Those who follow me on Twitter may have noticed that we have been to Rhodes. We love visiting Greek islands because neither of us are very good at sitting still and there is lots of ancient history to look at. One of the other reasons that we love the islands is because of the Orthodox Church and the vibrancy of the eastern Church.
Today is the feast of The Birth of John The Baptist and this is the icon we arrived home with a couple of days ago. During our stay, we visited the studio three times and talked with the iconographer about his work. From the very start I was drawn to this icon of Saint John The Baptist who was hiding in the corner chatting with an angel whilst his own head is being served on a plate at his feet. For a closeup of our icon so that you can get a good look at the detail, click on the picture above. I took it this morning.
On the final day, we returned having come to a decision. Akis Tsevis, who had spent days creating this icon ( I think I am getting his name right) simply said “It was John who spoke to you”. He also said “I am going to miss him. He has been there for three years”.
As we remember The Birth of John The Baptist today, I took John to Holy Nativity for Morning Prayer and left him in front of the altar throughout the day so that he can be enjoyed during the Drop In, foodbank and Pay as You Can Café. I hope a other people got as much out of seeing him as we both will in the coming years.
If you are heading to Rhodes, the shop to look for is called “Art Now”.