The Less-Common Icon FAQ

Its easy to get icons of Christ, the Theotokos, St. John the Baptist, St. Nicholas, St. George, etc..., but many other icons are harder to get. This FAQ is intended to cover sources of less commonly available icons. I have a limited collection of topics and sources currently, but hopefully both can be improved on with your help.

If you find more sources, please let me know. For now, I have a rather limited collection of suppliers found.

Reader Daniel Lieuwen

How do I get icons of Western Saints (Western European and North American)?

See the Western saint FAQ for more information on this.

How do I get icons of Old Testament Saints?

  1. St. Vladamir's carries icons of Old Testament saints [I believe]
    St. Vladimir's Seminary Bookstore
    575 Scarsdale Road
    Crestwood, NY 10707
    1-800-204-2665

  2. Holy Transfiguration monastary
    278 Warren Street,
    Brookline, MA 02146
    800-227-1629
    carries: [I may have missed some]

How do I get icons of African Saints?

Holy Transfiguration monastary carries

Where can I commision an icon?

  1. A Listing of all iconographers in the Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia that do commission work is at https://www.orthodox.net//directory/iconographers.htm

  2. Convent of St. Elizabeth of Russia
    PO Box 126
    Etna, CA 96027-0126

    [I ordered one of Prophet Daniel. My priest Fr. David thought it was a good traditional Byzantine icon, and plans to order several icons for his family from this source. As a side-benefit of ordering from them (we also ordered my Reader's cassock from them), they told us in the letter that came with the icon that they regularly pray for Fr. David and myself.]

  3. Convent of St. Elizabeth the New Martyr
    RR 2 Box 382C
    Mohawk, NY 13407-9549
    Tel: 315 858-2208

    [Comment from David James] Despite the mailing address, this convent is about a quarter of a mile from Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville. The nuns are mostly converts and English-speaking. My contact there is Sr. Anastasia (Stephanopoulos), but I believe the superior's name is Mother Mary, a daughter-in-law of Fr. Michael Pomazansky, the auther of "Orthodox Dogmatic Theology."

  4. Holy Trinity Monastary (Jordanville, NY)

  5. An iconographer mentioned in a prior Christian Activist, but don't have information here

  6. Holy Transfiguration monastary

  7. [Description comes from Nina Seco] A very good, Byzantine style iconographer is
    Paul Azkoul
    8502 Vasel Ave.
    St. Louis, MO 63123-3635
    314-353-7696

    He's done a lovely set of St. Aidan and St. Oswin which HTM will be reproducing and adding to their catalog. The person who commissioned those is doing more early British saints.

  8. [Description comes from Nina Seco]
    Kararzyna M. Mankowska
    48 Thurston Rd.
    Newton, MA 02164-12244
    does very good traditional Russian icons - wonderful work. Do not have a phone number unfortunately.

  9. Lev A. and Ksenia M. Pokrovsky
    Izograph Co.
    84 Oxford St., Apt. 3
    Somerville, MA 02143-1618
    Tel/Fax: (617) 628-8639
    nipokrov@lynx.dac.neu.edu

    [They plan to start teaching iconography too.]

Where can I take Icon Classes?

[From Priest Christopher]
The Instructor: Dimitri Andreyev
237 Elderidge Street
New York NY 10003
(212) 533-3279

Icon Studio and Classes are at
R.O. Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection (OCA)
59 E. 2nd Street
New York, NY 10003
(212)677-4664
Priest Christopher Calin

$10per hour for a three hour class ($30. per evening) Russian Novogorodian School Method or egg-tempura on gesso board, all natural pigments and finishes, no acrylic or varnish. New students begin by painting an icon of the Archangel Michael and after five classes, if they are consciencious, they have a beautifully finished icon which is blessed.

Technique includes process of finishing boards, andall aspect of painting the icon. Boards, finished or unfinished may be purchased at the Cathedral or by calling Dimitri or Mark Smith (212) 673-9181. Classes currently meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, but Special sessions can also be arranged.

Intensive Daylong Iconography Workshops are held periodically, call for more details. Dimitri is the son of master Iconographer Vladislav Andreyev, and after studying art and art restoration in St. Petersburg, Russia, began painting icons. He is married and he and his wife, Rachel, have a 2 year old daughter, Sophia.

The classes are not simply given over to technique, but the theological and spiritual dimensions of icons are expounded as visual aids in leading both the painter and those who view and venerate the icons deeper into the spiritual life of the Church.

What other sources are there?

Various saints hard to find elsewhere can be gotten from the "New Age 'Orthodox'" Monastary in Nebraska and are sold at many places including Light and Life under the name "Windows into Heaven". I would urge that those considering buying from this source (the easiest source in this country for a number of Orthodox Western saints), consider carefully the warnings about these "icons" that appeared on the Orthodox mailing list. You might also take a look at the material put out by the Gnostic Orthodox Church which runs the monastary (containing material that asserts reincarnation is a Christian teaching) and consider whether you wish to support the propagation of such beliefs. No Orthodox Christian should support the work of these heretics and decievers in any way


Send corrections, suggestions and information to the compiler of this faq, Reader Daniel Lieuwen
The host and editor for these faqs is
St Nicholas Orthodox Church
Editor : Father Seraphim Holland
Address: 2102 Summit, McKinney TX 75071
Home: 972 529-2754 Pager: (800) 557-9789
Email:seraphim@orthodox.net
Return to FAQs index