Icon of Saint Charalambos — The Miracle of the Restored Hand

This hagiography depicts Saint Charalambos, a priest born in Magnesia, Asia Minor, at the time when Septimius Severus ruled the Roman Empire. When this emperor launched a persecution against Christians, the prefect Lucian had Charalambos arrested and subjected him to horrific torture.

Lucian then attempted to kill the Saint with his sword, but his own hand was severed and remained hanging, attached to Charalambos's body. The Saint prayed for the prefect's hand to be restored to its place — which it was — a miracle that led his very executioners to believe in God.

This account, one of the most striking in the hagiography of the martyrs of Asia Minor, illustrates the power of prayer and the forgiveness extended to those who inflicted suffering on the saint.

Hand-painted on straight wood, this icon pairs a faux-gold finish with a bust portrait, in a 32 x 25 cm format suited to both a personal prayer corner and a place of worship.

Every hand-painted hagiography is one of a kind, bearing the iconographer's signature. It particularly suits a gift for someone named Charalambos, or for anyone moved by this martyr's story.

Given for his feast, a baptism, or to enrich a collection of religious items, this icon of Saint Charalambos bears witness to a miracle in which the martyr's suffering became the occasion for an unexpected conversion.