An icon. A precious wedding gift with an unchanged value
From the first icon of Luke the Evangelist to date, Orthodox icons constitute a form of art that expresses the strong connection between the faithful’s life with God. The icons, regardless of their size, style or market value, are regarded as the "means" of expressing faith and connecting with the Divine.
Icons inspire, invigorate, remind, and protect. The Orthodox icons, wherever they are, small and kept in a drawer or big and hung on the wall, offer a “willing” helping hand that provides assistance, support, joy and hope. An inexhaustible source of love and encouragement in every moment, and every need. The strength and the offer do not derive from the icons. They derive from the faith of the individual, which is expressed through the icon, this artifact that is the means to express faith towards God.
Traditionally, icons “kept” the wedding wreaths, thus symbolizing the substantial protection offered to the couple of faithful. A safe "haven". A wholehearted embrace. Marriage, the joyous event that was celebrated by the Hebrews for seven days, was one of the miracles of Jesus. At the wedding in Cana of Galilee, Jesus transformed water from six hydrias into wine and thus revealed his divine status to his disciples. The miracle of the wedding in Cana symbolizes the joy and the celebration of the presence of Jesus Christ in the lives of the faithful. The wedding service is carried out with the reading of the miracle of the wedding in Cana.
Throughout its duration it is full of symbolism, it unites two lives into one, it renews and regenerates, it sanctifies the love of two people for a life together, with the wish that it will last for a lifetime. The blessing of the faithful for a long, happy life together, is ideally accompanied by an icon as a gift. A gift that throughout the years will accompany all the moments of their lives and its value will remain precious and unchanged, during all the life of the couple.
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Icons
