Saint Isidora the Fool-for-Christ

Saint Isidora lived in the fourth century at a convent in Tabenna in Egypt. She worked in the kitchen at the hardest and dirtiest tasks, covered her head with a rag instead of the monastic veil, and let the sisters take her for mad. She bore the mockery for years without a word. When it came out who she really was, and the sisters bowed to her, she left the monastery to escape their respect, and died unknown. Her story stands at the beginning of the ascetic path later known in the Russian and Serbian traditions as the fools-for-Christ.

On this piece she is shown in a deep red monastic mantle, with a head covering marked by a small cross, her right hand raised and an open scroll in her left. The scroll carries the Greek text from the First Letter to the Corinthians: "If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become a fool, so that he may become wise" (1 Cor 3:18). That is the verse the whole of her life rests on. The Greek inscription Η ΑΓΙΑ ΙΣΙΔΩΡΑ runs across the top.

The panel is narrow and elongated, with an arch cut by hand on one side only, so the edge is not symmetrical. The halo and the lettering are worked in relief and catch the light at an angle. The narrow format is deliberate: for a narrow wall, a door frame, a shelf or an icon corner where a wider piece will not fit.

Details:

• Material: quality MDF base
• Technique: lithograph print on an MDF base
• Finish: narrow elongated board with a hand-cut arch at the top
• Detail: gold halo, Greek inscription Η ΑΓΙΑ ΙΣΙΔΩΡΑ and a scroll with 1 Cor 3:18
• Three sizes: 8x20, 10x30 and 12x40 cm
• Protective eco-friendly varnish
• Hand-finished
• Certificate of authenticity on the back, with a cord for hanging

Ideal for:

• A narrow wall, a door frame or a shelf where a wider icon will not fit
• A home icon corner or a monastic place of prayer
• A gift for a nun, a sisterhood, or anyone called Isidora
• People who do quiet work that nobody thanks them for

The arch and the finish pass through hands, so no two boards share an edge.

• Backing materialMDF
• TechniqueLitografija na MDF podlozi sa zaštitnim ekološkim lakom
• With the iconcertificate of authenticity, hanging cord