Christ the Teacher. Made In Russia with Gold Foil -10 5/8"x8 3/8".   Christ The Almighty -The Teacher   An icon to the Russian Christian is a “window to the eternal.”   The icon connects the created to his creator and His saints.  There are, compared to icons of the Virgin Mary, very few representations of Christ.  While all icons play a part in the religious life of Russia, some played a part in the historical and political development of Russia.     This icon of Christ is based on an early icon of the church.  Christ’s face is patterned after the first icon, which is called “Made Without Hands.”      Christ is presented in half-length blessing with his right hand and holding an open Gospel Book in his left hand.  The blessing is the traditional Orthodox manner of blessing with the thumb and the next two fingers pointing up and the last two fingers pointing down.    On either side of Christ’s are an “IC” and “XC” which are the beginning Greek letters for “Jesus Christ Conquers.”  In the nimbus (halo) you find three Greek letters, which look like “W O N” and form the Greek word that translates to “There is only One God.”    The text in the Gospel Book is instructional the icon is called “Christ the Teacher.”  There are various Biblical that can be give on the open Gospel book.  The text on this icon is in Old Slavonic:  “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another…” (John 13:34)