We do not begin an icon on stone with paint. First we engrave the image with a diamond tool, and only then paint it with pigment. The video shows an icon of the Archangel Michael on stone: an architectural presentation with drawings and details.

Who the Archangel Michael is

The name Michael, from the ancient Hebrew, means “Who is like God?”. The Church calls him the Archistrategos. The word is Greek and translates as “commander-in-chief”: Michael stands at the head of the heavenly host.

Scripture mentions him in the Book of the Prophet Daniel (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1), in the Epistle of Jude (Jude 9) and in the Revelation of St John the Theologian, where Michael and his angels fight the dragon (Rev. 12:7–9). His image is also on the coat of arms of Kyiv.

How the Archangel Michael is depicted

One way is well known: a warrior. Armour, a sword or a spear, sometimes a defeated devil underfoot.

The other came from Byzantium. Here the archangel is in court dress with a loros, a ceremonial part of the dress of the Byzantine emperors. In one hand he holds a staff, in the other a sphere, known as the mirror or the orb. It bears the monogram of Christ, the letters IC XC, and sometimes His image itself. One interpretation is that the archangel’s authority is not his own but is given by God.

This icon has both the gold ground with an inscription and the medallion with the image of Christ, that same mirror. In icon painting, gold signifies Divine light.

When the feast of the Archangel Michael falls

The Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the other Bodiless Powers of Heaven falls on 8 November by the Revised Julian calendar; in communities that keep the Julian calendar, on 21 November (New Style). As the name shows, this is a feast not of Michael alone but of all the heavenly powers.

Icon on stone in a carved frame: why an image needs a boundary

The frame here is not only an ornament. It separates the image from everything around it, as a threshold separates a church from the street.

The idea is an old one. In an icon panel a recess was carved out, the kovcheh (ark), which, in the words of the Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine, “separated the image from the real world”. A carved frame does the same work, only on the outside: here the wall ends and the image begins.

And one more thing: a frame gathers. The gold ground, the inscription, the medallion: in this icon it is the frame that holds them together as one whole.

Icon of the Archangel Michael on stone: where it belongs

The shape and size of such an icon are chosen for a particular place: a façade, a niche or an interior. The place answers most of the questions before any sketch: from what distance it will be seen, what will be beside it, whether there is already a niche.

What to decide before ordering

The place. A façade, a niche or an interior: the shape and size of the icon depend on it.
The image. A warrior with a sword, or an archangel with a staff and mirror: this is best agreed before the sketch.
The frame. Whether it is needed at all. If it is, then the richer the image, the calmer the framing.
The viewing distance. Where the icon will most often be seen from.

Questions and answers

Can an icon of the Archangel Michael be ordered in a different shape? Yes. We choose the shape and size for the particular place. We begin with a photograph and the dimensions of the place, then a sketch and a drawing, approval, fabrication and installation.

Is a carved frame essential? No. A frame is needed where the image must be set apart from the wall. In a niche, the niche itself often holds that boundary.

What should I send to begin? A photograph of the place and its dimensions. If there is a niche, also its width, height and depth.

If you are looking for a place for an icon of the Archangel Michael on a façade, in a niche or in an interior, send a photograph and we will propose a solution: +380 66 892 98 18. More about this line of work is on the Icons on stone page.