2026 Luncheon Icon: Purchase key to win one of two hand-painted Icons on Bark

Product Description

Win one of two Hand-Painted Icons on bark 

Support the Pantanassa Monastery Building Program and purchase keys online for a chance to win one of our two hand-painted icons, each painted on Australian stringybark and reflecting a rare synthesis of Byzantine iconography with Indigenous artistic techniques—making them truly unique works

Event Details:

• Date: 8 February 2026
• Time: 11:30 AM
• Venue: St Euphemia Church Hall, Bankstown

Do I have to be present at the luncheon to win of these icons?

You do not have to be present at the luncheon to participate. If you purchase a key but cannot be present at the luncheon, one of the members of the Fundraising Committee will use your key to open the box on your behalf. There are only two winning keys. Arrangements will then be made for you to collect your icon or have it safely delivered to you.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to support a noble cause and potentially own a beautiful icon. Purchase your keys today and be part of something truly special.

ICON1 – Icon of the Lord – A Unique Synthesis of Faith and Land (26.5cm x 47.5cm)

This icon of our Lord is inspired by a 13th-century Byzantine icon from Cyprus, faithfully rendered according to the traditional techniques of Orthodox iconography. The pigments used in its painting were made from natural minerals gathered from the monastery grounds, grounding the icon physically and spiritually in the land on which the Monastery stands.

The icon is painted on a panel of Australian stringybark, carefully removed from the tree and then treated over several months to prepare it as a sacred surface worthy of bearing the image of Christ. The use of stringybark recalls the ancient practice of offering the best of creation back to God, transfigured through prayer and craftsmanship.

While the figure of Christ is painted fully within the classical Byzantine tradition, the background introduces a subtle and respectful use of Indigenous Australian techniques, particularly cross-hatching motifs. This creates a gentle visual dialogue rather than a contrast — a quiet synthesis rather than a collision of styles. The result is a unique and groundbreaking icon, unlike any other — a work that remains unmistakably Orthodox, yet rooted in the land on which it was created. It stands as a witness to the living tradition of the Church: timeless, incarnational, and open to transfiguration.

ICON 2 0 Icon of the Mother of God and the Christ Child (28.5cm x 50.5cm)

This icon depicts the Most Holy Theotokos holding the Christ Child according to the revered Kykkotissa type, one of the most beloved iconographic traditions of the Orthodox Church, originating from the ancient icon preserved at the Monastery of Kykkos in Cyprus. The Virgin bears the Child with solemn tenderness, while Christ inclines toward His Mother, revealing both His true humanity and His divine authority.

This particular icon is painted on Australian stringybark, carefully prepared over time. While the figures remain fully faithful to the classical Byzantine iconographic tradition, a subtle Indigenous Australian artistic influence is incorporated both into the background and into the garments of the Christ Child, where traditional cross-hatching techniques are delicately integrated. This gentle synthesis preserves the theological integrity of the icon while allowing the land and its culture to offer their gift in a quiet and contemplative manner.

In this way, the icon reflects a longstanding reality of Orthodox life: the Church has always received and sanctified elements of local cultures, not by altering the faith, but by allowing each place to express it through its own materials and visual language.

This icon was created at the Iconography Studio of Pantanassa Monastery, New South Wales, and stands as a unique witness to the living and incarnational tradition of Orthodox iconography.