faithful martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth” (Revelations 2:13) - the city of Pergamum. The inhabitants of Pergamum dwelt in the darkness of idolatry and in the depths of impurity. They were slaves to their passions, slanderers, bullies, incestuous. He who would seize and kill a Christian was regarded as good and just. The whole of their idolatrous faith consisted of soothsaying, the interpretation of dreams, the services of demons and the extreme excesses of debauchery. Among these slaves of Satan, dwelt Antipas “as a light in the midst of darkness, as a rose among thorns, as gold in mud.” In terror of Antipas, as of fire, the demons appeared to the pagan priests in their dreams and told them that their great fear of Antipas was driving them from the city. The priests stirred up the multitude and they began to torment Antipas, pressing him to deny Christ and worship idols. Antipas said to them, “Then your so-called gods and lords of the universe are afraid of me, a mortal man, and have to flee the city, why do you not learn from this that your faith is in vain?” The saint spoke further with them of the Christian faith as the only true and saving faith, but the people became incensed like wild beasts and dragged the aged Antipas before the temple of Artemis, where an ox cast in bronze stood. They heated the ox and threw the servant of God inside. St. Antipas, inside the red-hot ox, glorified God with thanksgiving, like Jonah in the whale and the Three Children in the fiery furnace. Antipas prayed for his flock and for the whole world, until his soul parted from his exhausted body and went to join the angels in the Kingdom of Christ. He was crowned with unfading glory in the year 92.