NEWS from the MUSEUM OF RUSSIAN ICONS
Winter 2017
HOLY FOOLS to Wonderworkers
Saints of the Orthodox Faith
On Exhibit Now Through February 26 , 2017
Saint Tikhon of Kaluga | 1898
Saints are those people whose lives and deeds are remembered and celebrated by the faithful . Their ranks number in the thousands , and range from the prophets of the Old Testament to the monastics living in rural Russia , and they play an integral role in the Church . They lived exemplary lives and serve as models of Christian morality . Saints are also believed to function as intercessors , forming a link between the secular world and the holy .
This exhibit of 30 rarely seen icons from the Museum ’ s permanent collection focuses on groups of saints celebrated by the Orthodox Church , including those known as Holy Fools and those known as Wonderworkers .
Holy Fools practiced the most extreme form of asceticism : purifying the soul through self-denial and a rejection of worldly comforts . Wonderworkers are saints who have had various miracles atrributed to them . It is important to note that these saints are not believed to have performed miracles themselves , but rather that miracles were worked through them by God .
Each day of the Liturgical Year commemorates several saints ; some are celebrated internationally while others are only remembered in small communities . Monarchs and peasants , warriors and monks alike have found places in the lists of the Church and the hearts of the faithful .
Saint Mary of Egypt | c . 1600