Jonathan Pageau: Understanding The Dog-Headed Icon of St-Christopher
17th century icon of St-Stephen and St-Christopher
This post is the first of a series. Part two
The icon of St-Christopher is one of the most astounding images found in the Orthodox Tradition. Showing a dog-headed warrior saint, it conjures fantastical stories of werewolves or of monstrous races from Pliny’s edge of the world. Because of all the difficulties it presents, the icon was proscribed in the 18th century by Moscow.